Mike Portnoy

As anybody who knows me personally would tell you, I am the walking definition of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder..... I always have been and probably always will be... This curse for me means that when I "get into" something, I can't just casually enjoy it.... I become obsessed with every aspect of it.... If I discover a band that I like, I must go out and get their entire catalog. If I see a film I like, I must go out and see every film that the director has made...and even worse, collect the director's entire body of work for my video, laser & DVD library... This behavior has not only driven my wife Marlene crazy, but has forced us into building a huge library/ "Dream Theater museum" seperately from the rest of my house so nobody gets hurt! : ) As anybody who has interviewed me would tell you, I would rather spend my time discussing & promoting other bands or films than talking about myself or Dream Theater....(How DT or my record company continue to let me be the band's main spokesman is still beyond me!!!) : ) What this part of my web-site provides is a real look into my biggest interests: Film, Boxing and of course, Music....(and a few other things for good measure) Some of you may read through these lists and say "you know, I could care less about this crap!"....but that's OK with me; because of my OCD, I had fun compiling these lists....even if only for myself! For those of you who actually might find these lists interesting, I think it is a good way to see what has made me the person I am today.... I constantly get asked about my influences, and I always answer: a) they branch WAY beyond just drummers and b) I could never site just "a few" names, because it is the diversity of the artists I admire that make the big picture complete... By looking through these lists, you can gather a pretty complete answer to that eternal question "who are your biggest influences"... And maybe it will give some free promotion and support to some of my influences, whose careers you can now go check into and turn yourself into a babling Obsessive Compulsive idiot like me!!!

source by www.mikeportnoycom