Drum icon Mike Portnoy (The Winery Dogs, ex-Dream Theater) is featured in a new interview with Metal Titans discussing the expanded version of the band's debut, entitled Dog Treats An excerpt is available below:

MetalTitans: You’ve just issued an expanded edition of ‘The Winery Dogs’ and a box set called Dog Treats. Were these idea conceived by the band or was it Loud & Proud?

Mike Portnoy: "I worked very close with the label on this. I overlooked the content but of course I needed the label’s approval to get the product released. I’ve alway been very fan oriented; in Dream Theater I oversaw all the fan club CDs, the official bootlegs, the special editions, the box sets and things like that. I’ve done that with all the bands that I’ve been in .

When The Winery Dogs debut album was released last year we simply couldn’t release a deluxe edition of the album--it was our debut album. No one knew the band at the time and no one really knew who we’d be received. Once the album was released and the positive reviews started rolling in we knew there was an audience for the band. So I started using my fan catering skills and put this deluxe edition together and the box set."

MetalTitans: The deluxe edition of the album features a live CD that captures The Winery Dogs’ second ever live show, correct?

Mike Portnoy: "That’s right, that’s the second show that we ever did as a band. We filmed it for a DVD in Japan and it might have been the craziest thing ever done in rock ‘n’ roll history. Usually bands will document the end of the tour after they’ve played 100 shows. Our label in Japan was interested in capturing the very beginning of the band. We were very reluctant at first but I think it was great to have a snapshot of the beginning of the band. You get a little taste of that on the bonus disc that features 10 tracks from that show."

Go to this location for the complete interview.

On April 15th, The Winery Dogs released both a Special Edition, and Dog Treats Deluxe Special Edition of their self-titled debut album.

The Special Edition is a two disc set including the original album, Unleashed In Japan 2013 - a 10 song live recording, including the song 'Criminal' (previously unavailable in the US), and an expanded booklet with photos and lyrics.

The Dog Treats Deluxe Special Edition is a box of “dog treats” fortified with these essential vitamins:

- The two-disc Special Edition (above)
- A CD of demos from 2012, The Winery Pups
- A DVD of music videos and band interviews
- Mike Portnoy’s in-studio diary from the making of the record
- Custom Winery Dogs dog tags with chain
- Custom Winery Dogs wine bottle topper
- Custom embroidered paw print logo patch

Unleashed In Japan 2013 Tracklisting:

'Elevate' (Live)

'Criminal' (Live)

'Time Machine' (Live)

'I'm No Angel' (Live)

'Not Hopeless' (Live)

'Stand' (Live)

'You Can't Save Me' (Live)

'Shine' (Live)

'Fooled Around And Fell In Love' (Live)

'Desire' (Live)