RIP Neil Peart 1952-2020
“The Professor” “The Master” “Neil Peart is God” “The GOAT”
The list goes on and on, not just for millions of drummers around the world, but for all instrumentalists from some of the greatest bands that have existed.
I’ve spent all day going through the tributes online from Gene Simmons, Dave Grohl, Questlove, Stewart Copeland, Paul Stanley, Brian Wilson, and the list goes on and on and on. There might have never been as many tributes about any other drummer. It’s a testament to how much of an influence he was on almost EVERYBODY. There are many posts about not even being a Rush fan, but appreciating him as an artist-drummer and lyricist. I mean, what drummer (who doesn’t sing) writes all the lyrics in a 40 year band career? Lyrics that were about philosophy, science fiction, society, poetry…what drummer has been air-drummed to more? Nobody. I can’t do justice to what he meant to everyone else, but I want to at least share my thoughts and anecdotes on my drumming hero.
NP has been my biggest drumming influence since I was 9 years old. I’ll never forget asking permission to watch Rush on MTV when they played concerts on Friday nights. Very late-maybe 10pm! While Limelight was playing, I was awestruck by the figure behind the vast array of drums. White, short sleeve shirt, buttoned up all the way and a little red bowtie.
What he was playing was beyond anything I could comprehend (I didn’t start even playing till 4 years later) but I remember staring at the TV and this moment subconsciously laying the groundwork for things to come. I didn’t say “I want to do that” but later in life I DID want to do that-that actual thing. We would play tackle football in my Mom’s backyard (sorry Mom) and the other guys always brought a boombox. One day they cranked Exit…Stage Left. If I recall correctly, we all had to stop and listen to the drum fills in Tom Sawyer. Again, no idea what was going on, but all I could say was “wow!” Throughout high school I was studying to be an architect (hmm) but if the rock drumming thing DID happened, great. When I finally decided to go to college, I wanted to be a rock drummer-with some classical training. Even though NP didn’t have classical training, his use of electronics, mallets, and various percussion was enough for me to literally want to BE HIM. That’s what I was hoping for in my college education.
In under grad at UMASS Lowell, some of us put on a Rush tribute show, a song from almost album at the time. A video projected the album cover in the back and even some animation. The stage was set as a kind of living room where musicians that didn’t play on a song could sit and hang out while everyone else was rocking away. There were two drummers involved and one of us was going to take the “early stuff” and one the “later stuff.” Knowing the “early stuff” would include Permanent Waves and Moving Pictures, I demanded I be on that set! It was a total blast to finally dig into the songs with a real band and really try and replicate everything as best we could. In the program, I thanked him for “every note.”
Along the way, I practiced my Rush drum transcription book constantly and found other outlets to perform their songs. A local cover/party band I subbed in found ourselves playing Oh, What a Night, Brown Eyed Girl, into Red Barchetta and La Villa Strangiato. No one was there anyway-at New England Conservatory, we played Limelight for a trumpet player’s (he played guitar too) graduate recital.
I bought all the books, all the DVDs, bought isolated tracks when I could find them, and recorded drum videos of Subdivisions, Limelight, and Red Barchetta, YYZ, and Tom Sawyer in my home studio. If you want to check them out, head here-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6BV566_hAY&list=PLzRC-Cqw-5g4d1THNHtMX5oB8bZghZ31B
I truly thought that if you were going to cover anything by Rush, you played the drum part EXACTLY the way Neil composed it. And that’s what he did-composed his drum parts. Like a classical composer thinks over and over again how to compose the most effective part-every single note, Neil did the same and we all appreciate it that much more. That’s why his parts are so memorable and why if you’ve ever been to a Rush show, thousands of people are air drumming to every groove and fill. Listen to just how the bass drum is played and when it’s played. Distant Early Warning is one of many examples. Sparce at first and gradually denser-adds tension and musicality. That alone is a masterful drum lesson. Iconic fills aside (Tom Sawyer, La Villa, etc etc), just listen to how the drum grooves are not just composed, but how they change from beginning to end. It’s all thought out. And again, shouldn’t be played any other way. They’re perfect as is!! Dedication to his craft. He would’ve made a great classical musician!
I was told about Neil’s passing right before I got to a gig last night-my Iron Maiden tribute’s biggest gig to date. I was definitely numb when I heard but “luckily” I had so many distractions ahead of me. I didn’t know if I was going to be able to concentrate while playing but I at least could dedicate every single note to him.
UPDATE-Six days later after writing this post, I had the unbelievable opportunity to sub last minute with the local Rush tribute, Sun Dogs. And I’m just realizing this on May 9.
On Sunday, Jan.12 (apparently when I originally wrote this blog post!), I was asked to sub in on a 90 minute set with the Rush tribute, Sun Dogs, a band I’ve seen and admired for a while. Of course it was cool that their bassist/singer was (is) the bassist for Kix! Considering I was scheduled to fly to LA for NAMM two days later and not come back till after the concert was supposed to happen, it seemed pretty far fetched. Never mind the fact of learning or relearning that amount of material in 6 days! And at the same time, there was this feeling of ‘I can’t say no.’
Initiate plan. Sunday, it was agreed that it would happen-Tuesday would be the first rehearsal. Monday night was spent configuring a kit that would work for the songs on the setlist. A couple considerations-the kit I would practice on and the kit I would perform on were going to be different. I have a 7-piece Tama Superstar kit all mic’d up and ready to record in my basement. But my regular gigging kit is a 6-piece DW Collector’s Series kit. Knowing I’d perform on the DW’s, I had to also set that up and dress it up with the appropriate percussion: temple blocks, wind chimes, wood blocks, splash cymbals, cowbells, crotale, timbale, electronic pad (for the chime notes I didn’t have), extra snare, and the ever important glockenspiel.
All set up at the show.
After 6 hours of getting everything where it needed to be, it was time to…take it down!
Tuesday consisted of dressing up the Tama kit with all the percussion and relearning all but 2 songs that I had to learn from scratch (Time Stands Still and Analog Kid). That night we rehearsed for a couple hours and felt pretty good. The next morning, I flew to LA and was supposed to start the journey with a lesson from drumming great, Gregg Bissonnette. But that’s a story for another time. I spent Wednesday and Thursday in Anaheim doing all the NAMM stuff while cramming any Rush listening I could. Friday, I flew back to VA for our second rehearsal. Things were a lot better! Saturday, was the show and I was there at noon to start loading in and get set up (thanks Billy).
Performing for a living has the usual byproducts of pressure and expectations. But most of the time, unless you’re a soloist on a given occasion, there’s a lot more to focus on than just you. So, a lot of it is in your head. On this night, there were a myriad of things-Neil just died. Lots of friends were coming. The regular fans would wonder who the hell I was, where was the regular guy, and if I can cut it. There were 6 days to prepare and I wasn’t home practicing for most of them, but on the other side of the country. Kix’s drummer was there. Oh, and it was a sold out show of 600. No pressure!!
But one moment happened where somehow a lot of that was lifted. About 10 minutes before we started, I went on stage to put some water bottles by my kit. There was an immediate sense of “welcome” and “appreciation” for some reason from the people that already started making noise. I gathered they were just happy to be there and to hear some great music, especially in that tragic week. Game on!
The setlist:
Freewill
Analog Kid
Red Barchetta
Time Stand Still
Xanadu
YYZ
Tom Sawyer
Intermission/Neil Peart tribute video
Spirit of Radio
Broon's/Trees
Hope
Subdivisions
La Villa
Dreamline
LimelightIt was one of the hardest things I’ve done and so worth the effort. While there were a few hiccups on my part (how many variations of “mistakes” are there?), I was very happy overall and the show was a tremendous success. Check out more pics here.
The day after, I flew back to NAMM and recorded Limelight at Soultone studios. Crazy that this was already scheduled months in advance.
And the next morning I was home-just in time for a 10:00am US Navy Band rehearsal!
To say it was a whirlwind would be an understatement. But it all came down to having to do this. For the Professor! And so glad I did. It was like a tribute to Neil that was thrown into my hands without my own doing.
I never met him but definitely got a sense that I knew him somewhat, whether it was reading or watching countless interviews, reading all of his books, or just listening to his words or drumming. He’s one of maybe two people that if I met in real life, I really would not know what to say. Exactly what he would NOT want!
Thank you for all the perfect notes, Neil.