Neil Peart, drummer for Rush, passed away today - 67 - Brain Cancer

[Prashun Patel]

The GOAT

What a loss. Those who know, know.

Exit the Warrior.

RIP.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

RIP!

There have been a lot of great musicians from that era, my generation, who are dying.

[Prashun Patel]

Rush was a love or just-don't-get-it band. You were either a rabid fan or a skeptic for the shrieking and odd time signatures and pretentious lyrics.

I've made no (roll the) bones about which side of the fence I fall.

My musical palette was most sensitive in high school and was 50% the Smiths, and 50% Rush.

Both were bands for geeks and freaks.

If you haven't seen "Beyond the Lighted Stage" on Netflix, I highly recommend it. Rush was a band that had a singular passion for nothing but the music.

Neil was painfully shy, and the inspiration for my braided mullet (Big Money video).

Every concert, "The Professor" would do a drum solo that with enough cowbell to satisfy Cristopher Walken.

[Rob Luter]

Huge fan here. This will take a while to absorb. What a heavy blow. Neil was a craftsman and an intellectual. A creative powerhouse. I’m fortunate to have seen them live.

[Pat Barry]

Wow, only 67? RIP

[glenn bradley]

Caught by surprise. A tragic loss. A talented man who shared his skills openly with others.

[Derek Meyer]

A sad day indeed. I am a Rush fan myself.

Neil had been fighting brain cancer for the last 3 years or so. He and his family are very private, so not much information ever got out.

Rest in peace, Neil.

[Kris Cook]

That is a bummer. Saw them 3 times back around 1980-82. Was a big fan back in the day. Still have a lot of their music on vinyl.

[Edwin Santos]

Rush was a love or just-don't-get-it band. You were either a rabid fan or a skeptic for the shrieking and odd time signatures and pretentious lyrics.

I've made no (roll the) bones about which side of the fence I fall.

My musical palette was most sensitive in high school and was 50% the Smiths, and 50% Rush.

Both were bands for geeks and freaks.



This is true. I remember back to my high school days when the jocks and studs were all listening to Journey and Boston, I was holed up with a bunch of other outcasts playing Dungeons and Dragons and listening to Rush.
Then one day the school set up a new room called a "computer lab".
And then everything changed, but there was still Rush. And we geeks all felt like New World Men.

RIP Neil, take your seat in the Temple of Syrinx

[Doug Dawson]

A sad day indeed. I am a Rush fan myself.

Neil had been fighting brain cancer for the last 3 years or so. He and his family are very private, so not much information ever got out.

Rest in peace, Neil.

Amen. This would explain why the group disbanded a few years ago, near the top of their game. Clockwork Angels was a magnificent record. RIP indeed.

[Prashun Patel]

It is said that the Temples of Syrinx was the song that launched a million air drummers.

Google: "Jason Segel and Paul Rudd meet Rush" on 'tube... It's simultaneously validating and depressing to realize I was exactly the same as so many other Rush fans.

On another note:

Poor Alex Lifeson. Like eveyone, I think he took a distant third seat to Geddy and Neil because the other two were just so iconic.

The drums and bass were the world's best icing. But the 'cake' of all of their songs was really the guitar.

The last 3-4 albums were really quite conventional regarding the drumming. The singing became almost unbearable. Those guys really showed their age; athletes can only perform for so long. But Alex's playing get STRONGER as he got older.

People hate Snakes and Arrows. But that album survives for its guitar. That guy is good.

[Edwin Santos]

Those guys really showed their age; athletes can only perform for so long. But Alex's playing get STRONGER as he got older.



He would be thrilled to hear you say that. Modest guy that he is, I heard him say in a fairly recent interview that arthritis has restricted his guitar playing to a level below what he feels it should be.

Did you see him at the Rock and Roll Hall of fame induction ceremony super jam at the end where all the inductees performed Crossroads? Alex blew away every other guitarist (with the possible exception of Tom Morello, who does his own thing from his own universe). Yes Alex Lifeson is a completely underappreciated guitarist in the pantheon of axe slingers.

I knew a young woman who was a trained opera singer and based on what she told me, Geddy damaged his voice over the years from what she called over driving and over belting. You can take your voice into the redline zone occasionally but Geddy (probably unknowingly) made a career out of it and damaged his voice permanently. You can track where his falsetto just comes down progressively over the years.

Great band

[Prashun Patel]

I got the Live from Rio DVD about 12 years ago. My toddler kids - without my prompting - proceeded to get their plastic toy buckets, turn them over, and mimic Neil's playing. I didn't think they'd really take to the music, but 10 years later, my son became a very respectable Rush fan. He really only listens to stuff from their imperial period: Farewell to Kings, Hemispheres, Permanent Waves, Moving Pics (and maybe the 1st side of 2112).



There are a million drummers probably better than him over the years. But he certainly raised the bar and created a new style of drumming.

The best (IMHO) analogy is Neal did for the drumming world what Michael Jackson did for pop music. (sorry, last MJ reference from me).

[Peter Kelly]

Wow, only 67? RIPHe outlived John Bonham by 32 years.

[Tom M King]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_U8sIUwgZI

[Prashun Patel]

I am heavy handing this thread. No haters wanted on this one. If you don’t have something nice to say about this man’s passing, butt out. See you on the sharpening threads.

Nice to be a moderator...

[Tom M King]

Well done....

[Edwin Santos]

Prashun,
You will be glad to know you are in good woodworking company with regard to your admiration of Neil Peart. I just came across a new blog entry on the FWW website by a contributor to the magazine named Mike Farrington. He sees a quintessential craftsman in the example set by Peart and crosswalks this example into inspiration in his own woodworking. You have to scroll down to the second part of the blog (after the Parf guide review) to see the section dedicated to Neil:

https://www.finewoodworking.com/2020/02/14/a-neat-tool-and-finding-inspiration

For those apparently not familiar with Rush, the passing of a member can be the catalyst to discovering a new old band. Give their stuff a listen, you never know, you might get the bug.

Unfortunately many of the old blues greats are dying off, and I have discovered more than a few upon hearing of their passing. Better late than never.

Cheers,
Edwin

[Frederick Skelly]

I just ran across this. US Army band pays tribute to Mr. Peart. Page down in the article to was the video.

LINK (https://ultimateclassicrock.com/u-s-army-band-rush-time-stand-still/)

[Edwin Santos]

I just ran across this. US Army band pays tribute to Mr. Peart. Page down in the article to was the video.

LINK (https://ultimateclassicrock.com/u-s-army-band-rush-time-stand-still/)

Thanks for that link! I would never have guessed the US Army band could get so creative. What a job they did re-arranging Time Stands Still.

[Doug Dawson]

I just ran across this. US Army band pays tribute to Mr. Peart. Page down in the article to was the video.

LINK (https://ultimateclassicrock.com/u-s-army-band-rush-time-stand-still/)

That was fantastic! I'm a grown man, and not one to cry easily, but I cried at this. It drives home the loss.

[Tom Stenzel]

When we heard the news my wife's comment was that if they made a movie of his life they would have to hand out tissues with the tickets.

The people I feel the most for is Mr. Peart's wife and (I think) 10 year old daughter. With his seemingly boundless interests in reading, art, philosophy and who knows what else he would have been a great father to have. And it seemed he was at ready for that.

-Tom