Rocker Mike Portnoy has launched a lawsuit against his former Dream Theater bandmates, accusing them of "wrongfully excluding" him from the line-up.
The drummer, who helped form the band in 1985, left last year (10) after he asked the other four members if they could take a hiatus and they refused.
Now he is taking legal action against the group, claiming John Petrucci, John Myung, Jordan Rudess and James LaBrie "are wrongfully using the name of the band in connection with the promotion of live performances by the individual defendants, without the participation or consent of" Portnoy.
Since news of the lawsuit broke on Monday (19Sep11), Portnoy has taken to his Twitter.com page to play down the matter.
In a string of posts, he writes, "Everyone needs to chill out. Stop feeding into this negative poison on the net... I am legally Not Allowed to speak of business matters, but I'm sure you realise there are two sides to every coin... If I could openly talk about this stuff and explain the Reality of everything, I would love nothing more!!! But I am legally unable to discuss it...
"In the meantime, life is bright and positive... I am happy and so are they... so shouldn't You be too??? Don't believe the hype... Carpe Diem!"