Mike Portnoy is an American drummer, songwriter and producer, born on April 20, 1967 in Long Island, New York, USA. In 1985 he founded the progressive metal band
Dream Theater together with guitarist
John Petrucci and bassist
John Myung while they attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston. After 25 years with Dream Theater, Portnoy left the band in 2010 and has since then played in a variety of projects and bands including Adrenaline Mob, Avenged Sevenfold, The Winery Dogs, Sons of Apollo and The Neal Morse Band. In October 2023, Mike Portnoy returned to Dream Theater.