By now, you know that Mike Portnoy and guitarist John Sykes are no longer working together on the project they first revealed this past Summer. While we’ve heard from the former Dream Theater drummer since, the former Thin Lizzy/ Whitesnake guitarist has kept quiet.
In an update on his official website yesterday, though, Sykes finally spoke out about his failed collaboration. His simple and direct statement read as the following:
“The project I was putting together with Mike Portnoy didn’t work out, and I wish him all the best for the future. I’m continuing to work on my new album, and I look forward to putting out some great new music in 2012.”
Shortly after Portnoy confirmed that he wasn’t working with Sykes, and that the “secret” bassist in the trio was Billy Sheehan, rumors that Sykes had been replaced by former Poison/ Mr. Big guitarist Richie Kotzen had spread pretty fast. Then, radio personality/ That Metal Show cohost confirmed that the three were jamming via Twitter. And while we’re a little late on this, Kotzen himself also shared some insight via a Facebook post late Wednesday (January 25) night, saying the following:
“I wanted to address the recent rumor about the project with Billy, Mike, and I… Although we did throw some ideas around neither of us decided to make any public announcements so today’s internet buzz was a surprise. I will say I am a fan of both Mike and Billy. I’m sure a collaboration would produce some interesting results.”
Though somewhat of a vague response, Kotzen basically confirms that the three of them have been jamming together. Whether Kotzen has officially joined the power trio, though, still seems unclear. Either way, not only will we still hear new music from Portnoy (at least with Adrenaline Mob and Flying Colors if not the power trio), but also from Sykes this year.
