Remembering Neil Peart
My social media post from January 10, 2020
A friend just texted me the news that one of my drumming heroes, Neil Peart, passed away this week. Social media will be flooded with tributes, but I just need to share what he did for me. I never met him, but between listening to his epic recordings and reading his inspiring books, I feel like I knew him, at some level.
Here are some quick things I learned from Neil:
- How to groove in odd meters – YYZ and Subdivisions were the first tunes I (tried) to play that really used odd meters successfully.
- Learn the past to move forward – I read an interview he did years ago where he said he wished he could have played in Count Basie’s Big Band. That blew my mind in high school. How does a prog-rock drummer like a big band? (I was so naive.) But that one interview changed my perspective on listening to and appreciating seemingly distant art forms.
- Be the best 'you' that you can be on your instrument – I read an interview where he said he always loved Keith Moon and yearned to play like him, with that unbridled, reckless abandon. He tried, and failed. He realized he couldn’t be Keith Moon—he was nothing like him—so he focused on his unique abilities and capitalized on those.
- Every stroke has to count; don’t throw anything away – Everything on the kit has to have a purpose and move the music forward.
- Neil was the band’s lyricist, which gave me a much deeper appreciation for the importance of a great lyricist and how the lyrics and drums are directly connected to great records.
- He taught me how to save money – The first thing I ever bought on layaway? Roto-toms, $110 at George’s Music in North Wales. I still have them, mainly for sentimental reasons.
- The world is bigger than just the performance stage – His books are great for ANYONE to read. They’re really not music books but about life and the journey.
- You can never have too many drums. Never.
I could go on, but I think those are the main points I wanted to share.
A sad day for drummers everywhere.
Don't know Neil? Listen to this...