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Neil Peart

Farewell to a King

Kerrang! Magazine, Janaury 25th, 2020



Words: John Petrucci









Neil Peart: His Genius, by Dream Theater's John Petrucci

NEIL PEART WAS A ROCK WIZARD

Late RUSH legend NEIL PEART was a shining beacon in music, says DREAM THEATER’S JOHN PETRUCCI



“Growing up where I did – in Long Island, New York – there was a lot of rock music played on the radio. You’d have stations playing Led Zeppelin, The Who and Black Sabbath, so I heard that stuff all the time, and it was great. When I hit 12 years old, though, I started to get into playing guitar, and my ears naturally began opening up to more things, weird and wonderful, to push what I was trying to do. Rush were the perfect band for me. I remember hearing them on the radio around the time they released [eighth album] Moving Pictures in 1981. I’d heard Spirit Of Radio [from 1980’s Permanent Waves] before and liked it, but Moving Pictures was the point at which I got totally hooked.



“A friend of mine said, ‘If you’re into that, you’ve got to hear these,’ and turned me on to all the records of theirs I’d missed, like 2112 [1976] and Hemispheres [1978]. I couldn’t get enough of it, and soon made it my mission to learn to play every single song of theirs. They were, and still are, the most influential band to me as a musician. The more I dug into those records, and got to see them live at my very first concert, I became addicted to their sound. Geddy Lee’s vocals were incredible, and Alex Lifeson’s guitar playing was awe-inspiring – but my ear was drawn to what Neil Peart was doing behind the kit, those huge fills and epic solos you couldn’t help but air drum along to. It still freaks me out that such a perfect combination of musicians found each other to make a sound greater than you thought possible from a trio.



“I’ve spent my life playing Rush songs. Years ago I jammed them with my buddies, and even now during Dream Theater rehearsals we might bust out one of their songs at any given moment. I studied Rush to the point they were part of my DNA, so when I played on a tribute record to Rush [1996’s Working Man – A Tribute To Rush], it was like a language I was fluent in. I’m not saying any of their stuff is easy to play by any means – it’s incredibly challenging – but those songs became an inseparable part of me. So much of why that happened to me, and so many others, is down to Neil.



“It’s incredible to think that at one point in Neil’s career, he went back and started taking lessons from a jazz coach. There was this guy at the top of his game, in one of the biggest bands in the world, known for creativity and musicality, who suddenly re-evaluated his playing. He wanted to challenge himself, which is something I’ve started down the road on in the past. But I can’t comprehend the discipline necessary to rebuild your playing like that.



“Beyond Neil’s incredible contributions as a drummer, there’s also his work as a lyricist. Unsurprisingly for a guy in a prog metal band, I’ve always been a fan of storytelling, so hearing music that took me to new places, not just through its complex, intricate structures but Neil’s words too, was so inspiring. A song like The Trees [from Hemispheres], for example, on the surface is about a conflict between the trees in a forest, but also has this political undercurrent to it, which really caught the attention of the creative writer in me. For me to see that songs didn’t have to simply be about love or relationships or partying had such an influence.



“Like the typical fan, I’d write out the lyrics in a notebook and break down the phrases to see what Neil was doing, hoping to learn how to do it myself. I’d also listen to interviews with the band, and started to find out where his lyrical influences came from, and how literate Neil was, taking inspiration from people like [Russian-american writer and philosopher] Ayn Rand. It provided me with a reading list, and gave me permission as a young musician to go deeper into the subjects I wanted to write about.



“I read the books Neil wrote about his motorcycle trips, one of which [Ghost Rider: Travels On The Healing Road] is about the long period of riding he did across America after the deaths of his daughter and wife [within 10 months of each other]. As someone who’s been married for 26 years and has three grown up kids, that loss and level of tragedy is something I can’t wrap my head around. It seems something you could never recover from, so for Neil to have made the decision to go away, reset and then return to Rush makes his life even more inspiring. Not everyone would have been able to do that.



“The tragedies in Neil’s life make you question why someone who contributed so much had to have his loved ones taken away from him like that – and why we’ve had to have him taken away from us now. When someone who’s been creative dies, you naturally weigh up their contributions, and in Neil’s case there are just so many, on so many levels. In my eyes, he was one of the shining beacons of art in rock music. He pushed the genre, musically and intellectually, expanding it and giving it a deeper meaning. And that artistry, in turn, had an impact upon everything else around him and every aspect of Rush, from their albums, to their tour programmes, to the production. I respect, too, that he was this enigmatic guy who would run off the stage after a show and just leave the venue, which was all part of the Rush lore. It made you view him as this mysterious wizard.



“Sadly, that wizard is no longer with us, but all the magic he created when he was is still here. Listen, read and be inspired.”

FAREWELL TO A KING

More legends in rock pay tribute to NEIL PEART and the impact he had on them…



Dave Grohl

Foo Fighters

“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.”



Lars Ulrich

Metallica

“Thank you for inspiring me, especially in the early days, when you took the time to talk to a young, green Danish drummer. Thank you for what you did for drummers all over the world with your passion, your approach, your principles and your unwavering commitment to the instrument!”



Lzzy Hale

Halestorm

“Without the immense talent, daring musical direction and sheer innovation of this legendary drummer, today's drum heroes would not exist. Neil, you may have left us physically, but your legend and beautiful soul will carry on within us, living and breathing through music.”

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