Neil Peart - by Moses

  Neil Peart has just died this January 7th, 2020 at the age of 67 from brain cancer.  

  Born in Hamilton, Ontario (growing up in Oakville, Ontario) Neil Peart is known for his massive contributions in the rock and roll band RUSH.  Joining Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson's band in 1974, RUSH (with Peart) released 'Fly By Night' (their second album).  Peart was now the lyricist and drummer of the Band (replacing John Rutsey on drums).  In 1975 RUSH released 'Caress of Steel' and Terry Brown, the producer and audio engineer, showcased many recording techniques to soon be implemented in the recording industry.  At this point in 1976 RUSH released their breakout album '2112' which went platinum across North America.  In 1977 RUSH released their fifth album 'A Farewell to Kings'; 

Other RUSH Albums

1977 - All the World's a Stage
1978 - Hemispheres
1979 - Permanent Waves
1980 - Moving Pictures
1981 - Exit Stage Left
1982 - Signals
1984 - Grace Under Pressure
1985 - Power Windows 
1987 - Hold Your Fire
1988 - A Show of Hands 
1989 - Presto
1991 - Roll the Bones
1993 - Counterparts
1996 - Test For Echo
1998 - Different Stages

      After the conclusion of the Test for Echo tour in 1997, the band entered a five-year hiatus primarily due to personal tragedies in Peart's life. Peart's daughter Selena died in a car accident in August 1997, followed by the death of his wife Jacqueline from cancer in June 1998. Peart took a hiatus to mourn and reflect, during which he traveled extensively throughout North America on his BMW motorcycle, covering 88,000 km (55,000 mi). At some point in his journey, Peart decided to return to the band.  Peart's book Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road is a chronicle of his journey.  In the book, he writes of how he had told his bandmates at Selena's funeral, "consider me retired."  On November 10, 1998, a three-disc live album entitled Different Stages was released, dedicated to the memory of Selena and Jacqueline. Mixed by producer Paul Northfield and engineered by Terry Brown, it features recorded performances from the band's Counterparts, Test For Echo, and A Farewell to Kings tours, marking the band's fourth live album.

  After a time of grief and recovery, and while visiting long-time Rush photographer Andrew MacNaughtan in Los Angeles, Peart was introduced to his future wife, photographer Carrie Nuttall.  Peart married Nuttall on September 9, 2000.  In early 2001, he announced to his bandmates he was ready to once again enter the studio and get back into the business of making music.

  From this point on RUSH was as committed to making music as they ever were and released 'Vapor Trails' in 2002.  In 2004 they released 'Feedback' a cover album in which RUSH performed Cream, The Yardbirds, and Led Zeppelin tracks, among others.  'Snakes and Arrows' was released in 2007.  

2009–2013: Time Machine Tour and Clockwork Angels

  On February 16, 2009, Lifeson remarked the band may begin working on a new album in the Fall of 2009 with American producer Nick Raskulinecz.  In November 2009, Lee, Lifeson and Peart were awarded the International Achievement Award at the annual SOCAN Awards in Toronto.  On March 19, 2010, the CBC posted a video interview with Lee and Lifeson where they discussed Rush's induction into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame on March 28, 2010, at the Toronto Centre for the Arts' George Weston Recital Hall. The band was recognized for the songs 'Limelight', 'Closer to the Heart', 'The Spirit of Radio', 'Tom Sawyer' and 'Subdivisions'.  In addition to discussing their induction, Lee and Lifeson touched on future material, and Lee said, "Just about a month and a half ago we had no songs, and now we've been writing and now we've got about 6 songs that we just love ..." On March 26, 2010, in an interview with The Globe and Mail, Lifeson reconfirmed the band had already written a half-dozen songs and there was the potential for two supporting tours, one planned for Summer 2010 and a more extensive tour planned for Summer 2011. While still uncertain of exactly how and when the new material would be released, at the time he projected a tentative Spring 2011 release date.  Soon after, Peart confirmed Nick Raskulinecz had returned as co-producer.

  In April 2010, Rush entered Blackbird Studios in Nashville, Tennessee with Raskulinecz to record 'Caravan' and 'BU2B', two new songs to be featured on the band's studio album Clockwork Angels. Mixing was done by record engineer Richard Chycki at the Sound Kitchen in Franklin, Tennessee. 'Caravan' was released on June 1, 2010 to radio stations and made available for digital download at this time along with 'BU2B'.  Lifeson's predictions from March were confirmed, and the Time Machine Tour's first leg began on June 29 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and finished on October 17 in Santiago, Chile, at the National Stadium.  It featured the album Moving Pictures played in its entirety, as well as 'Caravan' and 'BU2B'.  It was suggested Rush would return to the studio after the completion of the Time Machine Tour with plans to release Clockwork Angels in 2011.  Nonetheless, Rush announced on November 19, 2010, they would extend the Time Machine Tour. The second leg began on March 30, 2011, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and came to an end on July 2, 2011, in George, Washington.  On November 8, 2011, the band released Time Machine 2011: Live in Cleveland, a concert DVD, Blu-ray and double CD documenting the April 15, 2011, concert at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. After the tour's second leg was finished, Rush entered Revolution Recording studios in Toronto, Ontario, to finalize the recording of Clockwork Angels.  The second single, "Headlong Flight", was released on April 19, 2012. Peart and author Kevin J. Anderson collaborated on a novelization of Clockwork Angels that was released in September 2012.

  Clockwork Angels was released in the United States and Canada on June 12, 2012, and its' supporting Clockwork Angels Tour began on September 7, 2012. As of August 31, 2011, Rush switched their American distribution from Atlantic Records over to the Warner Brothers majority-owned metal label, Roadrunner Records. Roadrunner handled American distribution of Time Machine 2011: Live in Cleveland and Clockwork Angels.  Anthem/Universal Music would continue to release their music in Canada.  On April 18, 2013, Rush was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio.

  During Rush's European leg of the Clockwork Angels Tour, the June 8, 2013, show at the Sweden Rock Festival was the group's first festival appearance in 30 years.  The band's performances on November 25, 2012, in Phoenix, Arizona and November 28, 2012, in Dallas, Texas were recorded to make a live CD/DVD/Blu-ray that was released on November 19, 2013.

  On November 18, 2013, Lifeson said the band was committed to taking a year off, following the completion of the world tour in support of Clockwork Angels. "We've committed to taking about a year off", Lifeson said. "We all agreed when we finished this (Clockwork Angels) tour (in early August) we were going to take this time off and we weren't going to talk about band stuff or make any plans. We committed to a year, so that's going to take us through to the end of next summer, for sure. That's the minimum. We haven't stopped or quit. Right now we're just relaxing. We're taking it easy and just enjoying our current employment." - this was essentially the end of RUSH.

  Neil Peart has been voted the greatest rock drummer by music fans, critics and fellow musicians, according to Drummerworld.  He was also regarded as one of the finest practitioners of the in-concert drum solo.  Initially inspired by Buddy Rich,  Peart then absorbed the influence of rock drummers from the 1960s and 1970s such as Keith Moon, Ginger Baker, Carmine Appice, and John Bonham.  Incorporation of unusual instruments (for rock drummers of the time) such as the wind chimes, wood teak, xylophone, cow bell,  glockenspiel and tubular bells, along with several standard kit elements, helped create a highly varied setup. Continually modified, Peart's drum-kit offered an enormous array of percussion instruments for sonic diversity.  Whether a tom-roll off two kicks, or wind chimes to pronounce a track (like Xanadu), Peart was a master of his craft as a percussionist.  For four decades Peart honed his technique as a member of RUSH; each new Rush album introduced an expanded percussive vocabulary. In the 1990s, he reinvented his style with the help of drum coach Freddie Gruber, and Peart grew as a drummer for fifty years.  He will forever be remembered as the one of the greatest drummers of all-time.  Rest in Peace Neil.