Michael Stephen Portnoy (born April 20, 1967) is an American drummer primarily known as the drummer and backing vocalist for the progressive metal band Dream Theater. Known for his drumming prowess and technical skill, Portnoy has won 23 awards from the Modern Drummer magazine. He has co-produced the last five Dream Theater albums with guitarist John Petrucci, starting from Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory. From A Change of Seasons onwards, Portnoy has been writing a substantial amount of Dream Theater's lyrics, filling the void left by Kevin Moore, who left the band after the band's release of Awake. He is the second youngest person (after Neil Peart) to be inducted into the Modern Drummer's Hall of Fame (at 37 years of age). Mike Portnoy was raised in Long Beach, New York, on Long Island. Portnoy got his appreciation for music from his father at an early age. His father worked a a DJ at a local radio station, and he had access to his father's collection of LPs. He left his last high school band, Inner Sanctum, after being awarded a scholarship to attend the Berklee College of Music in Boston. He left the college soon afterward to form the band Dream Theater, which was initially called "Majesty". Mike has a strong personality and talkativeness, and a maniacal precision for every activity (especially music) he makes: he, benevolently, describes himself a "neurotic obsessive-compulsive".