Ex-DREAM THEATER Drummer MIKE PORTNOY Says He Is 'Sowing His Musical Oats' (Video)

"Metal Zone" host Nikki Blakk of the San Francisco, California radio station 107.7 The Bone conducted an interview with former DREAM THEATER/AVENGED SEVENFOLD drummer Mike Portnoy at the third annual Revolver Golden Gods Awards, which was held on Wednesday, April 20 at Club Nokia in downtown Los Angeles, California. The chat can now be viewed below.

On what projects he is currently involved with:

"I'm just doing a bunch of different projects, different albums, planting the seeds and seeing what grows."

"I'm definitely not the type to sit around waiting for a phone call [for someone to ask me to join their band]. If I got a call and was offered something, I would surely consider it. But in the meantime, I am doing all these other projects on my own. I don't know which will become permanent or which will be temporary. Like I said, I'm just gonna plant the seeds and see what happens.

"I've got this one project with Russell Allen, who is the singer from SYMPHONY X — a real heavy thing, which is really cool. I've got another thing with Steve Morse, the guitar player from DEEP PURPLE. We're doing more of a proggy, poppy kind of thing. Just different stuff.

"It's like a newborn bachelor after being married for 25 years; I'm sowing my musical oats."

On the support he has received from the online community:

"The DREAM THEATER fans and AVENGED SEVENFOLD fans are the most supportive fans in the world. They can also be the most critical, but the supportive ones are awesome, and I love them and appreciate them so much."

Portnoy, who co-founded DREAM THEATER more than 20 years ago, abruptly quit the band last summer while on tour with AVENGED SEVENFOLD. He has since been replaced by Mike Mangini (ANNIHILATOR, EXTREME, JAMES LABRIE, STEVE VAI).

Portnoy played on AVENGED SEVENFOLD's latest album, "Nightmare", following the death of that band's drummer, Jimmy "The Rev" Sullivan, and toured with them for the entire second half of 2010.

Portnoy recently began laying down tracks on the debut album from the new band featuring SYMPHONY X frontman Russell Allen and guitar virtuoso Mike Orlando (SONIC STOMP). Portnoy is also involved in a separate new project with guitarist Steve Morse (DEEP PURPLE, DIXIE DREGS),multi-instrumentalist Neal Morse (TRANSATLANTIC, SPOCK'S BEARD),bassist Dave LaRue (DIXIE DREGS) and vocalist Casey McPherson (ALPHA REV, ENDOCHINE). That group's debut album is tentatively due later in the year.