Akria Jimbo was born on Feb. 27, 1959 in Tokyo Japan. Jimbo is known for is incredible independence and speed with his sticks. His solos are truly unique incorporating a number of electric drums to add a melody and orchestra sometimes. Akira Jimbo is a freelance jazz fusion drummer who plays in a number of jazz fusion bands in Japan. His popularity in Japan is massive, and it has spread worldwide. At the age of 18, Akira joined the Keio University Light Music Society Big Band. He has been made famous for his involvement in the fusion band Casiopea for 10 years of his life. He is by far one of the best solo drummers to listen to. Akira now plays with fellow Japanese drummer Hiroyuki Noritake in a drum duo group called the Drum-Duo Synchronized DNA. He plays drum clinics across the USA and Japan with Noritake. Akira Jimbo is the first Asian to be featured on the cover of Modern Drummer Magazine. Akira uses Yamaha drums for all of his shows and clinics. He uses a hybrid of Yamaha Oak Custom drums and the DTX electric drums. For cymbals, Akira uses Zildjian custom cymbals. In his career so far, Jimbo has been in 6 drum videos, and created over 10 solo albums. He can entertain a crowd for hours with just him alone on the drums due to his incredible soloing abilities. Jimbo is definitely a drummer to look into if you haven’t already.
Although not as renowned as Ginger Baker or John Bonham, Deep Purple's Ian Paice was one of hard rock/heavy metal's early standout drummers, and like the other two, influenced countless other skinsmen in the process. Born on June 29, 1948 in Nottingham, England, Paice started off playing violin, before switching to drums at the age of 15. From the mid to late '60s, Paice played in a variety of obscure local bands, including such names as Georgie & the Rave Ons, the Shindigs, the MI 5, the Maze, Soul Brothers, and Boz, as well as future guitar hero Albert Lee. It was while playing with one of these groups in Hamburg, Germany that respected session guitarist Ritchie Blackmore took note of Paice, and arranged the drummer to audition for his group, Roundabout, in early 1968. Paice got the gig, as Roundabout soon transformed into Deep Purple, along with additional members Rod Evans (vocals), Jon Lord (keyboards), Nick Simper (bass). It was this line-up that recorded such albums as 1968's Shades of Deep Purple and Book of Taliesyn, plus 1969's self-titled release, but aside from scoring a massive worldwide hit with "Hush," this early line-up of Purple failed to truly ignite. Both Evans and Simper were excused from the band shortly before the dawn of the '70s, replaced by Ian Gillan and Roger Glover, respectively. The new line-up got off to a rocky start with the experimental Concerto for Group and Orchestra, but soonafter, it was this version of Purple that would be considered the group's definitive one. Along with Blackmore's fluid guitar playing and Gillan's vocals, it was Paice's powerful drumming that served as an important ingredient to Purple's new harder rocking direction. Over the course of five albums, 1970's In Rock, 1971's Fireball, 1972's Machine Head and Made in Japan, plus 1973's Who Do You Think We Are, Deep Purple became one of the world's top rock bands, but a grueling touring schedule and interband friction led to Gillan and Glover's departure. Between 1974 and 1976, numerous line-up changes occurred, with Paice and Lord being the only original members left in attendance. Four more albums appeared during this turbulent time (1974's Burn and Stormbringer, 1975's Come Taste the Band, and 1976's Made in Europe), before Purple was finally laid to rest. Throughout his tenure with Deep Purple, Paice indulged steadily in session work, playing on albums by such artists as the Velvet Underground, Eddie Hardin, Pete York, Elf, and Bobby Harrison, among others. With Purple now dormant, Paice was allowed to play on even more artists' recordings during the late '70s/early '80s, including releases by Maggie Bell, Kirby, Bernie Marsden, and Ken Hensley. Paice also accepted several invitations to join bands full-time, as evidenced by brief stints in the trio Paice, Ashton & Lord (1977's Malice in Wonderland), Whitesnake (1980's Ready an' Willing, 1981's Come an' Get It, and 1982's Saints and Sinners), and Gary Moore's band (1982's Corridors of Power, 1983's Victims of the Future, 1983's Rockin' Every Night, and 1984's We Want Moore!). Rumors of an impending reformation of the classic Gillan/Glover Deep Purple line-up had been surfacing for several years by this point, and in 1984, the reunion was finally confirmed. The same year saw a new album by the quintet, the surprisingly strong Perfect Strangers, as well as a sold-out supporting tour. Unfortunately, it didn't take long before the same old problems that broke up the band initially appeared once more, as the line-up only managed one more release, the lackluster House of Blue Light, in 1987. 1989 saw Paice drum on several songs recorded by ex-Beatle George Harrison for the soundtrack to the movie Lethal Weapon II, before returning back to Deep Purple. Purple continued on throughout the '90s, with such further releases as 1990's Slaves and Masters, 1993's The Battle Rages On, 1996's Purpendicular, and 1998's Abandon, despite continued line-up juggling. In 1999, Paice had the opportunity to play alongside another ex-Beatle, Paul McCartney, on the mostly covers outing, Run Devil Run, as well as the live home video/DVD, Live at the Cavern Club. Paice has also recorded a few instructional videos for fellow drummers over the years, including an episode of the '80s TV program Rock School, and in 2002, the DVD Not for the Pros. ~ Greg Prato, All Music Guide
John Bonham ist the most influental Rock Drummer of all times.
Describing the style of John Bonham's drumming instantly conjurs up visions of the thunderous power he created. His contributions to rock music were revolutionary, and his talent unmatched and irreplaceable. You can only imagine Jimmy Page's reaction to first seeing him in 1968, ending his search for a new drummer to form a new band, the New Yardbirds (later renamed Led Zeppelin.) A childhood friend of Robert Plant, they played together in the 'Band of Joy', resulting in local gigs and a few studio demos. At first, Bonham was reluctant to join the well-known guitarist because of a steady gig with Tim Rose. But... the rest of history. As John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant have all stated many times, Led Zeppelin wouldn't have been half as good without him. Along with JPJ, they provided the solid foundation and backbone of the band, which made it all possible. Live performances truly showcased his abilities during the numerous improvised jams throughout every concert and of course his famous "Moby Dick" drum solo; reaching a half-hour in length at times! Immitators are usually left frustrated, since Bonham made it look so easy - not only in his playing but also in the incredible drum sound he acheived. His legendary right foot (on his bass pedal) and lightning-fast triplets were his instant trademark. He later refined his style from the hard skin-bashing approach to a more delicate wrist controlled one - which produced an even more powerful & louder sound with less effort. His tragic passing on September 25th, 1980 immortalized his legacy forever. His only son, Jason proudly continues the tradition. Daughter Zoe also has a strong interest in music and is experimenting with her own original material. John's sister Deborah is a highly acclaimed & talented singer.
Born Keith John Moon on August 23, 1946, to Alfred & Kathleen Moon in Wellesden, England. Moon was primarily raised in the Northwest London suburb of Wembley. Three years later, the Moons welcomed a daughter, Linda, to their family. Alf Moon earned his living as a maintenance mechanic for the Wembley council and Kathleen "Kit" Moon took on part time cleaning jobs.
"Kit" Moon took on part time cleaning jobs.
As Kit Moon recalled, Keith "from the age of three, he would sit home for hours beside an old gramophone player and play 78 records of stars like Nat King Cole and Scots leader Johnny Shand.
The Moon family would listen to the BBC comedy troupe, the Goons, and Keith would then act the comedy sketches the next week at school. When Keith was 12, the Moons welcomed another daughter, Lesley, to the family. While at school, Moon received a prescient comment from his music teacher, "great ability, but most guard against tendency to show off." While in grammar school, Moon was a loner despite a hyperactive personality.
Keith Moon joined the Sea Cadets and started playing the bugle and then, trumpet. At 13, Moon moved from the trumpet to the bass drum. Moon became a fan of the drums and would see the Movie, "Drum Crazy," about the late great Jazz drummer, Gene Krupa. In 1970 Moon stated about the picture, "That film was the only time I saw the way Krupa worked- all that juggling." Moon recounted, "Gene Krupa, Jo Jones, Buddy Rich . . . to me they were the best. I would see a big band with a double bass drum setup, twirling the sticks, all the theatrics. They are the people I really dug, growing up.
Neil Ellwood Peart (IPA: ) OC, (born September 12, 1952 in Hagersville, Ontario) is the drummer and lyricist for the progressive rock band Rush.
Peart grew up in Port Dalhousie, Ontario, Canada (now part of St. Catharines) working the occasional odd job. However, his true ambition was to become a professional musician. At the age of thirteen, Peart received his first drumkit and soon began rigorously practicing. During adolescence, he floated from regional band to regional band and eventually dropped out of high school in order to pursue his career as a full-time drummer. After a discouraging stint in England to concentrate on his music, Peart returned home, where he eventually joined local Toronto band Rush in the summer of 1974.
Early in his career, Peart's style of playing was deeply rooted in hard rock where he drew most of his inspiration from drummers such as Keith Moon and John Bonham, players who were at the forefront of the British hard rock scene. As time progressed however, he began to absorb the influence of Jazz and Big Band musicians such as Gene Krupa, and more recently, the late Buddy Rich. Peart is also one of the more recent pupils of jazz instructor, Freddie Gruber. In terms of music, Peart has received many awards (see below) for his recorded performances and is widely regarded as one of the greatest rock drummers of all time due to his technical proficiency and stamina. In terms of influence, he is one of the most important drummers in history.
In addition to his profession as a musician, Peart is also a prolific writer, being the author of several published travelogues and evidenced by his position as chief lyricist for Rush. Over the years, Peart has become known for an apersonal writing style and a propensity for addressing diverse subject matter including science fiction, fantasy, and philosophy, as well as secular and humanitarian themes. His last name is pronounced "Peert", although many mispronounce it "Pert
Peart was born on the family farm in Hagersville, on the outskirts of Hamilton. The first child of four, his brother Danny and sisters Judy and Nancy were born after the family moved to St. Catharines when Peart was two, where his father became parts manager for Dalziel Equipment, a farm machinery supplier. In 1956 the family moved to the Port Dalhousie area of the town. Peart attended Gracefield School, describes his childhood as happy and says he experienced a warm family life. By early adolescence he became interested in music and acquired a transistor radio which he would tune into pop music stations broadcasting from Toronto, Hamilton, Welland and Buffalo.
His first exposure to musical training came in the form of piano lessons, which he later said in his instructional video A Work In Progress did not have much impact on him. He described it as "that inevitable child's curse." He had a penchant for drumming on various objects around the house with a pair of chopsticks, so for his 12th birthday, his parents bought him a pair of drum sticks, a practice pad and some lessons, with the promise that if he stuck with it for a year, they'd eventually buy him a kit.
His parents bought him a drum kit for his thirteenth birthday and he began taking lessons from Don George at the Peninsula Conservatory of Music. His stage debut took place that year at the school's Christmas pageant in St. Johns Anglican Church Hall, Port Delhousie. His next appearance was at Lakeport High School with his first group, The Eternal Triangle. This performance contained an original number entitled "LSD forever." At this show he performed his first solo which garnered praise from fellow students.
Peart got a job in Lakeside Park, a fairground on the shores of Lake Ontario, which later inspired a song of the same name on the Rush album Caress of Steel. He worked on the Bubble Game and Ball Toss, but his tendency to take it easy when business was slack resulted in his termination. By his late teens, Peart had played in local bands such as Mumblinâ?? Sumpthinâ??, the Majority, and JR Flood. These bands practiced in basement recreation rooms and garages and played church halls, high schools and roller rinks in towns across Southern Ontario such as Mitchell, Seaforth, Elmira and Timmins. Tuesday nights were filled with jam sessions at the Niagara Theatre Centre.[2]
A boy alone
At eighteen years of age, after struggling to achieve success as a drummer in Canada, Peart travelled to London hoping to further his career as a professional musician. Despite playing in several bands and picking up occasional session work he was forced to support himself by selling trinkets to tourists in a souvenir shop called The Great Frog on Carnaby Street.
While in London he came across the writings of novelist and Objectivist Ayn Rand. Rand's writings became a significant ideological influence on the young drummer and he found many of her treatises to individualism and Objectivism inspiring. References to Rand's ideology can be found in his lyrics, most notably "Anthem" from 1975's Fly By Night and "2112" from the 1976 Rush album of the same name.
After eighteen months of dead-end musical gigs, disillusioned by his lack of progress in the music business, he placed his aspiration of becoming a professional musician on hold and returned to Canada. Upon returning to St. Catharines he worked for his father selling tractor parts at Dalziel Equipment. His time in London inspired the song "Circumstances" on the 1978 album Hemispheres. He speaks at length on his time in London in his book Traveling Music.
Joining Rush
After returning to Canada, Peart was recruited to play drums for the St. Catharines outfit "Hush" who played on the South Ontario bar circuit while working for his father, selling farm equipment. Soon after, a mutual acquaintance convinced Peart to audition for the Toronto based band Rush, which needed a replacement for its original drummer John Rutsey. Lee and Lifeson oversaw the audition. His future band mates describe Peart's arrival that day as somewhat humorous as Peart arrived in shorts, driving a battered old car with his drums stored in trashcans. Peart felt the entire audition was a complete disaster. While Lee and Peart hit it off on a personal level (both sharing similar tastes in books and music), Lifeson had a less than favourable impression of Peart. After some discussion, Lee convinced Lifeson that Peart's maniacal British style of drumming, reminiscent of The Who's Keith Moon, was what the band needed.
Peart officially joined the band on July 29th 1974, two weeks before the group's first US tour. Receiving an advance from their record company the band purchased new equipment. Peart bought a silver Slingerland kit which he played at his first gig with the band, warming up for Uriah Heep and Manfred Mann in front of over 11,000 people at the Civic Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on August 14th.
The Long Dark Tunnel
Peart soon settled into his new position, also becoming the primary lyricist. Before joining Rush he had written few songs, but with the other members largely uninterested in writing lyrics, his previously underutilized talent became as noticed as his musicianship. The band was still finding its feet as a recording act, and Peart, along with the rest of the band, now had to learn to live from a suitcase, coming down after gigs watching cartoons in motel bedrooms and all night studio sessions.
His first recording with the band, Fly by Night, was fairly successful, winning the Juno Award for most promising new act, but the follow up, Caress of Steel, which the band had high hopes for, was greeted with hostility by both fans and critics. In response to this negative reception, most of which was aimed at the B side spanning epic "The Fountain of Lamneth," Peart responded by penning the A side spanning epic "2112," which despite record company indifference, became their million-selling breakthrough. The supporting tour culminated in a three night stand at Massey Hall in Toronto, a venue Peart had dreamed of playing in his days on the Southern Ontario bar circuit and where he was now introduced as "The Professor on the drum kit."
Peart returned to England for the band's Northern European Tour and the band stayed in the United Kingdom to record the next album A Farewell to Kings in Rockfield Studios in Wales. They returned to Rockfield to record the follow up, Hemispheres, which they wrote entirely in the studio. The recording of five studio albums in four years, coupled with as many as 300 gigs a year, convinced the band to take a different approach thereafter. Peart has described his time in the band up to this point as "a long, dark tunnel."
Family tragedy & Continuing on...
On August 10, 1997, Peart's daughter and only child, 19-year-old Selena Taylor, was killed in a single-car accident somewhere between Ottawa and Toronto. His common-law wife of 22 years, Jaqueline Taylor, succumbed to cancer only 10 months later on June 20, 1998. Peart, however, maintains that her death was the result of a "broken heart" and called it "a slow suicide by apathy. She just didn't care." Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road.
In his book Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road, Peart said he had told his bandmates at Selena's funeral "consider me retired." Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road However, after a hiatus to mourn and reflect, including four separate trips around North America on his motorcycle that would eventually cover 55,000 miles (documented in Ghost Rider), he returned to the band. While visiting long-time Rush photographer Andrew MacNaughtan in Los Angeles, MacNaughtan would play matchmaker and introduce Peart to his future wife, photographer Carrie Nuttall. Peart married Nuttall on September 9, 2000 and rejoined his bandmates in early 2001.
With the 2002 release of the band's Vapor Trails album, Peart has returned to the business of performing live with his bandmates. At the start of the tour, it was decided amongst the band members that Peart would not take part in the daily grind of press interviews and "Meet and Greet" sessions upon their arrival in a new city that typically monopolize an immensely popular touring band's daily schedule. While Peart has always shied away from these types of in-person encounters, it was decided that having to needlessly expose him to an endless stream of questions about the tragic events of his life was quite unnecessary.Lee, Geddy and Lifeson, Alex: "The Boys in Brazil", Rush in Rio DVD Bonus Material (October 2003.)
Musicianship
Style and influences
Peart is known for an extremely hard-hitting style that combines accuracy, precision, clarity, and complexity. His influences are eclectic, ranging from Led Zeppelin's John Bonham, Steve Gadd, The Who's Keith Moon, to fusion and jazz drummers Billy Cobham, Buddy Rich, Bill Bruford and Gene Krupa. Peart is distinguished historically for playing "butt-end out", i.e. reversing stick orientation for greater impact and increased rim-shot capacity (for that reason, his long-time drum technician, Larry Allen, would file the tip-end of his sticks for gripping purposes).
Currently he plays both matched grip and traditional grip. He had long played just matched grip, however, he decided to shift to traditional grip as part of his play style reinvention in the mid-1990s under the tutelage of Jazz drummer Freddie Gruber. In his first instructional video A Work In Progress, Peart said he asked Gruber about shifting to traditional grip, but Gruber dismissed it as irrelevant. Peart went with traditional grip as a part of his overall relearning process.
Peart's drumming is distinguished by an ability to shift effortlessly between standard and irregular time signatures, an extraordinary facility of limb independence, ambidextrous cross-sticking patterns, and an impressive command of tonal and volume range. He is one of the few to use both standard and piccolo snare drums, emphasizes relatively small, high-pitched crashes, and plays tom-toms tuned to allow maximum sustain.
Equipment
With Rush, Peart has played Slingerland, Tama, Ludwig, and DW drums, in that order. Historically he has played Zildjian "A" cymbals exclusively (save for various effect cymbals, like Wuhan China cymbals), switching only very recently to Paragon, a line created for him by Sabian. In concert, Peart uses an elaborate 360-degree drum kit, with a large acoustic set in front and electronic drums to the rear. During the late 1970s, Peart accessorized and augmented his acoustic setup with diverse percussion instruments including orchestra bells, tubular bells, wind chimes, crotales, timbales, tympani, gong, temple blocks, bell tree, triangle, and melodic cowbells. Since the mid-1980s, Peart has replaced several of these pieces with MIDI trigger pads. This was done in order to trigger sounds sampled from various pieces of acoustic percussion that would otherwise consume far too much stage area, such as a marimba, harp, temple blocks, triangles, glockenspiel, orchestra bells, tubular bells, and vibraslap. Some purely electronic, description-defying sounds are also used.
Solos
Peart is known for complicated, extremely technical drum solos containing odd time signatures, complex arrangements (sometimes total separation between upper and lower limb patterns), and exotic percussion instruments. These solos have been featured on every live album released by the band. On the early live albums (All the World's a Stage & Exit...Stage Left), the drum solo was included as part of a song. On all subsequent live albums, the drum solo has been included on a separate track. All of Peart's drum solos include a basic framework of routines connected by sections of improvisation, leaving each performance unique. Each successive tour sees the solo more advanced, with some routines dropped in favour of newer, more complex ones.
His most recent instructional DVD, Anatomy of a Drum Solo, is an in-depth examination of how he constructs a solo. He uses his solo from the 2004 R30 30th anniversary tour as the basis for examination, along with other lectures and demonstrations on how to construct a drum solo that is musical instead of indulgent.
Lyrics
Peart is also the main lyricist for Rush. Literature has always heavily influenced his writings and, as such, he has tackled a wide range of subjects. In his early days with Rush, much of his lyrical output was influenced by fantasy and science fiction literature ("By-Tor and the Snow Dog", "Cygnus X-1 Book I: The Voyage", "The Necromancer", "Xanadu"), mythology ("The Fountain of Lamneth", "Cygnus X-1 Book II: Hemispheres") and philosophy ("Anthem", "2112", "Something for Nothing"); however, nearly as much would deal with real world or personal issues such as life on the road ("Fly by Night", "Making Memories"), and lost innocence ("Lakeside Park").
The song "2112" focuses on the struggle of an individual against the collectivist forces of a totalitarian state. This became the band's breakthrough release, but also brought unexpected criticism, mainly due to the credit of inspiration Peart gave to Ayn Rand in the liner notes. "There was a remarkable backlash, especially from the English press, this being the late seventies, when collectivism was still in style, especially among journalists," Peart said. "They were calling us 'Junior fascists' and 'Hitler lovers.' It was a total shock to me."
Weary of accusations of fascism, or even simply ideological fealty to Rand's philosophy of Objectivism, Peart has sought to remind listeners of his eclecticism and independence in interviews. He did not, however, try to argue in defence of Rand's views. "For a start, the extent of my influence by the writings of Ayn Rand should not be overestimated. I am no one's disciple."
However, in a 1978 interview by Miles in the NME(4th March) he said "We're certainly devoted to individualism as the only concept that allows men to be happy, without somebody taking from somebody else. The thing for me about Ayn Rand is that her philosophy is the only one applicable to the world today â?? in every sense. If you take her ideas, then take them farther in your own mind, you can find answers to pretty well everything on an individual basis. Putting the individual as the first priority, everything can be made to work in a way that it can never be made to work under any other system."
The 1980 album Permanent Waves saw Peart cease to use fantasy literature or ancient mythology in his writing. His focus was now on integrity in music ("The Spirit of Radio") and in life ("Natural Science"), the rational against the superstitious ("Freewill"). "Tom Sawyer" from 1981's Moving Pictures showed that Peart was still interested in heroic, mythological figures but would now place them firmly in a modern and reality based context. "Limelight" sees him dealing with the pressures of fame; "The Camera Eye" contrasts New York and London with an outsider's view.
Books
Peart is the author of four non-fiction books, the latest released in September of 2006. His growth as an author predates the published work by several years (not including his work as Rush's primary lyricist), through private letters and short travelogues sent out to a small circle of friends and family. The Masked Rider: Cycling In West Africa
Written in 1996 about a month-long bicycling tour through Cameroon in November of 1988. Written in the first person, the book allows the reader to follow Peart through towns and villages, with four fellow riders. This was not Peart's first cycling tour, but it proves to be one of the most difficult. The original had a limited print run, but after the critical and commercial success of Neil's second book, "Masked Rider" was re-issued (with slightly different cover art) and remains in print as of 2006. Ghost Rider: Travels On The Healing Road
Being as popular as Rush are, the tragedies that befell Peart over a ten month span were widely reported through the media. Peart and the rest of the band were always able to keep his private life at a distance from his public image in Rush (very much by choice). "Ghost Rider" is again a first-person narrative of Peart on the road, now on motorcycle, in an effort to put his life back together as he embarked on an extensive journey across North America. Traveling Music: The Soundtrack Of My Life And Times
Deciding to take a road trip, this time by car, Peart reflects on his life, his career, his family and the thing that ties them all together: Music. This book follows Peart still carrying emotional scars, but building a new life. As with his previous two books, "Traveling Music" is a first-person account. Roadshow: Landscape With Drums, A Concert Tour By Motorcycle
Thirty years after Peart joined Rush, the band found itself on its 30th anniversary tour. Released in September of 2006 (see Peart's Official Website), this book chronicles that tour both from behind Neil's drumkit and on his motorcycle.
Michael Stephen Portnoy (born April 20, 1967) is an American drummer primarily known for his work with the influential progressive metal band Dream Theater. Portnoy is known for his virtuosity on drums, and for winning 21 awards from the Modern Drummer magazine. He (along with his bandmate John Petrucci) has produced the last four Dream Theater albums, starting from Scenes From a Memory. He is also the youngest person (at 37 years of age) to be inducted into Rock Drummer Hall of Fame. Though he is occasionally criticized for being 'overly technical', Portnoy remains one of the iconic members of the modern progressive rock and progressive metal scene.
Mike Portnoy was born and raised in Long Beach, New York, on Long Island. His father worked as a DJ at a local radio station, helping Portnoy gain an appreciation for music at an early age through bands like Led Zeppelin, The Who and The Beatles. Although Portnoy taught himself how to play the drums he did take music theory classes in high school, and during that period he began playing in local bands Intruder, Rising Power and Inner Sanctum, the latter of which released an album. He left Inner Sanctum after being awarded a scholarship to attend Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he and childhood friends John Petrucci and John Myung formed a band called Majesty, that would become Dream Theater.
Portnoy names his biggest influences as Rush drummer Neil Peart, and composer/guitarist Frank Zappa. Other favorites include drummers Terry Bozzio, Vinnie Colaiuta, Peter Criss, Simon Phillips, John Bonham, Keith Moon, Ringo Starr and Bill Bruford and bands such as The Beatles, Queen, Yes, Rush, Pink Floyd, Muse, Metallica, Jellyfish, Iron Maiden, KISS, Phish, Deep Purple, Radiohead, Umphrey's McGee, U2 and Jane's Addiction.
Portnoy has won 20 awards from Modern Drummer magazine, including "Best Up & Coming Talent" (one time), "Best Clinician" (two times), "Best Educational Video/DVD" (two times), "Best recorded performance" (5 times) and "Best Progressive Rock Drummer" (for 12 consecutive years), and is also the youngest person (at 37 years of age) to be inducted into their Rock Drummer Hall of Fame.
He has also been the catalyst for founding several other progressive rock groups and projects: Transatlantic, Liquid Tension Experiment, and O.S.I. (with former Dream Theater keyboardist Kevin Moore), touring as well with Mexican drummer "Chucho" Dávila giving free clinic sessions to local Music Stores in Texas in 2005.
He has released two instructional videos, Progressive Drum Concepts and Liquid Drum Theater, the latter winning awards from Modern Drummer Magazine. He has also released many "Official Bootlegs" on his website, including footage of the studio sessions for the Dream Theater albums Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence, Train of Thought, Octavarium and the Transatlantic release Bridge Across Forever. He also recently released bootlegs of his tribute bands Hammer of the Gods (a Led Zeppelin tribute) and Yellow Matter Custard (Beatles), with more expected from his other tribute projects Cygnus and his Sea Monsters (Rush) and Mike Portnoy's Amazing Journey (The Who).
He also played with New Jersey thrash metal band Overkill for one show in 2004.
On September 18th, 2006 within his website's Forum Portnoy cagily stated that he had finally met Rush drummer Neil Peart (one of the few heroes from his youth Portnoy had never met, owing to Peart's legendary privacy), that "Neil and I have finally met and we spent some time together this week and had a great time..." [1], and that a possible collaboration was underway/had been discussed with the teasing statement of "Patience everybody... all will soon be revealed!" It has now been revealed that this was meeting was for an interview Portnoy did for his stint as guest editor of Rhythm Magazine.[2] Portnoy had previously written the liner notes for the Japanese pressing of Rush's 2002 release Vapor Trails.[3]
Portnoy has used several kits throughout the years, all of which were built by Tama except for the Awake-A Change Of Seasons era kit, which was a Mapex. To date, he has used the following drum sets:
Mike and his wife Marlene live in Pennsylvania with their daughter Melody Ruthandrea, son Max John, dog Bongo and cat Cypress.
An avid collector of many things, Portnoy has a vast array of Dream Theater memorabilia including bootlegs, posters, clippings and everything else under the sun with the band's name on it. He is also responsible for capturing everything the band does on video tape and DAT (see YtseJam Records). His huge video collection includes favorite films such as 2001 - A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange, Jacob's Ladder and The Wall along with episodes of The Simpsons and memorable boxing matches. His love of A Clockwork Orange is so great that a section of the soundtrack was used as Dream Theater's intro tape on both the first several legs of 1997/98's "Touring Into Infinity" World Tour as well as the Octavarium/20th Anniversary World Tour of 2005/06.
Mike is also a recovering alcoholic. This prompted him to write a musical suite which will eventually comprise the 12 Steps of the Alcoholics Anonymous recovery program. So far, Dream Theater has written three songs, which describe seven of the twelve steps. These are: "The Glass Prison" (Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence), "This Dying Soul" (Train of Thought), and "The Root of All Evil" (Octavarium). The song "The Mirror" (Awake), which was also written by Mike and discusses the same topic, is not officially a part of Mike's "AA Saga". Though some fans wonder about how deep his alcoholism ran within him, fans highly respect his right to privacy and as a respected musican and stray from bringing the subject up around him (whether it be in person or via the internet). To this day Mike has not made a public statement (aside from the general storyline of the A.A. recovery program) about this subject.
Shortly after playing the set for the Metropolis 2000: Scenes From New York DVD and CD, Mike fainted backstage. His statement on this incident from the FAQ on his personal website is as follows: "I collapsed and passed out due to over-exhaustion, dehydration, stress, too little food and nutrition, too many Red Bulls, etc. It took me several hours of throwing up, being wrapped in blankets and laying down before I was carried out of the venue hours after the show." The audio commentary on the DVD has more information on this.
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Ilham
