| Neil Peart |
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Neil Ellwood Peart (born September 12, 1952), is a Canadian
musician and author. He is the drummer for the rock band Rush.
Peart grew up in Port Dalhousie, Ontario (now part of St.
Catharines) working miscellaneous jobs. His true ambition,
however, was to become a professional drummer. During
adolescence, he floated from regional band to regional band in
pursuit of a career as a full-time drummer. After a discouraging stint
in England to concentrate on his music, Peart returned home,
where he joined a local Toronto band, Rush, in the summer of 1974.
Early in his career, Peart's performance style was deeply rooted in
hard rock. He drew most of his inspiration from drummers such as
Keith Moon and John Bonham, players who were at the forefront of
the British hard rock scene. As time passed, e began to emulate
jazz and big band musicians Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich. Peart
has received numerous awards for his musical performances, and
is known for his technical proficiency and stamina.
musician and author. He is the drummer for the rock band Rush.
Peart grew up in Port Dalhousie, Ontario (now part of St.
Catharines) working miscellaneous jobs. His true ambition,
however, was to become a professional drummer. During
adolescence, he floated from regional band to regional band in
pursuit of a career as a full-time drummer. After a discouraging stint
in England to concentrate on his music, Peart returned home,
where he joined a local Toronto band, Rush, in the summer of 1974.
Early in his career, Peart's performance style was deeply rooted in
hard rock. He drew most of his inspiration from drummers such as
Keith Moon and John Bonham, players who were at the forefront of
the British hard rock scene. As time passed, e began to emulate
jazz and big band musicians Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich. Peart
has received numerous awards for his musical performances, and
is known for his technical proficiency and stamina.
In addition to being a musician, Peart is also a prolific writer, having published several memoirs about his travels. Peart is
also Rush's primary lyricist. In writing lyrics for Rush, Peart addresses universal themes and diverse subject matter
including science fiction, fantasy, and philosophy, as well as secular, humanitarian and libertarian themes. All four of his
books are travel-based non-fiction, though they diverge into his life and these subjects as well.
In the beginning:
His first exposure to musical training came in the form of piano lessons, which he later said in his instructional video A Work
in Progress did not have much impact on him. He had a penchant for drumming on various objects around the house with a
pair of chopsticks, so for his 13th birthday, his parents bought him a pair of drum sticks, a practice pad and some lessons,
with the promise that if he stuck with it for a year, they would buy him a kit.
His parents bought him a drum kit for his 14th birthday and he began taking 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 in Port
Dalhousie. 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.
Peart got a job in Lakeside Park, a fairground on the shores of Lake Ontario, which
later inspired a song of the same name on the Rush album Caress of Steel. He
worked on the Bubble Game and Ball Toss, but 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 practiced in basement recreation rooms and garages and played
church halls, high schools and roller rinks in towns across Southern Ontario such as Mitchell, Seaforth, and Elmira. They
also played in the northern Ontario city of Timmins. Tuesday nights were filled with jam sessions at the Niagara Theatre
Centre.
At eighteen years of age, after struggling to achieve success as a drummer in Canada, Peart traveled to London, England
hoping to further his career as a professional musician. Despite playing in several bands and picking up occasional session
work, he was forced to support himself by selling trinkets to tourists in a souvenir shop called The Great Frog on Carnaby
Street. While in London he came across the writings of novelist and objectivist Ayn Rand. Rand's writings became a
significant philosophical influence on Peart, as he found many of her treatises to individualism and Objectivism inspiring.
References to Rand's philosophy can be found in his lyrics, most notably "Anthem" from 1975's Fly by Night and "2112"
from 1976's 2112.After eighteen months of dead-end musical gigs, and disillusioned by his lack of progress in the music
business, Peart placed his aspiration of becoming a professional musician on hold and returned to Canada. Upon returning
to St. Catharines, he worked for his father selling tractor parts at Dalziel Equipment.
Rush:
After returning to Canada, Peart was recruited to play drums for the St. Catharines band Hush, who played on the South
Ontario bar circuit. Soon after, a mutual acquaintance convinced Peart to audition for the Toronto-based band Rush, which
needed a replacement for its original drummer John Rutsey. Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson oversaw the audition. His future
band mates describe his arrival that day as somewhat humorous, as he arrived 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 favorable impression of Peart. After
some discussion, Lee and Lifeson accepted Peart's maniacal British style of drumming, reminiscent of The Who's Keith
Moon. Peart officially joined the band on July 29, 1974, two weeks before the group's first US tour. Peart procured a silver
Slingerland kit which he played at his first gig with the band, opening for Uriah Heep and Manfred Mann in front of over
11,000 people at the Civic Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on August 14, 1974.
Peart soon settled into his new position, also becoming the band's primary lyricist. Before joining Rush, he had written few
songs, but, with the other members largely uninterested in writing lyrics, Peart's previously underutilized writing became 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 to live from a suitcase.
His first recording with the band, 1975's Fly by Night, was fairly successful, winning the Juno Award for most promising new
act, but the follow up, Caress of Steel, for which the band had high hopes, 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 "2112" on their next album of the same name in 1976. The album, despite record
company indifference, became their breakthrough and gained a following in the United States. 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 on the drum kit" by Lee.
Peart returned to England for Rush's Northern European Tour and the band stayed in the United Kingdom to record the
next album, 1977's A Farewell to Kings in Rockfield Studios in Wales. They returned to Rockfield to record the follow up,
Hemispheres, in 1978, 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 thereafter. Peart has described his time
in the band up to this point as "a dark tunnel." From this point on, Peart's career was near exclusively with Rush.
Playing style reinvention:
In 1992, Peart was invited by Buddy Rich's daughter, Cathy Rich, to play at
the Buddy Rich Memorial Scholarship Concert in New York City. Though
initially intimidated by the request, Peart accepted the offer and performed
for the first time with the Buddy Rich Big Band. Feeling that his performance
left much to be desired, Peart decided to produce and play on two Buddy
Rich tribute albums titled Burning for Buddy: A Tribute to the Music of Buddy
Rich in 1994 and 1997 in order to regain his aplomb.
Peart wrote on his personal website that "And yet...I still had a nagging
feeling that when I played in that style, I was just imitating it, not really feeling it properly. As the old Duke Ellington standard
goes, 'It don’t mean a thing, if it ain’t got that swing', and I didn’t think I did." In early 2007, Peart and Cathy Rich again
began discussing yet another Buddy tribute concert. In response, Peart decided to once again augment his swing style with
formal drum lessons, this time under the tutelage of another pupil of Freddie Gruber, Peter Erskine, himself an instructor of
drummer Steve Gadd. On October 18, 2008, Peart once again performed at the Buddy Rich Memorial Concert at New
York's Hammerstein Ballroom.
Family tragedy and recovery:
Soon after the culmination of Rush's Test For Echo Tour on July 4, 1997, Peart's first daughter and then-only child, 19-
year-old Selena Taylor, was killed in a single-car accident on Highway 401 near the town of Brighton, Ontario on August 10.
His common-law wife of 22 years, Jacqueline Taylor, succumbed to cancer only 10 months later on June 20, 1998. Peart,
however, maintains that her death was the result of a "broken heart", and called it "a slow suicide by apathy. She just didn't
care."
In his book Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road, Peart writes of how he had told his bandmates at Selena's funeral,
"consider me retired." Peart took a long sabbatical to mourn and reflect, during which time he traveled extensively
throughout North and Central America on his BMW motorcycle, covering 88,000 km (55,000 miles). After his journey ended,
Peart decided to return to the band. Peart wrote Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road as a chronicle of his
geographical and emotional journey.
While Peart was visiting long-time Rush photographer Andrew MacNaughtan in Los Angeles, MacNaughtan introduced
Peart to his future wife, photographer Carrie Nuttall. They married on September 9, 2000. In early 2001, Peart announced
to his bandmates that he was ready to return to recording and performing. The product of the band's return was the 2002
album Vapor Trails. At the start of the ensuing tour in support of the album, 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 a 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.
Since the release of Vapor Trails and reuniting with his fellow band mates, Peart has returned to work as a full-time
musician. Rush has since released a cover EP, Feedback in June 2004 and their 18th studio album Snakes & Arrows in
May 2007, which were supported by three additional tours in 2004, 2007, and 2008.
In the June 2009 edition of Peart's News, Weather, and Sports, entitled "Under the Marine Layer", he announced that he
and Nuttall were expecting their first child. Peart and Nuttall's first child, Olivia Louise Peart, was born on August 12, 2009.
Style and Influence:
Peart is consistently ranked as one of the greatest rock drummers by fans,
fellow musicians, and magazines. His influences are eclectic, ranging from
Jon Thomas, John Bonham, Michael Giles, Phil Collins, Steve Gadd, and
Keith Moon, to fusion and jazz drummers Billy Cobham, Buddy Rich, Bill
Bruford and Gene Krupa. The Who was the first group that inspired him to
write songs and play the drums. Peart is distinguished for playing "butt-end
out", reversing stick orientation for greater impact and increased rimshot
capacity. "When I was starting out", Peart later said, "if I broke the tips off
my sticks I couldn't afford to buy new ones, so I would just turn them around
and use the other end. I got used to it, and continue to use the heavy end
of lighter sticks - it gives me a solid impact, but with less 'dead weight' to
sling around."
Peart had long played just matched grip; however, he decided to shift to traditional as part of his style reinvention in the
mid-1990s under the tutelage of jazz coach Freddie Gruber. Shortly after the filming of his first instructional DVD A Work in
Progress, Peart went back to using primarily matched, though he does switch back to traditional when playing songs from
Test for Echo and during moments when he feels traditional grip is more appropriate, such as the rudimentary snare drum
section of his drum solo. He discusses the details of these switches in the DVD Anatomy of a Drum Solo.
Instruments:
With Rush, Peart has played Slingerland, Tama, Ludwig, and Drum Workshop drums, in that order. Historically he has
played Zildjian A-series cymbals along with Wuhan china cymbals. In the early 2000s, Peart moved away from Zildjian and
Wuhan and began exclusively using 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 to the rear.
During the late 1970s, Peart augmented his acoustic setup with diverse percussion instruments including orchestra bells,
tubular bells, wind chimes, crotales, timbales, timpani, 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. Some purely
electronic non-instrumental sounds are also used. One classic MIDI pad used is the Malletkat Express which is a two-octave
electronic MIDI device that resembles a xylophone or piano. The Malletkat Express is composed of rubber pads for the
"keys" so that any stick can be used. Beginning with 1984's Grace Under Pressure, he used Simmons electronic drums in
conjunction with Akai digital samplers. Peart has performed several songs primarily using the electronic portion of his drum
kit. (e.g. "Red Sector A", "Closer to the Heart" on A Show of Hands (video) and "Mystic Rhythms" on R30.) Peart's drum
solos also feature sections performed primarily on the electronic portion of his kit.
Shortly after making the choice to include electronic drums and triggers, Peart added what has become another trademark
of his kit: his rotating drum riser. During live Rush shows, the automated rotating riser allows Peart to swap dynamically the
prominent portions of the kit (traditional acoustic in front, electronic in back) and still face front as he plays. A staple of
Peart's live drum solos has been the in-performance rotation-and-swap of the front and back kits as part of the solo itself.
This special effect simultaneously provides a symbolic transition of drum styles within the solo and provides a visual treat
for the audience.
In the early 2000s, Peart began taking full advantage of the advances in electronic drum technology; primarily incorporating
Roland V-Drums and continued use of samplers with his existing set of acoustic percussion. Peart's digitally sampled library
of both traditional and exotic sounds has grown over the years with his music. In April 2006, Neil took delivery of his third
DW set, configured similarly to the R30 set, in a Tobacco Sunburst finish over curly maple exterior ply, with chrome
hardware. He refers to this set as the "West Coast kit", as he uses it when in Los Angeles. Besides using it on recent
recordings with Vertical Horizon, he played it while composing parts for Rush's latest studio album, Snakes & Arrows. It
features a custom 23" bass drum; all other sizes remain the same as the R30 kit. On March 20, 2007 Peart revealed that
Drum Workshop prepared a new set of red-painted DW maple shells with black hardware and gold "Snakes & Arrows" logos
for Neil to play on the Snakes & Arrows Tour.
Peart has also designed his own signature series drumstick with Pro-Mark.
The Promark PW747W, Neil Peart Signature drumsticks, are made of
Japanese White Oak, which adds more weight than a standard hickory stick.
They have the thickness of a standard 5A (0.551", 1.4cm) but are longer
(16.25", 41.3cm) with a thicker taper and larger olive shaped wooden tip.
When Rush held their Time Machine Tour, Pro-Mark released three limited
edition sticks, each with one of the three designs selected from Peart's
"Steam Punk" tour kit printed with Copper ink. Some other artists who use
the Neil Peart Signature series include Ben Johnston (Scottish musician)
of Biffy Clyro, Richie Hayward of Little Feat and Paul Garred of The Kooks.
During the 2010 Time Machine Tour Peart used a new DW kit which was
outfitted with brass hardware and time machine designs to match the tour's
Steampunk theming. Matching Paragon cymbals with clock imagery were
also used.
Peart is also the main lyricist for Rush. Literature has always heavily influenced his writings[38] and, as such, he has
tackled a wide range of subjects. In his early days with Rush, much of his lyrical output was influenced by fantasy, science
fiction, mythology and philosophy. However, nearly as much would deal with real world or personal issues such as life on
the road and parts of his adolescence.
The song "2112" focuses on the struggle of an individual against the collectivist forces of a totalitarian state. This became
the band's breakthrough release, but also brought unexpected criticism, mainly because of the credit of inspiration Peart
gave to Ayn Rand in the liner notes. "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 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 overstated. I am no one's disciple."
Lyrics:
The 1980 album Permanent Waves saw Peart cease to use fantasy literature or ancient mythology in his writing. 1981's
Moving Pictures showed that Peart was still interested in heroic, mythological figures, but would now place them firmly in a
modern and reality-based context. The song "Limelight" from the same album is an autobiographical account of Peart's
reservations regarding his own popularity and the pressures with fame. From Permanent Waves onward, most of Peart's
lyrics began to revolve around social, emotional, and humanitarian issues, usually from an objective standpoint and
employing the use of metaphors and symbolic representation.
1984's Grace Under Pressure strings together such despondent topics as the Holocaust ("Red Sector A") and the death of
close friends ("Afterimage"). Starting with 1987's Hold Your Fire and including 1989's Presto, 1991's Roll the Bones, and
1993's Counterparts, Peart would continue to explore diverse lyrical motifs, even addressing the topic of love and
relationships[43] ("Open Secrets", "Ghost of a Chance", "Speed of Love", "Cold Fire", "Alien Shore") a subject which he
purposefully eschewed in the past because of what he perceived as an inherent hackneyed stereotype. However, 2002's
Vapor Trails was heavily devoted to speaking about Peart's personal issues, combined with other humanitarian topics such
as the 9/11 terrorist attacks ("Peaceable Kingdom"). The band's most recent album Snakes & Arrows deals primarily and
vociferously with Peart's opinions regarding faith and religion.
also Rush's primary lyricist. In writing lyrics for Rush, Peart addresses universal themes and diverse subject matter
including science fiction, fantasy, and philosophy, as well as secular, humanitarian and libertarian themes. All four of his
books are travel-based non-fiction, though they diverge into his life and these subjects as well.
In the beginning:
His first exposure to musical training came in the form of piano lessons, which he later said in his instructional video A Work
in Progress did not have much impact on him. He had a penchant for drumming on various objects around the house with a
pair of chopsticks, so for his 13th birthday, his parents bought him a pair of drum sticks, a practice pad and some lessons,
with the promise that if he stuck with it for a year, they would buy him a kit.
His parents bought him a drum kit for his 14th birthday and he began taking 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 in Port
Dalhousie. 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.
Peart got a job in Lakeside Park, a fairground on the shores of Lake Ontario, which
later inspired a song of the same name on the Rush album Caress of Steel. He
worked on the Bubble Game and Ball Toss, but 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 practiced in basement recreation rooms and garages and played
church halls, high schools and roller rinks in towns across Southern Ontario such as Mitchell, Seaforth, and Elmira. They
also played in the northern Ontario city of Timmins. Tuesday nights were filled with jam sessions at the Niagara Theatre
Centre.
At eighteen years of age, after struggling to achieve success as a drummer in Canada, Peart traveled to London, England
hoping to further his career as a professional musician. Despite playing in several bands and picking up occasional session
work, he was forced to support himself by selling trinkets to tourists in a souvenir shop called The Great Frog on Carnaby
Street. While in London he came across the writings of novelist and objectivist Ayn Rand. Rand's writings became a
significant philosophical influence on Peart, as he found many of her treatises to individualism and Objectivism inspiring.
References to Rand's philosophy can be found in his lyrics, most notably "Anthem" from 1975's Fly by Night and "2112"
from 1976's 2112.After eighteen months of dead-end musical gigs, and disillusioned by his lack of progress in the music
business, Peart placed his aspiration of becoming a professional musician on hold and returned to Canada. Upon returning
to St. Catharines, he worked for his father selling tractor parts at Dalziel Equipment.
Rush:
After returning to Canada, Peart was recruited to play drums for the St. Catharines band Hush, who played on the South
Ontario bar circuit. Soon after, a mutual acquaintance convinced Peart to audition for the Toronto-based band Rush, which
needed a replacement for its original drummer John Rutsey. Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson oversaw the audition. His future
band mates describe his arrival that day as somewhat humorous, as he arrived 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 favorable impression of Peart. After
some discussion, Lee and Lifeson accepted Peart's maniacal British style of drumming, reminiscent of The Who's Keith
Moon. Peart officially joined the band on July 29, 1974, two weeks before the group's first US tour. Peart procured a silver
Slingerland kit which he played at his first gig with the band, opening for Uriah Heep and Manfred Mann in front of over
11,000 people at the Civic Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on August 14, 1974.
Peart soon settled into his new position, also becoming the band's primary lyricist. Before joining Rush, he had written few
songs, but, with the other members largely uninterested in writing lyrics, Peart's previously underutilized writing became 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 to live from a suitcase.
His first recording with the band, 1975's Fly by Night, was fairly successful, winning the Juno Award for most promising new
act, but the follow up, Caress of Steel, for which the band had high hopes, 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 "2112" on their next album of the same name in 1976. The album, despite record
company indifference, became their breakthrough and gained a following in the United States. 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 on the drum kit" by Lee.
Peart returned to England for Rush's Northern European Tour and the band stayed in the United Kingdom to record the
next album, 1977's A Farewell to Kings in Rockfield Studios in Wales. They returned to Rockfield to record the follow up,
Hemispheres, in 1978, 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 thereafter. Peart has described his time
in the band up to this point as "a dark tunnel." From this point on, Peart's career was near exclusively with Rush.
Playing style reinvention:
In 1992, Peart was invited by Buddy Rich's daughter, Cathy Rich, to play at
the Buddy Rich Memorial Scholarship Concert in New York City. Though
initially intimidated by the request, Peart accepted the offer and performed
for the first time with the Buddy Rich Big Band. Feeling that his performance
left much to be desired, Peart decided to produce and play on two Buddy
Rich tribute albums titled Burning for Buddy: A Tribute to the Music of Buddy
Rich in 1994 and 1997 in order to regain his aplomb.
Peart wrote on his personal website that "And yet...I still had a nagging
feeling that when I played in that style, I was just imitating it, not really feeling it properly. As the old Duke Ellington standard
goes, 'It don’t mean a thing, if it ain’t got that swing', and I didn’t think I did." In early 2007, Peart and Cathy Rich again
began discussing yet another Buddy tribute concert. In response, Peart decided to once again augment his swing style with
formal drum lessons, this time under the tutelage of another pupil of Freddie Gruber, Peter Erskine, himself an instructor of
drummer Steve Gadd. On October 18, 2008, Peart once again performed at the Buddy Rich Memorial Concert at New
York's Hammerstein Ballroom.
Family tragedy and recovery:
Soon after the culmination of Rush's Test For Echo Tour on July 4, 1997, Peart's first daughter and then-only child, 19-
year-old Selena Taylor, was killed in a single-car accident on Highway 401 near the town of Brighton, Ontario on August 10.
His common-law wife of 22 years, Jacqueline Taylor, succumbed to cancer only 10 months later on June 20, 1998. Peart,
however, maintains that her death was the result of a "broken heart", and called it "a slow suicide by apathy. She just didn't
care."
In his book Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road, Peart writes of how he had told his bandmates at Selena's funeral,
"consider me retired." Peart took a long sabbatical to mourn and reflect, during which time he traveled extensively
throughout North and Central America on his BMW motorcycle, covering 88,000 km (55,000 miles). After his journey ended,
Peart decided to return to the band. Peart wrote Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road as a chronicle of his
geographical and emotional journey.
While Peart was visiting long-time Rush photographer Andrew MacNaughtan in Los Angeles, MacNaughtan introduced
Peart to his future wife, photographer Carrie Nuttall. They married on September 9, 2000. In early 2001, Peart announced
to his bandmates that he was ready to return to recording and performing. The product of the band's return was the 2002
album Vapor Trails. At the start of the ensuing tour in support of the album, 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 a 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.
Since the release of Vapor Trails and reuniting with his fellow band mates, Peart has returned to work as a full-time
musician. Rush has since released a cover EP, Feedback in June 2004 and their 18th studio album Snakes & Arrows in
May 2007, which were supported by three additional tours in 2004, 2007, and 2008.
In the June 2009 edition of Peart's News, Weather, and Sports, entitled "Under the Marine Layer", he announced that he
and Nuttall were expecting their first child. Peart and Nuttall's first child, Olivia Louise Peart, was born on August 12, 2009.
Style and Influence:
Peart is consistently ranked as one of the greatest rock drummers by fans,
fellow musicians, and magazines. His influences are eclectic, ranging from
Jon Thomas, John Bonham, Michael Giles, Phil Collins, Steve Gadd, and
Keith Moon, to fusion and jazz drummers Billy Cobham, Buddy Rich, Bill
Bruford and Gene Krupa. The Who was the first group that inspired him to
write songs and play the drums. Peart is distinguished for playing "butt-end
out", reversing stick orientation for greater impact and increased rimshot
capacity. "When I was starting out", Peart later said, "if I broke the tips off
my sticks I couldn't afford to buy new ones, so I would just turn them around
and use the other end. I got used to it, and continue to use the heavy end
of lighter sticks - it gives me a solid impact, but with less 'dead weight' to
sling around."
Peart had long played just matched grip; however, he decided to shift to traditional as part of his style reinvention in the
mid-1990s under the tutelage of jazz coach Freddie Gruber. Shortly after the filming of his first instructional DVD A Work in
Progress, Peart went back to using primarily matched, though he does switch back to traditional when playing songs from
Test for Echo and during moments when he feels traditional grip is more appropriate, such as the rudimentary snare drum
section of his drum solo. He discusses the details of these switches in the DVD Anatomy of a Drum Solo.
Instruments:
With Rush, Peart has played Slingerland, Tama, Ludwig, and Drum Workshop drums, in that order. Historically he has
played Zildjian A-series cymbals along with Wuhan china cymbals. In the early 2000s, Peart moved away from Zildjian and
Wuhan and began exclusively using 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 to the rear.
During the late 1970s, Peart augmented his acoustic setup with diverse percussion instruments including orchestra bells,
tubular bells, wind chimes, crotales, timbales, timpani, 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. Some purely
electronic non-instrumental sounds are also used. One classic MIDI pad used is the Malletkat Express which is a two-octave
electronic MIDI device that resembles a xylophone or piano. The Malletkat Express is composed of rubber pads for the
"keys" so that any stick can be used. Beginning with 1984's Grace Under Pressure, he used Simmons electronic drums in
conjunction with Akai digital samplers. Peart has performed several songs primarily using the electronic portion of his drum
kit. (e.g. "Red Sector A", "Closer to the Heart" on A Show of Hands (video) and "Mystic Rhythms" on R30.) Peart's drum
solos also feature sections performed primarily on the electronic portion of his kit.
Shortly after making the choice to include electronic drums and triggers, Peart added what has become another trademark
of his kit: his rotating drum riser. During live Rush shows, the automated rotating riser allows Peart to swap dynamically the
prominent portions of the kit (traditional acoustic in front, electronic in back) and still face front as he plays. A staple of
Peart's live drum solos has been the in-performance rotation-and-swap of the front and back kits as part of the solo itself.
This special effect simultaneously provides a symbolic transition of drum styles within the solo and provides a visual treat
for the audience.
In the early 2000s, Peart began taking full advantage of the advances in electronic drum technology; primarily incorporating
Roland V-Drums and continued use of samplers with his existing set of acoustic percussion. Peart's digitally sampled library
of both traditional and exotic sounds has grown over the years with his music. In April 2006, Neil took delivery of his third
DW set, configured similarly to the R30 set, in a Tobacco Sunburst finish over curly maple exterior ply, with chrome
hardware. He refers to this set as the "West Coast kit", as he uses it when in Los Angeles. Besides using it on recent
recordings with Vertical Horizon, he played it while composing parts for Rush's latest studio album, Snakes & Arrows. It
features a custom 23" bass drum; all other sizes remain the same as the R30 kit. On March 20, 2007 Peart revealed that
Drum Workshop prepared a new set of red-painted DW maple shells with black hardware and gold "Snakes & Arrows" logos
for Neil to play on the Snakes & Arrows Tour.
Peart has also designed his own signature series drumstick with Pro-Mark.
The Promark PW747W, Neil Peart Signature drumsticks, are made of
Japanese White Oak, which adds more weight than a standard hickory stick.
They have the thickness of a standard 5A (0.551", 1.4cm) but are longer
(16.25", 41.3cm) with a thicker taper and larger olive shaped wooden tip.
When Rush held their Time Machine Tour, Pro-Mark released three limited
edition sticks, each with one of the three designs selected from Peart's
"Steam Punk" tour kit printed with Copper ink. Some other artists who use
the Neil Peart Signature series include Ben Johnston (Scottish musician)
of Biffy Clyro, Richie Hayward of Little Feat and Paul Garred of The Kooks.
During the 2010 Time Machine Tour Peart used a new DW kit which was
outfitted with brass hardware and time machine designs to match the tour's
Steampunk theming. Matching Paragon cymbals with clock imagery were
also used.
Peart is also the main lyricist for Rush. Literature has always heavily influenced his writings[38] and, as such, he has
tackled a wide range of subjects. In his early days with Rush, much of his lyrical output was influenced by fantasy, science
fiction, mythology and philosophy. However, nearly as much would deal with real world or personal issues such as life on
the road and parts of his adolescence.
The song "2112" focuses on the struggle of an individual against the collectivist forces of a totalitarian state. This became
the band's breakthrough release, but also brought unexpected criticism, mainly because of the credit of inspiration Peart
gave to Ayn Rand in the liner notes. "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 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 overstated. I am no one's disciple."
Lyrics:
The 1980 album Permanent Waves saw Peart cease to use fantasy literature or ancient mythology in his writing. 1981's
Moving Pictures showed that Peart was still interested in heroic, mythological figures, but would now place them firmly in a
modern and reality-based context. The song "Limelight" from the same album is an autobiographical account of Peart's
reservations regarding his own popularity and the pressures with fame. From Permanent Waves onward, most of Peart's
lyrics began to revolve around social, emotional, and humanitarian issues, usually from an objective standpoint and
employing the use of metaphors and symbolic representation.
1984's Grace Under Pressure strings together such despondent topics as the Holocaust ("Red Sector A") and the death of
close friends ("Afterimage"). Starting with 1987's Hold Your Fire and including 1989's Presto, 1991's Roll the Bones, and
1993's Counterparts, Peart would continue to explore diverse lyrical motifs, even addressing the topic of love and
relationships[43] ("Open Secrets", "Ghost of a Chance", "Speed of Love", "Cold Fire", "Alien Shore") a subject which he
purposefully eschewed in the past because of what he perceived as an inherent hackneyed stereotype. However, 2002's
Vapor Trails was heavily devoted to speaking about Peart's personal issues, combined with other humanitarian topics such
as the 9/11 terrorist attacks ("Peaceable Kingdom"). The band's most recent album Snakes & Arrows deals primarily and
vociferously with Peart's opinions regarding faith and religion.
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