DREAM THEATER’s JAMES LABRIE Is Fairly Stoked He And MIKE PORTNOY Are Pals Once more

Dream Theater and founding drummer Mike Portnoy parted methods in 2010. Portnoy reunited with Dream Theater guitarist John Petrucci for his solo album in 2020, after which with Petrucci and keyboardist Jordan Rudess in Liquid Pressure Experiment later that very same yr. Then this yr, Portnoy attended his first Dream Theater present as a fan in New York Metropolis and hung together with his former bandmates backstage, which was very nice to see.

Now in an interview with Sonic Views, vocalist James LaBrie talked concerning the present and making amends with Portnoy. LaBrie mentioned he wasn’t given a lot discover that Portnoy could be attending the present, however ultimately determined that sufficient was sufficient and that it was time for the 2 to be associates once more. Which once more – it is superior to see musicians getting again on good phrases with each other. Particularly once they’re answerable for such influential music.

“What occurred was my supervisor… That is, like, two hours earlier than the present… So, you understand the historical past with Mike and I. The factor is what was unhappy about that entire period the place Mike and I did not see eye to eye is that when Dream Theater began, Pictures And Phrases and Awake, Mike and I have been greatest associates — means again — after which we began to crumble, for a number of causes. It would not matter — the main points do not matter — it is simply that we began to have an issue with each other.

“And so about two hours earlier than the New York present, my supervisor texts me and he mentioned, ‘Pay attention, Mike‘s gonna be there tonight. He needs to come back again and see you. He needs to make amends. I do not imply to do that…’ And I mentioned, ‘Frank‘ — to my supervisor, I mentioned — ‘you are placing this in my lap two hours earlier than I play in entrance of what number of hundreds of individuals in New York. Are you kidding me?’ So, I considered it. You realize what? I went for a stroll, imagine it or not.

“I went incognito and I went for a stroll in New York. And I walked the streets and I began fascinated by it, and I mentioned to myself, ‘You realize what? Sufficient is sufficient. There’s sufficient hate on this world; there’s sufficient frickin’ negativity on this world. If Mike needs to come back and see me and make amends, then I must be receptive.’ And I acquired in contact… And John Petrucci was additionally there. So he mentioned, ‘Mike needs to know if he can come again and say hello to you,’ like I simply mentioned. And I mentioned, ‘You realize what? Yeah. Let him know. For positive. Inform him to come back again and see me after the present.’ And that is what we did. We chatted. We had a superb, lengthy dialogue. We made up and gave one another a hug and did an image collectively.”

LaBrie later added that he is at some extent in his life the place carrying round negativity merely is not value it.

“The factor is that you simply get to a degree in life the place you’ve got gotta… You possibly can’t carry round that. Do not carry round hate; do not carry round negativity. We carried it round far too lengthy, so far as I am involved, and it did not serve any goal; it simply served frickin’ division. It was very divisive and really damaging.”

“Hey, hear, simply the opposite day Mike texts me, and he was, like, ‘Hey, James, I simply wanna congratulate you on the Grammy. You frickin’ effectively deserve this — you and the band. Superior. Kudos. Bravo,’ all these items. And I textual content Mike again, and I mentioned, ‘Frick, man. Mike, that is very admirable of you.’ I mentioned, ‘In my e-book, that is fairly rattling cool so that you can say these items.’ And he mentioned, ‘Superior, man. Find it irresistible.’

“So, it is nice to be again. We’re speaking to at least one one other, we’re chatting and all that stuff. And that is the form of world that I wanna reside in versus negativity, hate and frickin’… It is simply not value it. It is not value it.”