Iconic drummer Mike Portnoy says he owes it all to Rush

For 40 years, Mike Portnoy, one of the greatest rock drummers of all time, has been the driving force behind the prog rock band Dream Theater. But for more than a decade, he and the band were split.

That all changed last year when Portnoy reunited with the band and they recorded their latest album, Parasomnia. In a Q interview, Portnoy sits down with Tom Power to tell the story of Dream Theater — and that story actually starts with another influential band: Rush.

As a kid, Portnoy's biggest heroes were Ringo Starr of The Beatles, Charlie Watts of The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham, The Who's Keith Moon and Kiss drummer Peter Criss. Then he discovered Rush.

"Once I discovered [Neil Peart] and Rush and Genesis and King Crimson and Yes and all that stuff, that turned me upside down and made me become the drummer I am today," he says.

While it's clear Portnoy has an immense amount of respect and admiration for all the legendary rock drummers who've come before him, Rush holds a particularly special place in his heart.

"You're talking to a Rush fanatic here," he tells Power. "Dream Theater was built and born out of our love for Rush. In fact, the first name of the band before Dream Theater, we were called Majesty. We're at Berklee College of Music, it was '85, and myself, John Petrucci and John Myung, we met out of a mutual love for Rush. And that was the type of band we wanted to be."

Portnoy recalls meeting Petrucci and Myung within the first couple weeks of school. "They saw me jamming in a practice room wearing Rush T-shirts and stuff like that, so we knew that that was a common ground for us," he says.

Together, they came up with the band name Majesty after sleeping outside at the Berklee Performance Center, waiting in line for tickets to Rush's Power Windows tour.

"We were listening to Caress of Steel and the song Bastille Day came on," Portnoy recalls. "We're like, 'Oh man, listen to that! The ending when they go into the half-time thing and the guitar melody … that's so majestic. Hey, that'd be a great name for the band: Majesty!' And that was where the name of the band was born."

Portnoy says he "came in late in the game," discovering Rush in 1981 or 1982, when he was around 14 or 15.

"It was just the perfect band at the perfect time for what I needed," he says. "I was ready to really become a better drummer and I wanted to learn more about the drums and develop more as a musician. So Rush's music immediately blew my mind and I became obsessed with them and became obsessed with Neil.

"Everything I learned about progressive music — odd time signatures, the giant drum kit, the way to orchestrate drum parts melodically — I got all that from Neil. So once I discovered Neil, it developed me as a drummer and a musician in general. The fact that he was the band's lyricist as well really inspired me. I ended up becoming one of the lyricists in Dream Theater as well."

The full interview with Mike Portnoy is available on our YouTube channel and on our podcast, Q with Tom Power. Listen and follow wherever you get your podcasts.

Interview with Mike Portnoy produced by Mitch Pollock.