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Neil Peart

Life and career

Early life

Peart was born on his family's farm in Hagersville, on the outskirts of Hamilton. The first child of four, his brother Danny and sisters Judy and Nancy were born after the family moved to St. Catharines when Peart was two. At this time his father became parts manager for Dalziel Equipment, a farm machinery supplier. In 1956 the family moved to the Port Dalhousie area of the town. Peart attended Gracefield School, and describes his childhood as happy and says he experienced a warm family life. By early adolescence he became interested in music and acquired a transistor radio, which he would use to tune into pop music stations broadcasting from Toronto, Hamilton and Welland, Ontario and Buffalo, USA.

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.

Career before joining Rush

At eighteen years of age, after struggling to achieve success as a drummer in Canada, Peart traveled to London 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.

Joining 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 than favorable impression of Peart. After some discussion, Lee convinced Lifeson that Peart's maniacal British style of drumming, reminiscent of The Who's Keith Moon, was what the band needed.

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.

Early career with Rush

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:

For more details on this topic, see Rush (band).

Play 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 mean a thing, if it ain got that swing', and I didn 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 & continuing on

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 hiatus to mourn and reflect, during which time he traveled extensively throughout North 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.

Musicianship

Style and influences

Peart (right, behind Geddy Lee) performing with Rush.

Peart is consistently ranked as one of the greatest rock drummers by fans, fellow musicians, and magazines. His influences are eclectic, ranging from 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.

Equipment

Neil Peart and his 360 degree drumkit

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.

Neil Peart began incorporating Simmons Electronic Drums beginning with 1984's Grace Under Pressure

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 ("front", traditional kit; and "back" electronic kit). 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.

Solos

Peart is often regarded as one of the finest practitioners of the in-concert drum solo. He is known for extensive, intricate drum solos containing odd time signatures, complex arrangements (sometimes total separation between upper and lower limb patterns: e.g. an ostinato dubbed "The Waltz"), and exotic percussion instruments. These solos have been featured on every live album released by the band. On the early live albums (All the World's a Stage & Exit...Stage Left), the drum solo was included as part of a song. On all subsequent live albums, the drum solo has been included on a separate track. His most recent instructional DVD, Anatomy of a Drum Solo, is an in-depth examination of how he constructs a solo. He uses his solo from the 2004 R30 30th anniversary tour as the basis for examination, along with other lectures and demonstrations on how to construct a drum solo that is musical instead of indulgent.

Lyrics

Peart is also the main lyricist for Rush. Literature has always heavily influenced his writings 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."

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 ("Open Secrets", "Ghost of a Chance", "Speed of Love", "Cold Fire") 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.

Opinions of Peart's lyrics have always been divided. While fans have lauded them as thoughtful and intelligent, some critics have called them over-wrought and bombastic. For example, in 2007, he was voted #2 on Blender magazine's list of "worst lyricists in rock".

Political views

Peart has never publicly identified with any political party or organization in Canada or the United States. Even so, his political and philosophical views have often been analyzed through his work with Rush and through other sources. Peart is often categorized as an Objectivist and an admirer of Ayn Rand. Most of this is based on his work with Rush in the 1970s, particularly the song "Anthem" and the album 2112, the latter specifically credited to "the genius of Ayn Rand." However, in a 1994 interview, while contending the "individual is paramount in matters of justice and liberty," Peart specifically distanced himself from a strictly Objectivist line, stating he was "no one's disciple."

Although Peart is sometimes regarded as a "conservative" and "Republican" rock star, he, in 2005, described himself as a "left-leaning libertarian," and is often cited as a libertarian celebrity. He also speaks of Fox News Channel being biased towards conservatives and rebuts British accusations that he and Rush are a "right wing" rock band in his book Roadshow: Landscape with Drums: a Concert Tour by Motorcycle. In 2008 Peart described himself as a "quasi-libertarian" and stated that motorcycle helmet laws, which are often opposed by libertarians, "are not an issue at all to me."

Books

Peart is the author of four non-fiction books, the latest released in September 2006. His growth as an author predates the published work by several years (not including his work as Rush's primary lyricist), through private letters and short travelogues sent out to a small circle of friends and family. Peart's first book, titled The Masked Rider: Cycling in West Africa, was written in 1996 about a month-long bicycling tour through Cameroon in November 1988. The book details Peart's travels through towns and villages with four fellow riders. The original had a limited print run, but after the critical and commercial success of Peart's second book, Masked Rider was re-issued and remains in print as of 2006.

After losing his wife and only [at the time] daughter, Peart penned Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road. Peart and the rest of the band were always able to keep his private life at a distance from his public image in Rush. However, Ghost Rider is a first-person narrative of Peart on the road, on a BMW R1100GS motorcycle, in an effort to put his life back together as he embarked on an extensive journey across North America.

Deciding to take a road trip, this time by car, Peart reflects on his life, his career, his family and music. This is covered in Peart's third book Traveling Music: The Soundtrack Of My Life And Times. It follows Peart still carrying emotional scars, but building a new life. As with his previous two books, it is a first person narrative.

Thirty years after Peart joined Rush, the band found itself on its 30th anniversary tour. Released in September 2006, Roadshow: Landscape With Drums, A Concert Tour By Motorcycle details the tour both from behind Neil's drumkit and on his BMW R1150GS and R1200GS motorcycles.

DVDs

Apart from Rush's video releases as a band, Peart has released two instructional DVDs

A Work in Progress. Miami, Florida: Warner Bros. Publications. 2002. ISBN 0757990290 Originally released on VHS in 1996 and re-released on DVD in 2002.

Anatomy of A Drum Solo S.l.: Hudson Music: Distributed by Hal Leonard. 2005. ISBN 1423407008

Awards and honours

Rush portal

Peart has received the following awards in the Modern Drummer magazine reader's poll:

Hall of Fame: 1983

Best Rock Drummer*: 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 2006, 2008

Best Multi-Percussionist*: 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986

Best Percussion Instrumentalist: 1982

Most Promising New Drummer: 1980

Best All Around: 1986

1986 Honor Roll: Rock Drummer, Multi-Percussion

(* - As a member of the Honor Roll in these categories, he is no longer eligible for votes in the above categories.)

Best Instructional Video: 2006, for Anatomy of A Drum Solo

Best Drum Recording of the 1980s, 2007, for "YYZ" from Exit...Stage Left

Best Recorded Performance:

1980: Permanent Waves

1981: Moving Pictures

1982: Exit...Stage Left

1983: Signals

1985: Grace Under Pressure

1986: Power Windows

1988: Hold Your Fire

1989: A Show of Hands

1990: Presto

1992: Roll the Bones

1993: Counterparts

1997: Test for Echo

1999: Different Stages

2002: Vapor Trails

2004: R30

2007: Snakes & Arrows

Peart has received the following awards from DRUM! magazine for 2007:

Drummer of the Year

Best Progressive Rock Drummer

Best Live Performer

Best DVD (Anatomy Of A Drum Solo)

Best Drumming Album (Snakes & Arrows)

Peart received the following awards from DRUM! magazine for 2008:

Drummer of the Year

Best Progressive Rock Drummer (Runner-Up)

Best Mainstream Pop Drummer (Runner-Up)

Best Live Drumming Performer

Peart received the following awards from DRUM! magazine for 2009:

Drummer Of The Year

Best Progressive Rock Drummer

Along with his bandmates Lee and Lifeson, Peart was made an Officer of the Order of Canada on May 9, 1996. The trio was the first rock band to be so honoured, as a group.

Canadian Songwriter Hall of Fame along with bandmates Lifeson and Lee

References

^ Anatomy of a Drum Solo DVD, Neil Peart (2005) accompanying booklet. (Republished in Modern Drummer Magazine, April 2006)

^ a b c d e f g Neil Peart Biography Accessed January 18, 2008

^ a b c Olson, Andrew C."Neil Peart Modern Drummer Awards" - andrewolson.com - Updated 10/1/06 - Accessed July 18, 2007

^ a b c d e f Peart, Neil. with Brian Collins editor "A Port boy's story" parts 1 & 2 - St. Catharines Standard - (c/o oocities.com) - June 24/25, 1994 - Accessed August 9, 2007

^ Lakeside Park Rush Song Facts Accessed February 15, 2008

^ Neil Peart in London Don Howe Accessed February 19, 2008

^ The National Midnight Star White-Barn.com Accessed February 19, 2008

^ Allmusic guide Review for 2112 Allmusic guide Accessed February 10

^ History of Rush History of Rush Accessed February 2006

^ "Neil Peart Speaks About New Rush Release". Chart. 2005-11-16. http://www.chartattack.com/news/39903/neil-peart-speaks-about-new-rush-release. Retrieved 2009-08-09. 

^ Neil Peart's Lyrics Rob Pagano's website - Neil Peart Mini-Biography Accessed February 22, 2008

^ a b Individual awards list Accessed July 16, 2007

^ Caress of Steel Review Greg Prato, Allmusic Guide Accessed September 20, 2007

^ Allmusic guide Review for 2112 Allmusic guide Accessed February 10, 2008

^ Geddy Lee Announces Neil Peart Rush Frequently Asked Questions Accessed February 19, 2008

^ Current Biography Magazine Power Windows Website Accessed February 19, 2008

^ Neil Peart's Official Website Neil Peart News Accessed November 6, 2008

^ a b c Peart, Neil (2002). Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road. ECW Press. ISBN 1550225464. 

^ MacNaughtan, Andrew. Geddy Lee. and Alex Lifeson. "The Boys in Brazil", Rush in Rio DVD Bonus Material. New York, New York: Atlantic Recording Corporation/Anthem/Msi Music Corp October 2003. ISBN 6311465272

^ Daniel Catullo Rush. Rush in Rio. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Zo Vision. 2003. OCLC 53877410

^ Jordan, Lawrence. Daniel E Catullo. Rush Rush in Rio. London: Sanctuary Visual Entertainment. 2003. OCLC 84678389

^ Peart, Neil Under the Marine Layer, News, Weather and Sports, June 2009, Accessed July 1, 2009

^ Scaruffi, Piero. "Greatest rock drummers of all times" - scaruffi.com - Accessed July 18, 2007

^ a b Neil Peart page - DrummerWorld - Accessed July 18, 2007

^ "Best drummers in rock" - tribe.net - Thursday, January 12, 2006 - Accessed July 18, 2007

^ "Best Rock Drummers" - the-top-tens.com - Accessed July 18, 2007

^ Peart, Neil. Matthew Wachsman. Paul Siegel. Rob Wallis. Anatomy of a Drum Solo. Hudson Music. Distributed by Hal Leonard. 2005. ISBN 1423407008

^ Peart, Neil. "Neil Peart Speaks With Zildjian" - Zildjian.com - (c/o 2112.net) - January 2003

^ Dome, Malcolm. "Interview with Neil Peart" - Metal Hammer - (c/o 2112.net) - April 25th 1988

^ Peart, Neil. Rush - Counterparts - Rush Backstage Club Newsletter - (c/o 2112.net) - January 1994

^ a b c d e Rush Archives Neil Peart's Equipment Accessed January 18, 2008

^ Neil Peart Signature Series Cymbals Paragon Accessed February 10, 2008

^ Peart, Neil. ""The Count of Words"" - The N.E.P. News - neilpeart.net - March 20, 2007 - Accessed August 9, 2007

^ Modern Drummer Magazine April 2006 Article "Soloing in the Shadow of Giants". Modern Drummer Publishing Inc. NJ, USA.

^ Peart, Neil. "Soloing in the Shadow of Giants" - Modern Drummer Magazine - (c/o NeilPeart.net) - April 2006

^ "Pieces of Eight" - Modern Drummer Magazine - (c/o 2112.net) - May 1987 - Accessed July 18, 2007

^ Neil Peart; The Waltz - drummerworld.com - (QuickTime video) - Accessed July 18, 2007

^ "Neil Peart > Credits" - All Media Guide - Accessed July 18, 2007

^ Neil Peart Interview Rush: Off The Record with Mary Turner Accessed February 21, 2008

^ a b Interview with Neil Peart Metal Hammer April 25th 1988 Accessed February 21, 2008

^ Rand, Rush, and Rock Neil Peart Quotes Accessed February 16, 2008

^ Power Windows Website Neil Peart Interview Accessed February 2, 2008

^ Power Windows "Grace Under Pressure"Power Windows Website Accessed February 16, 2008

^ Matt Scannell on Neil Peart Drumhead Accessed February 19, 2008

^ Cohen, Jonathan (2006-09-11). "Rush wrestling with faith on new album". Billboard Magazine. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003120134. Retrieved 2007-03-10. 

^ "Sting tops list of worst lyricists". CBC News. October 9, 2007. http://www.cbc.ca/arts/music/story/2007/10/09/blender-list-worstlyric.html. Retrieved 2007-10-09. 

^ Rand, Rush and Rock

^ Power windows...Counterparts

^ Republican Rock Stars

^ The Spirit of Rand

^ Neil Peart - Libertarian

^ 5 Biggest Libertarian Musicians

^ a b Peart, Neil (October 25, 2006). Roadshow: Landscape With Drums: A Concert Tour by Motorcycle. Rounder Records. ISBN 1579401422. 

^ NEP News

^ Peart, Neil. The Masked Rider: Cycling in West Africa. ECW Press. ISBN 1550226673. 

^ Peart, Neil (September 28, 2004). Traveling Music: The Soundtrack to My Life and Times. ECW Press. ISBN 1550226649. 

^ Awards List Rush Awards list Accessed August 2, 2007

^ DRUM! Magazine Awards Blabbermouth.net Accessed January 1, 2008

^ DRUM! Magazine Awards Big Drum Thump Accessed July 2, 2008

^ DRUM! Magazine Awards Drummies Accessed July 13, 2009

^ "RUSH highlights", MapleMusic - Accessed May 23, 2007

^ "Rush to be among inductees to songwriters hall of fame". CTV. January 19, 2010. http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20100119/rush_100119/20100119/?hub=TorontoNewHome. Retrieved January 20, 2010. 

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Neil Peart

The Official Neil Peart website

Official Rush Web site

Power Windows tour drumkit assembly

v  d  e

Rush

Geddy Lee  Alex Lifeson  Neil Peart

John Rutsey  Jeff Jones

Studio albums

Rush  Fly by Night  Caress of Steel  2112  A Farewell to Kings  Hemispheres  Permanent Waves  Moving Pictures  Signals  Grace Under Pressure  Power Windows  Hold Your Fire  Presto  Roll the Bones  Counterparts  Test for Echo  Vapor Trails  Feedback  Snakes & Arrows

Live albums

All the World's a Stage  Exit...Stage Left  Grace Under Pressure Tour  A Show of Hands  Different Stages  Rush in Rio  R30: 30th Anniversary World Tour   Snakes & Arrows Live

Live videos

Exit...Stage Left  Grace Under Pressure Tour  A Show of Hands  Rush in Rio  R30: 30th Anniversary World Tour  Rush Replay X 3  Snakes & Arrows Live

Album compilations

Rush Through Time  Archives  Chronicles  Retrospective I  Retrospective II  The Spirit of Radio: Greatest Hits 1974-1987  Gold  Retrospective 3   Working Men

Video compilations

Through the Camera Eye  Chronicles

Tours

Roll the Bones Tour   Counterparts Tour   Test for Echo Tour   Vapor Trails Tour   R30: 30th Anniversary Tour   Snakes & Arrows Tour

Related articles

Discography  Awards  History  Instrumentals  Equipment  Victor  My Favorite Headache  A Work in Progress  Anatomy of a Drum Solo  Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road  "Fear" series  Cygnus X-1 duology  Hugh Syme  The Fifth Order of Angels

The Rush portal

Persondata

NAME

Peart, Neil

ALTERNATIVE NAMES

Peart, Neil Ellwood

SHORT DESCRIPTION

Canadian drummer , lyricist, and author

DATE OF BIRTH

September 12, 1952

PLACE OF BIRTH

Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

DATE OF DEATH

PLACE OF DEATH

Categories: 1952 births | Canadian rock drummers | Canadian songwriters | Living people | Officers of the Order of Canada | People from Los Angeles, California | People from St. Catharines | Progressive rock musicians | Rush (band) members | Musicians from Toronto | Canadian memoirists | Canadian libertarians | Left-libertarians | Long-distance riding
About the Author

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