MIKE PORTNOY Talks ADRENALINE MOB, FLYING COLORS, JOHN SYKES And RICHIE KOTZEN (Audio)

This past week, Rustyn Rose of Metalholic.com conducted an interview with drummer Mike Portnoy (ADRENALINE MOB, FLYING COLORS, DREAM THEATER, AVENGED SEVENFOLD). You can now listen to the chat using the Mixcloud player below.

On recruiting DISTURBED bassist John Moyer for ADRENALINE MOB:

Portnoy: "I knew John from when DISTURBED and AVENGED SEVENFOLD toured together the summer of 2010. John was just perfect for the MOB for three reasons. I mean, first of all, personally, he's just such a sweet guy, easy-going guy, so I knew that he'd fit in personally. Second, musically, coming from DISTURBED's background, I knew that it woud be a good musical fit for what the MOB is about. And then third, and probably most importantly, with DISTURBED on an indefinite hiatus, it made him available and without any other attachments or commitments, which was an issue with our previous bass player, who just had other commitments and things that he couldn't fully commit himself to the MOB in 2012. And we needed somebody that is gung-ho and ready to go with nothing holding him back. So with DISTURBED's current status, it was really perfect timing for us to reach out and get John."

On his short-lived power-trio project with John Sykes (WHITESNAKE, THIN LIZZY) and Billy Sheehan (MR. BIG, DAVID LEE ROTH):

Portnoy: "Basically, I played on 12 demos that John had, and then Billy came in and played bass on, I think, four or five of them, and that was what was used to send out and shop for a record deal and all that kind of stuff. And we were waiting to start the album. The stuff that I worked on with John was great, and I was really excited about and loved the idea of working with John — he's a sweet guy, and we got along great, and I obviously really admire his talents. But let's just say we have very different work ethics. I like to do, do do and let's go, go, go, and I'm ready to go, whereas John [is] more [about] a lot of talking and leaving and talking and leaving. Billy and I were both waiting to start the album, and we'd give John a window of opportunity that would come and go, and then another window of opportunity that would come and go. And, as sad as it is to say it, Billy and I basically just got tired of waiting and decided to move on — just because we wanna work, we wanna make music. We don’t wanna sit around talking about it, we wanna do it. It's a shame and I wish John all the best — I do — but I just need to move forward; I can't sit still."

On the rumor that he and Sheehan are working on a new power-trio project with guitar virtuoso and singer/songwriter Richie Kotzen (formerly of POISON and MR. BIG):

Portnoy: "Yeah, me, Billy and Richieare working together, and we've started working on some stuff that's awesome. And now, it's a matter of scheduling it and getting it going and it's probably something that won't come to surface until 2013 at this point, but it's definitely something that's in the oven and cooking. We'll just have to wait and see when it's ready to come out of the oven."