Neil Peart Has Died
- Thread starter philobeddoe
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Man,I was bummed to hear that news this evening. I have twitter, but don't pay much attention to it,unless I'm incredibly bored. I kept getting Rush notifications all day and only figured out why a few hours ago.
Rush was the 2nd rock concert I ever attended, starting with A Farewell to Kings, then Hemispheres, Permanent Waves and Moving Pictures. Took a hiatus, then Counterparts, Snakes and Arrowas and Clockwork Angels.
A few years back, I was traveling to Cincinnati for business. I passed a sign for the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum in Ohio. Being a motorcycle enthusiast, I made a detour. They had an exhibit for motorcycles of stars and it featured two of Neils BMW's and his drum kit from the R30 tour. I toured the museum, and took some pix of the drum set, texting them to my buddy, a fellow Rush fan and a pretty decent local rock drummer. He noticed there were drumsticks on the seat and encouraged me to "play" the set. There was no one in the museum but me and an old lady at the entrance. So, after seeing everything, I sat down, started hitting the bass drum and all the other drums, not well. I have zero musical talent and it probably sounded like racoons in a trash can. The old lady came running back and said I had to leave. I apologized and left, but had no regrets!
RIP Neil.
Rush was the 2nd rock concert I ever attended, starting with A Farewell to Kings, then Hemispheres, Permanent Waves and Moving Pictures. Took a hiatus, then Counterparts, Snakes and Arrowas and Clockwork Angels.
A few years back, I was traveling to Cincinnati for business. I passed a sign for the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum in Ohio. Being a motorcycle enthusiast, I made a detour. They had an exhibit for motorcycles of stars and it featured two of Neils BMW's and his drum kit from the R30 tour. I toured the museum, and took some pix of the drum set, texting them to my buddy, a fellow Rush fan and a pretty decent local rock drummer. He noticed there were drumsticks on the seat and encouraged me to "play" the set. There was no one in the museum but me and an old lady at the entrance. So, after seeing everything, I sat down, started hitting the bass drum and all the other drums, not well. I have zero musical talent and it probably sounded like racoons in a trash can. The old lady came running back and said I had to leave. I apologized and left, but had no regrets!
RIP Neil.
I listened to Subdivisions about 500 times this weekend. What a bummer
I hate that we've lost such a great musician, sad indeed... but, I sort of chuckle knowing that cover bands across the world were scanning through all of Rush's songs this weekend trying to find one easy song by them to cover it for the bar crowd that will be requesting Rush songs.
I never saw Rush live, but they were a part of the early days in my music portfolio. Exit Stage Left was the first album I bought. Red Barchetta was a particular favorite among the other more popular songs.
RIP Neil.
RIP Neil.
And finding an easy song by Rush isn’t as simple as it seems. As a teenager I had luck by going back to their first album, before Neil Peart joined. Working Man, for example. But then, that’s hardly a tribute to Neil.
This was what I was trying to say. I can't imagine a mediocre drummer or even bass player trying to do Tom Sawyer to appease a crowd of mourning fans. It would be like a teenage garage band trying to do a Zappa song... and without an understanding of those weird Zappa time signatures, 37/16 to 3/32nds.
We're fortunate here in the DC area, and have the opportunity to see a local Rush tribute band, Sun Dogs. The drummer is fantastic. The bass player is a neighbor and in the 80's hair band, the Kix. They are a lot of fun to see.
We go to church with Steve, the lead singer, a good catholic boy.
They can still bring it, a lot of fun live.
I almost forgot about YNOT, another Rush tribute band. The band leader went to my high school, but they are based on the West Coast. (Billy Alexander). So I've never seen them. He had a wonderful tribute to Neil on his facebook page. They played a birthday party for Neil's daughter a few years ago.
My first concert was Rush at Philly Spectrum, Roll The Bones tour. Saw them again for Counterparts at the spectrum, then twice again at Montage Mountain for Vapor Trails and that cover album they put out. They always put on a great show.
There isn't an "easy" Rush song to cover. I played a few "pop sensible" ones in cover bands over the years, such as Limelight, Tom Sawyer, Working Man, and Closer To The Heart.
There isn't an "easy" Rush song to cover. I played a few "pop sensible" ones in cover bands over the years, such as Limelight, Tom Sawyer, Working Man, and Closer To The Heart.
Here's a great article written by Neil Peart himself, about growing up in St. Catharines, Ontario. No only was he a gifted drummer, he had a talent for writing. Rush fans, do yourself a favour and have a read.
Neil Peart in his own words: Growing up in St. Catharines - https://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/whatson-story/9804404-neil-peart-in-his-own-words-growing-up-in-st-catharines/
Neil Peart in his own words: Growing up in St. Catharines - https://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/whatson-story/9804404-neil-peart-in-his-own-words-growing-up-in-st-catharines/
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