Quotes from Mike Portnoy

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

I spent a good solid two years giving my all to Adrenaline Mob.

I don't even like doing drum solos live; to me, it's like, 'Ehhh.' It doesn't really interest me.

It's nice when somebody says that you're their 'favorite' drummer.

I'm a music fan first and foremost. I can find the beauty in Jellyfish and U2 just as much as Opeth and Lamb of God, just as much as I can with Rush and Yes.

There's the drums, the music, the melodies, the lyrics, the production, the artwork: there are so many elements to making an album, and the drumming is just a very small fraction of what I focus on.

I really do care what people think, and I revolved my whole career and all the twenty five years with Dream Theater... I ran that band and made decisions based on caring what the fans thought and wanted.

One of the biggest misconceptions was, after I left Dream Theater, I went off and did, like, five different bands and side projects. Everyone was like, 'We thought you wanted a break.' And it was like, well, I didn't want a break from making music; I just needed a break from the Dream Theater camp.

I could be just as happy playing a Beatles song as I am when I'm thrashing out the double bass stuff with Adrenaline Mob.

In Adrenaline Mob, I'm not the leader, but I'm on the board of directors, and that's OK. I'm not stressing out over every detail. I'm sharing the load.

I've always had lots of side projects in my life, but what's exciting for me is knowing that Adrenaline Mob is bigger than that.

I'm very proud of the album I made with Adrenaline Mob, and I think that there was really a great chemistry there; it was a great band.

There are no prog elements to Adrenaline Mob; it's very song-oriented, with shredding and grooves.

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.

Any time I say anything about Dream Theater... Honestly, I'd rather not talk about it. Because no matter what I say, it will be twisted and... So I kind of have made myself promise that I won't talk about Dream Theater anymore.

After I left Dream Theater, and I was doing Avenged Sevenfold, Twisted Sister... all these other things, I made a lot of new fans in a lot of new areas.

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

Every band goes through breakups or splits.

Billy Sheehan has always been my number one favorite bass player of all time.

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.

I am looking forward to working with the great staff of Loud & Proud Records, some of whom I worked very closely with during their time at Roadrunner and my time with Dream Theater. I look forward to continuing that relationship with The Winery Dogs!

I have no desire to write lyrics with Adrenaline Mob.

I have no interest in playing 'perfect.' To me, it's more about being an entertainer. Having a connection with the audience.

I think it's important for a young musician to stick with a band for a while and really work with a band and stay focused.