So Mike Portnoy doesn't like any Rush after Moving Pictures?

[BenjaminW]

Mike Portnoy is definitely one of my favorite drummers out there, but if you want to know how he feels about Rush, you could always just meet him and ask him about it.

He doesn’t run away from fans?

 

if your wearing Post Portnoy DT shirt he'll unleash a mighty bitch fit on you.

 

Mick

Crap, I gotta do something about my Images, Words & Beyond shirt.

 

i got it....Get it signed by Mike Mangini. then Mail it to Portnoy.....then sit back for the fun, lol

 

Mick

Even better: I ask Mangini to sign a copy of The Astonishing and send it to Portnoy with a note saying "This album is better than Metropolis Pt. 2!"

[New_World_Man]

I think he is essentially saying he is a 70's era Rush fan. Not a big fan of what came after. A lot of people were not. I don't care what he thinks and I'm a fan of him.

 

I'd tell Mike that his big super group Sons of Apollo is weak and should have been so much better. Cookie cutter, and formulaic.

 

Yes but what I'm trying to figure out is why is it ok when other bands play shorter songs but not Rush? WTF?

 

What is there to figure out? So, if I'm a musician, my band has to play nothing but 20-minute prog epics just because I'm also a huge fan of pre-1981 Rush? And I'm a hypocrite if my band plays short songs?

.

 

Ding, ding ding. We have a winner! :)

 

Wait, so that's what you actually believe? Really? Or are you just pulling our chains? I think you're just pulling our chains. :)

 

I do seem some hypocrisy in it yes. That's how I feel. Does that make me less of a Rush fan than Mike Portnoy? :P

 

The only thing I can think of is that he just didn't like that semi new wave sound or the keyboard dominated sound. I guess he just likes more edge and a more guitar led or heavy element in his music. If that's the case then I can maybe give him a break but I still don't really get the hate.

Edited January 3, 2018 by New_World_Man

[New_World_Man]

Mike Portnoy is definitely one of my favorite drummers out there, but if you want to know how he feels about Rush, you could always just meet him and ask him about it.

He doesn’t run away from fans?

 

if your wearing Post Portnoy DT shirt he'll unleash a mighty bitch fit on you.

 

Mick

Crap, I gotta do something about my Images, Words & Beyond shirt.

 

i got it....Get it signed by Mike Mangini. then Mail it to Portnoy.....then sit back for the fun, lol

 

Mick

Even better: I ask Mangini to sign a copy of The Astonishing and send it to Portnoy with a note saying "This album is better than Metropolis Pt. 2!"

 

Ouch. Yeah, he doesn't like that.

[1-0-0-1-0-0-1]

I think he is essentially saying he is a 70's era Rush fan. Not a big fan of what came after. A lot of people were not. I don't care what he thinks and I'm a fan of him.

 

I'd tell Mike that his big super group Sons of Apollo is weak and should have been so much better. Cookie cutter, and formulaic.

 

Yes but what I'm trying to figure out is why is it ok when other bands play shorter songs but not Rush? WTF?

 

What is there to figure out? So, if I'm a musician, my band has to play nothing but 20-minute prog epics just because I'm also a huge fan of pre-1981 Rush? And I'm a hypocrite if my band plays short songs?

.

 

Ding, ding ding. We have a winner! :)

 

Wait, so that's what you actually believe? Really? Or are you just pulling our chains? I think you're just pulling our chains. :)

 

I do seem some hypocrisy in it yes. That's how I feel. Does that make me less than a Rush fan than Mike Portnoy? :P

 

A Rush fan is a Rush fan. Either you like their music or you don't. Doesn't matter if you like all of Rush's albums or just their old ones. Plenty of famous musicians love Rush, were heavily influenced by them while they were learning their instruments, yet they don't play in prog bands. Are they less of a Rush fan because of that? Are they hypocrites? No, of course not. Mike Portnoy is no different just because he USED to play in a prog band.

[New_World_Man]

I think he is essentially saying he is a 70's era Rush fan. Not a big fan of what came after. A lot of people were not. I don't care what he thinks and I'm a fan of him.

 

I'd tell Mike that his big super group Sons of Apollo is weak and should have been so much better. Cookie cutter, and formulaic.

 

Yes but what I'm trying to figure out is why is it ok when other bands play shorter songs but not Rush? WTF?

 

What is there to figure out? So, if I'm a musician, my band has to play nothing but 20-minute prog epics just because I'm also a huge fan of pre-1981 Rush? And I'm a hypocrite if my band plays short songs?

.

 

Ding, ding ding. We have a winner! :)

 

Wait, so that's what you actually believe? Really? Or are you just pulling our chains? I think you're just pulling our chains. :)

 

I do seem some hypocrisy in it yes. That's how I feel. Does that make me less than a Rush fan than Mike Portnoy? :P

 

A Rush fan is a Rush fan. Either you like their music or you don't. Doesn't matter if you like all of Rush's albums or just their old ones. Plenty of famous musicians love Rush, were heavily influenced by them while they were learning their instruments, yet they don't play in prog bands. Are they less of a Rush fan because of that? Are they hypocrites? No, of course not. Mike Portnoy is no different just because he USED to play in a prog band.

 

You don't get where I'm coming from in this and that's ok. We are all entitled to our opinions. :)

 

Anyway, I added this after you posted: The only thing I can think of is that he just didn't like that semi new wave sound or the keyboard dominated sound. I guess he just likes more edge and a more guitar led or heavy element in his music. If that's the case then I can maybe give him a break but I still don't really get the hate.

 

Also, not used to. He still does play in a prog band(if not bands).

Edited January 3, 2018 by New_World_Man

[Tick]

I think he is essentially saying he is a 70's era Rush fan. Not a big fan of what came after. A lot of people were not. I don't care what he thinks and I'm a fan of him.

 

I'd tell Mike that his big super group Sons of Apollo is weak and should have been so much better. Cookie cutter, and formulaic.

Bumblefoot's guitar playing kicks ass though!

The musicians are great. No complaints. My complaint is it sounds rushed. Mike paints this album as his glorious return to prog metal. On that level it disapoints me. Its not horrible but its nothing special.

 

But that really has nothing to do with the silly topic were discussing. 1001 has said it quite well. Mike was on camera speaking as a fan not a fellow musician. He gave his thoughts on what Rush is to him, and that is the 70's era. Why that is being a hypocrite is what makes this topic so ridiculous.

[Segue Myles]

I think he is essentially saying he is a 70's era Rush fan. Not a big fan of what came after. A lot of people were not. I don't care what he thinks and I'm a fan of him.

 

I'd tell Mike that his big super group Sons of Apollo is weak and should have been so much better. Cookie cutter, and formulaic.

Bumblefoot's guitar playing kicks ass though!

The musicians are great. No complaints. My complaint is it sounds rushed. Mike paints this album as his glorious return to prog metal. On that level it disapoints me. Its not horrible but its nothing special.

 

But that really has nothing to do with the silly topic were discussing. 1001 has said it quite well. Mike was on camera speaking as a fan not a fellow musician. He gave his thoughts on what Rush is to him, and that is the 70's era. Why that is being a hypocrite is what makes this topic so ridiculous.

 

Agreeeeeed!

[bluefox4000]

I think he is essentially saying he is a 70's era Rush fan. Not a big fan of what came after. A lot of people were not. I don't care what he thinks and I'm a fan of him.

 

I'd tell Mike that his big super group Sons of Apollo is weak and should have been so much better. Cookie cutter, and formulaic.

Bumblefoot's guitar playing kicks ass though!

The musicians are great. No complaints. My complaint is it sounds rushed. Mike paints this album as his glorious return to prog metal. On that level it disapoints me. Its not horrible but its nothing special.

 

But that really has nothing to do with the silly topic were discussing. 1001 has said it quite well. Mike was on camera speaking as a fan not a fellow musician. He gave his thoughts on what Rush is to him, and that is the 70's era. Why that is being a hypocrite is what makes this topic so ridiculous.

 

Agreeeeeed!

 

Seconded

 

the guy's annoying.....not a hypocrite, lol

 

Mick

[treeduck]

I think he is essentially saying he is a 70's era Rush fan. Not a big fan of what came after. A lot of people were not. I don't care what he thinks and I'm a fan of him.

 

I'd tell Mike that his big super group Sons of Apollo is weak and should have been so much better. Cookie cutter, and formulaic.

Bumblefoot's guitar playing kicks ass though!

The musicians are great. No complaints. My complaint is it sounds rushed. Mike paints this album as his glorious return to prog metal. On that level it disapoints me. Its not horrible but its nothing special.

 

But that really has nothing to do with the silly topic were discussing. 1001 has said it quite well. Mike was on camera speaking as a fan not a fellow musician. He gave his thoughts on what Rush is to him, and that is the 70's era. Why that is being a hypocrite is what makes this topic so ridiculous.

What Portnoy knows is what every RUSH fan should, RUSH ARE METAL! :haz: And when they're not they're dead! Go back to being metal too Tick and you'll rise up from the corpse you've become these last few years! :P :smoke:

[Tick]

I think he is essentially saying he is a 70's era Rush fan. Not a big fan of what came after. A lot of people were not. I don't care what he thinks and I'm a fan of him.

 

I'd tell Mike that his big super group Sons of Apollo is weak and should have been so much better. Cookie cutter, and formulaic.

Bumblefoot's guitar playing kicks ass though!

The musicians are great. No complaints. My complaint is it sounds rushed. Mike paints this album as his glorious return to prog metal. On that level it disapoints me. Its not horrible but its nothing special.

 

But that really has nothing to do with the silly topic were discussing. 1001 has said it quite well. Mike was on camera speaking as a fan not a fellow musician. He gave his thoughts on what Rush is to him, and that is the 70's era. Why that is being a hypocrite is what makes this topic so ridiculous.

What Portnoy knows is what every RUSH fan should, RUSH ARE METAL! :haz: And when they're not they're dead! Go back to being metal too Tick and you'll rise up from the corpse you've become these last few years! :P :smoke:

The drummer who came into my band a little less than a year ago is a metal drummer. He has said many times our music is more complex and harder to play than the stuff he was playing. Just sayin...

 

Rush survived for over 40 years because they kept evolving. If they continued to stay with the 70's sound would they have endured as long? One could argue, no way.

[bluefox4000]

To be fair. Mike calls EVERY SINGLE ALBUM he puts out his glorious return.

 

Mick

[Tick]

To be fair. Mike calls EVERY SINGLE ALBUM he puts out his glorious return.

 

Mick

No doubt he over hypes everything but he really went over the top with Sons saying its his new permanent band and primary focus.The record sales say otherwise.

[bluefox4000]

To be fair. Mike calls EVERY SINGLE ALBUM he puts out his glorious return.

 

Mick

No doubt he over hypes everything but he really went over the top with Sons saying its his new permanent band and primary focus.The record sales say otherwise.

 

oh come Mike we know you. you'll leave this band in a few months tops.

 

think he has ADD, lol

 

Mick

[treeduck]

I think he is essentially saying he is a 70's era Rush fan. Not a big fan of what came after. A lot of people were not. I don't care what he thinks and I'm a fan of him.

 

I'd tell Mike that his big super group Sons of Apollo is weak and should have been so much better. Cookie cutter, and formulaic.

Bumblefoot's guitar playing kicks ass though!

The musicians are great. No complaints. My complaint is it sounds rushed. Mike paints this album as his glorious return to prog metal. On that level it disapoints me. Its not horrible but its nothing special.

 

But that really has nothing to do with the silly topic were discussing. 1001 has said it quite well. Mike was on camera speaking as a fan not a fellow musician. He gave his thoughts on what Rush is to him, and that is the 70's era. Why that is being a hypocrite is what makes this topic so ridiculous.

What Portnoy knows is what every RUSH fan should, RUSH ARE METAL! :haz: And when they're not they're dead! Go back to being metal too Tick and you'll rise up from the corpse you've become these last few years! :P :smoke:

The drummer who came into my band a little less than a year ago is a metal drummer. He has said many times our music is more complex and harder to play than the stuff he was playing. Just sayin...

 

Rush survived for over 40 years because they kept evolving. If they continued to stay with the 70's sound would they have endured as long? One could argue, no way.

Me and Portnoy are the same, I think he's 6 weeks younger than me so we're basically the same age, we obviously see RUSH the same way. We got into RUSH in the late 70's/early 80's and when RUSH turned with the release of Signals it was a slap in the face. More of the reggae textures, dance beats, less or no heavy guitars, Geddy going from being a shrieker to being a crooner, a kind of new wave image, it's not what we wanted. That's not some kind of high end prog shift that you purport it to be, that's a shift to dad pop! You're a dad pop guy Tick! YOU caused RUSH to lose their balls! You turned into an 80's new wave poser a dad popper and so did RUSH!

[treeduck]

I think he is essentially saying he is a 70's era Rush fan. Not a big fan of what came after. A lot of people were not. I don't care what he thinks and I'm a fan of him.

 

I'd tell Mike that his big super group Sons of Apollo is weak and should have been so much better. Cookie cutter, and formulaic.

 

Yes but what I'm trying to figure out is why is it ok when other bands play shorter songs but not Rush? WTF?

 

What is there to figure out? So, if I'm a musician, my band has to play nothing but 20-minute prog epics just because I'm also a huge fan of pre-1981 Rush? And I'm a hypocrite if my band plays short songs?

.

 

Ding, ding ding. We have a winner! :)

 

Wait, so that's what you actually believe? Really? Or are you just pulling our chains? I think you're just pulling our chains. :)

 

I do seem some hypocrisy in it yes. That's how I feel. Does that make me less than a Rush fan than Mike Portnoy? :P

 

A Rush fan is a Rush fan. Either you like their music or you don't. Doesn't matter if you like all of Rush's albums or just their old ones. Plenty of famous musicians love Rush, were heavily influenced by them while they were learning their instruments, yet they don't play in prog bands. Are they less of a Rush fan because of that? Are they hypocrites? No, of course not. Mike Portnoy is no different just because he USED to play in a prog band.

USED to play in a METAL band! :hail:

[treeduck]

Now here's an album that is high end prog (and it has some heavy guitars). Me and my pal Portnoy like this one:

 

[Tick]

Now here's an album that is high end prog (and it has some heavy guitars). Me and my pal Portnoy like this one:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUqT_BA4fsg

Saw them last September. Amazing show!

[treeduck]

Now here's an album that is high end prog (and it has some heavy guitars). Me and my pal Portnoy like this one:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUqT_BA4fsg

Saw them last September. Amazing show!

:haz: :haz: :haz: :givebeer:

[Rod in Toronto]

He was expressing his opinion as a fan, but he'd still go out and see them live on every tour. He named Dream Theater Majesty after he and John Petrucci were lining up to buy tickets to see Rush on the Power Windows tour and said that "Rush sounds so majestic!".

 

He's also friends with all three Rush members, and wrote the liner notes of the Japanese edition of Vapor Trails.

[Rod in Toronto]

http://www.2112.net/powerwindows/transcripts/20020514vtjapaneselinernotes.htm

[Tony R]

It’s the nature of genius to provide idiots with ideas 30 years later.

 

[Rod in Toronto]

It’s the nature of genius to provide idiots with ideas 30 years later.

 

Yes, but when the meek inherit the Earth... what will they do about it???.

[rftag]

I suspect that Portnoy is simply representative of a large subset of Rush fans who lost interest in Rush after Moving Pictures because of their shift towards what many would describe as "synth pop".

 

Discussions about this can get very heated obviously. Many object to using the word "pop" in the context of Rush for example because they take it as an insinuation that Rush softened its sound and moved towards a synth driven rather than guitar driven sound primarily for commercial reasons.

 

That's not an argument that interests me. I find it hard to believe that a band that had the balls to do something as unconventional as 2112 when they were essentially issued an ultimatum to make a more publicly accessible album or else get out of town would change their sound in an attempt to reach the top of the charts.

 

But at the same time I don't summarily dismiss the possibility. They aren't morally perfect gods, they're human beings.

 

At that point in their lives (after MP), they were all married with children and approaching or past 30 (an age that seems REALLY OLD at that point in your life) and had experienced unprecedented commercial success. I don't think it's impossible that the idea of putting out something that could reach a wider audience than MP by changing their sound to something more radio friendly didn't figure in their decision to change sonic direction.

 

After all, the bands they cite as influencing them in their choice to change direction were The Police and U2, not some underground band they heard in some small club or some such.

 

They could reasonably be expected at that point in their lives to have recognized the unique opportunity they had to firmly establish sound and stable economic security for themselves and their families.

 

Consciously or subconsciously.

 

Nothing wrong with that.

 

I'm not saying I think they did that; I'm skeptical of the possibility frankly for many reasons.

 

But I don't think it should be so casually or angrily dismissed as it seems to so often be.

 

Yeah, I know I've stepped into the shit with this post and can anticipate some angry responses but - hey - just saying.

 

I apologize in advance for pissing anyone off...

Edited January 12, 2018 by rftag

[Entre_Perpetuo]

I suspect that Portnoy is simply representative of a large subset of Rush fans who lost interest in Rush after Moving Pictures because of their shift towards what many would describe as "synth pop".

 

Discussions about this can get very heated obviously. Many object to using the word "pop" in the context of Rush for example because they take it as an insinuation that Rush softened its sound and moved towards a synth driven rather than guitar driven sound primarily for commercial reasons.

 

That's not an argument that interests me. I find it hard to believe that a band that had the balls to do something as unconventional as 2112 when they were essentially issued an ultimatum to make a more publicly accessible album or else get out of town would change their sound in an attempt to reach the top of the charts.

 

But at the same time I don't summarily dismiss the possibility. They aren't morally perfect gods, they're human beings.

 

At that point in their lives (after MP), they were all married with children and approaching or past 30 (an age that seems REALLY OLD at that point in your life) and had experienced unprecedented commercial success. I don't think it's impossible that the idea of putting out something that could reach a wider audience than MP by changing their sound to something more radio friendly didn't figure in their decision to change sonic direction.

 

After all, the bands they cite as influencing them in their choice to change direction were The Police and U2, not some underground band they heard in some small club or some such.

 

They could reasonably be expected at that point in their lives to have recognized the unique opportunity they had to firmly establish sound and stable economic security for themselves and their families.

 

Consciously or subconsciously.

 

Nothing wrong with that.

 

I'm not saying I think they did that; I'm skeptical of the possibility frankly for many reasons.

 

But I don't think it should be so casually or angrily dismissed as it seems to so often be.

 

Yeah, I know I've stepped into the shit with this post and can anticipate some angry responses but - hey - just saying.

 

I apologize in advance for pissing anyone off...

 

 

I'd argue the reason Rush went more accessible/trendy in the 80s had much less to do with wanting to achieve chart success than it had to do with the same ideas that drove them towards bridging the gap between prog and hard rock in the 70s. They just learned some techniques and aesthetics from new bands that they were really into at the time. In the 70s, Rush weren't emulating weird underground stuff, they were emulating the biggest names in hard and progressive rock, which were just some of the biggest names in rock at that point. Sabbath and Zep, Yes and The Who, these were all big ticket bands when Rush started finding their way in the 70s. By the 80s all of those bands had changed and/or kind of disappeared, and Rush's own tastes had changed (not to mention after recording Hems they wanted nothing to do with giant overblown concept pieces and piercing screams anymore). They were hooked on what the new sounds playing on the radio were, The Police and U2, Talking Heads and all that sort of stuff. That's the primary reason they changed their sound, it felt natural to them to continue playing the music that they enjoyed listening to, and at that point in time that music just happened to be poppier and more accessible. Also, the evidence shows that even when working with more commercial sounds and styles, they never did manage write a pop radio smash hit, as commercial as Time Stand Still or New World Man may sound. Rush were still known as a power rock trio, just one that now could play darn good synth pop and wrote much shorter (and seemingly simpler) songs. If they had been aiming for commercial success as a primary goal, my bet is they would've cut out any potentially unnecessary instrumental sections (or instruments for that matter), added more choruses (and catchier ones), put Ged or Alex back in charge of lyrics (and written something a little closer to Rush 1.0 lyric wise), and overall just streamlined their sound not only beyond recognition, but beyond differentiation from The Police or Devo or any of that. There's nothing very simple or all that radio friendly about the majority of PoW or HYF really (save the aforementioned Time Stand Still), and those were the end results of the changes they started making with PeW, meaning they weren't really going for simplification or accessibility in the end, they were just chasing a different aesthetic.

 

 

Sorry for the ranty two cents there, I don't really disagree with you so much as I just wanted to put my opinion out there.

[RUSHHEAD666]

Portnoy's a dipstick. Talented but a dipstick

 

Mick

 

This