Mike Portnoy speaks out on recent big name drummer sackings: “Nobody is safe – I’m scared for my life and career”

Dream Theater‘s Mike Portnoy has spoken out about the recent spate of big-name drummer sackings, joking that “nobody is safe”.

The musician, who returned to the progressive metal group last year after departing in 2010, made an appearance on the latest edition of the Office Hours Live With Tim Heidecker podcast.

Here, Portnoy reflected on Josh Freese being fired from Foo Fighters, Zak Starkey being let go from The Who, and Jason Bonham’s exit from Sammy Hagar‘s band. The conversation also followed Guns N’ Roses’ “amicable” split with long-term drummer Frank Ferrer – who has since been replaced by Isaac Carpenter.

“I think it’s the Spinal Tap conspiracy. I think nobody is safe. Ringo’s [Starr] son was fired from The Who,” the sticksman explained (via Blabbermouth).

“John Bonham’s son was fired from Sammy Hagar’s band. I mean, if the spawn of Ringo and Bonzo are not safe, nobody is safe… Jason Bonham got let go by Sammy months ago, last year, I think, when he was out on the summer tour.”

Portnoy went on to add: “It’s just crazy. It’s craziness.”

He then talked specifically about Freese, who had joined Foo Fighters in 2023 following the death of Taylor Hawkins the previous year. “Frankly, it’s shocking,” Portnoy said. “I thought Josh was perfect… So, yeah, it’s scary. It’s scary times for drummers.”

It was then put to the drummer that there had been rumours about Hawkins’ son, Shane, stepping in as Freese’s replacement, after he performed with Dave Grohl and co. at tribute shows for his father, and again in London last summer.

Portnoy responded: “But even famous drummers’ sons are not safe, like I just pointed out. It doesn’t matter.”

Last week, it was announced that Shane Hawkins would be joining covers Chevy Metal on the road amid the ongoing speculation around the Foos.

When speaking about Starkey’s exit from The Who, Portnoy explained: “Well, I don’t know if you saw the clips. The whole thing with Zak Starkey started – [The Who] did a show last month at the Royal Albert Hall. They were doing ‘The Song Is Over’, and Roger [Daltrey, frontman] came into the second verse early and stopped the band, turned around and blamed it on his mix, that the drums were powering out his mix.

“Now, mind you, Zak Starkey is on an electronic kit; they already downgraded it [from] an acoustic kit. They have him playing an electronic kit, which is fully controllable in terms of volume through the sound guy. So, if anything, he should have fired the monitor guy, not Zak.”

Portnoy jokingly said he was now concerned about his status in Dream Theater and the various other projects he is a part of. “I’m scared for my life and career at this point,” he explained. “And I’m in, like, 15 bands, so I have 15 times the chance of getting fired right now. The odds are very much stacked against me right now.”

You can watch the interview in full in the video above.

Dream Theater wrapped up the North American leg of their 40th anniversary tour in March, and are set to play a run of European shows this summer before heading back to the US in the autumn. They released their latest album, ‘Parasomnia’, in February – marking their first material to feature Portnoy since 2009.

Last year, Portnoy played a concert with Dream Theater just half an hour after learning that his sister had died.

Meanwhile, Zak Starkey has insisted that he was “fired” from The Who, following Roger Daltrey’s claim that the musician had been “retired” so that he could work on his other projects. “This is fukin total bollox,” Starkey said, after some back and forth with his former bandmates about the situation. He also told fans that he’d “had a great phone chat with Roger” that “truly confused both of us”.

Elsewhere, Starkey admitted that he was “gutted” to have not been asked to rejoin Oasis for their massive 2025 reunion tour, with US drummer Joey Waronker due to appear behind the kit.

In other news, Freese has shared a joke list of the “top 10 possible reasons Josh got booted from the Foos” on social media.

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