John Petrucci says that there are “no plans” for DREAM THEATER to reunite with drummer Mike Portnoy for a show or a tour.
Portnoy, who co-founded DREAM THEATER more than thirty 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 He has since been replaced by Mike Mangini (ANNIHILATOR, EXTREME, JAMES LABRIE, STEVE VAI). Portnoy later revealed that he tried to rejoin DREAM THEATER, only to be rebuffed.
During a February 8 question-and-answer session in Tilburg, The Netherlands, Petrucci and DREAM THEATER keyboardist Jordan Rudess were asked by a fan if they would be willing to play with Portnoy again, possibly at a show celebrating a band anniversary. The DREAM THEATER guitarist responded: “There’s no plans to do anything like that. Mike’s great, and he’s doing many, many projects right now.”
Rudess jokingly added: “He’s too busy for us.”
Continued Petrucci: “Yeah, he’s in twenty bands. I don’t think he has time. But, yeah, this tour celebrating ‘Images [And Words]’, we won’t be having any past-member guests.”