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And the search for a Mike Portnoy seat-warmer until he inevitably returns to Dream Theater continues with DT TV Episode 2! I’ll admit it… I’m definitely enjoying this documentary, cheesy as it may be. It’s really cool to be able to see how different drummers react to the tests Dream Theater throws at them and to see every auditioning drummer’s strengths and weaknesses. And to hear John Myung’s voice.

DT TV Episode 2 starts off with Derek Roddy, and it’s clear from the get-go that things aren’t going to pan out well for him. The film-makers somewhat unfairly decided not to mix his drum kit properly in the final film mix, intentionally making him sound shitty compared to the tight, clear tones of every other auditioning drummer. They may as well have inserted sad trombone sound effects. But the musical chemistry didn’t appear to be there anyway; Roddy couldn’t immediately grasp the brand new riff the band threw at him with a wonky, multiple meter switcheroo, no easy task, but if you’re gonna be DT’s drummer you gotta be able to hang.

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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

The hullabaloo surrounding Dream Theater’s cheesy “search for a drummer” documentary just got 14.29% less annoying: Marco Minnemann has announced via his Facebook page that he is not Mike Portnoy’s replacement. The post has since been pulled — let’s assume he got wrist-slapped from someone in the DT or Roadrunner camps for leaking info that’s supposed to keep the public on the edge of their seats, dammit — but here’s the copy-and-paste via MS reader DemonicShredder:

Haha, thanks, but I’m not DTs drummer. I know everybody thinks I am and our chemistry is great, but I’m doing actually another thing with Jordan and there are also plans for another project with Jordan and John P together.

Now we’re down to Thomas Lang (himself, stOrk), Aquiles Priester (Hangar, ex-Angra), Virgil Donati (Planet X), Mike Mangini (Annihilator, Extreme, James LaBrie, Steve Vai), Derek Roddy (Hate Eternal, Nile, Malevolent Creation, Today is the Day), and Peter Wildoer (Darkane, Pestilence). We knew about the Rudess / Minnemann project, but the Rudess / Petrucci / Minnemann combo is a tasty bi-product morsel of this admission.

Watch the cornball (but entertaining) “drummer search” documentary here for the price of a Facebook like; I gotta hand it to Roadrunner for milking this thing for all it’s worth and for not even mentioning the word “Portnoy” in their press release.

-VN

When Mike Portnoy announced he would be leaving Dream Theater, many of you speculated in our comments section that drum great Marco Minneman (who played in Necrophagist for a while, among countless other musical endeavors) might be on the shortlist of potential replacements. The following is of course completely reckless speculation and nothing other than conjecture, but a recent announcement has given at least a shred of credence to the possibility that Minnemann might be the man to warm Protnoy’s drum throne until he and the band mutually decide it’s time for him to come back.

Reader Dean Ferro sent us this link earlier this week, announcing a collaboration between DT keyboardist Jordan Rudess and Minnemann:

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Watch ex-Necrophagist drummer Marco Minnemann go nuts on the kit. Sick. As in both “holy shit is this guy amazing” and “the quick camera cuts and pans are making my stomach ill (more feet and hand closeups please!).” But still… This ought to be enough to make any aspiring drummers in the MS readership consider putting down the sticks for good, the way I get all depressed and never want to touch my guitar again every time I see John Petrucci play live.

-VN

[Thanks: Jess Z.]