Would you like to see Portnoy back in Dream theater?

[cyberdrummer]

To be quite honest, I don't blame him for keeping DT as his number one. A band he was in for 25 years is always going to be close to his heart, and if the opportunity to rejoin DT arose (I don't think it will), nobody could really criticise him for taking it.

[Blackfield]

He likes to talk about a band in terms of "wife" or "baby".

If I had a new wife after being married for 25 years, my new wife wouldn't be ok with me going back to my old wife, if she were to change her mind, just because we were married for so long.

If they are serious with TWD and intend to keep it at a full time basis, I don't think the other members would be ok with MP leaving if the opportunity arose to join DT again.

[cyberdrummer]

That analogy doesn't really work, apart from at the most basic level.

Certainly not in this situation.

I really don't think the other two guys in TWD would begrudge him a return to DT. I may be completely off-base here, but that's the way I see it.

[Kotowboy]

NO.

[BlobVanDam]

That analogy doesn't really work, apart from at the most basic level.

Certainly not in this situation.

I really don't think the other two guys in TWD would begrudge him a return to DT. I may be completely off-base here, but that's the way I see it.

Agreed. Bands are not analogous to monogamous relationships.

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

Ok, to expand on what I said last night, I do miss Mike. I miss the energy he had, I miss his sense of humor, I miss all the stuff he did for the band.

But, I don't want him back in DT. He left, Mangini's in, and even though I personally like ADTOE less than most Dream Theater albums, I think the band's in a good place right now, and I wouldn't want that to change.



So, these are my thoughts.

[Kotowboy]

Portnoy was my favourite member of the band until around September 2010.

After that he just made it worse and worse for himself.

If *you* want a break from the band - don't bitch about the rest of them in the press because *they* don't want to.



What I absolutely DO NOT miss : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5RLln_Hk7w

[Chino]

In answer to the thread question;

Depends how the new album is.

If the new album is amazing and Live at Luna park is really well done, I think a lot of people are going to forget about MP.

[Perpetual Change]

I miss Mike Portnoy.

I don't want him back in Dream Theater.

Mainly, because I like Mike Mangini too, and don't want him to leave.

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

^ that

[fisotteke]

Mike Portnoy is a great drummer but I've noticed that he wasn't inventive anymore. His drumming looked the same and when you hear the stuff he plays on the Neal Morse album, he didn't do something new. I've heard it all before. With Mike Mangini in DT, I think there's gonna be a fresh wind through the band and hopefully we hear some awesome heavy prog!! Thats something I missed on the last albums with Mike P. It looked to me that he want them to be a heavy band  and not an heavy prog band.

[Kotowboy]

^ That is true.

My dad was listening to a Neal Morse CD that i'd never heard before and I instantly knew the drummer was Portnoy.

He does rely on the same fills a lot of the time.

[AngelBack]

No and I don't believe it will ever happen.  I miss the "in your face" drum mixes on the albums because I am a drummer.  And based on ADTOE I can't really say if musically I prefer one over the other because I don't think we got a good taste of MM's potential contributions. 

Some say they miss MPs interaction with the fans but I really don't.  Sure, I would like to hear more from someone in the band, but I always found MP's interactions to be too focused on himself rather than the band and that got annoying.  The guys now speak of the band and each other.  Don't recall too many times MP highlighted the other band mates because of his narcissistic personality.

Also, the guys in DT are getting older.  Touring is harder.  They probably are at a point they want to get as much enjoyment as possible from writing, recording and touring.  I don't see them inviting potential stress and conflict back into the group.

[Podaar]

I voted no.

That being said, I can't help but feel sorry for MP that his projects haven't netted him the success he had with DT. The projects he's been in have been interesting and most have shown real quality but it's unfortunate to see him playing tiny venues to poor turnout. He's earned better I think.

[BlobVanDam]

In answer to the thread question;

Depends how the new album is.

If the new album is amazing and Live at Luna park is really well done, I think a lot of people are going to forget about MP.

You never forget about someone who was with a band for 25 years and 10 albums.

[Kotowboy]

But 2 years of negativity can undo a lot of good work.

[phentalmyst]

level of fan interaction, to me, is a bonus and is secondary to what people actually bring to the music. i love tool just as much as i love DT and there isn't one similarity between the 2 when it comes to fan interaction (among other things). if things in DT are much better now than they were in the last few years with MP, then i'm fine with less interaction. i don't need to know when they take a sh*t...

regarding that blabbermouth post, IMHO, if MP really didn't want to talk about the dream theater "situation," he should really just respond with "next question." this whole "i dont want to talk about what they're doing now coz now they're trying to show they don't need me." is just lame and victimizes himself. HE QUIT. ugh...

edit: yes, i paraphrased and mixed context, but that's how i read it. it's just another example of "DT was all me for 25 years. how dare they move on."

[BlobVanDam]

But 2 years of negativity can undo a lot of good work.

I only care about the music, so I don't care about what happened after that. And I enjoyed MP's contributions right until the end too, so I didn't have a problem with that side either. Just my opinion, of course.

[Eldomm]

I like how the band is now, and I think MM is better than MP on all levels. They're re-energized and happier and as stated above, better off without each other.

[eviljust]

Where is the "Never" option?

Mike will hurt his  feelings when he sees that     (yeah, i'm sure he reads DTF)

I think he was looking for the "Never" option as well 

Considering just a few posts above a link was posted from blabbermouth where MP clearly states he would be in again, that's a very ignorant statement.

Considering MP wanted to join DT back the very first months he actually left, you can pardon me, but that was sarcastic.

[Cable]

The stuff though about DT being Mikes baby; it *was*. To continue with his wonderful relationship analogy, he started to fool around with too many others in the DT open marriage in the end. Despite MP giving it his all, which is undebatable, he also was spread out way more thin than any other DT member outside of the band. If anything, what he is doing now is good for him because he can do all that to the fullest.

I would like to see a reunion in 15-20 years, or whenever MM gets done with the band (if ever). I miss MPs devotion, but not him steering the DT Vessel into uncharted waters that the ship is not suited to handle just because he likes those waters at that present time.

Switching now would be a terrible thing to MM, and everyone is at a good place it seems.

[eviljust]

....

I would like to see a reunion in 15-20 years, or whenever MM gets done with the band (if ever). I miss MPs devotion, but not him steering the DT Vessel into uncharted waters that the ship is not suited to handle just because he likes those waters at that present time.

That's exactly my same thought.

[phentalmyst]

The stuff though about DT being Mikes baby; it *was*.

I'm not debating MP's dedication to the band or his "steering," but like someone else mentioned, he never really gave credit to anyone else in the band for the roles they played, musically speaking. Just another reason why I don't miss him.

[bosk1]

It's a shame that I even have to put this out there, but it seems like it is always necessary when these types of topics come up:  (1) Keep it civil.  And carefully watch what you say.  Bashing of either the band or of Mike Portnoy will not be tolerated.  (2) Keep it on topic.  This is not a thread about which drummer is better (and such a thread topic would be in poor taste and would be deleted anyway), whether Portnoy is going to come back to dream theater some day, or whatever. 


In answer to the thread topic:  No.  Whether you want to go with the question in the thread title or the one in the poll, the answer is no.  I deeply appreciate everything Portnoy did for the band and the fans.  I deeply appreciate how he changed how many, including myself, think of drumming.  I love a lot of things about him.  But the band is firing on all cylindars right now and all of the members seem overjoyed and content with where things are going.  It is a great time to be a Dream Theater fan, and it is a great time to be a Mike Portnoy fan.  And it is a great time to keep both of those things separate.

[jonnybaxy]

If he hadn't left, I'd be fine with him staying

Now mangini is here, i'm fine with mangini.

Nice and simple.

[bosk1]

ADTOE drum parts are drum machine only.

Sorry, but that's absolutely wrong.

Eviljust, you are mistaken.  This has been explained by the band numerous times.  To this day, I don't understand why a small number of fans seem to think the above is true.  Here are the facts:  When initially writing, JP programs some initial thoughts for basic drum patterns.  Mangini listened to them and then wrote his own drum parts, with input from the rest of the band.  Sometimes, he stayed with the basic pattern JP had programmed, and used that as the skeleton for what became an obviously more elaborate drum part.  Sometimes, he did his own thing and wrote something different.  But what was originally given to him was just a skeleton and does not really resemble what Mike ultimately recorded.  If you want to discuss this further, do a search for one of the threads where discussion of this issue would be on topic and discuss it there.

[Perpetual Change]

OK, here's a couple scenarios where I would totally welcome MP back into DT, without feeling like Mangini got done dirty:

1.) A few years go by and Mangini decides he's had enough of live on the road, and wants to return to academia. I'd respect that, and I'd hope DT would go to MP straight away.
2.) A few years go by, and the band decides to call it quits for awhile. Then a few years more go by, and a bunch of guys who once played in DT decide to get together and make a DT album. I'd be open to a line-up consisting of any  combination of past and present DT members, so long as Dominici wasn't included

[KevShmev]

I don't get Portnoy. Maybe he is wrongly quoted or something but "I would join the band in a heartbeat" and "I've had my break". To me this sounds like DT is number one and he is willing to leave everything behind (A-mob, TWD etc.) if DT wants him back. Didn't he say in another interview that winery dogs is his number one priority?

I wouldn't want to be in a band with that guy.

Good point.

What if, for example, Mike Mangini had a sudden health issue late this year that required him to retire from live touring and he decided to leave the band, leading the band to ask Mike Portnoy to rejoin the band for the extensive touring in 2014?  Would he ditch the Prog Nation at Sea thing, whatever touring Transatlantic has planned and whatever else he already has in the works, in order to rejoin Dream Theater in that heartbeat?  Or would he tell them no?

[eviljust]

ADTOE drum parts are drum machine only.

Sorry, but that's absolutely wrong.

Eviljust, you are mistaken.  This has been explained by the band numerous times.  To this day, I don't understand why a small number of fans seem to think the above is true.  Here are the facts:  When initially writing, JP programs some initial thoughts for basic drum patterns.  Mangini listened to them and then wrote his own drum parts, with input from the rest of the band.  Sometimes, he stayed with the basic pattern JP had programmed, and used that as the skeleton for what became an obviously more elaborate drum part.  Sometimes, he did his own thing and wrote something different.  But what was originally given to him was just a skeleton and does not really resemble what Mike ultimately recorded.  If you want to discuss this further, do a search for one of the threads where discussion of this issue would be on topic and discuss it there.

I actually have never heard of this. In one of the last studio part, one of them asserted this was going to be the first album involving MM in the songwriting process.

Thanks for clearing it, always good to learn something 

[kirksnosehair]

No.  I don't want him back.  Way too much baggage.

[ariich]

2.) A few years go by, and the band decides to call it quits for awhile. Then a few years more go by, and a bunch of guys who once played in DT decide to get together and make a DT album. I'd be open to a line-up consisting of any  combination of past and present DT members, so long as Dominici wasn't included

CHRIS COLLINS!

But yeah, I think those two scenarios are the only reasonable ones really. Alternatively I'd be very happy to see one-off reunions on stage or whatever, if both the band and MP were able to do that without it being weird on a personal level. I think if they could get over what happened and do something like that, it would be pretty great.

[Kotowboy]

I have a feeling that " JP programmed the drums on ADTOE " will live on.

I've heard DT haters before say that " Labrie is so lazy - he only writes one song per album. "

[BlobVanDam]

I have a feeling that " JP programmed the drums on ADTOE " will live on.

I've heard DT haters before say that " Labrie is so lazy - he only writes one song per album. "

LaBrie is so lazy. He only sings for 10% of each song.

I've personally never seen that argument about how much he writes, and I don't really care either. He's the singer, and he sings, and he sings well. Anything else is a bonus, not a necessity for my full respect for him as a performer and member of DT.

[Slain]

It's a tough decision for me. I do miss some things about Portnoy for sure, his on-stage presence was a lot of fun especially, but I'm ready for the new Mangini era of Dream Theater to carry on, unhindered. I hope that we get a reunion show one day, at the least.

[SeRoX]

I really do appreciate what MP did with the band but I don't miss him and I never want him back.