MIKE PORTNOY Has No Plans To Write Autobiography: 'It Seems Like Everything's Been Said Already'

Mike Portnoy says that he has no plans to write an autobiography.

The ex-DREAM THEATER drummer addressed the possibility of a tell-all book while filming a new video message on Cameo, which lets users hire celebrities to record brief, personalized video messages about virtually any topic.

Asked if he has ever thought of penning an autobiography, Mike said (see video below): "Well, not really, to be honest. I've had some different offers from different publishers about doing that through the years, and, to be honest… I don't know. It seems like everything's been said already. All my 25 years in DREAM THEATER — '85 to 2010 — that is well documented. The 'Lifting Shadows' book that Rich Wilson did covers all of those years in detail. And then everything I've done since then — in the last 10 years, I've done so many interviews — it's all been done to death. And to be honest, I've stopped doing interviews this year. I'm just kind of tired of words being taken out of context and used as clickbait on all these metal web sites and stuff like that. So doing a book or an autobiography would just be feeding them — they would be running off with all these toxic, negative, out-of-context clickbait quotes. And I don't know… I just don't need that drama. And the bands that I play with and played with don't need that drama either. So [I'm] better off just avoiding all that."

Portnoy, who co-founded DREAM THEATER 35 years ago, abruptly quit the band in September 2010 while on tour with AVENGED SEVENFOLD. He has since been replaced by Mike Mangini (ANNIHILATOR, EXTREME, STEVE VAI). Portnoy later revealed that he tried to rejoin DREAM THEATER, only to be rebuffed.

Mike told Loud that he left DREAM THEATER because he wanted to expand his musical horizons. "[I didn't] want to go to my grave and just be the drummer from DREAM THEATER," he said. "I knew there was way more to what I had to offer."

Portnoy is currently the drummer in SONS OF APOLLO, THE WINERY DOGS, TRANSATLANTIC, FLYING COLORS, THE NEAL MORSE BAND and METAL ALLEGIANCE. He has also recorded and/or toured/performed live with AVENGED SEVENFOLD, TWISTED SISTER, ADRENALINE MOB, PSMS, LIQUID TENSION EXPERIMENT, OSI, BIGELF, HAIL!, STONE SOUR, FATES WARNING, OVERKILL and his four tribute bands with Paul Gilbert: YELLOW MATTER CUSTARD, HAMMER OF THE GODS, AMAZING JOURNEY and CYGNUS & THE SEA MONSTERS.

Mike's long list of awards includes 30 Modern Drummer magazine readers' poll awards including Hall Of Fame inductee in 2004, MVP Of The Year in 2010 and 2013, Best Progressive Rock Drummer (for the magazine's record of 13 times),Best Clinician (twice),Best Educational Video/DVD for "Liquid Drum Theater", and Best Recorded Performance Of The Year (eight times) for DREAM THEATER's "Awake", "A Change of Seasons", "Falling Into Infinity", "Scenes From A Memory", "Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence", "Score", AVENGED SEVENFOLD's "Nightmare" and THE WINERY DOGS' debut. He also holds the distinction of currently being the youngest drummer in Modern Drummer's Hall Of Fame. He also is the recipient of 16 Drum! magazine Drummie Awards, including "Drummer Of The Year" three times (2011, 2012 and 2014) and was honored with a Revolver Golden Gods award in 2011 for Drummer Of The Year.