By Andrew Bansal

In 2015, hard rock power trio The Winery Dogs have proved themselves to be far above and beyond just another spur-of-the-moment supergroup, and have shown that their 2013 self-titled effort was by no means a one-off. The release of their chart-conquering second full-length album ‘Hot Streak’ solidifies The Winery Dogs as a real band, and they are currently out touring North America in support of the album. The trio of Mike Portnoy (drums), Billy Sheehan (bass) and Richie Kotzen (guitar and vocals) are all set to rock California this week, with shows in San Jose, Anaheim, Agoura Hills, San Diego, and a return to the lovely Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills on Friday November 6th, which is where Metal Assault will see them on this tour. I spoke to Mike Portnoy last week to discuss the tour, the new album, the status and future of The Winery Dogs, his other projects, and more. Enjoy the conversation below:

Mike, it’s great to have you on Metal Assault. The Winery Dogs North American tour has been going on for the last few weeks, I believe. How has everything been for you guys?

It’s been great, man! We’re making our way through the States and it’s just been a great experience so far. The fans have been coming out, they’ve been aweseome, and me, Billy and Richie get along great. We’ve been enjoying playing with each other, and so far so good! It’s a great start to what’s going to be a long, winding road through the next year.

This time it’s probably better for you too, because you have two albums out now, and more songs to pick from.

Yeah, absolutely! The challenge the first time around was trying to fill out the set, and inevitably we had to do covers and we had to do stuff from past bands and projects. But this time around, between the two albums it’s nothing but Winery Dogs material from start to finish. It’s nice. We finally feel like a real band now!

So, no covers in the set, for the time being?

Exactly.

Cool, so, talking of the album ‘Hot Streak’, for a band like yours which has members from other projects, the first album is always a big step but then with the second one you have to prove that the first wasn’t a one-off. How do you feel about the results with this album?

Well, we were pretty insistent even the first time around, that this was not a “project”. We knew that this was going to be a real band and something that the three of us would prioritize and revolve our individual projects around. But of course, people were still skeptical the first time around, and they were like, “Yeah, yeah, sure.” I think now, we can finally shut people up and they can realize that this indeed is a real band. This is no different than the way Dream Theater was for me, or the way Mr. Big or Talas was for Billy. It’s just much, much later in our careers, but the mentality and the dedication is the same as it was in those bands for us. I am as guilty as anybody for having multiple things, like the five or six different things I have currently going on, but all the other things I do are more part time projects, and they revolve around The Winery Dogs, which is the main thing in my life. We’ll be on the road solid for the next year, doing over a 100 shows and traveling the world. I think we’re definitely, finally proving that this is a real band and we’re here to stay.

So, do you think you’re doing more touring for this album than you did for the first one?

Well, we did a lot for the first album. We went everywhere from North America to Europe, South America and Asia, so we were pretty thorough the first time around. So, this time we’ll follow up on that and continue to grow and expand.

And as you were saying earlier, you admit to being guilty of having too many projects. Do you feel overwhelmed sometimes, when you think about how many bands and projects you are currently in?

I can handle it. I’m wired that way. I’m playing in six bands/projects at the moment, but I’m able to comfortably juggle them and keep an eye on my schedule. It’s not for everyone, though. Very few people in the business keep as busy as I do. I choose to do it and I enjoy doing it. It’s just the way I’m wired, and I’m a workaholic. A lot of people don’t understand that, and I feel that there’s a lot of skepticism around any band I’m associated with, as if it’s a negative thing. To me, it’s a positive thing. It’s all about the music, and I work as hard as I do strictly because of the music. It’s not a money thing, it’s not a career thing. It’s simply to do with me being a music fan with a broad taste, wanting to do different styles and wanting to work with lots of different people. After spending 25 years strictly dedicated to one band, I feel free now! As far as I know, you only live once. So, I want to make the most of it while I can and work with as many different people as I can. And as long as I am willing to juggle it in my schedule, I don’t see why anybody else should have an issue with it.

Exactly, and I was just about to say, it’s been five years now since you parted ways with Dream Theater. It’s been long enough to where you can look back now and analyze it. So, you do feel that it has freed you to do all this other stuff?

Oh, it’s been amazing. I would say in the last five years of my career, I’ve done more than what most people do in their entire careers, probably times ten, actually. I’ve played in a dozen different bands, I’ve done a dozen different albums, and I wouldn’t have been able to do any of those things had I stayed. I would have been wondering ‘what if’, if I hadn’t left. I needed to explore these things, to do the album I did with Metal Allegiance, to play with musicians like Billy Sheehan, Richie Kotzen and Steve Morse, and all these different people that have helped me go into different areas, musically. It’s been an incredible experience, playing with Twisted Sister, Stone Sour, Avenged Sevenfold, jamming with Ace Frehley and Peter Criss, and the list goes on and on and on. Everything I’ve done in the last five years is the stuff dreams are made of!

Coming back to the ‘Hot Streak’ album, it has been said in the press that it was more of a collaborative effort in terms of the writing. How did you adjust your own contribution to this album as compared to the first one?

This time around, we had an existing relationship between the three of us, which wasn’t there the first time. So this time there was a lot more trust and respect between the three of us, because we had spent a year out on the road together and played so many shows together. You know, during the first record we were just kind of tip-toeing around each other and feeling out each other’s personalities, and defining our own places in the chemistry. But for this record the chemistry was quite pre-determined, and at this point the three of us know each other’s personalities. We know each other’s strengths and where we can let up and let go, and I think that has helped the overall chemistry this time around.

Right, and I think the musical style itself is such that it doesn’t really limit you guys. Even fans of Dream Theater, Mr. Big or any of your other bands can appreciate Winery Dogs.

The Winery Dogs’ music is so universal, and I think that’s why it has done so well so far. Like you said, it’s something that Dream Theater and Mr. Big fans can appreciate and come in to and enjoy, because there’s a lot of musicality in The Winery Dogs, but it’s also a more universal sound than I had, for instance, with Dream Theater. With that band it was a very specialized audience and not everybody could grasp that music. I think it’s much different with The Winery Dogs. We have the musicianship sprinkled on top, but at the root of it is very catchy songs and Richie’s incredible voice. That has made The Winery Dogs a lot more universal, and a lot more embraced. It’s like listening to Van Halen or Aerosmith. It’s something that really anybody can enjoy.

So, on this tour you’re revisiting the Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills. I saw you there last year. From the looks of it, you really enjoyed playing there, and you’re looking forward to going back there again, I’m sure.

Yeah, that’s a beautiful theatre! It was my first time playing there and I was pleasantly surprised by how great it was. So we’re definitely looking forward to coming back there again. It’s a great place to play.

How was the sound on stage?

I can’t remember specifically because we’ve done a 100 shows since then (laughs), but I do remember that we all enjoyed it, and that’s why we’re coming back!

Looking ahead, you said that you’ll be busy with The Winery Dogs for the next year, but aside from that, what else do you have coming up that people should know about?

I have a live DVD/CD/Blu-Ray from Flying Colors coming out next month, and then in January I’ll be doing some shows with Metal Allegiance down in Australia and South America, and then at the end of January is when The Winery Dogs will reconvene to go over to Europe, and pretty much go non-stop throughout 2016. Around The Winery Dogs’ schedule, I’ll also be helping out Twisted Sister with their final shows in 2016. So I’ll be doing double duty with both of those bands, as well as triple duty with Metal Allegiance if there’s any opportunities with that. So, it’s going to be an incredibly busy year, not only for The Winery Dogs but for me in general.

Have you ever had shows with two or more of your bands playing together?

I have! I had my own prog cruise last year, the ‘Progressive Nation At Sea’, and I actually played on that with three bands (laughs). That’s a little more than I can handle on a regular basis, but I’m probably going to spend a lot of time next summer doing double duty with The Winery Dogs and Twisted Sister, and possibly triple duty at times with Metal Allegiance.

That’s insane, man. You said that you can handle all these projects, but would you recommend musicians in general, to explore different facets of their talents and seek out other projects?

I think it’s a little different for me because I’m doing this well into my career. I don’t know if I would recommend a young person to do this and branch out. I think it’s important for a young musician to stick with a band for a while, and really work with a band and stay focused. The way I work with so many different bands and projects works for me because I’m already established, and I already spent 25 years in one band. So, I wouldn’t recommend somebody to go out and five different bands at the start of their career. I think it’s important to have a home base and a focus to really develop yourself and your career, and stay passionate with one band. I’m much later in my career and I can explore new things now, but there’s something to be said about being in one band for a long time. For me it was 25 years, longer than the existence of most bands. It was a long run, but it’s what got me where I am today and gave me the ability to explore like I can now.

One thing about that Saban show last year was, you did this solo where you were basically drumming on any surface you could find on stage, and not just the drums. You were all over the stage. How did that get incorporated into your live show?

It was just a spontaneous thing that I do once in a while. I’m just a ham on stage. I just like hamming it up and interacting with the audience, and trying to involve them. I have no interest in doing drum solos unless there’s an entertainment factor that’s part of it.

That’s very unique, because I often feel that drum solos are done just for the sake of doing so, without keeping the audience in mind.

It’s very self-indulgent. It’s the ultimate in self-indulgence! It does not interest me. I’m more interested in doing stuff that has audience participation.

Purchase tickets to the 11/03 Anaheim show here, or to the 11/06 Beverly Hills show here.

The Winery Dogs links: website | facebook | twitter

Remaining US Tour Dates:

11/02 – San Jose, CA @ Rockbar

11/03 – Anaheim, CA @ House of Blues

11/05 – Agoura Hills, CA @ Canyon Club

11/06 – Beverly Hills, CA @ Saban Theatre

11/07 – Las Vegas, NV @ Vamp’d

11/08 – San Diego, CA @ House of Blues

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