Mike Portnoy, Mike Orlando: The Nervous Breakdown interview

As the drummer, it’s obviously important for you to find somebody that you can do business with in the rhythm section, so even before John hit the radar, was there a criteria that you personally had in mind for a new bass player?

Well, we were looking for somebody that was a team player and somebody who was into doing song-oriented music. Even though I have this reputation for being this over-the-top drummer and even though Mike Orlando is this incredibly flashy guitar player, we weren’t looking for a crazy over-the-top bass player. We were looking for somebody who was more of a foundation type of player. So John was exactly the type of player we were looking for–a bad-ass motherfucker who could hold down the fort. John absolutely fit our criteria.


What sound were you shooting for on this album? Or was there even a sound that you guys had in mind?

The whole idea behind Adrenaline Mob is to play song-oriented music that has shredding players, but really it’s all about the riff and the groove and the melody. Mike Orlando and I can step out every once in awhile when needed, but the most important thing in the end is to have huge riffs and a groove with a nice bounce, as well as Russell Allen’s vocals, which are totally memorable and melodic. It’s one of those albums where I think that every song is strong in it’s own right. There are so many tracks on this album that you can picture being played on the radio. So that was the idea behind Adrenaline Mob–to have an album filled with songs that had memorable hooks that made your head bang. more

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Mike Orlando
Killer Review of Adrenaline Mob's NYC Hiro Ballroom Release Show!http://www.localbozo.com/2012/03/adrenaline-mob-album-release-party-at-the-hiro-ballroom-a-localbozo-com-concert-review/