MIKE PORTNOY On Adapting To DREAM THEATER's New Dynamic: "When I Left, I Was Overseeing Everything, Coming Back I Need To Respect That They've Been Doing It Without Me"

When Mike Portnoy rejoined Dream Theater in October 2023 after 13 years away, many were wondering how his return would shape the band's existing dynamic. In a new interview with Japanese music critic and radio personality Masa Ito on TVK’s Rock City, the legendary drummer reflected on what he brings to the group and how he's adapted to the changes that occurred during his absence.

"It is not really for me to say. I can't sit here and pat myself on the back and kind of tell all the things I bring to the band. I think it's more for the fans or the listener to kind of come up with that opinion," Portnoy said (via Blabbermouth), when asked about what he thinks he has added to the band after his return. "I think it's more for the fans or the listener to kind of come up with that opinion. But I think it's pretty well known what I bring to the band. It's been this way since the beginning of the band 40 years ago."

As one of Dream Theater’s founding members, Portnoy was always deeply involved in more than just drumming. "I was always contributing in every area — not just the drums, but collaborating on the music and the lyrics and the melodies and the production and the merchandise and the fan club and everything that goes into being in a band," he explained. "I'm a very hands-on type of person, so for the first 25 years of the band, I oversaw all of that stuff."

His departure in 2010 forced the remaining members to redistribute responsibilities. "And then when I left the band, the guys had to kind of figure out how things were gonna get distributed amongst themselves. And however they decided that, that's the way they continued without me," Portnoy said. "And now coming back in the band, I've had to be very, very respectful of what they've been doing all the years without me. It's a very different organization than when I left in 2010."

Adapting to the band's new structure required a shift in his approach. "When I left in 2010, I was a control freak and overseeing everything and very protective of everything," he admitted. "But now coming back, I need to respect that they've been touring for all these years without me and making records without me, so they have perhaps different ways of doing things. So, I had to come in very respectful and kind of tippy-toe my way around each area to see how much they wanted from me."

While some aspects of the band's operations have been handed back to him, others remain unchanged. "There are some areas where they put complete control back into my lap. There are other areas that maybe they wanted to retain some control and maybe ask me to take a step back. So, it's been a learning process over the past year or so, how the new chemistry was going to function."

Despite these adjustments, Portnoy describes the reunion as smooth. "And it's been very easy, I think. We're all older and wiser at this stage of our lives. When I left the band in 2010, I was in my early 40s. Now I'm in my late 50s. And I think as you get older and you have more life experiences, you learn more, you learn how to behave in a more mutually beneficial way and try to be respectful of other people's opinions and ideas."

His years away from Dream Theater proved valuable in shaping his approach to collaboration. "And that's a lot of the stuff I learned all the years outside of Dream Theater. I did so many other bands and projects and albums, each one of which had a very different chemistry that I would have to adapt to. So I think adapting to all those different situations throughout the years really helped me to be more of a team player than maybe I was the first time around."