Neil Peart - Dead at 67

[DTA]

This is a rough loss. One of my true musical heroes/influences is no longer here and that's a really sad thought to process. I am amazed at how many people I see on facebook and twitter writing tributes...people who I would never have imagined even know about Rush. For all the shit I give him, Mike Portnoy's few posts were really touching and heartfelt. Gonna blast the shit out of Hold Your Fire today for the man

[Grappler]

Rush were always a greatest hits band for me.  I absolutely love a few songs, but never bothered to get into them beyond that.  They were too prog and nerdy for me, and I have always been a very serious metalhead, hunting for heavier and faster music.

A year ago or so, I watched the latest documentary on Netflix and something clicked beyond Subdivisions and Temples of Syrinx.  I started listening to their newest albums frim the last 15 to 20 years and fell back in love with them.  I really developed a respect for them as musicians and human beings.

I never went to see them live, which I have regretted since they went on hiatus.  Its life.  I saw Pantera three times when others never got to see that band.  It's a bummer, but all I can do is dig back into their music and enjoy what Neil left for us all.

[Stadler]

Stolen from the interwebs.  Credit where credit is due.

[DragonAttack]

Hard to stay focused on work, carousing the web, and have read where some people are making donations of $21.12 to the American Cancer Society.   

Add my name to the list.

[TAC]

Stolen from the interwebs.  Credit where credit is due.

That's awesome.

some people are making donations of $21.12 to the American Cancer Society.   

As is this.

[KevShmev]

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/dave-grohl-neil-peart-tribute-936401/

Dave Grohl, a Neil Peart acolyte who inducted Rush into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2013, penned a tribute to the drummer following news of Peart’s death Friday.

“Today, the world lost a true giant in the history of rock & roll,” Grohl said in a statement to Rolling Stone. “An inspiration to millions with an unmistakable sound who spawned generations of musicians (like myself) to pick up two sticks and chase a dream. A kind, thoughtful, brilliant man who ruled our radios and turntables not only with his drumming, but also his beautiful words.”

Grohl continued, “I still vividly remember my first listen of 2112 when I was young. It was the first time I really listened to a drummer. And since that day, music has never been the same. His power, precision, and composition was incomparable. He was called ‘The Professor’ for a reason: We all learned from him.”

As Grohl told Rolling Stone in 2013, ahead of Rush’s Rock Hall induction, it was Peart’s work that inspired him to pick up the drumsticks. “When I got 2112 when I was eight years old, it fucking changed the direction of my life. I heard the drums. It made me want to become a drummer,” Grohl said.

The Foo Fighters frontman and former Nirvana drummer also reminisced about meeting Peart for the first time during rehearsals for the Rock Hall ceremony. “I was coming to rehearsal and I was meeting Neil for the first time, and this man was as influential as any religion or any hero or any person in someone’s life. He said, ‘So nice to meet you. Can I make you a coffee?’ And he made me a coffee, man,” Grohl said in 2013. “And later on that night, I went to dinner and had a couple glasses of wine, and I started fucking crying because my hero made me a fucking coffee. It was unbelievable, man. So that’s kind of how this whole experience has been.”

Both Peart and Grohl landed in the upper echelon of Rolling Stone‘s list of the 100 Greatest Drummers of All Time. Grohl, like many drummers in rock, paid tribute to one of the greatest to ever play the instrument. “Thank you, Neil, for making our lives a better place with your music. You will be forever remembered and sorely missed by all of us. And my heartfelt condolences to the Rush family,” he wrote. “God bless Neil Peart.”

Grohl’s Foo Fighters bandmate Taylor Hawkins had a more succinct, yet equally poignant, statement. “Neil Peart had the hands of God,” he tells Rolling Stone. “End of story.”

[SoundscapeMN]

I was picturing Neil saying something to his loved ones or even us fans

"don't be sad, be happy. If you want to be nostalgic about your memories about me and Rush, CELEBRATE them. "

[Bentower]

Lovely words from Dave Grohl there.

Man, The Trees has never sounded this good.

[T-ski]

first tribute I've come across, Styx........ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AexxaIAppn8

[TAC]

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/dave-grohl-neil-peart-tribute-936401/

Dave Grohl, a Neil Peart acolyte who inducted Rush into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2013, penned a tribute to the drummer following news of Peart’s death Friday.

“Today, the world lost a true giant in the history of rock & roll,” Grohl said in a statement to Rolling Stone. “An inspiration to millions with an unmistakable sound who spawned generations of musicians (like myself) to pick up two sticks and chase a dream. A kind, thoughtful, brilliant man who ruled our radios and turntables not only with his drumming, but also his beautiful words.”

Grohl continued, “I still vividly remember my first listen of 2112 when I was young. It was the first time I really listened to a drummer. And since that day, music has never been the same. His power, precision, and composition was incomparable. He was called ‘The Professor’ for a reason: We all learned from him.”

As Grohl told Rolling Stone in 2013, ahead of Rush’s Rock Hall induction, it was Peart’s work that inspired him to pick up the drumsticks. “When I got 2112 when I was eight years old, it fucking changed the direction of my life. I heard the drums. It made me want to become a drummer,” Grohl said.

The Foo Fighters frontman and former Nirvana drummer also reminisced about meeting Peart for the first time during rehearsals for the Rock Hall ceremony. “I was coming to rehearsal and I was meeting Neil for the first time, and this man was as influential as any religion or any hero or any person in someone’s life. He said, ‘So nice to meet you. Can I make you a coffee?’ And he made me a coffee, man,” Grohl said in 2013. “And later on that night, I went to dinner and had a couple glasses of wine, and I started fucking crying because my hero made me a fucking coffee. It was unbelievable, man. So that’s kind of how this whole experience has been.”

Both Peart and Grohl landed in the upper echelon of Rolling Stone‘s list of the 100 Greatest Drummers of All Time. Grohl, like many drummers in rock, paid tribute to one of the greatest to ever play the instrument. “Thank you, Neil, for making our lives a better place with your music. You will be forever remembered and sorely missed by all of us. And my heartfelt condolences to the Rush family,” he wrote. “God bless Neil Peart.”

Grohl’s Foo Fighters bandmate Taylor Hawkins had a more succinct, yet equally poignant, statement. “Neil Peart had the hands of God,” he tells Rolling Stone. “End of story.”

I really cannot get into the Foo Fighters, but I could listen to Dave Grohl all day long.

A couple months ago, I went down a youtube rabbit hole of his interviews, and I was really impressed. He is literally the Forrest Gump of rock.

[King Postwhore]

Neil has a 10 year old daughter. So damn heartbreaking.

[emtee]

A melancholic funk has settled over me. I
hope it doesn't last much longer. Reflecting
on his life and music caused me to do the same.
It's only logical since I spent so much of it
listening to him play. Rough night. Rough morning.

[Samsara]

Neil has a 10 year old daughter. So damn heartbreaking.

Yeah. I realized that about an hour after I heard about Neil's passing yesterday. I thought she was a little older, like in high school. Not that it would be less painful to be that age, but at 10, having to watch her dad pass and now live without him. Man... 

Watched R40 last night and my young daughter watched it with my wife and I, as we taught her about Neil Peart and Rush (she is a hard rock fan, but we hadn't really exposed to RUSH yet). She was memorized by Neil's drum solo, particularly as we talked to her and showed her about keeping time, and the fills in-between, and how Rush doesn't play at 4:4 time often. She picked up on it and couldn't believe how gifted Neil was. I was like "yeah kiddo, and really no one else ever has been."

Fuck cancer man. Seriously, it can go up and fuck itself.

[Stadler]

Just a reminder that it's worth people's while to go and find the "Making of Snakes and Arrows" documentary, for the sequence where Neil had laid down the verses for "The Way The Wind Blows". It's decided that the song lacked energy, and it was likely from the drum track. Neil listens patiently, but had done four different versions of the verse to that point, and Nick was asking him to do four more versions on the fly (after having played for about three hours at that point and having put down a perfectly acceptable version on tape). Neil mutters, "fucker!", and goes in and nails it. Geddy is dancing in the control room like he's a teenager at a gig, as is Alex, and they both applaud at his perseverance. It really spoke to Neil's pride, humility (to take criticism), courage (to go out of his comfort zone), creativity (to actually come up with the parts), and technical ability (to deliver his best performance when lesser men would have tapped out). It's everything I admire in a man (I mean human, not gender). It runs 31:55 to about 36:00.

I'm not at the same level of "Rush Fan" as some here (though oddly feel the need to talk about this), but there are three things that cemented my deep respect for Neil: his performance on Signals (specifically his drumming on Subdivisions - the opening fill - and his lyrics on The Analog Kid - I'm the boy in the baseball cap), his drum solo on the Letterman show, and that sequence.

[TAC]

Just a reminder that it's worth people's while to go and find the "Making of Snakes and Arrows" documentary, for the sequence where Neil had laid down the verses for "The Way The Wind Blows". It's decided that the song lacked energy, and it was likely from the drum track. Neil listens patiently, but had done four different versions of the verse to that point, and Nick was asking him to do four more versions on the fly (after having played for about three hours at that point and having put down a perfectly acceptable version on tape). Neil mutters, "fucker!", and goes in and nails it. Geddy is dancing in the control room like he's a teenager at a gig, as is Alex, and they both applaud at his perseverance. It really spoke to Neil's pride, humility (to take criticism), courage (to go out of his comfort zone), creativity (to actually come up with the parts), and technical ability (to deliver his best performance when lesser men would have tapped out). It's everything I admire in a man (I mean human, not gender). It runs 31:55 to about 36:00.

I'll definitely find that clip. I've never seen that as I think S&A is generally terrible.

But let me amend that to say that I will listen to it during my discog run with an open and fresh mind considering what just happened, so I can find an new appreciation for it.

[Samsara]

I haven't watched that in some time, Stads, I'll watch it this weekend.

My RUSH story. Saw them three times - Vapor Trails (Hartford, CT), R30 (Concord, Calif.), Time Machine (White River Amph., Wash.). I wanted to do the 2006/2007 tour, and also the Clockwork and R40 shows, but they were just so far away from me at the time it was impossible. I should have made a better effort on the Snakes and/or Feedback tour that was in that 2006/2007 timeframe, and kick myself. But the other two were impossible.

I became a fan with Test for Echo. Liked the record. My two buddies were going to the show at Jones Beach, and I passed, being a 20 year old and not having a ton of cash. I really regretted that obviously. But I got to see the kick-off gig after Neil returned from his hiatus, so that was special. But while I bought the catalog after the Vapor Trails tour (I only had Test for Echo, Chronicles, and Vapor Trails before seeing them for the first time), I only became a bigger fan AFTER the Time Machine tour in 2010, which sadly, was the last time I was able to see them.

I absolutely adored Clockwork Angels, and was really upset I couldn't go to the tour. Same with R40. I was bummed. Not quite as bummed as Clockwork, but I had resigned myself to knowing it was their last tour, and I had been fortunate enough to see them three times. But I still wish I went. But my appreciation for, and my fandom of RUSH only grew. And today I remain a pretty big fan. Not as much as some, but I'm certainly not in the "casual" category.

RIP Neil. Will be thinking of his little girl, his family, and of course Ged and Alex.

[KevShmev]

I haven't watched that "making of" in probably a decade, but I remember that clip. 

[TAC]

I first saw them on the Power Windows tour, HYF, Presto, RTB, Counterparts (2x) and TfE tours. I actually hadn't seen them since 1996.

I regret not seeing the CA tour, as well and the R40 tour, because as Sam said, it was pretty clear that would be it. Unfortunately, timing wasn't really good for either show for me. Neil played particularly strong on that final tour. Probably his best playing in quite some time.

[KevShmev]

I saw them 12 times, basically every time they came to St Louis since 1991:

Roll the Bones tour (x2)
Counterparts tour
Test for Echo tour (x2)
Vapor Trails tour
R30 tour
Snakes and Arrows tour
Snakes and Arrows live tour
Time Machine tour
Clockwork Angels tour
R40

[Adami]

I never saw them. Huge huge mistake.

[King Postwhore]

31 times. First on the GUP tour in 1984.  Last in Montreal with Chad and my brother in 2015.

[TAC]

31 times.

That's nuts, bro.

[KevShmev]

Seeing them on the Vapor Trails tour remains one of my two favorite concerts ever (next to seeing Pink Floyd in '94).   The first tour in five years and they were on fire that night.  Plus, the set list was amazing.  I was so jacked for that show that when I went and saw a friend and his wife who had seats elsewhere during the first intermission, he commented the next night (at a wedding of a mutual friend) that he had never seen me that energetic and hyper before (and we had been working together for 8 years).  And I had done no drinking of alcohol!   Rush was all I needed to give me that kind of high.

[T-ski]

I never saw them. Huge huge mistake.

Same.  My wife tried to talk me into seeing them in Chicago once, which in an of itself was an amazing feat on her part, but my insecurities of travel and large crowds led me to say no.

Will regret that one forever.

[King Postwhore]

31 times.

That's nuts, bro.

3 times was opening night of their tours.

Power Windows in Maine.
Vapor Trails in Connecticut.
Clockwork Angel's in N.H.

[faizoff]

I never saw them. Huge huge mistake.

That's my regret as well. Back on the MP forum, DTD sent a PM asking me if I wanted to see them when they were in town. I don't know why I didn't go. At the time I had no clue it was widely assumed to be the last Rush tour. I think regret that decision and after watching the Time Stand Still documentary regretted it even more. I'm not a rabid fan but love the band a lot and have almost everything they've released on CD/DVD/Blu-ray.

Truly a missed chance.

[pg1067]

Neil has a 10 year old daughter. So damn heartbreaking.

This is the thing that resonates with me.

My father died from a heart attack when I was 7, at the age of 53 (and a half).  When I had kids of my own, I started marking time in terms of him.  When my son turned 7 (and a couple months), I took note of the fact that I he was older than I was when my dad died.  I did the same a few years later when my daughter hit the mark.  I'm now 52.  In a little over a year, I'll have outlived my father, and my kids will be 17 and nearly 19.  I will regard this as a significant accomplishment.

Certainly, Neil had Olivia when he was much older, but he did everything possible to be a healthy person.  And fucking cancer got him anyway.  And his daughter and wife have had to live with his battle for over three fucking years.  I can't imagine how awful this must be for them.

Someone else said it earlier in the thread.  Hug your families and keep them close.

I saw them 12 times, basically every time they came to St Louis since 1991:

I got 20.  At least once on every tour starting with GUP.  My last was their last.

[King Postwhore]

pg, thank you. To look through a child's eyes. So glad to read this.

[MrBoom_shack-a-lack]

RIP Neil Peart!

It's really warming and kind of eye opening seeing all the massive love and respect for Neil on my FB feed by muscian friends I had no idea was listening to Rush.

[Anguyen92]

Sadly, I never saw them live.  By the time I first discovered them in late 2012, they already did their Southern California shows for their Clockwork Angels tour.  Their final show of R40, and ever, was at The Forum in Inglewood.  I wanted to go, but I didn't have a job or money, and didn't want to drive long to Inglewood alone.  Back then, I was going to concerts with my sister and I think it would be a hard sell for me to convince her to go, especially since we were already committed to see Foo Fighters the month after the final show in Inglewood. 

I was hoping there would be some hope that Neil would decide to briefly come out of retirement and do sporadic shows and that if Rush did any more shows in California, I get tickets in a heartbeat.  Sadly, that chance will never come, but I thank them for having a live release of every tour they've done in the 2000s.  Lots of various songs from all of their albums in those releases.

[?]

I heard the news just before midnight yesterday and it was hard to go to sleep after that. This was legit the first time a celebrity/musician death has made me tear up, as Rush is my favorite band While Neil was one of the drumming greats, as a non-drummer myself I was drawn in (even) moreso by his lyrics. I'm not much of a book guy to be honest, but I read Ghost Rider, The Masked Rider, Traveling Music and Roadshow, and he definitely had a way with words outside Rush songs as well. The biggest regret of my life has got to be not seeing them on the Clockwork Angels tour

Poor guy. First wife and daughter die. Finally retired to spend time with the new family and battles brain cancer for 3 years.

No kidding

EDIT: Just remembered that Rush's statement said he passed away on the 7th, and - eerily enough - on that very day I really felt like putting a Rush CD on in the car and ended up choosing Power Windows.

[Metro]

I read the news yesterday at work. My initial reaction was denial. "That can't be true." I immediately called a friend of mine who also huge fan and broke the news. Neither of us could believe it.

The headline stuck with me for the rest of the day until I got home. I immediately put on Available Light, my favorite Rush song, and as the final chorus played it finally hit me like a brick wall and the tears started coming.
Neil Peart is gone. One of my heroes is gone.

I've only been a Rush fan for about 11 years. Hardly a fraction of how long some of you guys have been fans. I bought a copy of Hemispheres in 2009 because The Trees was in the video game Rock Band 2 and I remember the drum part to that song was very fun to play. From there I fell down the rabbit hole. I bought 2112, Permanent Waves, Moving Pictures, A Farewell to Kings, Fly By Night, Caress of Steel, all the classic albums and listened to them over and over and over. My first car, a lovely Silver 2000 Honda Civic, only had a CD player, no aux jack or bluetooth or anything fancy. I used to deliver pizzas back in my senior year of High School and my first couple years of College, and I remember driving around listening to those albums and drumming my hands on the steering wheel till the finish wore off. I've never been a drummer myself, but goddamn did Neil make me want to be one.

The same friend I mentioned invited me to go see Rush on what would be their final tour back in 2015, but I turned him down. I don't remember why, but I probably thought, "I'll see them on the next tour."
I never got to see them live, and I'll be kicking myself for that for the rest of my life.

[jingle.boy]

I'll definitely find that clip. I've never seen that as I think S&A is generally terrible.

But let me amend that to say that I will listen to it during my discog run with an open and fresh mind considering what just happened, so I can find an new appreciation for it.

I'll reply to this over in he discography discussion thread.

[Zoom E]

I got into Rush in 1982 when I bought Moving Pictures. For some reason I haven't seen them live as many times as other bands I've been a fan of for the same period of time.

Saw them in 1986 (Power Windows tour), 1992 (Roll the Bones tour), 2008 (Snakes & Arrows tour) and 2011 (Time Machine tour).

Like everyone else, I'll be listening to some Rush albums in tribute when I get the chance.

[El Barto]

I'm not at the same level of "Rush Fan" as some here (though oddly feel the need to talk about this), but there are three things that cemented my deep respect for Neil: his performance on Signals (specifically his drumming on Subdivisions - the opening fill - and his lyrics on The Analog Kid - I'm the boy in the baseball cap), his drum solo on the Letterman show, and that sequence.

First two things my neighbors and I listened to last night, for essentially the same reasons. (Though I view the lyrics to Subdivisions as highly as Analog Kid.)

As for myself, I was pretty distraught about this for a couple of hours and then [mostly] shook it off. Neil has given me far more enjoyment than I could ever hope for, and will continue to do so as much as if he were still with us. I'd much rather be grateful than sad. That's how I'm approaching this.

Also, nice to see some old, familiar faces. Scurvy: if you check back in hit me up with a PM so I can add you back to the Pick'em.