Progressive rock legends Dream Theater made headlines last year when it was announced that the band would be re-joined by longtime legendary drummer Mike Portnoy.
Portnoy originally left the band in 2010. “I am overwhelmed with joy to be returning home and reuniting with my brothers!” the drummer said at the time. “There is so much shared history between us all…so many memories, so much music…to think we’re coming up on 40 years since this journey began! The idea of creating new music together is so exciting and I absolutely cannot wait to hit the road and get to play live for a whole new generation of fans that weren’t ever able to see this line-up before…There’s no place like home!”
In a new interview with Drumeo, Portnoy revealed that he nearly got a temporary job playing with Canadian rock staples Nickelback.
“I got a call from Nickelback in spring of ’22,” said Portnoy. “Their drummer, I guess, was having surgery and they asked me to play a show with them. And I said ‘Yeah, that’d be a fun gig!’ I was all set to play this gig with Nickelback (for a festival in Vancouver, Canada) and the festival ended up getting canceled. But I was this close to playing a gig with Nickelback.
“Chad (Kroeger) sent me the setlist,” he continued. “My daughter and my wife were like ‘You’re gonna know every one of these songs’ and I was like ‘I’ve never heard any of these songs!’ I don’t listen to the radio so I don’t know any Nickelback songs.”
Portnoy’s full Drumeo interview can be viewed below.
