Mike Portnoy - The Best Drummer

Michael Stephen Portnoy was born on April 20, 1967 in Long Beach, New York. He is the second youngest person after Neal Peart (whom he considers as his biggest influence) to be inducted into the "Modern Drummer's Hall of Fame" at the age of 37 and is the only metal drummer to be inducted so far. Mike's father worked as a rock DJ at a local radio station which helped Mike to gain exposure to music at a very young age. His favourite bands at that time were The Who, Queen, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, The Doors, Jimmy Hendrix and Yes. Mike began playing the drums at the age of 10 and got his first kit during his 11th birthday. During those days his big drum heroes were Ringo Starr, John Bonham and Keith Moon. Although Mike is a self - taught drummer, he did take music theory classes in high school. While in high school, he also began playing in local bands Intruder, Rising Power and Inner Sanctum but left the latter after being awarded a scholarship to attend Berklee College of Music in Boston. There he met John Petrucci and John Myung with whom he formed Majesty that would become Dream Theater.

Mike has won 23 awards from Modern Drummer magazine consisting of "Best Up & Coming Talent" (one time), "Best Clinician" (two times), "Best Educational Video/DVD" (two times), "Best recorded performance" (6 times) and "Best Progressive Rock Drummer" (for 12 consecutive years). Mike also has numerous other bands along with Dream Theater namely Liquid Tension Experiment, Transatlantic, OSI and various other tribute bands (Beatles, Who, Zeppelin, Rush). Mike has also released several instructional videos and has also conducted many drum clinics.

Mike Portnoy is probably one of the best drummers out there and is clearly an inspiration for anyone wanting to get behind the drums. MIKE PORTNOY ROCKS!!!!!!