Neil Peart

just a moderator's salute here to Stu_Strib and jamsjr44. these are two members who have disagreed in the past. in this thread they show a perfect example of how we can vociferously disagree in a mature way. these kind of supported respectful arguments are instructive and valuable to our forum. there is a wry sense of humour and plenty of evidence that they read eachother's comments carefully. respect to you both and ... more of the same.

j
 
thanks for the compliments. The reason I like this forum is because people make good reasonable arguments instead of the usual "your stupid" or "he sucks" statments like they do on other forums. As much as I am for free speech it is nice to have a good well thought out disagreement.

So thanks to you guys (Dogbreath, Bernhard and the other moderators) for the keeping the forums clean and forcing people to think about what they want to say before they post it.

And for those of you who says someone sucks, think about it WE ALL DID at some point or another. And if you are talking about professional drummers then at least they are getting paid to travel the world, playing in the best venues, with the best musicians, and with the best FREE equipment to SUCK! While we sit here discussing them wishing we were in that situation

:).

Thanks again guys!
 
Peart in Concert!

Who here has been to a Rush concert? I have once, the 30th anniversery tour, and it was unbelieivelby good(excuse the spelling). Neil Peart has to be one of the most talented drummers that has ever lived. I haven't been to many concerts (Incubus[2],vince neil,poison,skid row,HIM,) but nothing could have topped that show. The whole band was so tight and on all night. Nothing could ever be like that performance. How many of you have seen Neil in the flesh? What was it like? I always wondered how he graced the stage in the earlier days of Rush. Share your expericnes! I knew the second i layed eyes on that DW set it was going to be sweet.
 
Re: Peart in Concert!

I've never seen him play live, but I definitely love his style. The way he incorparates brazilian and afro-cuban beats is awesome! LONG LIVE PEART!
 
Re: Peart in Concert!

I first saw Rush on their Power Windows tour ('85) and have seen them on each subsequent tour after that (I think that makes eight shows in all). Neil has always done a wonderful job staying true to his original drum parts when playing live. He plays with incredible intensity, yet always keeps a calm look on his face which has become one of his trademarks. I've noticed his solos have become more elaborate in the last ten years or so. It used to be part of a medley but now they've become songs by themselves. Neil's style and kit have evolved somewhat in the past 25 years I've seen him, but he's always produced very inspired drumming.
 
Re: Peart in Concert!

I haven't seen them in concert but I have watched the Rush in Rio Live DVD. It was amazing. It was so cool how he played what was on the albums. Love to watch it again sometime......
 
Re: Peart in Concert!

He definently puts on a great performance, but quite frankly, I was more impressed when I saw Dennis Chambers play with Santana. I'm probably going to be castrated for what I'm about to say, but I've been finding Neil's drum solo's repetetive and boring as of late too. I know he can come up with something different, but it's virtually been the same formula for his solo since the Roll the Bones tour.

Snare/Rudiment
Toms with foot tambourine trigger
Snare/Rudiments again
Toms again
Midi Marimba
Back to the toms
cowbells for a few seconds
electronic kit
toms
jazz ending
 
Re: Peart in Concert!

kazzman said:
He definently puts on a great performance, but quite frankly, I was more impressed when I saw Dennis Chambers play with Santana.


I saw the drum solo he did a while back on tv and it was sweet. Very creative, but just not as much as Peart.
 
Re: Peart in Concert!

I havent been exposed to a lot of drum solos. Peart's solo is the only one I have seen live. I really would like to see some other drummers like Chambers, Gadd, etc..ya know? That would be cool. This site exposed me to a lot. I had never heard of dennis chambers but i just saw one of his vids today on here and im like, whoa. He is awsome. I need to broden(ick) my horizons.
 
Re: Peart in Concert!

I saw Rush on their 30th Anniversary Tour a little over a year ago. And it was the first show of the tour in Nashville. I have a bootleg copy of the concert, and I love listening to it because Neil Peart was the first drummer I ever really liked (of course you could say the same for any other younger drummer starting out). He's got great intensity and is hella tight with his drumming. But Geddy Lee told us that night that since it was the first show of the tour, if we heard any mess-ups to just ignore them.

And Geddy was right to tell us that, because during the show "Earthshine", and I have a recording of it to prove it, Peart accidentally "overplayed" a fill and, wouldn't you know it, missed the 1 count. He recovered just fine, but it goes to show that even the best make mistakes sometimes.

And kazzman, I get what you're saying about Peart's solo structure, but I can only agree with you to a certain extent. While he does follow the same formula and structure in his solos, he does mix things up and add/subtract things so that even if it's the same formula, he's not playing the exact same solo from the last tour or even the last show note for note. In fact, the solo he played at the show I saw actually BEGAN with his electronic kit section, before moving on to the snare rudiments and foot tamborine trigger stuff.

--Jax
 
Re: Peart in Concert!

2112theaterdreamingfreak said:
I havent been exposed to a lot of drum solos. Peart's solo is the only one I have seen live. I really would like to see some other drummers like Chambers, Gadd, etc..ya know? That would be cool. This site exposed me to a lot. I had never heard of dennis chambers but i just saw one of his vids today on here and im like, whoa. He is awsome. I need to broden(ick) my horizons.

I saw Dennis Chambers play in London with Mike Stern a few years back. He did a solo which had the audience literally screaming in disbelief. Not entirely my cup of tea (either Mike Stern or Dennis' approach to soloing) but he's a mean drummer.

If you want to see choppy stuff, go have a look at the video of Morgen Agren here on Drummerworld and then try to track down the whole Trum video with Fredrik Thordendal playing rhythm guitar. It's something to see.

Other than that, I'd recommend checking out the solo on the start of "Agitation" by Miles Davis on "E.S.P". Even after all this time it still sounds fresh and the tone of the drums and cymbals is amazing. I've got a few other solos I like, but that's an all-time great.

EDIT: Oops, forgot to mention that last one was Tony Williams. Go get it!
 
Neil and Rush are possibly the biggest influence on my playing. While other kids were listening to new kids on the block and mc hammer I was busy jamming along too exit stage left. So, Thanks for everything Neil.

However, Over my "more adult years" I have been influenced by a number of different drummers. and I would have to say Neil would agree that he's no BuddyRich, Either way he's close infact, On the wall next to my computer there are two framed pictures I recieved from my Wife. One is Buddy Rich and the other Is the Professor.
 
I agree, Neil Peart has eanred the name Professor, because he is really awsome, i know im only 15 but i basically grew up listenen to Rush, so they're my fav. all time band, i kinda grew into them because my dad always played them, iv seen them twice in concert, not many, but enuff, i was all smiles those two night though! they ROCKED!

M3
 
I think he is the best drummer ever, in his own way. This might seem outlandish, but it comes from him being my first exposure to a superstar drummer, yet that impression persists through today. He's like a machine, inhuman almost with his precision. Such an inspiration to me as well. I remember being little and listening to the solo on Tom Sawyer, and just thinking, that's how a rock solo should sound. I was in absolutely awe, and that was the first time for me being in awe at a drummer He can play the simplest thing, and make it sound totally out of this world. I don't know how he does it. Like the sixteenth notes on the solo in Tom Sawyer, the ghost notes in YYZ (I don't know exactly where), and mostly, his choice of fills and where he puts them. It all seems so perfect, like he knows exactly what's going on. It's so cool.
 
Yes he is a machine, but like someone else said, that detracts from his playing. He's a great drummer, perhaps too great? hehe

Also, Live in Rio, man it was hard to watch him play...He looks like a 90 year old man fighting through arthritis.

I also don't share the same 'verve' Neil does for drum electronics. I heard him say something like electronics are the best thing ever, because you have every sound available....that's a slippery slope, because the next step is Pro Tools and a drum machine. How much would that suck to see Peart diminished to a Pro Tools engineer and drum machine sequencer?
 
Neil and Rush are the biggest influences in my playing as well. I know it sounds weird because im only 16, but after going to the concert in brazil and singing along to tom sawyer with 80,000+ fans it truly was an unforgetable experience
 
I'd guess its pretty much mostly Rush? I haven't known Peart to be a session legend like Porcaro or Gadd.
 
Well, I'm a few days late on the accolades of Mr. Peart, but I have to chime in as well.

I'm 41 and have been a Peart and Rush fan since I can remember. Having only been playing my own kit for 5 years or so, I would say he is the influence that got me started and will keep me trying to improve. He's accurate, fast and perfect in all he plays. When I just joined up with you all here a few days ago, his was the first video I watched on this site. I'll keep watching and trying to get to that level. It may be somewhat insurmountable for me as a goal, but hey, it's a goal nonetheless.

Cheers, Mr. Peart and thanks.
 
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i just saw that animated video, and i have to admit pretty cool. Tell you the truth i have never payed attention to neil, but im starting to really notice him now. I have always respected him, as i do every drummer, but now im really starting to notice.


peace and love
 
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