I\'m A Badass Caption: I can haz links, style or anything that is valid markup :)

Artist News: Dream Theater Announce New Drummer, Possible DVD Due

Posted on Sunday, May 01 @ 17:10:00 UTC by nightowl

Mike Mangini, the 48-year-old session artist who has played for Annihilator, Extreme, James LaBrie and Steve Vai, has officially joined Dream Theater as the replacement for the recently departed Mike Portnoy. [Which makes it sound like Portnoy died, but actually, as you know, he left the band late last year -ed.]

Commented Mangini: "The day that I got the phone call to be in Dream Theater, it took my brain a minute to assemble what was going on, and when it sank in, the feeling was just of tremendous relief.

"It means so much to me, I almost felt like crying a couple of times. [Laughs] I didn't know what to do.

"What it means to me to be part of not only such a legendary band, but this band, is a sense of fulfillment and purpose. I feel like a puzzle piece, and with Mike [Portnoy] in particular, I feel really honored to carry on the torch for him; I'm carrying on his spirit."

Regarding the decision-making process, the members of Dream Theater had the following to say:

Jordan Rudess (keyboards): "The thing that stands about Mike Mangini is that he [plays] with such intensity and direction and power, and that was very engaging.

"It was hard to totally decide; you can't just say, 'OK, it's him' and write off some other guy, because they're both incredible."

John Petrucci (guitar): "We unknowingly used a method that we use when we write music, which is, 'Just hear out my side.'

"During that discussion, we kind of came to some conclusions, we hashed things out, and at the end of the discussion, it was clear. We made a decision."

John Myung (bass): "A lot of it was just how felt with each particular drummer. It turned out that we were kind of all on the same page as to who we needed to carry on. I think it was meant to be."

Mangini is notorious for his technical prowess and holds three out of four World's Fastest Drummer titles. These include the Fastest Matched grip at 1,247 strokes in 60 seconds; Fastest Hands, which he earned by executing 1,203 single-stroke notes in 60 seconds without drumsticks, mallets, etc.; Fastest Traditional Grip which he earned by executing 1,126 strokes in 60 seconds; and Fastest Single Stroke Foot record, playing 13,222 hits in 15 minutes and 5,222 hits in five minutes.

Mangini has written two books about his drumming techniques. These books, titled Rhythm Knowledge, are a practice method for deconstructing and simplifying complex polyrhythms and time signatures.

Mangini joined Annihilator in 1991 and appeared on the band's Set The World On Fire album. He toured with the group in support of the CD until 1994 at which point he was asked to play with the Massachusetts band Extreme, replacing that group's original drummer Paul Geary.

After Extreme dissolved in 1996, Mike was informed through drummer Jonathan Mover that guitarist Steve Vai was auditioning drummers for his live band. Mike successfully auditioned for Steve Vai's band and relocated to Los Angeles.

From late 1996 to early 2000, Mangini was the highly regarded drummer of Vai's live ensemble, which also included bassist Philip Bynoe, guitar wizard Mike Keneally and (in 2000) guitarist Dave Weiner. Mike also recorded several drum tracks for Steve's Fire Garden and Ultrazone albums.

In 2005, Mike accepted a full-time teaching position at the Berklee College of Music in Boston and today he is a prominent faculty member in the school's percussion department.

Portnoy, who co-founded Dream Theater more than 20 years ago, abruptly quit the band last summer while on tour with Avenged Sevenfold. He played on Avenged Sevenfold's latest album, Nightmare, following the death of that band's drummer, Jimmy "The Rev" Sullivan, and toured with them in late 2010.

The third and final webisode in which the members of Dream Theater share with their fans some of the intense process, along with the musical joy, that went into choosing a new drummer can be viewed here [episode 2 is here, but episode 1 is no longer at YouTube -ed.]

DVD Of The Webisodes?

In a separate posting by Blabbermouth (yep, they're again our source): Zach Shaw of Metal Insider conducted an interview with Mike Leonard, director of Dream Theater's web series "The Spirit Carries On," which chronicles the audition process behind the band's search for drummer Mike Portnoy's replacement. An excerpt from the chat follows below.

Metal Insider: Out of the seven drummers that auditioned, was there one that particularly stood out to you?

Mike Leonard: "We filmed with Mike Mangini the night before his audition and both as a person and as a drummer, he impressed me the most. Mike is such an incredibly genuine and nice guy, just like all the members of Dream Theater. He's also incredibly meticulous about making sure he does his part and gets all the details right. All of the drummers that we filmed with were incredibly nice and professional, but Mike really made a great impression on me. Then watching him play in real life blew me away -- he's a monster. He plays the most complicated things like they're nothing, just incredible. I'll never forget it."

Metal Insider: Are there any plans to release a physical copy of this documentary, maybe along with extra footage?

Mike Leonard: "Yes, I believe there is going to be a DVD release this summer with the new album. We have talked about many different options and I have no idea what is actually going to happen, but I'm sure it will be released at some point and there’s tons of potential for bonus footage."

Read the entire interview from Metal Insider.

More Band Reaction

Petrucci is quoted from his forum as saying: "Well, it's been a very exciting day for all of us in Dream Theater and we are happy to finally share the news that Mike Mangini is our new drummer! He is not only a beast of a player but an incredible person as well who truly and fully understands and values everything that we strive to be as a band.

"Thank you for being so patient and incredibly supportive to us throughout the years and especially over the last several months. Thank you for your faith in us and your immediate and practically across-the-board acceptance of Mike Mangini as our new drummer. Thank you for the positive words about the documentary [three-part web series documenting Dream Theater's drummer search] and all of your passion and dedication.

"The movie is our gift and our invitation into something that would traditionally be very private and I appreciate everyone's sensitivity towards that. There's a lot of work to be done, so back to the studio.

"John Myung finished tracking bass today and Jordan [Rudess, keyboards] is recording as I type. Things are real busy around here. Can't wait for everyone to hear the new music and to begin playing live with Mike!"

Magnini's Thoughts On His Selection?

Drumhead magazine spoke to [...] Mike Mangini about how he landed his new gig and the preparation for the recording process for the band's new album.

"I'm pinching myself," he said. "I wake up most mornings thinking about my personal playing growth and Dream Theater. I have a smile and it's amazing -- what a great day I have when I acknowledge what is happening to me. How did I end up here? Whoa!

"Part of my joining any band, or going for any drumming position, is me just letting what is, be. I don't want to change anything that's going on. I just want to play my drums; that's it, that's what I want to do. All I'm expecting to do is to be able to have the opportunity to come up with the greatest drum stuff that I can come up with, along with respect what Dream Theater is already.

"What Mike Portnoy has made for Dream Theater -- and it's not hard for me to like that -- is a great thing, it's not only hectic drum stuff, it has a sound, and his sound stems from some similar influences. We both love Rush and Metallica, so it's feeling natural for me to do that. I want to continue to replicate that kind of a vibe, as well as to offer a new drum thing that I have been working on that is Dream Theater.

"As for the audition, I just walked in with a great feeling and greeted everyone, 'Hi, guys, I'm ready for this.' I was absolutely ready to go in there and not make one stinking mistake. In my mind, I had to be like that. This was important to me. I just had too much interest in these people and in this music to blow it. I was not going to blow it.

"So there I am. I play the tunes and everything is just forward-motion for me, meaning, I wasn't thinking, 'Oh my gosh, this is an audition!' It was more, 'Okay, I'm going to count here, I'm going to look at Jordan [Rudess] there playing the keyboard line, John Myung here, John Petrucci there, James LaBrie there, etc.' I was in the moment. My eyes were picking up everything they were doing. It was like I knew everything they did. For example, if John Myung played something different in 'The Spirit Carries On,' I was ready. I was watching, listening and feeling everything they were doing like my life depended on it. When Jordan or John did something in a solo, I followed it. I thrived off that 'one' guitar riff I just had to catch. I would look at them and let them know that I knew what they were doing. [John Petrucci] picked up on everything.

"We were on the same page 100 percent, it seemed. They kept coming over to me and saying the nicest things, acknowledging what I was doing.

"I don't want to sound broken or needy, but I needed them to say these things. I believe we all can use acknowledgement and a dose of niceness with what we really love to do. They knew that I respected them and appreciated being there."

On the preparation for the recording process for the new Dream Theater album:

"John [Petrucci] sent me a demo. He didn't ask me to do anything, he just said, 'Check it out.' I grabbed it and thought, 'I'm going to get back to him quicker than he thinks I am, and I'm going to get back to him with more than he's expecting. I'm going to go the extra 17 miles.' So, I transcribed it, got into my studio and recorded it, tried stuff and just did a take. And it was okay. I listened to it and thought to let my wife hear it, and she said, 'You're holding back.' She's not a musician, but she said, 'I know you. You're holding back.' And she was absolutely right. I said, 'You know what?! I'm afraid of doing something wrong or doing too much.' Anyway, I did another take and I kind of let go. Again, because everything happened so naturally in the audition, that's what I needed to follow as a feeling: just be me. Not think too much about this, that and the other thing, and just go with what's coming out naturally. If it's not the right thing, he'll tell me."

On the beginning of this new chapter in his drumming career: "So, how did it happen... I prayed daily and I just put my head down and said, 'I can do this. I cannot fail those who also believe that I can do this. It's for my family, extended family, friends, fellow drummer friends, endorsement companies and students that also believe that I'll make good on the gifts I've been given. And finally it's for the Dream Theater family for giving me the opportunity.'"

[Source: Blabbermouth.net]

Posted in Band News (tours, comings/goings, etc)