Dream Theater’s Mike Portnoy Is Fine With Bootlegging
Dream Theater started on their Progressive Nature tour on July 24, with the band's shows no doubt documented in minute detail by bootleggers – and drummer Mike Portnoy not only tolerates this, but encourages it. An avid bootlegger himself, in 2003, he launched Ytsejam Records, which distributes 'official' bootlegs of his band's live shows, demos and the covers of albums.
"It comes from me being a fan and a collector myself," he tells Noisecreep. "My whole life, I grew up collecting [Led Zeppelin] bootlegs and Beatles bootlegs, and later on, as I got older, Metallica and [Iron Maiden]. That's never changed. I'm 42 years old, and I'm still that 12-year-old kid in the KISS Army.
"It hasn't changed, but I just happen to be on the other side of the fence when it comes to my profession. But I understand the fans' perspective, because I am a fan. I try to cater everything I do for Dream Theater to the fans, whether it's rotating set lists, or offering official bootlegs, or tolerating bootleg trading and online trading."
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