Founding Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy recently spoke with Hard Rock Daddy and discussed the new "Oblivion" single from The Winery Dogs, the Dream Theater classic "A Change Of Seasons", and DT's "The Best Of Times". An excerpt is availble below:

Portnoy on "A Change Of Seasons": "My mom died in a tragic plane crash. It was completely sudden and unexpected. As I wrote about in the post about my teacher Pat Lynch, I had an experience with ‘carpe diem’ that really gave me a gift that I’ll never ever be able to forget. I had that last goodbye with my mom, and I wrote about it in 'A Change Of Seasons'.

The song itself is almost 25 years old. To me, it’s a big piece of Dream Theater’s history, and it’s always a fan favorite. I’m a little detached from Dream Theater history at this point because I’ve gone on to do so many things post-Dream Theater, but the lyrics themselves, particularly the whole ‘carpe diem’ section, is a timeless lesson that I’ll have with me for the rest of my life. Hopefully, other people can learn from it as well, and maybe it will help them in their lives and give them an experience like I had."

Click here for Portnoy's thoughts on The Winery Dogs' "Oblivion" and Dream Theater's "The Best Of Times".

The Winery Dogs' tour schedule is currently as follows:

October
14 - Jacksonville, FL - Ponte Verde Concert Hall
15 - Tampa, FL - State Theater
16 - Ft Lauderdale, FL - Culture Room
17 - Orlando, FL - The Plaza
20 - Nashville, TN - Wildhorse Saloon
22 - Houston, TX - Pub Fountains
24 - Dallas, TX - The Gas Monkey
27 - Milwaukee, WI - Potowatami Casino
28 - Milwaukee, WI - Potowatami Casino
29 - St Charles, IL - Arcada Theater

November
3 - Anaheim, CA - House Of Blues
5 - Agoura Hills, CA - Canyon Club
6 - Beverly Hills, CA - Saban Theater
7 - Las Vegas, NV - Vamp'd
8 - San Diego, CA - House Of Blues

Drum Magazine has posted drum cam playthrough footage of Mike Portnoy recording the song "Ghost Town" for The Winery Dogs' new album, Hot Streak. The clip will be featured on Portnoy's "Hot Drums" Drum Cam DVD that will be available exclusively from his online store at MikePortnoy.com.

Hot Streak shows the powerfully pedigreed trio’s initial burst of collective chemistry was no accident, from the strum and headbang of “Captain Love” to the propulsive uplifting vibe of “The Bridge” to the introspective acoustic harmonic convergence of “Fire.” If these three Dogs thought they captured lightning in a supper dish the first time around, Hot Streak barks ups the aural ante into exciting new territory.

“I feel we’ve taken the band to another level,” explains Richie Kotzen. “The compositions are stronger on this album. I feel more connected lyrically and musically to what I did on this record than on the last one. We’ve widened the musical scope of the band on this record and moved it forward."

Mike Portnoy continues, “Everything on this album was more of a collaboration than on the first album. There’s just a natural chemistry. The three of us really mesh very, very well, both musically and personally. The mission of this band is to write catchy songs, and not have the musicianship overpower that.”

“I’m glad we’re not playing it safe and just doing songs that automatically fit in the category of what we did on the first record,” Billy Sheehan concludes. “Some of them are a little different, and we definitely took chances. And you have to do that — otherwise, you don’t grow."

The trio first exploded onto the rock scene with their self-titled, self-produced debut album that was released July 23, 2013 on Loud & Proud Records and a sold-out worldwide tour. The Winery Dogs debuted on Billboard’s Top Alternative Albums chart at #3, Top Independent Albums chart at #4, Top Rock Albums chart at #5, Top Internet Albums at #8 and Top 200 Albums chart at #27.

Hot Streak tracklisting:

“Oblivion”
“Captain Love”
“Hot Streak"
“How Long”
“Empire”
“Fire”
“Ghost Town”
“The Bridge”
“War Machine”
“Spiral”
“Devil You Know”
“Think It Over”
“The Lamb”

“Oblivion” can be heard below.