Neil Peart, legendary drummer of legendary Progressive Rock Band Rush passed away this past Tuesday and we're just now getting the news apparently.
If you're a fan of rock music, classic rock, sci-fi, drummers, general nerd stuff, you were or are likely a Rush fan. The grounding of Rush, the zen that brought it all together was Neil Peart. More times than not you can find claims from everyone that he was one of the greatest drummers of all time.
Technically proficient, mind blowing performances were the hallmark of Peart. No one did it better. If you were a fan of any of today's current rock drummers like Danny Carey of Tool or Jon Theodore of Queens of the Stone Age and Mars Volta, or literally any great drummer working after 1980, you will likely be hearing someone influenced in someway by Neil Peart.
Rush is a huge band in my life. It's my Christmas music.
I know that sounds weird, but hear me out.
One of my most vivid memories as a kid is being about 9 or 10 years old. It was the mid 80's and I was just really getting into music. Well, on Christmas Eve, I got to ride over to my sisters apartment with her then boyfriend, now husband in his red Firebird. It was late and cold and he popped in the cassette for Rush's 1981 classic Moving Pictures.
I had never heard music that amazing before. I begged him to let me borrow the tape and he did. When we got home I put it in my tape deck and listened to it all throughout the Christmas holiday, even shunning the other music I had just recently discovered/got for Christmas presents. I was hooked. Now, I listen to Moving Pictures every Christmas. Even hearing Tom Sawyer or Red Barchetta makes me very wistful.
My brother's were all impressed that I became a Rush fan so quickly, and they continued to extol the value of Rush and played other albums for me they owned like Fly By Night and 2112.
Their critiques and explanations all surrounded the technical prowess of Neil Peart. Yes, the other members were great they explained, but they made it known that I had to really FEEL what the drums were playing. I did.
I'm bummed too because of the hundreds, if not thousands of concerts I've been to in my almost 43 years, I never got the chance to see Rush live. Now I never will.
If you get the chance, pop on a Rush album today and FEEL their music. If you have some big old headphones, what we like to call cans, and some vinyl and beer to go with it even better. NO, NOT BEER, WINE OR EVEN BETTER TRY AND FIND SOME MEAD AND NERD OUT, ZONE OUT AND LISTEN.
I'm sure he's headed to Valhalla now and we're all the better for the music he shared with us.
RIP Neil.