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Everyone's Replaceable

DREAM THEATER REALITY TV: EPISODE 1

 Monday, April 25th, 2011 at 5:00pm by

If you thought the trailer Dream Theater released last week teasing their new drummer announcement was corny… boy, have we got something for you today. Dream Theater are going all out with their drummer search and milking it for all it’s worth with a full-fledged documentary about the process of selecting Mike Portnoy’s replacement, complete with reality TV-style cutaways, staged shots, and one-on-one alone time interviews with the camera. Love ‘em or hate ‘em (I love ‘em), Dream Theater’s never shied away from the cheese so we should’ve expected something like this… but still, I wonder what Mike Portnoy thinks of this? You can be damn certain he’s following along.

If one of Mike Portnoy’s many trademarks was a dogged devotion to [and connection with] the fans, then post-MP Dream Theater are kicking the new era off with a decidedly more at-arms’-length approach with regards to their fans: “We will create this documentary to string you along, and you will follow us.” It’s hard to imagine the band putting this kind of reality-type series together with Portnoy still in the creative cockpit.

That said, I definitely enjoyed watching this. Here’s part 1 of the documentary; it features an intro that sets the stage for the auditions and shows footage of candidate Mike Mangini jamming with the band. And holy fuckticles, John Myung actually talks; never saw that coming! Embedding is disabled because the folks at WMG (Roadrunner’s parent company) are still completely retarded with regards to how the Internet works, so watch at the below link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L609JsPFmmI

-VN

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  • mattymo

    The one thing I learned about reading this posting is that “fuckticles” is a sweet new word.

  • M@

    I know I may be going against the cynical group-think here, but I enjoyed it. Roadrunner is obviously trying to use this turn of event sfor promotional mean. But it is really about the music, so I have no problem with it. It is not like RR put Petrucci on an episode of Wipeout or Myung on Dancing with the Stars

    • cxj

      imagine myung on wipeout. he would probably cry.

      • Dakka

        HAH

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Nick-Edwards/601844791 Nick Edwards

    Thoroughly enjoyed. Though it was incredibly cheesy. But I’ll take it as a good thing.

    Also am I the only one who thinks Mangini is a little bit terrifying?

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/Jesse-McInturff/1484765240 Jesse McInturff

      A good friend of mine studied under him at Berklee and said he is a pretty intense guy to deal with…very much a “my way or the highway” kinda teaching style. By the same point though, the guy is pretty undeniable. Apparently he was often at odds with the Berklee staff too.

      • clrtxf

        I’ve been at Berklee for a few semesters, as long as you know what the fuck you’re doing he’s a cool guy, just expects you to actually work (from what my friends who take lessons from him say). Comes off as a little crazy at times but definitely a nice guy in my few times running into him.

  • Strapping Young Lad

    well that was silly! MOERR PLEZ

  • http://crescentshield.com Crescent Shield

    This was the most entertaining thing Dream Theater has done in many many years.

    • Norm

      Agreed.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Alexander-Jacobs/100000030228475 Alexander Jacobs

    Mike Mangini is a fucking beast on those drums

  • Kervinator

    Pathetic

  • Bob Cock

    I totally enjoyed that. Yeah, the format is a little cheesy, but as a fan it’s kind of cool to see what’s all going on with this rigamarole.

  • Maderchod

    Embedding=maderchod

  • Andrew

    I loathe reality TV, and absolutely hate how DT’s doing this, but I was also entertained by the video.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Glenn-Pillsbury/641369365 Glenn Pillsbury

    I like it, as cheesy as it is.

    I don’t agree with this though: “It’s hard to imagine the band putting this kind of reality-type series together with Portnoy still in the creative cockpit.”

    I think Portnoy would have added the idea of fans voting to choose the member in question.

  • sYgnal

    Now if they could only put this much thought into their next album and push the boundaries like they did with Images & Words and Metropolis Pt.2. With all due respect, DT were my idols in a post Glam Metal [See: shit], sloppy 3 chord “Alternative” world, BUT, I’m tired of the Metallica meets Kansas shtick they’ve been putting out for the past 10 years.

    Whomever they decide to choose, I hope they take a real experimental & fusion approach.

  • madne0

    Cheesy as hell, but i liked it!

    Pity they forgot Hoglan. I would have loved to see that mastodon up there.

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/Steve-Skjld-Nyholm/100000954872454 Steve Skjøld Nyholm

      doubt they forgot him, he just doesn’t blend with the group if you think about it. he’s more of a 4/4 guy anyway, not very progressive that is.

  • http://www.frankenblog.com frankenblog

    Tacky.

  • harro1

    Loved this. More please.

  • Aaron

    Honestly i guess i’m pretty cheesy myself i didn’t see the cheese factor! i enjoyed this more than i care to admit, i was giddy at parts! I just love Dream Theater way too much i have a serious problem..

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Cleber-Monteiro/100000392246968 Cleber Monteiro

    Cool!

    Not a DT fan,but that was interesting…

  • John

    That was pretty cool, and I really dislike DT.

    DEREK RODDY PLZ. DREAM THEATER NEEDS BLASTS

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Matt-Hurley/1289730334 Matt Hurley

    Its pretty obvious just from watching this that its Mangini. They gave him WAYYY more screen time in the beginning than anyone else. Hell, I don’t think Thomas Lang got any screen time at all.

    • Aether Jake

      Multiple episodes dude.

  • T. Saint

    Yeah, I’ve never really cared for the band but this is pretty neat.
    I hope you guys keep posting these updates.

  • Ender^Wiggin

    It was very entertaining, but I like reality TV (escapism) and Dream Theater so it’s all good.

    Furthermore, we all know Mangini got the gig.

  • trence75

    I jus

  • trence75

    I just want to know where to find JP’s solo album? I lost my copy and the link on his site seems to be broken.. I dig it more than DT .. :(

    • Slaughterhouse

      Im sure you can find it on Amazon or even just google it. I can’t wait for his 2nd album.

      On subject: I think its great. Total DT. I own all of their videos so I should know. They have always had that cheese ball type of entertainment and they don’t care which is the best part about it. I can’t wait to see the rest of the auditions but I have a hunch that its Mike Mangini that they chose. Reading a lot of posts by students at Berklee, they state that he just turned down the position to be Head of the Drum Department for bigger and better opportunities. You don’t do that unless you have a gig as big as Dream Theater and by watching the video. You can tell he really really wants it bad.

  • ok

    Wow, I didnt know Dante Hicks was in DT.

  • Bierko

    “Contains content from WMG, not available in my country”

    Apparently, WMG’s micromanagers don’t know how the internet works in different countries, either.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Jamel-Banner/731572742 Jamel Banner

    I Loved it….how come they can’t be that funny live ???

  • Bierko

    Annihilator should do a “making the band” every time they do an album.

    Hell, 60% of the bands out there could do one of these things and it’s business as usual. The difference here is arrogance and these assholes thinking they’re fucking rock stars and important. They’re a bunch of rich assholes that can’t make good music anymore and everywhere they go, they think people know them and are hanging on every word.

    The fans who stick around after this nonsense are just as dumb.

    • Slaughterhouse

      Are you saying that some musicians, in an established ROCK BAND are not ROCK STARS? Hmmmmm

  • Maderchod

    You sir are an ignorant asshole