As of this writing, Rush is currently on the final leg of their 2008 Snakes & Arrows tour. From what I've gathered, the tour has been successful, even though ticket sales are down.
Some of the more interesting stuff I'm come across in the news department:
Neil Peart has won DRUM! magazine's Drummer of the Year award for the second year in a row. The results are on newsstands in the August 2008 issue. To read last year's article, go to the digital version of DRUM! November 2007. Also, check out the article in the same issue entitled Neil Peart and Gary McCracken: A Two Prog Approach about the making of Battlescar.
Rush Never Sleeps: Rolling Stone -- If you haven't read this yet, check out the surprisingly positive article on Rush in Rolling Stone. For most Rush fans, this article appearing in RS is not unlike the fall of the Berlin Wall. However, this is not the first article that has appeared in Rolling Stone about Rush. An article about Rush by David Fricke, a longtime RS reporter, appeared in the May 28, 1981 issue: Rush: Power From the People. Like the current article, this one tries to decipher the Rush riddle that has eluded the popular media and rock critics.
Neil Peart's favorite cookie is the Pepperidge Farms' Nantucket (regular, not double chocolate). Neil's tour bus driver, Dave, recently posted a blog entry on his MySpace page about the elusive cookie -- and how they sometimes catch fire.
Finally, my friend's Rush Auctions are back. This week, you can get some great Neil Peart posters.
Even though it's not official yet, I've confirmed from bigdrumthump.com and Alfred.com that Neil Peart has won two 2008 Modern Drummer Reader's Poll awards. It appears bigdrumthump got this from Sonor.com, who has since taken down their posting.
The full results will appear in Modern Drummer's July 2008 issue, which hits newstands on May 30. Congrats, Neil, and all the other drummers!
The 2008 awards include:
ROCK DRUMMER 1. NEIL PEART 2. Chad Smith 3. Stewart Copeland 4. Alex Van Halen 5. Jason Bonham
RECORDED PERFORMANCE 1. NEIL PEART (Rush): Snakes & Arrows 2. Gavin Harrison (Porcupine Tree): Fear Of A Blank Planet 3. Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater): Systematic Chaos 4. Jack DeJohnette (Michael Brecker): Pilgrimage 5. Roy Haynes: A Life In Times
He also came in fifth in the Progressive Rock category:
PROG 1. GAVIN HARRISON 2. Virgil Donati 3. Mike Portnoy 4. Danny Carey 5. Neil Peart
For those who are counting, this gives Neil 14 awards in the "Best Recorded Performance" category and 8 awards in the "Best Rock Drummer" category. As most of us have seen, Neil doesn't take these awards for granted (read the October 2006 letter from Neil on this page).
Four new drum kits posted to my Replicas page. These include kits from Pierre Martin, Johnny Sillers, Adam Alquist, and an R30 commemorative kit from John Buckland. As an added treat, I've included a few YouTube videos from Pierre and Johnny, and if you're a fan of Neil Peart you need to check these guys out. I've included links to their YouTube pages and websites as well. Thanks to all the drummers for sending in their kit pictures.
New picture of Neil's S&A drum kit from Drumhead Issue 4 now on Neil Peart's Setup page.
NEP news items
Neil and Rush were nominated for a Grammy award for "Malignant Narcissism." This is their fifth nomination. Here's the complete list of Category 19, Best Rock Instrumental Performance:
Category 19
Best Rock Instrumental Performance (For solo, duo, group or collaborative performances, without vocals. Includes Rock, Hard Rock and Metal. Singles or Tracks only.)
The Ecstasy Of Gold Metallica Track from: We All Love Ennio Morricone [Sony Classical]
Neil Peart wins 5 Drummie 2007 awards, including "Drummer of the Year"
Note: This story was released on several web sites last week, but there's still no official word on the DRUM! magazine website. Evidently the official announcement will happen in the November 2007 issue of DRUM! magazine (on sale around October 7, 2007). I'll update this post when the official results are announced.
According to Huliq.com, Rushisaband.com, and several other sources, Neil Peart has won five "Drummie" awards for 2007, including "Drummer of the Year." The Drummie award is conducted by DRUM! magazine.
The awards include:
2007 Drummer of the Year
Progressive Rock Drummer
Live Performer
DVD: Anatomy Of A Drum Solo
Drumming Album: Snakes & Arrows by Rush
Congratulations, Neil, and all the other drummers who won Drummies.
