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Neil Peart

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File:R30neil.jpg
Neil Peart of Rush.
(30th anniversary tour photo 2004)

Neil Ellwood Peart (IPA: [pɪɹt]) OC, (born September 12, 1952 in St. Catharines, Ontario) is the drummer and lyricist for the progressive rock band Rush. His last name is pronounced "Peert", although many mispronounce it "Pert". Nicknamed The Professor, Peart has received many awards (see below) for his recorded performances and is widely regarded as one of the greatest rock drummers of all time due to his technical proficiency and stamina. In terms of influence, he is one of the most important drummers in history.[1]


Biography

Early life

Peart was born on the family farm in Hagersville, on the outskirts of St. Catharines. The first child of four, his brother Danny and sisters Judy and Nancy would be born after the family moved to St. Catharines when he was two years of age, where his father became parts manager for Dalziel Equipment, a farm machinery supplier. In 1956 the family moved to the Port Dalhousie area of the town. Peart began attending Gracefield School. Peart describes his childhood as happy and says he experienced a warm family life. By early adolescence he became interested in music and acquired a transistor radio which he would tune into pop music station broadcasting from Toronto, Hamilton, Welland and Buffalo. His parents bought him a drum kit for his thirteenth birthday and he began receiving lessons from Don George at the Peninsula Conservatory of Music. His stage debut took place that year at the school's Christmas pageant in St. Johns Anglican Church Hall, Port Delhousie. His next appearance was at Lakeport High School with his first group, The Eternal Triangle. This performance contained an original number entitled "LSD forever". At this show he performed his first solo for which he garnered praise from his fellow students. Peart got a job in Lakeside Park, a fairground on the shores of Lake Ontario, which would later be used as inspiration in a song of the same name on the Rush album Caress of Steel. He worked on the Bubble Game and Ball Toss, however, his tendency to take it easy when business was slack resulted in his termination. By his late teens, Peart had played in local bands such as Mumblin’ Sumpthin’, the Majority, and JR Flood. These bands would practice in basement recreation rooms and garages and play church halls, high schools and roller rinks in towns across Southern Ontario such as Mitchell, Seaforth, Elmira and Trimmins. Tuesday nights were filled with jam sessions at the Niagara Theatre Centre.[2]

A boy alone

After struggling to achieve success as a drummer in Canada, at the age of 18, Peart travelled to London, England in hopes of furthering his career as a professional musician. This would prove to be a difficult transition. Despite playing in several bands and picking up some occasional session work he was forced to support himself by selling trinkets to tourists in a souviner shop called The Great Fog on Carnaby Street. While taking a journey on the London Underground, Neil Peart discovered the book The Fountainhead written by novelist and objectivist philosopher Ayn Rand, who would ultimately become a big ideological influence on the young drummer. Peart found many of Rand's treatises to individualism and objectivism inspiring. Several of her philosophies would find their way into Peart's future lyrics, most notably "Anthem" from 1975's Fly By Night and "2112" from the 1976 Rush album of the same name. After eighteen months, disillusioned by his lack of progress in the music business and unwilling to compromise his music, Peart placed his aspiration of becoming a professional musician on hold and returned to Canada. Upon returning to St. Catharine’s he went to work for his father selling tractor parts at Dalziel Equipment. Peart would later use his time spent in London as inspiration for the song "Circumstances" on the 1978 Rush album Hemispheres.

Joining Rush

After his return to Canada, Peart was recruited to play drums for the St. Catharine's outfit "Hush" who played on the South Ontario bar circuit. Soon after, a mutual acquaintance convinced Peart to audition for the Toronto based band Rush, who were in need of a replacement for their original drummer John Rutsey. Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson oversaw the audition. His arrival that day has been described as somewhat humorous by his band mates as Peart showed up dressed in shorts, driving a battered old car with his drums stored in trashcans. Peart felt the entire audition was a complete disaster. While Lee and Peart hit it off on a personal level, both sharing similar tastes in books and music, Lifeson had a less than favorable impression of Peart. After some discussion, Lee convinced Lifeson that Peart's maniacal British style of drumming, reminiscent of The Who's Keith Moon, was what the band needed. Peart officially joined the band on July 29th 1974, incidentally Lee’s birthday and two weeks before the group's first US tour. Receiving an advance from their record company the band purchased new equipment. Peart bought a silver Slingerland kit which he played at his first gig with the band, warming up for Uriah Heep and Manfred Mann in front of 11,642 people at the Civic Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on August 14th.

The Long Dark Tunnel

Peart soon settled into his new position also taking on the mantle of primary lyric writer. Prior to joining the band he had only written a few songs, but now with the other members having little interest in writing lyrics, his previously underutilized talent would soon become as noticed as his musicianship. The band was still finding its feet as a recording act, and Peart, along with the rest of the band, now had to learn how to live out of a suitcase, coming down after gigs watching cartoons in motel bedrooms and all night studio sessions. His first recording with the band, Fly by Night, was fairly successful, winning the Juno Award for most promising new act, but the follow up, Caress of Steel, which the band had high hopes for, was greeted with hostility by both fans and critics. In response to this negative reception, most of which was aimed at the B side spanning epic "The Fountain of Lamneth", Peart responded by penning the A side spanning epic "2112", which despite record company indifference, would prove to be their million selling breakthrough. The supporting tour culminated in a three night stand at Massey Hall in Toronto, a venue Peart had dreamed of playing in his days on the Southern Ontario bar circuit and where he was now introduced as "The Professor of the drum kit". Peart returned to England for the band's Northern European Tour and the band stayed in Britain to record the next album A Farewell to Kings in Rockfield Studios in Wales. They returned to Rockfield to record the follow up, Hemispheres, which they wrote entirely in the studio. The recording of five studio albums in four years, coupled with as many as 300 gigs a year, convinced the band to take a different approach from that point on. Peart has described his time in the band up to this point as "a long, dark tunnel".

Family tragedy

Peart's only child, daughter Selena Peart Taylor, was killed in a single-car accident in 1997. His wife, Jaqueline Taylor, died of cancer only 10 months later in 1998. It was rumoured that Peart would be leaving Rush following these tragedies. However, after a brief hiatus to mourn and reflect, including a 50,000 mile motorcycle trip from his home in Quebec, west into Alaska, then south to Mexico, and back (documented in his travelogue "Ghost Rider"), he returned to the band. Later he married photographer Carrie Nuttall.

With the 2002 release of the band's Vapor Trails album, Peart has returned to the business of performing live with his bandmates. At the start of the tour, it was decided amongst the band members that Peart would not take part in the daily grind of press interviews and "Meet and Greet" sessions upon their arrival in a new city that typically monopolize an immensely popular touring band's daily schedule. While Peart has always shied away from these types of in-person encounters, it was decided that having to needlessly expose him to an endless stream of questions about the tragic events of his life was quite unnecessary.[1]

Musicianship

Neil Peart in concert with Rush.
Milan, Italy (September 21, 2004)

Style and influences

Peart is known for an extremely hard-hitting style made recognizable by a combination of accuracy/precision and clarity/complexity. His influences are eclectic, ranging from Led Zeppelin's John Bonham, Steely Dan's Steve Gadd, The Who's Keith Moon, to fusion and jazz drummers Billy Cobham, Buddy Rich and Gene Krupa. Peart is distinguished historically for playing "butt-end out", i.e. reversing stick orientation for greater impact and increased rim-shot capacity (for that reason, his long-time drum technician, Larry Allen, would file the tip-end of his sticks for gripping purposes). Currently he plays both matched and traditional grip, the latter encouraged recently under the tutelage of Jazz drummer Freddie Gruber.

Peart's drumming is distinguished by an ability to shift effortlessly between standard and irregular time signatures, supplemented by extraordinary facility of limb independence and cross-sticking, and an impressive command of tonal and volume range. He was one of the first rock drummers to employ twin bass drum pedals extensively, innovative ride cymbal patterns, and was a pioneer in the use of splash and china cymbals. He is one of the few to rely on standard and piccolo snare drums to this day (plus a floor tom to the left, beginning 1991), emphasizes relatively small crashes (16"), and has never employed hi-hats larger than 13", all of which contribute to a uniquely crisp, tight sound for this genre.

Equipment

With Rush, Peart has played Slingerland, Tama, Ludwig, and DW drums, in that order. Historically he has played Zildjian cymbals exclusively (save for various effect cymbals), switching only very recently to Paragon, a line created for him by Sabian. In concert, Peart uses an elaborate 360-degree drum kit, with a large acoustic set in front and electronic drums in back. During the late 1970s, Peart accessorized and augmented his accoustic setup with diverse percussion instruments including orchestra bells, tubular bells, wind chimes, crotales, timbales, tympani, gong, temple blocks, bell tree, triangle, and melodic cowbells. Since the mid-1980s, Peart has replaced several of these pieces with MIDI trigger pads. This was done in order to trigger sounds sampled from various pieces of acoustic percussion that would otherwise consume far too much stage area, such as a marimba, harp, temple blocks, triangles, glockenspiel, orchestra bells, tubular bells, and vibra-slap. Some purely electronic, description-defying sounds are also used.

Solos

Peart is known for complicated, extremely technical drums solos containing odd time signatures, complex arrangements (sometimes total separation between upper and lower limb patterns), and exotic percussion instruments. These solos have been featured on every live album released by the band. On the early live albums (All the World's a Stage & Exit..Stage Left), the drum solo was included as part of a song. On all subsequent live albums, the drum solo has been included on a separate track. All of Peart's drum solos include a basic framework of routines connected by sections of improvisation, leaving each performance unique. Each successive tour sees the solo more advanced, with some routines dropped in favor of newer, more complex ones.

Lyrics

File:Neilpeart.jpg
Neil Peart

Peart is also the main lyricist for Rush. Some of his lyrics, particularly the bittersweet Limelight, deal directly with his ambivalent attitude towards fame and the concomitant loss of privacy [3]. The song Lakeside Park invokes images of summers he spent at Port Dalhousie, Ontario during his childhood. [[4]] Literary references abound in Peart's lyrics, most likely due to Peart being an avid reader. Examples include William Shakespeare ("Limelight"), Friedrich Nietzsche ("Cygnus X-1 Book II: Hemispheres"), John dos Passos ("The Camera Eye", "The Big Money"), J. R. R. Tolkien ("Rivendell", "The Necromancer"), Mark Twain ("Tom Sawyer") and Samuel Taylor Coleridge ("Xanadu"). Some of the most oft-commented upon are homages to Ayn Rand's novel "Anthem", in Rush's 1975 song of the same name on their "Fly by Night" album, and again in an explicitly acknowledged derivation in 1976's "2112" suite. "There was a remarkable backlash, especially from the English press— this being the late seventies, when collectivism was still in style, especially among journalists," Peart said. "They were calling us 'Junior fascists' and 'Hitler lovers.' It was a total shock to me." Weary of accusations of Fascism, or even simply ideological fealty to Rand's philosophy of Objectivism, Peart has sought to remind listeners of his eclecticism and independence in interviews. He did not, however, try to argue in defense of Rand's views.

"For a start, the extent of my influence by the writings of Ayn Rand should not be overestimated -- I am no one's disciple."

Books

Peart is the author of three non-fiction books, with a fourth due for release in September of 2006. His growth as an author predates the published work by several years (not including his work as Rush's primary lyricist), through private letters and short travelogues sent out to a small circle of friends and family.

The Masked Rider: Cycling In West Africa

Written in 1996 about a month-long bicycling tour through Cameroon in November of 1988. Written in the first person, the book allows the reader to follow Peart through towns and villages, with four fellow riders. This was not Peart's first cycling tour, but it proves to be one of the most difficult. The original had a limited print run, but after the critical and commercial success of Neil's second book, "Masked Rider" was re-issued (with slightly different cover art) and remains in print as of 2006.

Ghost Rider: Travels On The Healing Road

Being as popular as Rush are, the tragedies that befell Peart over a ten month span were widely reported through the media. Peart and the rest of the band were always able to keep his private life at at a distance from his public image in Rush (very much by choice). "Ghost Rider" is again a first-person narrative of Peart on the road, now on motorcycle, in an effort to put his life back together as he emarked on an extensive journey across North America.

Traveling Music: The Soundtrack Of My Life And Times

Deciding to take a road trip, this time by car, Peart reflects on his life, his career, his family and the thing that ties them all together: Music. This book follows Peart still carrying emotional scars, but building a new life. As with his previous two books, "Traveling Music" is a first-person account.

Roadshow: Landscape With Drums

Thirty years after Peart joined Rush, the band found itself on its R30 anniversary tour. Set for release in September of 2006 (see Peart's Official Website), this book will chronicle that tour both from behind the drumkit and atop a motorcycle.

DVDs

Peart has released two instructional DVDs

Awards and honours

File:Neil Peartcollection.jpg
Neil Peart of Rush

Peart has received the following awards in the Modern Drummer magazine reader's poll:

  • Hall of Fame: 1983
  • Best Rock Drummer: 1980,1981,1982,1983,1984,1985
  • Best Multi-Percussionist: 1983,1984,1985,1986
  • Best Percussion Instrumentalist: 1982
  • Most Promising New Drummer: 1980
  • Best All Around: 1986
  • 1986 Honor Roll: Rock Drummer, Multi-Percussion
(As a member of the Honor Roll in these categories, he is no longer eligible for votes in the above categories.)

Along with his colleagues, Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson from Rush, Peart was made an Officer of the Order of Canada on May 9, 1996. The trio were the first rock musicians so honoured.

Gear

File:Neil-Peart-Snare.jpg
DW 24-karat gold Neil Peart snare drum
File:Neil Peart Sabian Cymbals.jpg
Sabian signature Paragon cymbals

Drums:

Kick: DW 22"
Toms: 8",10",12",13",15",15",16",18"
Snares: DW 13" piccolo snare, 14" edge, 14" solid wood
Hardware: 24k gold plated DW 9000 hardware & pedals (hi-hat-DW 5000 series)

Cymbals:

  • Sabian Paragon signature (2004-present)
Hi Hats 13",14"
Splash 8", 2x10"
Crash 2x16", 18", 20"
FX cymbals 19", 20" chinese
Ride 22"

Electronics

Roland V-Drums (DW shells)

Roland V-Cymbals
Roland TD-10 Brains
Fat Kat trigger pedals
Emu 4000 Samplers
Dauz trigger pad
Mallet Kat
Remo Drumheads
Pro-Mark 747 drumsticks (Oak)

Audio

Video

Notes

  1. ^ Lee, Geddy and Lifeson, Alex: "The Boys in Rio", Rush in Rio DVD Bonus Material (October 2003.)
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