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Mike Portnoy
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Mike Portnoy
Michael Stephen Portnoy (born April 20, 1967) is an American musician best known as the drummer, backing vocalist, and co-founder of the progressive metal band Dream Theater.
In September 2010, Portnoy announced his departure from Dream Theater after 25 years, with Mike Mangini succeeding him as the band’s drummer. In October 2023, 13 years after his departure, the band announced his return. Both before and during his time away from Dream Theater, Portnoy remained active with a variety of bands and projects, including Adrenaline Mob, Avenged Sevenfold, Transatlantic, Yellow Matter Custard, Flying Colors, the Winery Dogs, Liquid Tension Experiment, Metal Allegiance, Sons of Apollo, the Neal Morse Band, and BPMD.
Portnoy was born on April 20, 1967, in Long Beach, New York. He is Jewish. His father, Howard Portnoy (1940–2009), worked as a DJ at a local radio station. Mike and his father later moved to Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, to work at KRML radio station after watching the 1971 film Play Misty for Me. His mother, Andrea Leone, died on the night of November 16, 1984, aged 40, when the private Piper PA-28 Cherokee plane she was aboard with her boyfriend and two other persons, on a flight from Farmingdale Airport, crashed off the Atlantic City coastline. The plane's pilot was reportedly incapacitated after suffering a heart attack when preparing to land at Atlantic City Airport.
His grandfather bought him his first drum kit when he was 11 years old. His father's job as a DJ helped Portnoy develop an appreciation for music at an early age, as he had access to his father's collection of LPs. He grew to favor bands such as Rush, Kiss, Queen, Led Zeppelin, the Who, Iron Maiden, and the Beatles, among others.[citation needed]
Portnoy is mainly self-taught as a drummer, though he took music theory classes in high school.[citation needed] During that time, he began playing in local bands. With Rising Power and Inner Sanctum, he recorded and released independent albums.[citation needed]
Portnoy left Inner Sanctum, his last high school band, after receiving a scholarship to attend the Berklee College of Music in Boston. There, he met John Petrucci and John Myung. They formed a band called Majesty, which was later renamed Dream Theater. Soon after, they all left Berklee.
Known for his technical skill as a drummer in Dream Theater, Portnoy has won 32 awards from Modern Drummer magazine. He is the second-youngest person (after Neil Peart) to be inducted into the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame, at 37 years of age. He was one of the main songwriters during his first tenure with Dream Theater and co-produced six of their albums with guitarist John Petrucci, from Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory through Black Clouds and Silver Linings.
During his time in Dream Theater, Portnoy played a key role in archiving and releasing rare Dream Theater music to fans through the YtseJam Records label. Known as "Official Bootleg" releases, these were divided into four categories: Covers Series, Demo Series, Live Series, and Studio Series. Portnoy personally selected every title, compiled the music and videos for the CDs and DVDs, and oversaw the artwork and liner notes for each release. Portnoy has also stated that he possesses the complete 25-year archive of every Dream Theater studio and live recording from 1985 to 2010.
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Mike Portnoy
Michael Stephen Portnoy (born April 20, 1967) is an American musician best known as the drummer, backing vocalist, and co-founder of the progressive metal band Dream Theater.
In September 2010, Portnoy announced his departure from Dream Theater after 25 years, with Mike Mangini succeeding him as the band’s drummer. In October 2023, 13 years after his departure, the band announced his return. Both before and during his time away from Dream Theater, Portnoy remained active with a variety of bands and projects, including Adrenaline Mob, Avenged Sevenfold, Transatlantic, Yellow Matter Custard, Flying Colors, the Winery Dogs, Liquid Tension Experiment, Metal Allegiance, Sons of Apollo, the Neal Morse Band, and BPMD.
Portnoy was born on April 20, 1967, in Long Beach, New York. He is Jewish. His father, Howard Portnoy (1940–2009), worked as a DJ at a local radio station. Mike and his father later moved to Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, to work at KRML radio station after watching the 1971 film Play Misty for Me. His mother, Andrea Leone, died on the night of November 16, 1984, aged 40, when the private Piper PA-28 Cherokee plane she was aboard with her boyfriend and two other persons, on a flight from Farmingdale Airport, crashed off the Atlantic City coastline. The plane's pilot was reportedly incapacitated after suffering a heart attack when preparing to land at Atlantic City Airport.
His grandfather bought him his first drum kit when he was 11 years old. His father's job as a DJ helped Portnoy develop an appreciation for music at an early age, as he had access to his father's collection of LPs. He grew to favor bands such as Rush, Kiss, Queen, Led Zeppelin, the Who, Iron Maiden, and the Beatles, among others.[citation needed]
Portnoy is mainly self-taught as a drummer, though he took music theory classes in high school.[citation needed] During that time, he began playing in local bands. With Rising Power and Inner Sanctum, he recorded and released independent albums.[citation needed]
Portnoy left Inner Sanctum, his last high school band, after receiving a scholarship to attend the Berklee College of Music in Boston. There, he met John Petrucci and John Myung. They formed a band called Majesty, which was later renamed Dream Theater. Soon after, they all left Berklee.
Known for his technical skill as a drummer in Dream Theater, Portnoy has won 32 awards from Modern Drummer magazine. He is the second-youngest person (after Neil Peart) to be inducted into the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame, at 37 years of age. He was one of the main songwriters during his first tenure with Dream Theater and co-produced six of their albums with guitarist John Petrucci, from Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory through Black Clouds and Silver Linings.
During his time in Dream Theater, Portnoy played a key role in archiving and releasing rare Dream Theater music to fans through the YtseJam Records label. Known as "Official Bootleg" releases, these were divided into four categories: Covers Series, Demo Series, Live Series, and Studio Series. Portnoy personally selected every title, compiled the music and videos for the CDs and DVDs, and oversaw the artwork and liner notes for each release. Portnoy has also stated that he possesses the complete 25-year archive of every Dream Theater studio and live recording from 1985 to 2010.
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