Artist News: Mike Portnoy Leaves Adrenaline Mob, Will Tour With Winery Dogs, More

In early June, Mike Portnoy announced that he would be amicably parting ways with Adrenaline Mob, the band he formed with Russell Allen (Symphony X) and that includes guitar virtuoso Mike Orlando (Sonic Stomp) and Disturbed bassist John Moyer. His plan was to play out the last few dates of Adrenaline Mob's tour in Latin America before focusing on the myriad of other projects he is involved with.

Portnoy is quoted as saying, "Unfortunately, I have scheduling conflicts that prevent me from being able to fully commit to the band's future activities at the moment.

"As I cannot be in two places at the same time, I don't want to hold them back and have to wait for my schedule to re-open up to resume activity.

"I'm very proud of what we started together and the music we made over the past two years and I wish the guys all the best in the future."

A later post on his official forum, Portnoy added: "Although this inevitable scheduling situation has been brewing for a while with Adrenaline Mob, it was very important for me to make the announcement before playing these final four shows as I didn't want to mislead the fans at these shows into believing I was staying when I knew I wasn't going to be...

"My honesty with the fans is absolutely ALWAYS #1 priority with me.

"In any case, I will play these final four shows and I'm sure we will all have a great time! It will be a nice final celebration to what was a fun chapter for all of us involved...

"And then life will go on...

"No need for drama...

"Sometimes things just don't work out as you had hoped...

"Inevitably, when you playing in 27 different bands, sometimes something has to give...

"Life's too short...let's all enjoy the music!"

One of those "27 different bands" is Winery Dogs, one of his latest proejcts, which also features Billy Sheehan (Mr. Big) and Richie Kotzen (Mr. Big, Poison). The trio werewere to play a pair of dates in Japan last week and their debut album is released in North America tomorrow (July 23) via Loud & Proud Records (it came out in Japan May 15). In an interview with Review Fix, Portnoy said: "I am so excited about The Winery Dogs and am proud and honored to be working with two of the greatest musicians on the planet!

"Richie Kotzen is such an unbelievable talent, as a vocalist, guitarist and songwriter. I think The Winery Dogs will finally get him the attention and recognition that he so richly deserves.

"And what can be said of Billy Sheehan that hasn't been said already? He is one the true pioneers of the instrument and a legend.

"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!"

Loud & Proud owner and president Tom Lipsky added: "The debut by The Winery Dogs absolutely rocks and we are very excited that Loud & Proud is their label partner. This body of work showcases not only their renowned skills as musicians and vocalists, but also the depth of their talent as songwriters. Billy, Mike and Richie delivered some of the best performances of their illustrious careers and I am confident this album will be recognized as one of the truly great rock albums of the year."

Regarding how The Winery Dogs got its name, Portnoy said: "It was Richie's name. We had a list of about 50 names. I had about 10 that I preferred over The Winery Dogs, but you know, when you're in a band, you have to give and take and choose your battles, and Richie really, really loved this band name. So, you know, it was, like, 'OK.' A name is a name. If you feel that strongly about it, then go for it. So that's who we are."

And then later last month, in a lengthy update Portnoy explained again his reasons for departing Adrenaline Mob, saying, "Although I recently announced having to step aside from the band because of current scheduling conflicts (I hate the word 'quit,' as so many websites took it upon themselves to so eloquently use as a stupid headline for shock value), I must say I'd always be happy to help them out whenever/however I could in the future should our schedules and situations allow."

Continuing, "I cannot be 'exclusive' to them at the moment as I have many other bands/projects that also require my time and attention as well... (most immediately, The Winery Dogs world tour that kicks off next month...)

"Just to clarify, for some people who still don't seem to understand it: I always said from Day 1 after leaving Dream Theater, that I was going to spend a few years 'planting many musical seeds'... and that's what I'm still currently enjoying doing.

"I spent 25 years focused on ONE band and at the moment I am still enjoying my freedom to explore many different musical, creative and personal environments with so many incredible musicians and different musical directions.

"Perhaps someday I will settle down again with ONLY one band... maybe it will be with one of the ones I'm currently in...? Or maybe with something entirely different...? Or maybe I won't at all... who knows? The future is impossible to predict... There is ONLY THE NOW... and that's how I'm living."

"I know to some, this is a hard concept to swallow as it's not the usual or 'traditional' route for a typical rock musician... But I don't follow rules, I follow my heart!!

"The remainder of 2013 for me will be focused on The Winery Dogs which I am incredibly excited about and proud of... I look forward to touring the world with Billy [Sheehan] and Richie [Kotzen] and sharing our music and our chemistry with you all."

What else is on the horizon for Portnoy: live releases from both Flying Colors and PSMS (Portnoy, Sheehan, MacAlpine, Sherinian); the new CD from Bigelf that he was a guest on; plus studio albums from Transatlantic and Flying Colors (with possible tour dates).

[Source: several Blabbermouth.net news postings]