Mike Portnoy recently appeared on the Everblack Podcast, where he shared that his fame is tied to two unexpected things: Taylor Swift and Hello Kitty.
The host mentioned that when he told his wife about his conversation with Portnoy, she recognized him for his Taylor Swift cover. Portnoy responded, saying, “Yeah, things like that, I’ve been doing this for what 30-40 years at this point, been on the won like 30 modern drummer rewards whatever, that doesn’t matter.”
He went on, “The things that are my claim to fame are the Taylor Swift video, the Hello Kitty video. It’s things like that are my claim to fame.” When the host tried to explain that Portnoy is considered one of the greatest drummers ever, Portnoy humorously acknowledged that his wife was more focused on the Taylor Swift cover. “That’s okay. My claim to fame, yeah,” he added.
Earlier this month, Portnoy made an appearance on Drumeo, where he turned Taylor Swift’s hit ‘Shake It Off’ into a metal version. On the show’s First Time series, he was asked to create drum parts for a song he had never heard before—’Shake It Off.’ After hearing a snippet without drums, he jammed along. His first attempt led to a puzzled reaction: “What the hell was that?”
When the host asked if Mike knew what the song was, he responded, “I have not the slightest clue. It sounds like something out of Disneyland in Japan or something.”
After completing his final take, Mike asked, “Who is it? What is it?” When told it was Taylor Swift, he was surprised and said, “Oh my God, that’s Taylor Swift? Like only the biggest artist on Earth. Wow, that’s Taylor Swift. I had no idea. What’s the name of that song?”
When the host revealed it was ‘Shake It Off,’ Portnoy sent a message to Swift, saying, “That’s exactly what I’m about to have to do. Taylor, I’m really sorry. I still would play with you in a heartbeat. I swear I wouldn’t do that [laughs].”
Portnoy had also played a tiny Hello Kitty drum kit during a visit to Loudwire, where he performed iconic songs like KISS’ ‘Love Gun,’ Slayer’s ‘Raining Blood,’ and Rush’s ‘YYZ.’
