Juggling bands is what Mike Portnoy does but in a recent interview he says The Winery Dogs are his main focus.
The former Dream Theater drummer is known for his work with a variety of bands including Metal Allegiance, Twisted Sister, The Neal Morse Band and Flying Colours.
He recently told Metal Assault “I can handle it. I’m wired that way. It’s not for everyone, though. Very few people in the business keep as busy as I do. I choose to do it and I enjoy doing it. It’s just the way I’m wired, and I’m a workaholic. A lot of people don’t understand that, and I feel that there’s a lot of skepticism around any band I’m associated with, as if it’s a negative thing. To me, it’s a positive thing. It’s all about the music, and I work as hard as I do strictly because of the music. It’s not a money thing, it’s not a career thing. It’s simply to do with me being a music fan with a broad taste, wanting to do different styles and wanting to work with lots of different people. After spending 25 years strictly dedicated to one band, I feel free now! As far as I know, you only live once. So, I want to make the most of it while I can and work with as many different people as I can. And as long as I am willing to juggle it in my schedule, I don’t see why anybody else should have an issue with it.”
Even though he says he feels free from being with one band he also says of the new band, “The Winery Dogs, which is the main thing in my life. We’ll be on the road solid for the next year, doing over a hundred shows and traveling the world. I think we’re definitely, finally proving that this is a real band and we’re here to stay.”
Portnoy who quit Dream Theater in 2010 and says the risk of leaving the established prog metal outfit was worth it. “It’s been an incredible experience, playing with Twisted Sister, Stone Sour, Avenged Sevenfold, jamming with Ace Frehley and Peter Criss, and the list goes on and on. Everything I’ve done in the last five years is the stuff dreams are made of.”
Here is the bands latest video.
