DREAM THEATER drummer Mike Portnoy is featured in a new interview with the Metal Music Examiner. An excerpt featuring discussion of the band's current tour supporting IRON MAIDEN is available below.

Q: When this tour was announced, you said Maiden was one of only three bands Dream Theater would consider opening for. I'm guessing the others are RUSH and METALLICA?

Portnoy: "You got it."

Q: Why does Maiden mean so much to you?

Portnoy: "They are definitely the blueprint for the sound that Dream Theater was modeled after. When me and John Petrucci put together this band 25 years ago, it was Maiden and Rush as far as what we were styled after. They were just one of those bands that was a huge, huge part of it."

Q: When was the last time you guys were an opening act and for whom?

Portnoy: "We've only been an opening act twice before. The first time was for DEEP PURPLE in 1998 and YES in 2004. We've done opening slots at one-off festivals with a bunch of other bands, but really, this is only the third time we've been a proper opening band for a long tour."

Q: How challenging is it to condense the set as an opening act, especially since many of your songs are more than 10 minutes?

Portnoy: "Yeah, it is a challenge. We're used to playing much, much longer shows, so doing a 50-minute set is a nice breath of fresh air and a change of pace. But it is a challenge when I have to put together the setlist. When I put together a list for our audience, I go deep into our catalog. But when we're an opening act, I tailor it mainly to the main band's audience, so I'm putting this one together with Maiden's audience in mind. I write it mainly for the hits. Not that we've had hits, but you know, some of the main songs and videos that we've made."

Q: So you put together the setlist all the time, and the rest of the guys trust your judgment, or does everyone have their input?

Portnoy: "No, it's all me. They trust my judgment not only with the setlist but with about 95 percent of the things that get done in this band (chuckles)."

Q: Dream Theater is the poster child of anti-radio and anti-video friendly bands considering the complexity and length of your songs. So how have you guys been able to go so strong for nearly 25 years?

Portnoy: "Our fans. We have amazing fans that are diehard and dedicated. A Dream Theater fan is not a casual fan. They're devoted. They appreciate us because we've always been against the grain. We've never been a radio-friendly band. We're probably one of the biggest cult bands out there, and our fans feel they're part of this exclusive club that the other kids on the block are not a part of."

Go to this location for the complete interview.

Remaining dates on the tour are as follows:

June

14 - Denver, CO - Fiddler's Green Amphitheater
16 - Albuquerque, NM - Journal Pavilion
17 - Phoenix, AZ - Cricket Pavilion
19 - San Bernardino, CA - San Manuel Amphitheater
20 - Concord, CA - Sleep Train Pavilion
22 - Auburn, WA - White River Amphitheater
24 - Vancouver, BC - GM Place
26 - Edmonton, AB - Rexall Place
29 - Saskatoon, SK - Credit Union Centre

July

3 - Toronto, ON - Molson Amphitheater
6 - Ottawa, ON - Blues Fest
7 - Montreal, QC - Bell Centre
9 - Quebec City, QC - International Summer Festival
11 - Holmdel, NJ - PNC Bank Arts Center
12 - New York City - Madison Square Garden
14 - Pittsburgh, PA - Post Gazette Pavilion
15 - Cleveland, OH - Blossom Music Center
17 - Detroit, MI - DTE Music Theatre
18 - Chicago, IL - First Midwest Bank Amphitheater
20 - Washington DC - Nissan Pavilion