Michael Stephen Portnoy (born April 20, 1967) American drummer primarily known as the former drummer and backing vocalist for the progressive metal band Dream Theater. Known for his drumming prowess, Portnoy has won 23 awards from the Modern Drummer magazine. He has co-produced the last six Dream Theater albums with John Petrucci, starting from Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory. ...show more

Michael Stephen Portnoy (born April 20, 1967) American drummer primarily known as the former drummer and backing vocalist for the progressive metal band Dream Theater. Known for his drumming prowess, Portnoy has won 23 awards from the Modern Drummer magazine. He has co-produced the last six Dream Theater albums with John Petrucci, starting from Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory.

From A Change of Seasons onwards, Portnoy has been writing a substantial amount of Dream Theater's lyrics, filling the void left by Kevin Moore, who left the band after the release of Awake. 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). Mike Portnoy was born and raised in Long Beach, New York, on Long Island. According to a post made by Jordan Rudess on his forum, Mike is Jewish but does not practice Judaism as a religion.

His father worked as a DJ at a local radio station, helping Portnoy gain an appreciation for music at an early age through bands like Queen, Led Zeppelin, The Who, Yes and The Beatles. Although Portnoy taught himself how to play the drums, he did take music theory classes in high school. During that period he began playing in local bands Intruder, Rising Power and Inner Sanctum, the last two of which released an album. He left Inner Sanctum after being awarded a scholarship to attend Berklee College of Music in Boston. ...show less