Mike Portnoy

Musician

1967-04-20

Quotes by Mike Portnoy

• Every band goes through breakups or splits.

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• After I wrote 'The Best Of Times' for my dad and after I completed the '12 Steps Suite' with Dream Theater, I very much felt like I had said everything I wanted to say lyrically.

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• To me, there's way more to being a good drummer than precision and technique.

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• I've been asked to write a book several times; I've had several publishers come to me and offer me book deals. Especially right after I left Dream Theater and Avenged Sevenfold, there was a lot of drama going on in my life, so the book companies came at me thirsty for blood and gossip. And I turned down all the deals.

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• First and foremost, play what you love to play. Don't try to jump on a bandwagon or a trend or a popular musical craze.

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• Trite as it sounds, follow your heart. Persevere. And if you follow your heart and persevere, it will pay off.

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• I remember waking up Tuesday, September 11th, 2001, to my wife telling me to put on the TV because I wasn't going to be going into N.Y.C. as planned. Dream Theater was working in N.Y.C. at the time mixing our album 'Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence,' and I would've been driving in that afternoon for our session.

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• It's been an incredible experience, playing with Twisted Sister, Stone Sour, Avenged Sevenfold, jamming with Ace Frehley and Peter Criss, and the list goes on and on and on.

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• It's so refreshing to just play straight-ahead music with lots of twists.

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• Change is inevitable with the evolution of technology. In the '70s, we had records. In the '80s, we had CDs, and now we are living in the digital age. You can say it's sad or unfortunate, but the reality is you've got to roll with the times and the technology.

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• I think if there's any one band that every member of Sons of Apollo has been influenced by, I think Van Halen is the common ground for all five of us.

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• Flying Colors is more alternative pop with a prog edge. Think the Beatles meets U2 meets Muse and Foo Fighters. It is the opposite of Adrenaline Mob, which has more classic metal influences like Black Sabbath, Van Halen, Pantera, or Disturbed. They are completely different ends of spectrum.

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• Richie Kotzen is such an unbelievable talent as a vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter.

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