DREAM THEATER drummer Mike Portnoy has posted the following message in the Forum at his website:

"Hi Gang!

Well, as I briefly mentioned in passing a few weeks ago when I did Eddie Trunk's show, I can now announce the details of this great special issue of Rhythm Magazine I have been working on. (for those of you unaware, Rhythm is a drum magazine from the UK) I am honored to have been asked to play "guest editor" for this upcoming issue and I was given the opportunity to pick 4 drummers to interview that were influences on me and help shape me as a drummer in my formative years.

The 4 guys I ended up choosing were Neil Peart, Nick Mason, Bill Bruford and Lars Ulrich. (for those of you knowing my love for the Beatles and wondering... yes I did have Ringo on my initial list as well, but Rhythm had just recently done a piece with him, so he was scratched off...)

All 4 guys were totally accomodating, totally cool and totally happy to be on board for the project.

Neil was the first to get together with me as we were able to spent some time together while he was in NYC in September doing some promo for his latest book. (which he so kindly had a personalized copy waiting for me!) Finally meeting him was really a cool experience as he's really one of the only drum heroes of mine that I hadn't met yet through the years. He was totally accomodating and friendly and he opened up to me on everything from his early influences to the writing and recording process in Rush. (and I must admit the "fanboy" in me couldn't resist having him sign one of my custom drums from my "Cygnus and the Sea Monsters" kit!)

Next up was Nick Mason who was in town to play Dark Side Of The Moon live with Roger Waters. I met with him in his dressing room at Madison Square Garden and we chatted for about an hour about stuff ranging from Syd Barrett to performing The Wall live. After we did a photo session together (as I did with Neil as well BTW), he invited me up to the stage to sit with him at his kit for souncheck.I must admit it was a pretty surreal experience sitting up there with him and Roger while they ran through 'Shine On You Crazy Diamond' and 'Comfortably Numb'. Once again, the fanboy in me struck as I just had to have Nick and Roger sign my vinyl copy of The Wall... as it is my favorite album of all time!

Then last week, I got together with Bill Bruford to do our chat and photo session. I've known Bill for about 10 years now and he's always been a totally great guy and always open arms to me. We talked about all of the stages of his career and got into interesting details about his experiences in Yes, King Crimson, Genesis and UK.

And finally, today I wrapped up the "fab 4" by doing a phoner with Lars. (as much as we tried to set up a face to face meeting, it was just impossible to allign our schedules as he's in the studio with Metallica in CA and I am in the studio with DT in NYC) I've also already known Lars for many years now and he's also always been incredibly cool with me. We talked about everything from the new Metallica sessions to his feelings on the "bad rap" he's gotten by alot of drummers through the years. (And he even told me that DT's performance of the entire Master Of Puppets back in 2002 had definitely inspired them to do it themselves this past summer!)

As if all of this stuff wont already make an unbelievably cool issue... we rounded out the magazine by having Jason Bittner of Shadow's Fall interview me. The idea being to have an "up and coming" drummer that I had a influence on bring the whole issue full circle...

Well, I'm sure you're now asking "when is this coming out?" and "where can I get it?".... I believe it is slated to hit the stands towards the end of next month (Dec 2006) and if you don't live in the UK, you can usually find Rhythm at bookstores like Barnes & Noble or Border's. I also think you may be able to order the magazine on-line as well (if I get that info, I will post it into this thread...)

It's really gonna be an incredibly cool special edition that you wont want to miss and I must say doing the footwork for it has been a true "labor of love" for me.

I must thank Louise King, Jon Cohan from Rhythm and especially the 4 awesome guys who got together with me to make this upcoming issue so unique. I'm looking foward to sharing it with all of you!

MP."

Check out some more photos at this location.