Michael Stephen "Mike" Portnoy (born April 20, 1967) is an American drummer

primarily known as the former drummer, backing vocalist, and a co-founder of the
progressive metal/rock band Dream Theater. Known for his technical skill as a
drummer, Portnoy has won 29 awards from the Modern Drummer magazine.[1] He
co-produced six Dream Theater albums with guitarist John Petrucci, starting from
Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory through Black Clouds and Silver Linings.
From A Change of Seasons onwards, Portnoy had been writing a significant amount
of Dream Theater's lyrics. He is the second youngest person (after Neil Peart) to be
inducted into the Modern Drummer's Hall of Fame (at 37 years of age).
Besides his work with Dream Theater, Portnoy is known for his many side projects
and tribute bands. He is a founding member of Liquid Tension Experiment, an
instrumental progressive rock band featuring fellow Dream Theater members John
Petrucci and Jordan Rudess along with bassist Tony Levin. He is also a founding
member of Transatlantic, a progressive rock "super-group" featuring former Spock's
Beard keyboardist/vocalist Neal Morse, Flower Kings guitarist Roine Stolt and
Marillion bassist Pete Trewavas. Portnoy has also recorded and/or toured/performed
live with Neal Morse, OSI, Hail!, Stone Sour, Fates Warning, Overkill, G3 and played
on Avenged Sevenfold's album Nightmare in place of their late drummer, The Rev.
Over the years, Portnoy has also created tribute bands to The Beatles, Led Zeppelin,
Rush, and The Who, which has allowed him to perform the music of his four favorite
drummers.
In September 2010, Portnoy announced that he had left Dream Theater after 25 years.
He was replaced by Mike Mangini. Since his departure, Portnoy started several new
projects. The first, Adrenaline Mob, a straight rock/metal band with Russell Allen,
singer of Symphony X, and guitarist Mike Orlando.[2] On June 4, 2013, however,
Portnoy announced his departure from Adrenaline Mob, citing scheduling conflicts.
He has also started a progressive pop oriented band with Steve Morse, Neal Morse,
Dave LaRue, and Casey McPherson called Flying Colors and a power trio together
with Billy Sheehan (Mr. Big) and Richie Kotzen (former Mr. Big, Poison) called The
Winery Dogs.