Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy and guitarist John Petrucci sat down with Ola Englund for a new interview and talked about their relationship both in and outside of the band
“I think we very rarely disagree, very rarely,” the drummer explained to Englund. “I could only think of a handful of times throughout 40 years where we weren’t on the same page. it very rarely happens.”
“The way that we approach writing music or being creative even in a lyrical sense is that there’s always more, there’s always options,” Petrucci chimed in. “Dig your heels in on something that you feel passionate about, but if you’re not selling it, there’s more notes. Just try something different, there’s more words, there’s a different word for that. Sometimes it ends up being better, so it’s it’s important to kind of listen to everybody.”
Portnoy returned to Dream Theater in October last year. While the drummer is not in charge of the band as he used to be anymore, the members is more than happy to welcome him back. “With him just coming back into the band, it has been great. It’s like we haven’t missed a beat and it really feels like we’re 18 again,” Petrucci said in another interview. “The flow was really, really smooth. There’s definitely an undeniable, creative chemistry there. You meet certain people in your life and you connect on an artistic level, and it just flows. We have been working in our own studio and our space has expanded. We have just built a new live room and control room, which is just beautiful.”
Jordan Rudess also added that having Portnoy back in the band is important.
In April, Dream Theater announced the European leg of their ’40th Anniversary Tour 2024 – 2025.’ This will be their first tour since Portnoy’s return. The European leg started on October 20 and will wrap up on November 24.
