BIRTHDAY WISHES: Neil Peart (pronounced Peert not Pert) was born today in 1952 in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Since 1974, Neil Peart has been the drummer and lyricist for the Canadian progressive rock band Rush. Neil grew up in Port Dalhousie, Ontario (now part of St. Catharines). He was interested in music early on and had a penchant for drumming on various objects around the house with a pair of chopsticks. On his 13th birthday, his parents bought him a pair of drumsticks, a practice drum and some lessons, with the promise that if he stuck with it for a year, they would buy him a kit. True to their promise, his parents bought him a drum kit for his 14th birthday. During adolescence, Neil floated between regional bands in pursuit of a career as a full-time drummer. At the age of 18 after struggling to achieve success as a drummer in Canada, Neil travelled to London, England, hoping to further his career as a professional musician. After eighteen months of dead-end musical gigs, and disillusioned by his lack of progress in the music business, Neil placed his aspiration of becoming a professional musician on hold and returned to Canada to work for his father selling tractor parts at a farm machinery dealer. After returning to Canada, a mutual acquaintance convinced Neil to audition for the Toronto-based band, Rush, who needed a replacement for their original drummer John Rutsey. Bassist/vocalist Geddy Lee and guitartist Alex Lifeson oversaw the audition. His future bandmates describe his arrival that day as somewhat humorous, as he arrived in shorts, driving a battered old Ford Pinto with his drums stored in trashcans. My first impression was that he was kinda goofy,” Geddy says in the 2010 Rush documentary Beyond the Lighted Stage. I remember thinking, ‘God, he’s not nearly cool enough to be in this band,’” says Lifeson in the same documentary. Despite Geddys and Alexs lack of initial enthusiasm, their preconceived notions of Neil soon changed once he sat down behind his kit to play. “And then he started playing, and he pounded the crap out of those drums. He played like Keith Moon and John Bonham at the same time.” Interestingly, Neil thought his audition didnt go that well. Neil officially joined Rush on July 29, 1974, two weeks before the groups first U.S. tour. Neil played his first gig with the band, opening for Uriah Heep and Manfred Mann, in front of over 11,000 people at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on August 14, 1974. Today, Neil and the band are still going strong and released their latest studio album, Clockwork Angels, in June 2012 with a supporting tour that ran from September 2012 to August 2013. Rush is a band completely removed from the mainstream music scene yet remain one of the most popular and influential rock bands in the world. Rushs sales place them third behind The Beatles and The Rolling Stones for the most consecutive gold or platinum studio albums by a rock band. Last year Neil and Rush were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In addition to being a musician, Neil has written five non-fiction books, The Masked Rider: Traveling in West Africa, Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road, Traveling Music: The Soundtrack to My Life and Times, and Roadshow: Landscape With Drums: A Concert Tour by Motorcycle, and Far and Away: A Prize Every Time. Ghost Rider was nominated for a Canadian Literary award in 2003. In all, his books have sold over 100,000 copies. He has also written many articles for Modern Drummer Magazine and other periodicals. In his spare time, Neil rides BMW motorcycles, drives fast cars, snowshoes, bird watches, and hikes. His favorite drink after a concert or a long day on the road is The Macallan. Neils nicknames are Pratt and The Professor. Like Buddy Rich and Ringo Starr, Neil Peart is one of the most influential drummers in history. He was recently voted one of The 50 Greatest Drummers of All Time by the readers of Modern Drummer Magazine. His contributions to his band make him so integral, he is literally irreplaceable. Without Neil Peart, there can be no Rush.
Posted on: Fri, 12 Sep 2014 15:27:43 +0000
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