Mike has written a guest blog on MTV's Headbangers Blog. Check it out here.
Mike has scheduled two in-store appearances to coincide with the coming tour:
Sunday, May 18 - 2pm
Daddy's Junky Music
1770 Central Ave.
Colonie (Albany), NY
Tuesday, May 20 - 2pm
Daddy's Junky Music
165 Mass Ave.
Boston, MA
Being that the Boston one is in the middle of a work day, I doubt you will be seeing me, but you never know :)
Mike has given an interview talking about his tattoos here.
along with some live footage has been posted here.
Supposedly this was on on Norwegian radio earlier today. But you can still check out the clips:
Check out the "Tinitus" MySpace page
Norway's Metal Express Radio has posted an interview with James at this location.
We here at dreamt.org would like to wish Mike Portnoy a very happy 40th birthday! Check out The Forum for a special video from Mike.
Sat March 24th - 2pm
The Drum Pad
48 West Palatine Rd
Palatine, IL 60067
847-934-8768
Thurs March 29th - 2pm
Resurrection Drums
Ft. Lauderdale, FL
(more info TBA)
Fri April 6th - 2pm
Daddy's Junky Music
159-165 Mass Ave.
Boston, MA
617-247-0909
With some help from RoadRunner, we now have:
Dream Theater MySpace
Mike Portnoy MySpace
Two more Jordan shows, this time with Rudess Morgenstein Project:
Mar. 19 - Baja, CA - Teatro del Estado
May 19 - Whittier, CA - Calprog 2007
There is a sneak peek of Mike's upcoming instructional video available. Check it out!
Check out Mike's latest interview with Tama here. He talks about the new album, G3, working with Neal Morse and lots more.
Here's an updated list of dates
March '07
14 Wed Dodge Theatre Phoenix, AZ US
15 Thu House Of Blues Las Vegas, NV US
16 Fri Grand Sierra Theatre Reno, NV US
17 Sat Berkeley Community Theatre Berkeley, CA US
18 Sun Orpheum Theatre Los Angeles, CA US
19 Mon The Grove Anaheim, CA US
20 Tue Copley Symphony Hall San Diego, CA US
22 Thu Paramount Theater Denver, CO US
23 Fri Uptown Theater Kansas City, MO US
24 Sat Congress Theatre Chicago, IL US
25 Sun Taft Theatre Cincinnati, OH US On Sale 2/17
28 Wed Tabernacle Atlanta, GA US On Sale 2/16
29 Thu Pompano Beach Amphitheater Pompano Beach, FL US On Sale 2/16
30 Fri House Of Blues Orlando, FL US On Sale 2/17
31 Sat House Of Blues Myrtle Beach, SC US On Sale 2/17
April '07
03 Tue Capitole du Quebec Quebec, CA On Sale 2/24
04 Wed Bell Centre Montreal, CA On Sale 2/24
05 Thu Massey Hall Toronto, CA On Sale 2/19
06 Fri Orpheum Theatre Boston, MA US On Sale 2/16
07 Sat Tower Theatre Upper Darby, PA US On Sale 2/17
11 Wed Theater at Madison Square Garden New York, NY US
Jordan will be opening for Blackfield at their East Coast dates next month. Blackfield is a collaboration between Porcupine Tree's Steven Wilson and Aviv Geffen. The dates are as follows:
Mar. 13 - Philadelphia, PA - World Cafe Live
Mar. 15 - Annapolis, MD - Ramshead
Mar. 16 - New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
Mar. 17 - Hoboken, NJ - Maxwell's
Mar. 18 - Boston, MA - Berklee Recital Hall
I'll be at the final date in Boston, hopefully see you all there!
The following March dates have been added so far for this year's G3 tour which includes Joe Satriani, John Petrucci, and Paul Gilbert:
14 Wed Dodge Theatre Phoenix, AZ US On Sale 2/3
15 Thu House Of Blues Las Vegas, NV US On Sale 2/2
16 Fri Grand Sierra Theatre Reno, NV US On Sale 2/3
17 Sat Berkeley Community Theatre Berkeley, CA US On Sale 2/4
18 Sun Orpheum Theatre Los Angeles, CA US On Sale 2/3
23 Fri Uptown Theater Kansas City, MO US On Sale 2/10
24 Sat Congress Theatre Chicago, IL US On Sale 2/10
Stay tuned for more dates as they become available.
Mike will be at NAMM on Saturday, January 20. At the Tama booth at 2:30 p.m. and at the Pro-Mark booth at 4:30 p.m.
Appearing for Roland with the RUDESS MORGENSTEIN PROJECT:
Friday, January 19:
11:15 a.m. - Showcase Theatre with Rudess Morgenstein Project
01:30 p.m. - Showcase Theatre with Rudess Morgenstein Project
02:30 p.m. - Keyboard Stage, Jordan solo clinic
Saturday, January 20:
11:15 a.m. - Showcase Theatre with Rudess Morgenstein Project
01:30 p.m. - Showcase Theatre with Rudess Morgenstein Project
02:30 p.m. - Keyboard Stage, Jordan solo clinic
Appearing at East West Sounds:
Thursday, January 17 at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m.
Friday, January 18 and Saturday, January 19 at 4 p.m.
Mike (along with Paul Gilbert) makes an appearance on Neal Morse's new CD, "Sola Scriptura", due on February 26.
Mike Portnoy joined Overkill on Sept. 30 during their set at the PNC Bank Arts Center in New Jersey to perform the song "Elimination".
From The Gauntlet:
Mike, Neal Morse and Rangy George released their Cover To Cover album on September 22nd. This album consists of songs from the recording sessions for Neal's discs.
Mike says about this disc:
"It comes down to this: I am a music fan. No matter how old I get or how much success I've had, I will always be that 11 year old kid in the KISS Army jamming along to Who tunes in my bedroom. Because of this, I still LOVE playing covers.
I have been able to tap into my Metal and Prog influences choosing covers with DT, but another HUGE side of my inspiration are my Classic Rock influences from the 60's and 70's. For the most part, the guys in DT don't share this same background so I've never been able to cover these classic bands with them.
However Neal and Randy TOTALLY do share this background, so when choosing covers with them rather than taking the obvious PROG road, we've enjoyed paying tribute to the more retro, pop-oriented side of our shared taste.
Gathered here on this CD is a collection of all of the covers we did together throughout the sessions for Neal's Testimony, One and ? sessions.
Expand your prog ears and enjoy!"
Jordan has a clinic in NYC this weekend about his use of the MusicPad Pro, the world's first digital sheet music tablet. The information is:
Saturday, September 30th, 2006, 2PM
Guitar Center Manhattan
25 W. 14th Street
Manhattan, NY 10011
From blabbermouth.net:
DREAM THEATER vocalist James LaBrie will record a guest appearance on one track on the upcoming solo album from drummer John Macaluso (TNT, ARK, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, JAMES LABRIE, STARBREAKER), entitled "John Macaluso's Union Radio - The Radio Waves Goodbye". The CD, which is tentatively scheduled for release in November via Lion Music, is described in online post as "a continuation of the ideas and themes John was working on while with ARK. The last ARK CD was to be called 'A Radio Kaos', which was canned after the band broke up." Other guest musicians set to appear on the album include Marco Sfogli (guitar), Randy Coven (bass) and Vitalij Kuprij (keyboards). More information will be made available soon.
Mike has posted an update on what he has been up to in his "down" time. You can read the whole thing over at Blabbermouth
James will appear on a new Trans-Siberian Orchestra-style rock opera called "Babysteps". More information can be found here.
From Jordan's site:
We at JR.com are excited to introduce our brand new online download store!Here you will find previously unreleased and hard-to-find Rudess media. While the initial launch of this site will contain rare JR music, we will be expanding and adding never before seen JR video footage, original JR synth programs and samples, and much more. Who knows what we will find as we dig further and further into Jordan's studio archives. Wish us luck!
Mike will take part in a signing session in Santiago, Chile on Saturday, December 6th. The location of this session is:
Avda. Lib. B. O'Higgins 142
Locales 156
Santiago, Chile
A day late, but happy 49th birthday to Jordan Rudess!
Jordan Rudess has released a new instructional video titled "Keyboard Madness: Mastering Live Performance".
Description from dreamtheater.net:
"Critically-acclaimed keyboard artist and educator Jordan Rudess takes a deep look inside the world of live keyboard performance and shares his knowledge of what it takes to become a true keyboard master. Get an in-depth look at his unique approach to performance with DREAM THEATER using examples spanning across the entire DREAM THEATER catalog, as well as Jordan's numerous solo projects. Enjoy watching the wizard at work, while learning how to harness the power of today's keyboard technology. Jordan also shares his warm-up routine through a series of technical exercises that will sharpen your skills and get you ready to play. Also included is close-up bonus footage of Jordan performing three songs from his solo album, 'Rhythm of Time'. This DVD is jam-packed with two hours of pure 'keyboard madness.'"
From James's official web site:
Hi Everyone,Yes the rumor is true. I have been in contact with Dirk Ulrich and we have agreed to do this album which will be incredible to say the least. I do know who the other singer is but won't say at this point. I will wait until everything is official and all legalities have been dealt with. All I can say is this individual is very well known and one of the top opera stars of today.
Great seeing you out on tour. We are having a blast and the shows have been fantastic.
See you around.
Cheers,
James
John Petrucci has scheduled a guitar clinic at Sound Control store (Oxford Street) in London, England on October 23.
Mike did a chat in the Gigantour Chat Rooms recently and the transcript is now available at the Forums on MikePortnoy.com
From Blabbermouth:
DREAM THEATER drummer Mike Portnoy will perform with CYGNUS & THE SEA MONSTERS (a tribute to RUSH — featuring RACER X/ex-MR. BIG guitarist Paul Gilbert, ex-CYNIC bassist Sean Malone and WATCHTWOWER/DANGEROUS TOYS singer Jason McMaster) at a special drumming event to commemorate the The Drum Pad's 20th anniversary on Sunday, September 18 at The Vic Theatre in Chicago, Illinois. Also appearing on the bill will be Terry Bozzio, Chad Wackerman, THE JIMMY CHAMBERLIN COMPLEX, Jeff Hamilton, Steve Smith, Zakir Hussain with GEORGE BROOKS' SUMMIT, and Mike Mangini. Tickets are on sale now only at The Drum Pad. General admission $55, opera box seating $65 (sold out). All ages welcome. Phone (847) 934-8768.
From Blabbermouth:
A 20-minute video interview with DREAM THEATER frontman James LaBrie, conducted during the singer's recent European tour in support of his "Elements of Persuasion" solo album, has been posted online at this location (Windows Media).
An audio interview with Mike by Eddie Trunk is now available.
There is an interview with James in IMPACT! which is nhl.com's online magazine.