Drum legend Mike Portnoy is featured in a new in-depth interview discussing his work with The Neal Morse Band, his feelings on leaving Dream Theater six years ago, and his upcoming Shattered Fortress shows. Following is an excerpt from the discussion.

Q: In all these years that have gone by, only in a few special occasions you’ve revisited some of Dream Theater stuff, but now you announced the Shattered Fortress, a project meant to play the whole 12-step Suite. Is this a temporary project or do you plan to keep it on a steady basis and play songs from Dream Theater?
 
Portnoy: "Oh no! I have no interest in doing this on a long term level. This is absolutely just a temporary one-off event that will happen in select festivals and shows next year. Like you said, I’ve rarely revisited the Dream Theater material since I left the band and honestly I have no interest in it. If I wanted to be playing Dream Theater material I would have just stayed in Dream Theater. That’s obviously not my intention. 
 
Doing that with The Shattered Fortress is mainly kind of just trying to finish some unfinished business, not only for the fans but for myself as well. Honestly, I had no intention of even doing this, until the idea of the 50th birthday concert came up on Cruise to the Edge, so that’s where this kind of stemmed from. Once I had the idea of doing a retrospect concert for my 50th birthday I knew that was the right time to finally do the 12-step suite once and for all. And then once word got out about that, suddenly I started getting these offers from these different prog festivals, so I thought now it’s the time, let’s just do it once and for all and get it out of my system and give it to the fans finally. It’s really just a one-off thing that will happen in 2017 and after that I have really no interest in going back there again."

Go to this location for the complete interview.

Prog-rock fans are in for a treat on this February's Cruise To The Edge music vacation: iconic drummer and former member of Dream Theater, Mike Portnoy will - for the first time ever - perform the band's "12 Step Suite" in its entirety on the cruise.

Portnoy, who is also celebrating his 50th birthday on Cruise To The Edge with an all-star career retrospective concert, says: "When I came up with the idea of writing a multi-part suite that spanned 5 DT albums, (which ended up taking 8 years to complete), it was always part of my master plan to perform it in its entirely, live on stage. Unfortunately, after completing the final piece of my conceptual puzzle, I was never able to perform this creation with Dream Theater. Now I've decided that I owe it to the fans to finally bring my “12 Step Suite” to life on stage as I always had dreamed. Cruise To The Edge passengers will be the first to ever see this performed live! Joining me for this very special performance will be some great friends and amazing musicians, (yes, it's a surprise,) that I know will kick ass in helping me with my unfinished business of bringing this piece of music to life on stage!"

Sailing out of Tampa, FL February 7th, 2017, Cruise To The Edge hits Cozumel, Mexico with a who's-who of prog-rock prodigies. Headliners YES, Kansas, Steve Hackett and John Wetton join Portnoy on the deluxe music vacation package. Over a dozen other bands are slated to perform.

Other esteemed performers confirmed include: Patrick Moraz, Bad Dreams, Neal Morse Band, IO Earth, Spock's Beard, Alex Machacek, Änglagrd, Stick Men, Haken, Pain of Salvation, Curved Air, Electric Asturias, District 97, Scott Henderson and Focus, with more bands to be announced. In addition, famous YES album design artist Roger Dean will be aboard to talk about the back story of his unique designs and the cruise will be hosted by UK journalist and preeminent YES expert, Jon Kirkman. Watch the 2017 CTTE lineup reveal video below:

Beyond the once-in-a-lifetime intimate music experiences with iconic artists, the guests will get to partake in a wide array of activities. Beyond the sun, fun and exquisite dining, there will be Artist/Cruiser Photo Experience, Q&A Sessions, Late-Night Surprise Performances and more. This year will also feature the unprecedented CTTE Late Night Live, where fans can sign up to showcase their own musical talents in four different performance scenarios: Late Night Live Pro Jam, where you could be invited to play with a with a headline act; Artist's Choice, featuring fans and Prog legends performing together; The Main Event, where it's your choice to shine with fellow Late Night Live musicians and Overtime Jam, where a song of your choosing could be featured in a late-night jam.

Cabins are still available aboard the full-charter cruise starting at $999 per person (double occupancy). Children 11 and under at the time of sailing are free when sharing a cabin with 2 full fare paying adults. Government fees, taxes, and gratuities are mandatory for all passengers regardless of age. For booking and more info, visit CruiseToTheEdge.com.