YTSEJAM Digest 810
Today's Topics:
1) I am subconscious-ified
by "R. Hailey" <pass@alfred.u.washington.edu>
2) The Mirror GUITAR rhythm
by stern.35@postbox.acs.ohio-state.edu (Jeff Stern)
3) The Uneducated
by Lazarus - aka Simon Smith <sjs@st-andrews.ac.uk>
4) light years
by "Brian V. Cox" <bvc8995@tam2000.tamu.edu>
5) Re: Recording Tidbits
by "Dan Tshin" <donews!danman>
6) Singers
by "Richard A. Rivera" <rrivera@moose.uvm.edu>
7) Subscribe YTSEJAM
by Tom Swoboda <75024.2237@compuserve.com>
8) DT Tape
by Kevin R Laferriere <laferrie@bashful.usmcs.maine.edu>
9) Tesla Update?
by Hairball <hairball@astro.ocis.temple.edu>
10) YTSEJAM digest 805
by market@clubmet.metrobbs.com
11) Corrections! Correction!
by Aviad Hay <aviad@kids-mail.huji.ac.il>
12) Re: voice as instrument
by "Mark A. Parker" <parkerma@nextwork.rose-hulman.edu>
13) Re:What is Progressive Music
by "Mark A. Parker" <parkerma@nextwork.rose-hulman.edu>
14) Deciphering / Reviews
by Steve Borzilleri <silenzio@elwha.evergreen.edu>
15) Re: The Mirror --> Learning to Live
by Jim Beavens <beavenj@ECE.ORST.EDU>
16) Mike Portnoy Interview (LONG!!!)
by AirDance@aol.com
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Thu, 4 May 1995 19:37:29 -0700 (PDT)
From: "R. Hailey" <pass@alfred.u.washington.edu>
To: digest <ytsejam@anthor.arastar.com>
Subject: I am subconscious-ified
Message-ID: <Pine.A32.3.91i.950504182100.50615A-100000@homer21.u.washington.edu>
a public thanks for Mike
and now the obligatory comments
first of all charlie dominici
I have to say that I am actually beginning to
really like his voice
I am very impressed by his job on
carry that weight
and couldn't believe it was he who was singing
for the first few listens at least
actually the entire song is really super
..if the beatles had written this in the eighties
do you think this is how they woulda done it? =)
to whomever it was that complained about
james sounding like a girl on this to live forever version
I have to say yes
his voice does seem to have a certain feminine timbre in that song
but I would say "woman" =)
his voice in that and in winter
to my ears
do not sound very different however
so my guess would be that tlf is at normal speed
also kevin sounds normal as someone mentioned
speaking of voices
and vibratos as some were several days ago
that sped-up voice on wanted dead or alive
sure has a nice vibrato no? hehe
and john's squealies are sweetness incarnate
in fact this cd is a really good look
at some spots
into the personal band members
listening to the gorilla sessions just sort brings to light
o what a marvelous machine petrucci is!
he goes all over the board whilst noodling
and I don't think I heard a single note that was really off
and on o holy night mike's just doing his stuff
sweet
I don't know why but
don't look past me
reminds me a bit of
"earth" by smile
(queen fans might know to what I am referring)
quite pleasant
yes made me smile
I think that's enough for now
chris
it's hard to continue onward l r.christopher hailey
when forever comes down + pass@u.washington.edu
it comes down so heavy l egostatic@aol.com
too final to forget + __ _.. _. _ .. .
you've got to believe
there's something more echolyn "never the same"
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 5 May 1995 00:07:01 -0500
From: stern.35@postbox.acs.ohio-state.edu (Jeff Stern)
To: ytsejam@anthor.arastar.com
Subject: The Mirror GUITAR rhythm
Message-ID: <199505050403.AAA28823@postbox.acs.ohio-state.edu>
Hello everyone,
Myself and Steve (the light years guy) have been in an argumemnt about this
ever since Awake came out. I'm asking for as many opinions as I can on
this. Most of you seem to agree that Portnoy changes the tempo as Petrucci
plays on. Now....does that mean that if you could turn off all of the
other instruments and could only hear the guitar, that the triplets would
not change pace or tempo at all? What does everyone think? Maybe my mind
is playing tricks on me....
--Jeff (that guy)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"open to all parties, but influenced by none"
-Isaiah Thomas (no, not the basketball guy)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 5 May 1995 03:02:15 +0100 (BST)
From: Lazarus - aka Simon Smith <sjs@st-andrews.ac.uk>
To: ytsejam@anthor.arastar.com
Subject: The Uneducated
Message-ID: <Pine.SUN.3.91.950505025428.14332A-100000@pasta>
Hi people,
Just a quick note about an acquaintance (he doesn't deserve the word
friend, yet) who came out with a classic quote the other day. I was
sitting around the table with a few friends and a few beers in my I&W
t-shirt when this guy wanders up and says, "Are Dream Theater some sort
of american band or something 'cos they can't spell theatre, can they?"
Admittedly it was the student's union and he guy is a bit of a pratt, but
hey... Only some of us British know the REAL spelling of Theater.
Just thought I'd remind you all that we still have some work to do before
the entire world is educated in the ways of DT. Back to work, everybody...
He SHALL be taught, oh yes, he SHALL be taught....
=:}
Lazarus
______________________________________
\ \_______ Lazarus - <sjs@st-and.ac.uk>
\ How come you don't understand me? _____________
\__________ And how come I don't understand you? \__
\_________ Thirty years says we're in this together \_____
\_____________________ So open your eyes.... \
Keys, backing vox \______________ DT - Scarred \
& crap jokes for Ex Machina. \_________________\
Ex Machina WWW Page at: http://iamac.st-and.ac.uk/ExMachina/
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 4 May 1995 22:36:01 -0500 (CDT)
From: "Brian V. Cox" <bvc8995@tam2000.tamu.edu>
To: ytsejam@anthor.arastar.com
Subject: light years
Message-ID: <199505050336.WAA26219@tam2000.tamu.edu>
> From: cohen.132@postbox.acs.ohio-state.edu (Steve Cohen)
> Subject: Miles Vs.Light Years
>
> >> 93 MillionLIGHT YEARS and the technology only permits 45 seconds of music?
> >> Pretty absurd but this is an interesting thread. I have to answer.How about
> >> the combined solos on Take the time? Or possibly the incredible chromatic
> >> melody on CiaW? Remember, it's 1:30 at night, and my brain is shutting down
> >
> >(93m miles is the approximate distance from the earth to
> >the sun, btw)
> Hey, there is a HUGE difference between a mile and a light year. Let's see,
> light travels at186,000 miles per SECOND, so that would make a light year
> about 5,865,700,000,000 MILES long. Five trillion miles is a little longer
> than 93 Million. Just to clarify:).
actually, if it is 93 million light years, it would be an even greater
difference than 93 million miles. 93 x 10^6 l.y. = 9.1 x 10^18 miles
or almost 10 billion billion miles :)
(in shame for contributing to useless posts...) :)
dt content: where the hell is my subconcious #008, mike???
**always looking for rush/dream theater/queensryche/king's x bootlegs**
=============================================================================
Voices repeating me, Brian V. Cox Voices discussing me,
"Feeling threatened? lerxst@tamu.edu "Others steal your thoughts
We reflect your hopes Dream Theater- They're not confined
and fears." A Mind Beside Itself: II. Voices Within your mind."
=============================================================================
check out my new homepage: http://tam2000.tamu.edu/~bvc8995
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 4 May 1995 11:57:30 -0500
From: "Dan Tshin" <donews!danman>
To: ytsejam@anthor.arastar.com
Subject: Re: Recording Tidbits
Message-ID: <m0s7EV6-000g6NC@george.orbonline.net>
> Dan,
> Here's a primer lesson in how not to put your foot in your mouth.
Hey!!! I didn't, I swear!! =) No offence taken. BUT...
>
> First of all, let's define what DOUBLE/TRIPLE Tracking is, and
> discuss why it is done.
>
> As you may or may not know, every note has a frequency, and has
> harmonic overtones, etc. These can be seen with a frequency
analyzer, or
> an osciloscope, usually in the cases of pure tone. However, it's
not
> frequently done, so just keep that in the back of your mind.
>
> Now, in the case of double tracking, there are many who feel that
> the effect of having the same part played twice, then mixed
together,
> create a fatter, fuller sound. Why?
>
> Well, simple, my friend. It's a simple concept known as
> CONSTRUCTIVE INTERFERENCE. Of course, there is also DESTRUCTIVE
> Interference, and, as this comes into play with this, we will also
> discuss this.
Ok, don't worry about it. I UNDERSTAND this. I was the top student in
my high school physics class (which is one of the hardest in the
Toronto region, according to most people, including teachers.)
Anyways.
>
> Anyway, what BASICALLY happens is, when you want to DOUBLE or
> TRIPLE or QUADRUPLE track something, YOU HAVE TO PLAY/SING IT TWO,
THREE
> OR FOUR TIMES. The RESULTING SOUND is very much like a chorusing
effect.
>
> FACT: Randy DID DOUBLE AND OCCASIONALLY TRIPLE TRACK HIS LEADS.
>
> FACT: IT IS HUMANLY IMPOSSIBLE TO PLAY SOMETHING EXACTLY THE SAME
> EVERY SINGLE TIME. IF IT WERE, THEN THERE WOULD BE NO SUCH THINGS
AS
> CONSTRUCTIVE AND DESTRUCTIVE INTERFERENCE.
I don't dispute this.
> And, essentially, you've contridicted yourself in your statement.
> To Double/Triple-Track, it must be the same PART played correctly,
over
> and over again. HOWEVER, there are inherent sonic differences (hey,
if
Yes. What I meant to say was that he PLAYED his parts over again. He
played it PHYSICALLY instead of using a machine or a box to phase
shift it or what not. I remember he was a stickler to play each part
note-for-note to create that chorused effect.
> Open mouth, insert foot. =)
Nah, I don't think I did that. ;-) I hope I explained myself clearer,
anyhow.
> Anyway, just thought I'd again apologize for seemingly ripping one guy
> named Dan a new anal orafice. =)
<G> No offence taken!
Enuf of non-DT content.
I'm waiting, waiting for my Subcon to arrive. Has anyone with
numbers in the 80's or 90's gotten their copy yet?? I'm going to
visit this guy with a neat Dolby Surround setup tomorrow, so I hope
that I will have it... so... I can get... blown away... :)
Sorry, no .sig today... I just moved over to the new Pegasus Mail...
Dan
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 4 May 1995 23:57:16 -0400 (EDT)
From: "Richard A. Rivera" <rrivera@moose.uvm.edu>
To: Dream Theater <ytsejam@anthor.arastar.com>
Subject: Singers
Message-ID: <Pine.A32.3.91.950504234455.87154B-100000@moose.uvm.edu>
It seems to me that a lot of people on this list are singers,
some of which seem to have had some sort of formal training. I
consider the singer to be THE most important part of the band, which
is rather odd considering that I'm a drummer. I judge a band by their
singer: if the singer is good, then the band is good, regardless if the
rest are good musicans or not; if the singer is bad, then I listen to see
how the drummer, guitarist, and bassist (in that order) are. But I still
won't be able to like the band. That's just my opinion. I know I'm
weird. When I say a "good" singer, that doesn't necessarily mean one with an
incredible vocal range, like Labrie. It could be someone with a very
limited vocal range like Brett Michaels of Poison (don't say it!!). All
that matters is that you believe what they are singing.
This is message is directed at you Los Angeles-living singers: if
you have some time on your hands over the summer, I would love to jam
with you. If you are interested, e-mail me. Sorry for the length.
Richie
rrivera@moose.uvm.edu
------------------------------
Date: 05 May 95 00:14:57 EDT
From: Tom Swoboda <75024.2237@compuserve.com>
To: <YTSEJAM@anthor.arastar.com>
Subject: Subscribe YTSEJAM
Message-ID: <950505041457_75024.2237_GHJ156-1@CompuServe.COM>
Dear Reader,
Please put me on your mailing list for bootlegs, etc.
Thanks!
--T.J. Swoboda 75024.2237@compuserve.com
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 5 May 1995 00:35:41 -0400
From: Kevin R Laferriere <laferrie@bashful.usmcs.maine.edu>
To: ytsejam@anthor.arastar.com
Subject: DT Tape
Message-ID: <9505050435.AA03214@bashful.usmcs.maine.edu>
I put some songs on tape tonight, and here's how it is:
Side 1
- The Ytse Jam
- Caught In A Web
- A Fortune In Lies (Live)
- Scarred
- Pull Me Under
- Light Fuse And Get Away
- Wait For Sleep
Side 2
- Erotomonia
- Voices
- The Silent Man
- The Ones Who Help To Set The Sun
- The Killing Hand (Live)
- Innocence Faded
- End of IF (the instrumental rules!)
Kevin Laferriere
laferrie@usmcs.maine.edu
http://www.usmcs.maine.edu/~laferrie
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 5 May 1995 00:39:23 -0400 (EDT)
From: Hairball <hairball@astro.ocis.temple.edu>
To: Dream Theater <ytsejam@anthor.arastar.com>
Subject: Tesla Update?
Message-ID: <Pine.BSD.3.91.950505003259.11157B-100000@astro.ocis.temple.edu>
I talked to that guy I know who was supposed to get an audition for tesla
on guitar, and he told me the following:
He called a friend who works at Sony Records "who knows everybody," and
was told that the guy he was supposed to audition to take the place of
had already been replaced.
We're still waiting for verification, but, that seems to be the verdict.
And, incidentally: for those of you in the Philly area (or NJ for that
matter), my band, Spruce Street Revival will be appearing 5/15 @ a place
called "Upstairs At Nick's." It's on South 2nd Street. I believe the
showtime is 10pm.
Email me for more info at the address that appears somewhere in this
post. =)
Also: our demo has been delayed, due to one of our guitarist's illness
(back in april), and finals. Gag.
I'm supposed to be studying the ins & outs of video editing. Double Gag.
Did you know that a Quadraplex Format Transverse Scanning Recorder's
heads revolve @ 14,400 RPM, and the tape speed is 15ips? Consequently,
the writing speed is 1,561 ips. Joy. Rapture. Like I need to know this.
This royally sucks. Oh well. Best of luck to all of you who are in the
same boat! =)
-Hairball, the undaunted hero of small rodents and cats everywhere
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 05 May 95 00:00:26 EST
From: market@clubmet.metrobbs.com
To: ytsejam@anthor.arastar.com
Subject: YTSEJAM digest 805
Message-ID: <9505050000.D6073YZ@clubmet.metrobbs.com>
Well all...
I really dont have much imput on Dream Theater today. Well...I
do love em! (there...I don't feel so bad. (grin).
Anyway...I just saw Queensryche in Kansas City Tuesday (may 2).
WHAT A SHOW! I had a good time! Some pretty cool media stuff!
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 5 May 95 8:34 +0300
From: Aviad Hay <aviad@kids-mail.huji.ac.il>
To: ytsejam@anthor.arastar.com
Subject: Corrections! Correction!
Message-ID: <9505050540.AA26225@anthor.arastar.com>
>Aviad Hay writes of a 'wild part' in PMU that involved myung tapping...does
>myung tap on PMU, and if so where? Or did he mean metropolis and I
>misunderstood him?
>thanks,
>bharath dwarakanath
All apologies! I wrote PMU instead of Metropolis. John (the king) does
his mind blowing tapping session at Metropolis and *NOT* PMU.
Sorry y'all!
Sorry John!
Aviad -
BTW: Has anyone taken notice to the cool riff John is playing on the
Intro of 6:00? As a tablature it will go like this:
[ I'm doing a six string scheme just to be a smartass, although you
DON'T need a six string to pull this one [although it could be that
John is using his low B because it is a E pentatonic after all -
depends on his mood I guess] ]
C |---------------------------------------------------------------------|
G |---------------------------------------------------------------------|
D |---------------------------------------------------------------------|
A |------7-5-7-5-7-----7-5-7-5-7-5-7-----7-5-7-5-------5-----5-----5----|
E |--0-------------0-----------------0-----------7-5-7---5-7---5-7------|
B |---------------------------------------------------------------------|
[ Imagine this to be a nice,shinny,smooth red Tobias Basic 6 that has
been touched and blessed by the king... ]
I personally think it's a really nice riff - John P join The King
on this riff at the verso - but we all know the king does it best
with Portnoy as a bass&drums session. (Don't get me wrong - Petrucci
= the best guitarist on the statosphere).
Just thought it was worth mentioning.
Praise The King!
"The Peavey B-quad does it for me!" - a hypocritic T.V. seller
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 5 May 1995 01:13:42 -0500
From: "Mark A. Parker" <parkerma@nextwork.rose-hulman.edu>
To: ytsejam@anthor.arastar.com
Subject: Re: voice as instrument
Message-ID: <199505050613.BAA00366@o233-13.nextwork.rose-hulman.edu>
I gotta agree with you, Mr. Vai. You can replace guitar
strings and drum sticks, but if you break a vocal chord, God
save you...
Dom'ny
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 5 May 1995 01:19:18 -0500
From: "Mark A. Parker" <parkerma@nextwork.rose-hulman.edu>
To: ytsejam@anthor.arastar.com
Subject: Re:What is Progressive Music
Message-ID: <199505050619.BAA00371@o233-13.nextwork.rose-hulman.edu>
>Rap Music is an oxymoron. (with apologies to Rush & Extreme)
hey, at least these boys have decent singing voices and
some musical talent... they also put more thought into their
songs than "I want to **** you all night long" or
"Let's get that cop over there."
heavily stereotyped, but so fitting...
Dom'ny
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 4 May 1995 23:39:59 -0700 (PDT)
From: Steve Borzilleri <silenzio@elwha.evergreen.edu>
To: Dream Thespians <ytsejam@anthor.arastar.com>
Subject: Deciphering / Reviews
Message-ID: <Pine.3.89.9505042327.A17325-0100000@elwha.evergreen.edu>
To he who posted about "Space-Dye Vest": okay, okay, Bafu Vai to the
rescue! I will sit down with this song and write out all spoken parts and
forward them to the Dream Theater Showtime Listings, known to many as the
Ytsejam Mailing List. (and did someone want the lyrics to "To Live
Forever?")
To he who posted about an in-depth review of Subcon: what do you think
will happen when I receive mine? :)
And now a question to all: which member of DT do you think would be the
best choice to work the Dream Theater Box Office? Heh heh heh...
Bafu Vai
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 5 May 1995 01:51:15 -0700 (PDT)
From: Jim Beavens <beavenj@ECE.ORST.EDU>
To: ytsejam@anthor.arastar.com
Subject: Re: The Mirror --> Learning to Live
Message-ID: <Pine.HPP.3.91.950505014707.4862A-100000@holmes.ece.orst.edu>
While some people are on the subject of The Mirror's cool opening rhythm,
I thought I'd mention how impressed I've always been with the intro to
Learning to Live. I can always find 4 or 5 different rhythms to tap my
foot to when I'm listening to this song. Dream Theater is so cool...
Jim
Jim Beavens |"Early to rise and early to bed,
Oregon State University | makes a man wise but socially dead."
Electrical & Computer Engineering |
beavenj@ECE.ORST.EDU | -- Animaniacs
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 5 May 1995 05:08:48 -0400
From: AirDance@aol.com
To: ytsejam@anthor.arastar.com
Subject: Mike Portnoy Interview (LONG!!!)
Message-ID: <950505050847_107667611@aol.com>
Mike Portnoy Interview
DRUM! magazine
April/May '95
Paragraph under the table of contents section, describing the interview:
"By combining brainy progressive rock with hard-driving metal, Dream Theater
has made its name by defying stereotypes. Double-bass pumping Portnoy, who
is often compared to Rush legend Neil Peart, steers the band with dizzying
chops and complex syncopations. For this in-depth interview, we sat down
with Portnoy behind his kit, and had him explain how and why he plays the way
he does. Complete with transcriptions and equipment diagrams."
Article title: Indescribable Mike Portnoy of Dream Theater Goes His Own Way
Author: Greg Rule
From the grating grind of Nine Inch Nails to the infectious pop-punk
grooves of Green Day, today's multi-platinum megastars are a far cry from
yesterday's paid-by-the-note shredders. If it's bloody, muddy, aggressive,
or angry, chances are, it has an audience.
And then there's Dream Theater.
When all current musical trends point toward the above, this
Berklee-trained quartet is running full speed in the opposite direction.
With _Awake_, their latest on East West Records, they've given the slumbering
progressive rock giant a swift and serious kick in the pants. As Bass Player
magazine so aptly summarized: "Whew -- these guys are licensed to chop!"
And we couldn't agree more.
But Dream Theater's music is more than a mere note-fest. Much more.
Just when they've established a theme in, say, seven, along comes a 16-bar
bridge of lethal, Pantera-esque metal that leads into a spacious, half-time
synth breakdown. A series of surgically-played drum and guitar flurries ring
out like machine gun blasts and, just when you least expect it, the whole
band yanks an eighth-note off the end of a bar and launches into a section of
nine. "Where's the frigging 1?!?"
The man responsible for holding it all together is drummer Mike Portnoy.
At times reminiscent of Neil Peart, Terry Bozzio, and even the mighty Vinnie
Paul, he's a twin kick master who's capable of displacing time and uncorking
brain-busting polyrhythms with the greatest of ease.
One look is all it takes to realize that this drummer is his own unique
beast, though. He sits high. Very high. His drums and cymbals are
clustered unusually close to his body. And his calculated, almost
stiff-looking motions are not what you'd expect to see from such a
fluid-sounding technician. Intrigued? So were we.
When Dream Theater rolled through San Francisco on their most recent worl
d tour, DRUM! was there with notebook, tape recorder, and camcorder in tow,
and, much to our enjoyment and enlightenment, our meeting turned out to be
anything but ordinary. Backstage, sprawled across his dressing room sofa,
Portnoy told us stories of his musical past, took us behind the Dream Theater
scenes, and talked about his signing with Mapex drums. But it wasn't until
he led us up to the stage that the sparks really started to fly. With our
camcorder rolling, we watched bug-eyed as the drummer picked up his sticks
and proceeded to unload.
Here's what we discovered.
DRUM!: There's seldom a dull moment listening to Dream Theater. Rush. Yes.
Kansas. Malmsteen. At times the band even sounds like Pantera with
keyboards. Are they an influence?
Portnoy: Oh yeah. That's mainly my department, the heavy stuff. We all
listen to a lot of different things. As a band, we have a lot of common
influences. Those are probably the ones that come out the most in the music.
Stuff like the progressive rock bands of the '70s: Rush, Yes, Kansas,
Zappa, the Dregs. And we combine that with a lot of today's heavier music --
Metallica, for example -- and a lot of the heavies from the past: Maiden,
Sabbath, Judas Priest. Those are the band's common influences, but
individually, we go off on our own tangents. I'm really into the heavy side,
like Pantera, Sepultura, and Machine Head. But I also listen to a lot of
other music, like rap: Public Enemy, Beastie Boys. That music has just as
much influence on my drumming as anything else. I mean, Public Enemy is just
programmed drums, but all the different grooves and all the rhythms that they
layer on top of each other is just as inspirational to me as listening to
Terry Bozzio. The thing is, we're all very open-minded listeners, and when
it comes to writing music, we try to be just as open-minded. One day we'll
be in the mood to write something heavy, and another day we'll feel like
going off into a Peter Gabriel vibe.
DRUM!: What type of regiment did you put yourself through in the early days
to reach this level of musicianship?
Portnoy: I had a little bit of training, but I think I'm generally a
self-taught drummer. My dad was a rock and roll disc jockey, so immediately
I was turned onto the Beatles, the Who, the Doors and Hendrix. I was surround
ed by rock and roll. Growing up, I had this enormous record collection. So
once I started playing drums, I jammed along with the records. I was a huge
Kiss freak at the time. Keith Moon and John Bonham were my first two drum
gods. I took a few initial lessons just to learn how to hold the sticks and
stuff like that, but that was the extent of it. Basically, I learned by
listening to records. But I think the period when I developed the most was
when I started getting into music that was more intricate -- when I
discovered Rush. Neil Peart turned my world upside down. I became a Rush
fanatic. I learned all of their songs backward and forward. That was my
first introduction to odd time signatures and the like. Then I discovered
Frank Zappa, probably my biggest influence of all time. Terry Bozzio, Vinnie
Colaiuta, all those guys introduced me to the world of diversity and polyrhyth
ms. Basically, I think I've always listened to a lot of different kinds of
music and always tried to learn. I tried to get inside the heads of all
those drummers. Another thing is, when I first started to play, my longing
to learn went beyond just the drums. When I was in high school, I was taking
a lot of music theory classes, and I became obsessed with learning all that
stuff. Harmony, theory -- I wanted to become a
complete musician, not just a drummer. That training is something that's
really helped with the songwriting in this band because I'm always involved
in it now.
DRUM!: You eventually wound up at the Berklee School of Music, right?
Portnoy: Right. I went to Berklee after I graduated high school and just
surrounded myself with music theory. I took arranging classes, sight
singing, ear training, and all that kind of stuff. That's where I met John
and John (bassist John Myung and guitarist John Petrucci), and that's when we
put the band together.
DRUM!: In addition to drums, were you studying piano or other instruments at
Berklee?
Portnoy: No, I pretty much taught myself how to play those; I taught myself
how to pick up a bass or a guitar or piano, learn the notes, and that's when
all my music theory training came in. Music is mathematics, really. You've
got to learn some of the golden rules, and from there you can take it
wherever you want. When I was taking all the theory classes, I would go out
and pick up transcription books of Yes and all these bands who used odd time
signatures and I would look at the notes, figure out the counting, the time
signatures and the math.
DRUM!: It's one thing to understand it, but another thing to manifest it
physically.
Portnoy: Yeah, analyzing it is half the battle. For me, getting myself to
learn it physically was just a matter of putting on the record and playing
along with it.
DRUM!: In other words, you're one of the naturally-gifted types who most
musicians despise?
Portnoy: [Laughs.] The rest of the guys in the band hate me 'cause they're
constantly practicing, but I'm not as disciplined. In fact, I'm downright
lackadaisical about it, at least these days anyway. Years ago, when I was
really taking it all in, I used to practice a lot. But these days, I have
more things in my life. I'm onstage two hours a night playing drums, and
when we're off tour, the last thing I want to see is my drum set. I want to
spend time with my wife, or do other things. But those guys are always on
their instrument.
DRUM!: Let's analyze a few songs from _Awake_, starting with "6:00." The
chorus is in six, and about halfway through, you displace the time.
Portnoy: The keyboard part is doing the same thing throughout, he's holding
down the downbeats, but I'm turning it around. If I remember correctly, I'm
moving the downbeat for myself, the guitar, and the bass one 16th-note later
than where it was.
DRUM!: Do you usually incorporate those types of tricks on purpose, or do
they occur unintentionally sometimes?
Portnoy: In this case it was my doing. They were playing the riff, and I
heard it differently than they were hearing it. So we said, "Okay, let's do
it like this the first time around, and like that the second time." A lot of
times when we're writing stuff, that's how it is. Someone will have a lick in
nine, and one guy will be phrasing it in five and four, and I might be
phrasing it in three, three, and three. So a lot of times we'll try it every
possible way. Or, if we're playing something in four, rather than phrasing
it as "one-two-three-four, one-two-three-four," I might phrase it as
"one-two-three, one-two-three, one-two.
DRUM!: What drums are featured on the opening fill of "6:00"?
Portnoy: Those are pseudo-Octabans that Mapex built for me.
DRUM!: The intro groove is in four followed by a Bozzio-esque double bass
pattern. What's your approach to fast double bass footwork?
Portnoy: Single strokes, and I play heel up because I sit so high. I don't
even think my heels would reach the floor. I like my toms to be flat, so I
have to sit high in order to reach them without twisting my arms off. That's
one of the reasons I had Mapex make me small toms so I could sit them flat
and low to the bass drums. Anyway, that particular section was a bitch to
record. It's weird, because when you're writing this stuff or playing it
live, there are always those types of monster sections, and it's like, "Okay,
here it comes, here it comes." And you work it out, and that's it. You
don't have to deal with it until the next night. But when you're in the
studio and you're doing three or four takes of each song, after a while it
gets kind of crazy. I remember that one particular part with those double
bass things -- it was a bitch to nail 'cause it had to be right on the money.
After playing it over and over and over in the studio, it starts to wear you
down.
DRUM!: Speaking of fast double bass patterns, Vinnie Paul told us he
duct-tapes quarters to his bass drum heads so each note will come across
cleanly on tape. Do you incorporate any type of special tuning, or similar
techniques, to make sure those fast notes won't end up sounding like a blur?
Portnoy: No, I'm not a sound-monger like Vinnie is. That's his thing. I
don't really know that much about the recording process. I'm not an engineer
type guy. So basically, I go over the sounds with the engineer and producer
and make sure everyone is happy. That's something we didn't have with
_Images and Words_. I hated the drum sounds on that album because the
producer shoved the triggering thing down my throat, which is something I
was not a fan of. He was a very head-strong producer who did things his way,
and
that was it. But this time around I wanted to make sure that everything was
there, that everything was audible, and that everything was real -- all
acoustic.
DRUM!: The song "Caught In A Web" has some nice time changes.
Portnoy: It starts off in three or six, depending on how you count it, and
the verse grooves are in four. The thing that pops up occasionally before
the chorus has a measure of seven in there. But that whole song was cool
because I don't think I've ever done a song where the whole thing was double
bass throughout the whole song. The only time the double bass stops is for
the choruses and part of the third verse. It was kind of the opposite,
because a lot of people will kick into double bass for the choruses for
effect, but I did the opposite.
DRUM!: On songs that have long, repetitive figures like that, do you ever
catch yourself playing psychological mind games: "It's only the second
verse. Keep it steady. Will I make it?"
Portnoy: When we record, yes. In those situations, everything is under a
microscope, so yeah, you become real self-conscious about it. Live, though,
I try not to think about it. A big part of us playing live is the natural
adrenaline onstage. If the tempo fluctuates, or whatever, that's okay. I
don't usually get stressed-out over my parts.
DRUM!: "Erotomania" starts with an organ riff in five.
Portnoy: It's in five, but it ends in 9/8. I bet some people think it's a
mistake, that we're rushing the beat on the last measure. But it's actually
in 9/8.
DRUM!: How did you phrase that section of nine?
Portnoy: That's a good example of what I was saying earlier, because most of
the time, I'm phrasing it as four and five, but toward the end of the song, I'
m phrasing it as three sets of three. It's all arithmetic. There are so
many times when we're dealing with odd time signatures or polyrhythms and we
actually sit there with a pen and paper and figure out where the beats are
landing. It's all a matter of counting and arithmetic, adding things up and
making them equal out.
DRUM!: In "The Mirror" you apply a couple of different drum grooves to a
steady figure played by the guitar, giving the illusion that the whole riff
has changed when, in fact, it hasn't.
Portnoy: That intro was something I came up with, just changing the beats
around under that one rhythm. Without those guys ever changing, I change
from a triplet pattern to a 16th-note thing and then I yank one of the
eighth-notes off of it and turn it around. That's just me having fun with
numbers.
DRUM!: What drums did you record with?
Portnoy: The Mapex kit.
DRUM!: You used to play Tama. Why the switch?
Portnoy: The Tama kit I played on the last album was my first real kit. I
worked three jobs one summer when I was 16 years old, saved up, and bought
that kit. So basically, at the end of the last tour, it was like, "Okay,
it's definitely time for something new." Not because I didn't like the drums
-- they held up great -- but because I wanted to expand my setup. Different
sizes, and stuff like that. Mapex was pursuing me strongly at the time, so I
went down to their factory in Nashville when we played there and they showed
me their drums. My options were open at that point because Tama wasn't
really doing anything for me. So I discussed with Mapex some things I
wanted, and they custom-built a kit for me. Once they delivered it and I
played it, it was like, "Wow, this sounds great. Let's do it."
DRUM!: Do you play the same setup live?
Portnoy: Same one.
DRUM!: On tour, do you find yourself generally sticking to the same grooves
and fills each night, or do you mix it up?
Portnoy: I like to change some of my parts live. Obviously I can't stray too
far away from the structure of the song, everything is so nailed down, but
within that structure I like to change the fills and the licks and sometimes
the phrasings every once in a while. A lot of that stuff happens spontaneousl
y, and if I wasn't recording the shows, a lot of it would be lost forever. I
might pull out some crazy thing that may or may not work, but at least I'll
have it on tape and if I like it, I might end up using it for the rest of the
tour.
DRUM!: So you don't feel too inhibited live, improvisationally?
Portnoy: It's tough, because this music is so thought-out and interlocked
and orchestrated, it's hard to stray too far from that, but we always have at
least one part of the live show that's a total improvisation. We've always
tried to put that in the set somewhere.
DRUM!: When you do improvise, do you attempt to detach yourself from your
tried-and-true vocabulary of chops, or do you strive to completely break free
of that at times?
Portnoy: Every drummer has his or her vocabulary. You learn stuff
throughout the years and that becomes part of your arsenal. So you usually
find yourself picking and choosing from what you know. But hopefully you
have enough to where you can throw it into different contexts. Being able to
break free. . .so many of our songs are written like that, where we'll get
together at rehearsal, somebody will come up with a progression, and we'll go
off on it for an hour, taking it into a dozen different places.
DRUM!: So Dream Theater writes as a band.
Portnoy: Generally speaking, everything in this band is collaborative. The
method was a little different in the past, because on the the first two
albums we had all the time in the world to write. This time around it was a
little different. We had a clock hanging over our heads. It was like, "Go.
Get in there and do it." We spent eight hours a night writing. We really
had to put our heads together and bang it out. In some cases, we actually
wrote a whole song in one eight-hour rehearsal, whereas in the past we'd go
for months on end writing one song. We'd spend months dissecting everyone's
parts, making sure every note was perfectly locked-in and orchestrated
correctly. There were points where we'd spend six hours of rehearsal on four
measures of music. One thing that helped us this time were tapes from old
soundchecks. I have my DAT machine out on tour with us and it's set up at
the board at all times. The main groove in "Lie," for example, was something
from a soundcheck in Germany that we listened to and said, "Yeah, let's use
this." The intro to "Voices" was from a soundcheck in Baltimore. And
"Erotomania," because it was an instrumental, incorporated bits and pieces
from a bunch of different soundchecks. "Throw 'em all in there!"
DRUM!: How comfortable are odd time signatures to you now?
Portnoy: Depends on the situation. If we're writing something in an odd
time signature, I usually have to count it at first. Some of the stuff gets
pretty intricate, so we keep a chalkboard at rehearsals and we write it out.
But after playing the song a hundred times in rehearsal and then recording
it, it usually becomes second nature. It's like, live -- now that I'm saying
this I'll probably screw up the whole show tonight [laughs] -- but by the
time we get on tour, I'm so comfortable with the songs, I can pretty much put
myself on automatic-pilot.
DRUM!: Do you focus mentally on any one instrument more than the others when
you're playing?
Portnoy: I'm one of these drummers who plays mostly off of the guitar,
whereas most traditional drummers play with the bass. A lot of our music is
very intricate rhythmically, and the guitar is usually locked right in there
with me. I'll usually only listen to the guitar in my monitor. I won't even
put bass or vocals in there. Usually, I'm keying in on that, and [bassist]
John Myung will key into me or the guitar.
DRUM!: Your physical technique is somewhat unusual -- not the most relaxed
or fluid-looking.
Portnoy: If you listen to the record, it might sound like I'm relaxed, but
I'm usually pretty stiff and aggressive. Especially live. It's all
aggression.
DRUM!: Do you ever catch yourself tensing up too much?
Portnoy: Sometimes, but I try to glide from section to section. There are
parts that call for full-out thrash drumming. But there are other parts
where you have to back off in order to nail the syncopations.
DRUM!: If you weren't playing in Dream Theater, what style of music do you
think you'd pursue?
Portnoy: My tastes are so different that I could be happy playing with the
Red Hot Chili Peppers, I could be happy playing with Pantera, or I could be
happy playing with a band like Jellyfish. But the great thing about this
band is the fact that I can incorporate all of those influences. As much as
I love the heavy stuff, if I was in Pantera, I would only be doing that, and
I would probably feel restricted because most of those bands don't go off
into all these different territories like Dream Theater does. For diversity,
this gig is hard to beat.
Portnoy's Setup
Drums: Mapex
1.24" bass drum
2.14" x 5-1/2" snare drum
3.6" Octabons
4.8" x 8" mounted tom
5.10" x 8" mounted tom
6.12" x 8" mounted tom
7.14" x 10" mounted tom
8.16" x 16" floor tom
9.18" x 16" floor tom
Percussion: LP
10.Bongos
11.Junior congas
12.Tambourine
13.Percussion table: Single-row chimes, bell tree, five wood blocks,
tri-bell set, agogo bell set, triangle, Vibra-Slap 2
14.10" timbalitos
15.Ridge Rider cowbell
Cymbals: Sabian
16.10" B8 Pro splash
17.18" AA Chinese
18.14" AAX hi-hats
19.12" AAX splash
20.16" AA medium crash
21.18" AA medium crash
22.8" AAX splash
23.6" CD disc
24.10" AAX splash
25.18" AA medium crash
26.17" HH medium thin crash
27.13" AA Rock hi-hats
28.12" AA Mini Hats
29.22" HH Rock ride
30.12" AA Mini Chinese
31.20" HH thin Chinese
Mike Portnoy also uses DW 5000 Accelerator pedals, Hot sticks, Remo drumheads
and DW hi-hat pedals.
---That's it! There was a brief transcription of some of Mike's best licks included as well, but I have no idea how to translate that stuff on the computer, sorry! Hope you enjoyed it! :)
Take care all,
Jennifer <airdance@aol.com>
Q: "If you could play for anyone in the history of the universe, made-up or real, what would you play, for whom, and what shoes would you wear?"
A: "Lucifer. Penny Lane. Flipflops."
-Tori Amos, Q&A at UCLA 2-27-95
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End of YTSEJAM Digest 810 *************************
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