New Dream Theater drummer (and Brainfart favorite) Mike Mangini recently gave one of his first interviews to Modern Drummer magazine. Below are a few excerpts from the interview:
MD: What was life like before the Dream Theater opportunity appeared?
Mike: In 2009, I was literally lying on the floor of my garage, completely physically and emotionally drained, unsure where my career was going. I was inventing new techniques and new drumset configurations, but I was looking at my kit, saying: Who can I play with that would allow me to use everything I’ve worked so hard to develop? Who will just let me play and be myself—a band that isn’t going to tell me I’m using too many drums, that isn’t going to tell me I don’t groove, that isn’t going to tell me the kit is too big and too expensive to carry around? Little did I know at the time that it would be Dream Theater.
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MD: Now that the auditions are over and you have been awarded the prestigious drum chair in Dream Theater, what have you done so far with the band in terms of music?
Mike: My drum tracks for the new DT release are finished. They are currently finishing up keys and vocals. The new CD is scheduled for release in the fall.
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MD: Have you created a drumkit to fit the specific needs of Dream Theater?
Mike: I showed up for DT ready for DT. Meaning the drumkit’s core was designed years earlier, but I prepared a kit design with DT’s music in mind, with Mike Portnoy’s incredible drumming style in mind. My DT setup is designed for my left foot to be hitting a 26″ bass drum. I’m playing totally lefty on a big bass drum. Mike had to get up off his stool and move to another stool to hit a 26″ bass drum. He also had to get up and move to another kit to play a smaller bass drum. I have a 26″ to my left, an 18″ bass drum on my far right, and two 22″ bass drums in the center of my kit.
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