As requested, here is the transcript of the interview with Howard Portnoy that was printed in issue 5/6 of New Voice:
• We know you live in California, would you mind explaining to us when you moved out there and how much time you were able to spend with Mike while he was growing up? I moved to California in August 1973, not long after Mike and his Mom moved to Arizona. We were very fortunate to be able to spend almost every Holiday together and every summer for 2 ½ months. I rarely did anything (including my radio show, TV advertising, baseball games, movies, you name it) without Michael. He always came first and it was quality time and friendship, whenever we were together. He has done the same thing with Melody and Max.
• Obviously we know Mike is about the biggest fan of music in the whole world! Did you introduce him to much music? If yes, what sort of stuff? Mike had music, at full blast, in the house from the moment he was born… The Beatles… The Who… The Rolling Stones… early Bee Gees… David Bowie. He was listening to, and could pick out the bands and songs by their record label, long before he could read. • You own and run an art gallery. What kinds of art are you interested in? Do you enjoy ‘the arts’ as a whole?
My taste in art runs the gamut, much like Mike’s taste in rock music. I like Picasso & Matisse but also Van Gogh & Renoir. And yes, I love rock, obviously, but I’m listening to classical music as I write this, and also love Opera, the theatre, ballet, literature, and (maybe most of all) movies. I’ve dabbled in a number of these over the years, but the gallery has been the most successful, at least financially. • What types of work interest you and what kind of thing catches your eye or inspires you?
The more complex and difficult, the more challenging. (Remind you of anyone?!) I’m drawn to strength, brains and talent. My wife, Trish, is the answer to your last question.
• How did it come about that you run an art gallery? Was it a long-held ambition, something that developed from a hobby or interest or did you kind of fall into it?
Yes, I kind of fell into it. I had written a book for Random House called All the Fathers which ran into some pre-publication legal problems and I needed a job real quick. I got one in an art gallery, did very well, met lots of artists, learned what to do and what not to do and then Trish and I opened our own gallery, about 15 years ago. For a period of time, in the early 90s there was a weird parallel between DT and my gallery. Similar ups and downs and holding patterns.
• As a kid was it apparent that Mike would grow up to be a drummer? I.e. did he hit pans with wooden spoons or something as a baby?!
I don’t remember if he hit pans with spoons (likely) but it was apparent that he had an inordinate interest in drumming. I have memories and photos of him at two and three whacking a small drum set. He went through more than one. • Were you involved in the purchase of his first drumkit?
That is the source of controversy within a number of families. (Kind of like who bought Paul McCartney his first guitar?? Everyone wants to say me, me, me!!) I do know that when Mike’s Grandma (my mother) died, he was left money in her will to buy a drum set. But his mother and her mother, kept things going as well, that’s for sure.
• In the Score DVD documentary John Petrucci and Mike discuss they had difficulties getting their parents to support them in going to Berklee and then even bigger problems when they decided to drop out! What were your feelings about those decisions? Did you support him or did you have reservations?
I
thought Michael going to Berklee was a great idea, and I provided a number of the required music ‘references’. I was thrilled that he got in. His love of music and drive to make it his career was obvious. I went up to Boston to see him in October of 1986 (after about a month) and met these two guys he was hanging out with, named John and John. I distinctly remember meeting John Myung for the first time. He was in one of these tiny rehearsal booths. Mike opened the door, introduced me, and somehow John shook my hand hello and kept on playing the bass at the same time. Some things never change, I guess. I didn’t see much of Mike and his new friends that weekend. They stayed up all night waiting on line for tickets to see Rush (...that also happens to be the same night we came up with the name "Majesty" - we tell the story in the Score documentary – MP) and crashed the next day. In so far as him leaving after one year, I was disappointed I suppose. But I come from the ‘if you believe in it, go for it!’ school, and as John & John were doing the very same thing, I certainly supported his decision in every way I could.
• When did you first see Majesty/DT playing a concert? What did you think?
Funny, I don’t remember the first DT concert. I had followed his first high school band, and then his first ‘serious’ band Rising Power and then went to a number of early rehearsals of what was then Majesty (in places your readers have heard all about) in the pre-record label days with Charlie and Kevin, but I don’t remember the very first time I saw them on stage as DT. So far as what I thought, as a parent you have nothing to compare it to. Nothing. It’s magic. I tended to see them as a band of young guys I knew and was fond of, not just ‘my son’ up on stage. I still do, to this day. That said, you cannot imagine what it’s like to see someone you love, on stage, performing brilliantly, and as loved by the fans as Mike is by DT fans around the world. The band’s manager said almost those very words to me during the SFAM tour as we stood on the side of the stage: He said ‘I can’t even imagine what you’re feeling.’ And he is right. • Did you think they would ‘make it’ or did you think Mike would be delivering Chinese food for his career?!
I thought that Michael’s famous Chinese-delivery-boy stage was the final proof of his commitment to this band. If he was willing to do that, in order to rehearse every evening with these guys, then he must truly believe in himself and the band. So I supported him in every way I could. I knew the business too well to guess whether or not he would ‘make it’. But I sure as hell knew he was going to try. • Please tell us the story about you ‘naming’ Dream Theater – I guess that’s your biggest claim to fame amongst DT fans!
Mike and I used to frequent two ‘artsy’ movie theatres when he was out here. One was called The Dream Theater, which featured films like Rocky Horror Picture Show, Harold & Maude and all the other ‘cult’ films of the day. For their very first album, the record label had already printed up tapes with ‘Majesty’ as their name and then they found out that they couldn’t use that. Another band (Las Vegas, I believe) controlled that name. They considered many possibilities, including the name of their lawyer. My early suggestions ran toward humour: ‘Festering Puss’ and ‘Asparagus P*ss’ were two I can recall. While watching the Scorsese film The Last Temptation of Christ (which bored me to death) my mind wandered to where I was watching the film, the Dream Theater. Something clicked and I thought it really matched the music they were playing and their visions, at least as far as I understood it. I called Mike when I got home, got an answering machine, left the suggestion and the rest is rock history. I don’t remember how Mike presented it to the band, or the reception, but obviously they liked it and it sure does seem to fit the band.
• The other thing people may mistakenly think is that the song ‘Honor thy Father’ is in some way about you. Mike has gone on record as saying he has a great relationship with you and the song is about his step-father. Do you know of anybody who ever mistakenly thought it was about you? Did it bother you?
Yes, we do have a great relationship and Michael made it very clear to me and his fans that this was not about me. But I do not like the song or its title. • What’s your proudest moment as Mike’s dad?
That’s a tough one. We might need an entire issue devoted to that answer, but I assume you mean as a musician, not just as my son, or a father or husband. Two come to mind quickly and they are spaced far apart. June 8, 1992 when they opened for Iron Maiden at the Ritz in NYC. Images hadn’t been released yet and I remember talking before the show to John Petrucci’s dad, both of us marvelling at how far they had come. Little did we know. And when the curtain came up (as I remember it), at the start of their set, I started to sob, because his mother wasn’t there to see it. Still gets me from time to time. The other would be April 1, 2006, Radio City Music Hall. Just a bit too much to take in. Michael and his band, on stage, at that magnificent facility (where I used to go as a kid with my Mom to see a movie and the Rockettes) with a full Orchestra and 6000 fans who love him/them with such a passion, sitting in the orchestra with my wife, his wife, my grandkids, his sister Samantha, his Uncle Jay and looking back at the audience, the beautiful building filled, everyone on their feet and in the one place on Earth we would all want to be right at that moment. Wow. Michael told me after the show “Every time I looked at you, you were smiling”. He had that right.
• What’s your favourite song Mike has recorded?
That’s like asking me which is my favourite Beatles song. Depends when you ask me. But two come quickly to mind: Goodnight Kiss which is simply beautiful and A Change of Seasons (…seasons change, so can I…) I also like Nothing but Intelligent Love – but you’ll have to ask him about that.
• Do you consider yourself a DT ‘fan’ i.e. do you think you'd enjoy the music if Mike wasn’t playing it?!
I consider myself DT’s #1 fan (or maybe simply the oldest)… I heard all those demos and instrumentals and excerpts and stuff before the rest of the world and have been in the studio with them a number of times and sit through (and love) the sound checks and simply love their music and the band. I listen to Muse and Spock’s Beard and U2 and Coldplay and Pink Floyd and on and on. But would I be listening to DT if Michael hadn’t been in the band? Easy. If Mike wasn’t playing in the band, there would be no band.
• How often do you get to see them play live? Not often enough. Perhaps three or four times per tour. Mostly in LA, SF or NYC. I try to catch most of his side projects because they are so unique. I’ve seen LTE, Transatlantic, Yellow Matter Custard (The Beatles) – by the way Mike and I did the commentary together on that DVD (small commercial plug), as well as Amazing Journey (The Who tribute), The Modern Drummer show which combined The Beatles tribute and a surprise appearance by DT… but because of my business, the gallery, I can’t get to everything I’d like to. • How often do you see Mike and his family for just family time?
Also, not often enough. Marlene has always brought the kids out two or three times a year for a week’s stay. But these days, we get to see Mike mostly on tour and when we go back there. Although Mike, Marl and the kids just (August ’06) spent 10 days with us, in our home in California. • Do you have a message for the readers of New Voice?
Yeah. Be sure to buy the new CD and DVD Score for your friends so they find out what you already know. DT rules. Actually, I do want to thank you amazing fans, who supported DT over the years. You are certainly part of what drives this band to greatness. You are all a part of the DT soul.
<message edited by Portnoy on Sunday, January 04, 2009 9:22 PM>