R.I.P. Neil Peart

[progfan915]

Me too. This has hit me hard and it still hurts.

[Steve983]

I have been watching the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Company) interviews with Neil. What a truly outstanding indivdual in music, clearly, but also in his persoanl life. I'm stunned by his resilence with family tragedies, overcoming barriers us mere mortals might have crumbed with. His books, music, lyrics were at world class levels but he maintained his humility. Not to mention his high intelligence and voracious knowledge. He said humour bond his relationships within Rush - can you imagine the friendships that forged over 40 or 50 years? It obvious to point out his drumming was revolutionary. His mark on this planet runs imensively deep.

So true, he one was of the best of us.

From the closertotheheart Instagram page:

closertotheheart___B7jsDdRhxkl___.jpg

[JKL2000]

My wife wanted to see a photo of Neil Peart.

[Gizmotron]

Its fascinating to read these posts about still feeling the loss so badly. I feel similarly. I have been knocked hard by the loss of other musicians...John, George, Squire, Lake, Wetton, Vasconcelos, etc. Each one had its own unique kind of hurt and loss depending on what relationship I had with the music and the player. Each one was and is different.

I cannot speak for other Neil fans but my ruminating on his loss is focused less on that amazing drumming brain (despite being a drummer that loves his playing) and more on his position as a writer. Like many, I loved his lyrics. I have previously read all but one of his books (I have Travelling Music arriving soon) and they have made big impressions on me. His blogs might even be better still (remember the Hummingbird blog from '09?). So the gaping hole I feel is literary in nature. I have learned so much. But upon closer inspection, it isn't because he came up with zillions of earth-shaking ideas that no-one else had mentioned. Rather, it is because of the basic ideas, qualities, and philosophies he espoused. All the things that I suspected were worthwhile Neil talked about. All the qualities he felt were important were important to me. The things in the natural world that I felt were important were important to him. And he didn't just talk about these things. He lived that way..

That last bit is important. Neil wasn't Jack London writing about crap that he never actually lived. Neil wrote from his vast experience after it was filtered through his heart and that analytical mind. He didn't just talk about it. He lived his ideals. He didn't dumb it down. He politely set up the personal boundaries required to stay sane in his professional world. It didn't get publicized but he apparently gave lots to his charities. And he was famous for those hand-written replies to strangers that took the time to write to him.

He stayed in touch with his inner 16-year old self. He got the toys he wanted but he actually used them. He had fun. He balanced that with his responsible nature. I don't sense that he let anyone down.

I know this is old-fashioned and totally un-cool to say but he simply was a wonderful role model for the modern human male that valued individuality and fulfillment. I looked up to him. When I was any given age I could look to Neil's life for possible answers and motivation. Sort of the "What would Neil do?" concept. I have 6 years to go before I reach the age when he died so I do have that generalized road map that he left. But after that, when I need some guidance about how to be a balanced human, I'll have to extrapolate about what most-excellent thing Neil would have done. I think we all know he had many more most-excellent things to do. It hurts to see that his life was cut far too short.

And i just hate...absolutely HATE that his wife and daughter lost him.

At least that is why I am still feeling it...

[proggy_jazzer]

^^^
Really nice. Thanks for sharing.

[Paulrus]

For anyone who hasn't seen this (and I expect that's quite a few of you), this is a great documentary that was shown here on Canada Day (July 1) in 2002. Some of the footage will look familiar, but there should be plenty you've never seen. I've linked part one here, there are five parts in total. So if you've already re-watched Beyond The Lighted Stage and Time Stand Still recently, but are jonesing for more, here you go!

There's some live footage from 1979 and 1980 in that doc that makes me wonder "Where's the rest of it?!"

[Yodelgoat]

^^^ Agreed (where is the rest of it?) . and boy, what I wouldnt give for some of that material they recorded, that wound up getting deleted. They insist they never kept anything that didnt go to an album. I wish.... But nothing has ever been leaked, so I assume that there really truly is no more. I would love to hear what a Peart/Lifeson/Lee Jam would be like. Never heard him Jam. But we know that they did jam - a lot, and recorded it. but then - apparently deleted it all....

[TheLoony]

Thanks !

"Man, that was performance art!".

Great stuff, thanks for that.

ETA: Why did he never play that one fill near the end of Tom Sawyer? Why did he dislike it so much he never played it? Very unlike him.

[TheLoony]

Brian Tichy doing some damage with a Neil solo, IIRC, this is pre Exit.... but after ATWAS.



Then, this. Cool.



Jason Bittner.

[Progatron]

For anyone who has never heard this, the demo album from Neil's first band J.R. Flood. 18 year-old Neil bashing away... you can hear him speaking at 28:12 too.

[Steve983]

fantoons___B7Rs2aYHPDj___.jpg

[StarThrower]

Road & Track Magazine, Red Barchetta, riding with Neil, and um... here's the story.
http://www.bmwbmw.org/forums/viewtop...+peart#p129840

[infandous]

So reading through this whole thread, I seriously started to tear up. I think Neal had more impact on my life than I had thought, as previous deaths of great ones didn't quite affect me like this, even though many of them were more inspirational to me (Wetton, Lake, as examples). I think Neal wasn't just a great drummer and writer, he was an outstanding human being, something that I've only come to understand in the last 10 - 15 years or so.

I wanted to share this story, that I can't really vouch for 100% even though it happened to me. I've posted it before here (I think) and people seemed highly skeptical. I'm going to tell it anyway, because it's exactly how I remember it.

Me and my band mates were at a Rush show in Philadelphia in 1990. It was my first Rush concert at age 21. I didn't really fall in love with Rush until age 20, so a good bit later than most of you, but I can totally relate to how they made you all feel. Anyway, our drummer was a Rush fanatic and knew all their tunes inside and out and could air drum to any of them (and come pretty close to the real thing on his kit). They were playing the song Superconductor, not exactly a favorite of any of us, but for some reason it sounded fantastic. At the time, I didn't really know the song, so I asked our drummer. He had this look of total astonishment on his face when he told me the name. He then said that halfway though the song, he heard what he thought for sure was a mistake by Neil, who then proceeded to play a completely different drum part for the rest of song....more fills, more power and much busier. I remember we listened to the song after the show and it was nothing like what I remember hearing in the hall. Now, I realize that this is hard to believe, and I'm not sure I believe it myself anymore but this is what I remember as if it happened yesterday. So it may not have been a mistake, per say, but he clearly did something different for the second half of the song. Of course, I'd love to hear a boot of the show to see if what we thought really happened. In any case, it was a great show. We saw them much later on that same tour, in California, and the set list was the same yet that song was not like what we heard in Philly. Anyway, that's my Neil story, for whatever it's worth.

He will be missed. My heart goes out to his family and close friends. If we are being hit hard by this, I can't even imagine what it must be like for them. RIP Neil.

[ronmac]

I heard band name East of Lyra on Progrock.com yesterday. They were a total knock-off of Rush and even used some of their riffs. Are they a tribute band of sorts? Are they endorsed by Rush? Seemed borderline rip-off to me. They were very good, though. What's the story behind them?

[chalkpie]

Signals and Pressure today in a random Spotify playlist. Its cool hearing these tunes again, especially juxtaposed with each other. There is a pretty big production difference when you play these side by side - Signals is darker and fuller whereas GuP is a bit thinner sounding but brighter yet still containing a slightly burnished quality. I love both of Ged's bass tones and the keyboards sounds fuckin' awesome on both to me honestly.

[dropforge]

So reading through this whole thread, I seriously started to tear up. I think Neal had more impact on my life than I had thought, as previous deaths of great ones didn't quite affect me like this, even though many of them were more inspirational to me (Wetton, Lake, as examples). I think Neal wasn't just a great drummer and writer, he was an outstanding human being, something that I've only come to understand in the last 10 - 15 years or so.

I wanted to share this story, that I can't really vouch for 100% even though it happened to me. I've posted it before here (I think) and people seemed highly skeptical. I'm going to tell it anyway, because it's exactly how I remember it.

Me and my band mates were at a Rush show in Philadelphia in 1990. It was my first Rush concert at age 21. I didn't really fall in love with Rush until age 20, so a good bit later than most of you, but I can totally relate to how they made you all feel. Anyway, our drummer was a Rush fanatic and knew all their tunes inside and out and could air drum to any of them (and come pretty close to the real thing on his kit). They were playing the song Superconductor, not exactly a favorite of any of us, but for some reason it sounded fantastic. At the time, I didn't really know the song, so I asked our drummer. He had this look of total astonishment on his face when he told me the name. He then said that halfway though the song, he heard what he thought for sure was a mistake by Neil, who then proceeded to play a completely different drum part for the rest of song....more fills, more power and much busier. I remember we listened to the song after the show and it was nothing like what I remember hearing in the hall. Now, I realize that this is hard to believe, and I'm not sure I believe it myself anymore but this is what I remember as if it happened yesterday. So it may not have been a mistake, per say, but he clearly did something different for the second half of the song. Of course, I'd love to hear a boot of the show to see if what we thought really happened. In any case, it was a great show. We saw them much later on that same tour, in California, and the set list was the same yet that song was not like what we heard in Philly. Anyway, that's my Neil story, for whatever it's worth.

He will be missed. My heart goes out to his family and close friends. If we are being hit hard by this, I can't even imagine what it must be like for them. RIP Neil.

On the Presto tour, we saw them both nights at the Forum in L.A., and then down at the Sports Arena in San Diego. Nice meeting you!

[jarmsuh]

I heard band name East of Lyra on Progrock.com yesterday. They were a total knock-off of Rush and even used some of their riffs. Are they a tribute band of sorts? Are they endorsed by Rush? Seemed borderline rip-off to me. They were very good, though. What's the story behind them?

Yes it's a solo project of Lee Payne from the band Cloven Hoof (heavy Metal band) with influences from Rush and Yes.

[Nearfest2]

I heard band name East of Lyra on Progrock.com yesterday. They were a total knock-off of Rush and even used some of their riffs.

I can't answer that, but there is another Rush-like band called Heart of Cygnus that does a pretty nice job of the Rush sound. I have their "Over the Mountain, Under Hill" album (http://www.progarchives.com/album.asp?id=28112). It's pretty good.

[Yodelgoat]

Just so I can figure out where I am at with this... what are the official stages of grieving?

I have been dressed in black since I heard...

[Sputnik]

what are the official stages of grieving?

1. Denial and isolation
2. Anger
3. Bargaining
4. Depression
5. Air drumming

[Yodelgoat]

- I mean - Wait no... - Umm

No Air drumming of any kind yet...

[Sputnik]

- I mean - Wait no... - Umm

No Air drumming of any kind yet...

We all move through the stages at our own pace. Don't Rush the process.

[SunshipVoyager1976]

Just so I can figure out where I am at with this... what are the official stages of grieving?

I have been dressed in black since I heard...

1.) Denial- shocked, overwhelmed, numbed
2.) Anger- deserted, frustrated, agitated
3.) Bargaining- longing for the past, "what if...", "if only...", etc.,
4.) Depression- deep exhaustation, emptiness, sadness
5.) Acceptance- "Not to like reality, but to accept that it is reality" ... and go from there as best as one can.

Everyone experiences the process at a different rate and in various ways. Nobody can tell you what you should or shouldn't feel or how you should or shouldn't deal with said feelings. It is your process and you have to let it unfold to get through.

[SunshipVoyager1976]

1.) Denial- shocked, overwhelmed, numbed
2.) Anger- deserted, frustrated, agitated
3.) Bargaining- longing for the past, "what if...", "if only...", etc.,
4.) Depression- deep exhaustation, emptiness, sadness
5.) Acceptance- "Not to like reality, but to accept that it is reality" ... and go from there as best as one can.

Everyone experiences the process at a different rate and in various ways. Nobody can tell you what you should or shouldn't feel or how you should or shouldn't deal with said feelings. It is your process and you have to let it unfold to get through.

Ha! Sputnik beat me to the punch.

[ummagumma]

RIP Neil Peart, and Condolences to family & friends

thanks for all the great music & lyrics

I have been meaning to hunt down his motorcycle book for years