Meet rock's newest supergroup

The supergroup consists of drummer Mike Portnoy from Dream Theatre and Adrenaline Mob, bassist Billy Sheehan from Mr Big, guitarist Tony MacAlpine from Steve Vai’s band and keyboardist Derek Sherinian from Black Country Communion.

The band has only played a couple of dates in the US and recently toured Eastern Europe. They’ll be treating Thailand – where both Dream Theatre and Mr Big have filled stadiums – to a set of all kinds of instrumental wizardy.

Portnoy had more to say just as the band was about to take the stage in Tel Aviv earlier this week.

 

I understand you guys are about a week into the tour. How is everything going so far?

We’ve done eight or nine shows and everything is going great! However, it’s challenging music, so we’ve had to be on top of our toes to perfect every little segment of the performance.

 

How did this project come to be?

I was asked earlier in the year to put together a couple of drum shows in California, so I thought about a few ideas and decided to do it with a “dream line-up”. Luckily I’ve known Billy, Tony and Derek for quite a while and we’re really good friends, so it was easy to get them onboard. And that was it – it was only meant for a couple of drum shows.

Then when word of what we were doing got out, offers started to come in from all around the world. And before we knew it we had enough dates to do a European and Asian tour.

 

What can we expect to hear when you hit Bangkok?

It’ll resemble how we all connect – like what Tony and Derek did in Planet-X, what Derek and I did in Dream Theatre, what Billy and Tony did on Tony’s solo albums, and so forth. It’s cool stuff from all our bodies of work and what we’re into, all done with a special Union twist. The arrangements we’ve come up with will blow people’s minds!

 

Any plans for a documented release of what you guys are doing?

There’s a studio DVD already that was just released. That was filmed when we got together and started working on all this. We’re also going to film one of the shows during the Japanese tour, which will later be released as a live DVD.

 

Have you written anything together and, if so, in which direction is it going?

As far as Amazing Union material goes, this is all so new that we simply haven’t had the time to write, and what kind of music it will be specifically for this band is yet too early to tell. But watch this space!

 

What else is going on in your own musical path these days?

Believe it or not I have six different bands right now, and in the last few months I’ve jumped from band to band to band. In June and July I was on tour with Adrenaline Mob and then in August I recorded an album with a new band I have with Billy Sheehan and Richie Kotzen. Then I went on tour with Flying Colors in September. Then I went on tour with Neal Morse, and now I’m out on tour with Amazing Union, so there’s a lot going on and my mind is just spinning. It’s a bit much, but it’s also a lot of fun!

 

Any words for all the Thais out here before we go?

Hey, you all! I’m really looking forward to come to Bangkok with Sheehan, Sherenian and MacAlpine. We’re gonna have a party and a musical feast you will not believe! So come and join us. See you all at the show!

 

Super hybrid

 Amazing Union performs at 8pm on Wednesday at the Bangkok Convention Centre at Central Lat Phrao.

Tickets are Bt1,500 and Bt2,500. Call (02) 262 3456 or see www.ThaiTicketMajor.com.