Mike Portnoy talks about his friendship with Neil Peart

The Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy was a good friend of the late legendary Rush member and main lyricist Neil Peart. He was a very private person and it wasn’t easy to reach him out but Mike recalled in an interview with CBC’s “Q with Tom Power” how he had the chance to become his friend. Peart passed away in 2020 at the age of 67 after years battling cancer.

Mike Portnoy talks about his friendship with Neil Peart

“And of course, Neil was number one on the list. It was Neil, Bill Bruford, Lars Ulrich, and Nick Mason from Pink Floyd. But that was my first time meeting Neil, and I was given the opportunity to meet with him at his hotel room in New York. He was on tour, doing a book tour… First of all, it was great that my job was to interview him, because I was able to ask all the fanboy questions I always wanted to know, and it wasn’t inappropriate.”

“And from there, he opened up to me, God bless him. For the next 15 years, until he passed, we stayed in close touch. He would write me these long emails. His emails were like reading of his books or his lyrics, just really well thought out, and well crafted. I’d get these emails from him all the time, with pictures of him and his young daughter who was growing up. He would always send me his new books when they came out, or when Rush was coming through town.”

He continued:

“He’d always invite me out to sound check. And he was just so gracious. Once you get to know him and once he befriends you, he was such a genuine, giving person to people he was friends with. And I’m honored that I eventually got to that point with him,” he said (Transcribed by Ultimate Guitar).

Portnoy was part of Dream Theater from 1985 to 2010, returning in 2023. During his time out of the group he collaborated with many artists and was part of a huge number of bands and side projects.