Neil Peart, legendary drummer and primary lyricist for iconic RUSH, has passed away on Tuesday, January 7th in Santa Monica, California. He was 67 years old. Neil had been privately battling brain cancer for three years, according to a statement from Peart family spokesperson Elliott Mintz.
RUSH have posted via their official Facebook page: It is with broken hearts and the deepest sadness that we must share the terrible news that on Tuesday our friend, soul brother and band mate of over 45 years, Neil, has lost his incredibly brave three and a half year battle with brain cancer (Glioblastoma). We ask that friends, fans, and media alike understandably respect the family’s need for privacy and peace at this extremely painful and difficult time. Those wishing to express their condolences can choose a cancer research group or charity of their choice and make a donation in Neil Peart’s name.
Rest in peace brother. Neil Peart September 12, 1952 – January 7, 2020
RUSH bassist/vocalist Geddy Lee was signing copies and being interviewed by Daniel Richler for his new book “Geddy Lee’s Big Beautiful Book Of Bass” on his Canadian tour in Montreal, Quebec Canada at the Rialto Theatre last night June 4 2019, sponsored by Librairie Drawn & Quarterly.
Watch Q and A interview below and full report here (courtesy of The Metal Voice):
Steel Drum Orchestra, PAN ROCKS is headed to the studio this Fall to record its tribute to RUSH. Modern Prog-Rock drum legend Mike Portnoy (Sons Of Apollo, Winery Dogs) will handle the drumming duties.
“I am excited to take part in this unique musical experience, which is unlike anything I have done yet in my career,” says Mike Portnoy. “And, it is always an honor to pay tribute to one of my biggest inspirations, my hero and friend, Mr. Neil Peart.”
PAN ROCKS is a 50 to 100 plus piece steel drum orchestra, founded by rock steelpannist Tracy Thornton. The RUSH recording is a follow up to the 2017 Pan Rocks Project, LA which featured the music of Led Zeppelin, KISS, and Jane’s Addiction, all performed by the steel drum orchestra and a band consisting of Billy Sheehan (Mr. Big, Sons Of Apollo), Stephen Perkins (Jane’s Addiction, Pornofor Pyros) , Tracii Guns (L .A .Guns), and Bruce Kulick (KISS, Grand Funk Railroad).
Thornton has once again called on Matt Starr (Mr. Big, Ace Frehley) to produce the new project. “I’m grateful to have the opportunity to help Tracy realize his vision for this amazing project,” says Starr. “Hearing 50 steel pan drummers play RUSH is just mind blowing. I can’t wait for everyone else experience it.”
The PAN ROCKS Orchestra is made up of steel pannists from around the world. “I’m excited to have the opportunity tocelebrate the music of RUSH, the band that inspired me to become a musician in the first place,” said Tracy Thornton. Regarding the future of the project, Thornton says, “My goal is to keep pushing the boundaries and highlighting the capabilities of steelpan instrument in the rock and roll genre, and reach more music enthusiasts. Ultimately, we are working towards a touring show with both Western and traditional Trinidadian Carnival elements.”
The recording will once again take place at Ocean Studios Burbank in Los Angeles. The project will be mixed by Smiley Sean (APC, Mötley Crüe), and mastered by Grammy Award Winning Mastering Engineer Dave Collins (Metallica, The Police).
In a new interview with Rolling Stone, RUSH guitarist Alex Lifeson says that drummer Neil Peart “didn’t even want to do” R40, Rush’s 2015 tour that celebrated 40 years of Rush that ran from May 8th to August 1st, reports bravewords.com.
“We had such a great time on the tour,” Lifeson tells Rolling Stone. “And it was really nice to go through all the material in reverse chronology, and I think our fans really enjoyed it. I think that no matter how long it would have been, it would have been too short. Neil was prepared to commit to 30 dates and he told us that right from the very beginning. He didn’t even want to do the tour, to be honest with you. It’s been increasingly difficult for him, but he committed to the tour and we got through it. As far as he was concerned, that was the end of touring.”
Rush have released the following video, showcasing their classic track ‘Tom Sawyer’ through the years of 2003-2015 from Rush In Rio, R30, Snakes & Arrows Live, Time Machine 2011: Live in Cleveland, Clockwork Angels Tour, and R40 Live.
Rush frontman Geddy Lee recently sat down with Music Radar and went through a track-by-track overview of the band’s critically acclaimed fourth album, 2112, released in 1976. An excerpt is available below:
Lee: “It begins with the ‘Overture’, which – despite being the first thing you hear – was the last piece to be written, much like with any classical overture. We wanted to take the most important musical threads from each of the subsequent parts to create a ‘new’ piece of music that would represent the album as a whole. So that’s where it all starts.”
“And then ‘The Temples Of Syrinx’ sets the scene, because 2112 is about a totalitarian society that controls everything about your life, including the music that you hear. It manufactures it all, so that’s what we wanted to say with this track. It sets up the hierarchy in this futuristic world that we’ve arrived in.”
“’Discovery’ is where the hero of the story finds a device in a cave. It’s a guitar, but he doesn’t know it because they don’t exist in his time period. So he picks it up and realises that it’s a device that can make music and create sounds. Previous to that point, everything he’d ever heard had been provided to him by the people that run his world.”
After a series of reports on his physical issues, RUSH drummer Neil Peart said that he is retiring from music, according to ultimate-guitar.com.
The prog icons have recently wrapped up the ‘R40’ tour as their final major trek ever, with several sources citing Mr. Peart‘s health and his struggle with chronic tendonitis as the top factor behind the decision.
Neil tells Drumhead Magazine: “Lately Olivia [Louise, Neil’s daughter] has been introducing me to new friends at school as ‘My dad – he’s a retired drummer.’ True to say, funny to hear.
“And it does not pain me to realize that, like all athletes, there comes a time to… take yourself out of the game. I would rather set it aside then face the predicament described in our song ‘Losing It’ [‘Sadder still to watch it die, than never to have known it’].”
Bassist/vocalist Geddy Lee previously said about the possibility of Rush touring again: “It doesn’t look good.”
Fans of iconic Canadian rock band RUSH recently enjoyed some unique opportunities to own a piece of the band’s history – all to benefit cancer research. In exchange for a small donation, fans posed for pictures behind legendary drummer Neil Peart’s one-of-a-kind, Collector’s Series® Drum Workshop (DW) hockey-themed drumset on select dates of the band’s highly successful R40 Live Anniversary Tour. In addition, fans were able to bid on museum-worthy, autographed RUSH memorabilia on eBay including a Sabian Paragon Cymbal and a limited edition, DW R40 Icon Snare – both of which were autographed by RUSH. Donations from the hockey kit photo opportunities and the auction items raised a total of $25,547.28 CDN to benefit RUSH drummer, Neil Peart’s charity of choice The Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation in Toronto. Additional sponsors included The Sports Network (TSN) and Hockey Hall of Fame.
“These fundraising efforts — which included the creativity and hard work of several companies in order to bring to fruition — were very important to The Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation. Not only did they bring a substantial amount of funding for cancer research at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, but it took our vision of conquering cancer in our lifetime to thousands of Rush fans. Sincere thanks to all those involved with the creation and execution of this promotion, and to all the Rush fans who contributed to our work by getting a great souvenir photo, or by bidding on the Rush items. Special thanks to Neil Peart and his bandmates for their extreme generosity,” said Kevin Shea, director of public relations, The Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation.
This marks the second time Peart’s iconic DW “Hockey Kit” has been used to raise money for cancer research. Created for Peart in DW’s custom shop in 2009, it featured airbrushed, lacquer graphics of 30 NHL logos and custom, ice blue hardware. The kit was seen weekly by millions of hockey fans in the opening sequence of “Hockey Night in Canada” on TSN and used in the recording of Peart’s percussion-focused rendition of The Hockey Theme
which was sold on iTunes with a portion of proceeds benefitting Hockey Fights Cancer.
Since 2010, the Peart’s legendary DW “Hockey Kit” has been displayed in the Hockey Hall of Fame alongside the Stanley Cup. After the conclusion of the Rush R40 tour, the kit will make its final stop in Calgary, where it will permanently reside at Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre, and join over 2,000 artifacts in NMC’s collection, which represent the history of music technology and tell the story of music in Canada.
