DREAM THEATER drummer Mike Mangini has checked in with the following update:

"I seriously played my two best shows/solos (on December 1st in San Diego, California and on December 2nd in Anaheim, California) while being the sickest I've been in 20-30 years. But not enough to jeopardize me too much or affect the show negatively. I don't know how that happens. My apologies for not being able to speak much, or for coughing at the paid pre-show pic taking. Now you know why. I didn't, and couldn't, call friends, my family, my wife, nobody...

It was weird to try so hard to speak. All of you that play must've experienced this before. How can we be so sick, then play like not too much is wrong? It must be a love of overcoming challenges and helping the team. I guess that's how athletes do it. I honestly curled up in a ball after the show and didn't think I'd make it out of there.

I'm happy to say that I'm feeling better and better and that I'm about to sleep on and off for 14 hours pumping the herbs and meds and water. I think I will have the best show of my whole life in Mesa tomorrow because of all the practicing I did on the break. I love this! Can't wait till tomorrow!

Did I mention how good it feels to be 1 for 1 with Dream Theater for a Grammy nomination? 2 for 2 with [Steve] Vai, 1 for 1 with Dream Theater...

Oh, yeah! That'll fix my flu!

You should've heard John Petrucci's voice on the phone when he called me to tell me of the nomination. My eyes watered up because of how he sounded and how that reflected what it meant to him to have this song recognized (Grammys are for songs, not bands or careers). I'm so happy for him, John Myung (bass), James LaBrie (vocals), John Rudess (keyboards) and our manager Frank for doing so much to steer the music of our ship out of unknown waters. They taught me a lesson in patience, trust and faith.

All of you support us and enjoy the music with us are responsible for getting the song heard by so many more people than you can imagine. John Petrucci had a vision for this song and he stuck by it with full support from all of us... you too. Thank you. We have so much yet to come and so much passion for life and for music."

On November 30th, the US Recording Academy officially began the countdown to the 54th Annual Grammy Awards, which will take place live from Staples Center in Los Angeles on Sunday, February 12th, 2012, at 8 PM ET/PT on CBS.

Nominees for Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance include:

'On The Backs Of Angels' - DREAM THEATER

'White Limo' - FOO FIGHTERS

'Curl Of The Burl' - MASTODON

'Public Enemy No. 1' - MEGADETH

'Blood In My Eyes' - SUM 41

Dream Theater comment on their nomination as follows:

"2011 has been quite an amazing year for us. We watched A Dramatic Turn Of Events — our eleventh studio album - enter the Top Ten in 14 countries around the world including the US. And now we land our first-ever Grammy nomination [for the song 'On The Backs Of Angels' in the Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance category]. It’s the icing on the cake - we’re honored and thrilled, no doubt about it. It took us a while to receive this Grammy attention - and we’ve done it on our own terms musically, so it feels particularly sweet. What keeps you going as a musician is the love and support from the fans - they are always there for us on this crazy adventure. So we give them a big shout-out as we celebrate our Grammy nomination. See you all on the road… and let's all keep dreaming big.”

For a complete list of nominees visit this location.