Neil Peart -- The Latest News

I've been hearing about Paragon cymbals with a "brilliant" finish for a little while, and it appears that Paragon Brilliant is now a finish available from Sabian.

Neil Peart wrote an article about the new cymbal finish for Sabian.com.

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Dec 22, 2009

- NEIL PEART SPEAKS UP ABOUT PARAGON BRILLIANT -

   The evolution of Paragon Brilliant is about more than spit and polish. It began with the pursuit of the openness and responsiveness of an older cymbal, right "out of the bag."

   I have always found that brand-new cymbals have a certain "tightness," both in their physical response and in their sound, and it takes a few shows to play them in. Then they loosen up and start to "dance" on the stand, and the swell of sound from attack to decay would become smooth and open.

   When I was talking about that quality to the dedicated cymbal-makers at SABIAN, they took it as a kind of challenge: how can we build that "played-in" quality into the cymbals?

   Wheels started turning in the imagination of Mark Love, chief designer and sound alchemist at the factory in Meductic, New Brunswick. He figured that because playing the cymbal creates heat in the friction among the molecules of the metal, then perhaps carefully-applied heat to a newly lathed-and-hammered Paragon could create the same effect.

   Experiments began, and prototypes were sent to California for "field-testing" by me and Sabian's Chris Stankee. Each prototype was carefully weighed and played, with stick-tip, shoulders, and mallets; notes were collected on a (very scientific) clipboard then exchanged with Mark at the factory. Eventually the formula was perfected.

   A careful application of the finished Paragon cymbal to a buffing wheel (a big old "steampunk" kind of machine, where a craftsman controls the force and time) brought it to a temperature of 400-degrees F, and produced a well-tempered instrument that danced on the stand, and sang out clear and bright. 

-  Neil Peart

Via Rushisaband and PowerWindows.com

Labels: cymbals, Sabian, written by NEP

DW posted an article about building the new DW NHL Logo kit for Neil Peart.

DW Builds NHL Logo Kit for Neil Peart's Rendition of the League's Official Theme Song

According to the article:

The set will be seen before each "Hockey Night in Canada" telecast and will also follow around the Stanley cup as it travels from arena to arena. Eventually, the set will wind up in the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, Canada.

Sabian artist rep Chris Stankee, who helped "tech" the sessions for the new Hockey Song, as Lorne Wheaton is on the road, also posted an article:

Neil Peart Records New Hockey Theme

There are some additional photos of the sessions on beyond20khz's Flickr account.

Finally, I found an interesting website that details the long negotiations between Delores Claman, composer of the Hockey Song, and CBC. After the negotiations collapsed and CBC announced a contest for a new song, CTV bought the song. The story is also detailed in this article in MacLean's.

Here's an excerpt from the MacLean's article, written on June 11, 2008:

Why the CBC would let (the Hockey Song) slip away is a puzzle for the ages. After years of trading on the cultural significance of its broadcast, the corporation appeared determined last week to jettison the hymn that called their fans to communion. On Friday, executives breezily announced a $100,000 contest to come up with a new theme, as if 41 years of tradition could be replaced in a summer jingle-off. A barrage of 1,500 calls and emails from angry viewers gave them pause, and on Monday they announced they wished to reopen talks with the help of a mediator. Yet, in words and in actions, CBC managers rejected the notion that the soul of the broadcast could be tied up in a few bars of music. "What Hockey Night in Canada is really about is hockey," Scott Moore, the executive director of CBC Sports, told one reporter. "Everything else is just window dressing."

Thanks to Rushisband.com for the head's up.

Labels: cymbals, Drum Workshop, drums, Hockey Theme, Sabian

Update: This kit was sold 8/9/08.

For all you collectors out there who didn't pick up a DW Neil Peart 30th Anniversary Commemorative kit before they sold out, here's your chance. One owner is selling his kit--and even throwing in a few other goodies. You can look at the details and contact information at this link:

30th Anniversary Neil Peart Drums FOR SALE-negotiable

Labels: cymbals, Drum Workshop, drums

The artist page for Neil Peart on Sabian.com has been updated to include:

• Photos from the first leg of the Snakes & Arrows tour
• A new artist set-up diagram, which includes drums and cymbals with interactive features and links
• A set builder page where you can open Neil's setup
• New wallpaper of Neil Peart, Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers), and Jose Pasillas (Incubus):
• 800x600
• 1024x768
• 1280x1024
• A new page for the Paragon Diamondback Chinese 20" cymbal

 

Labels: cymbals, drums, pictures

Rush.com has added a video interview with Lorne "Gump" Wheaton, Neil's drum tech. In the video, Lorne goes over the entire setup, including the backstage area.

To watch the video, go to Rush.com and click Multimedia. The interview with Lorne is listed on the right side as Rush Backstage - Welcome to Bubba Gump. See screenshot below for more information.

Labels: cymbals, drums, Rush.com, Sabian, videos

Here are a few items I've been meaning to send out the past two weeks. 

Postcards from Neil

I've created a new section called Postcards from Neil. This section highlights postcards that Neil Peart sent to people who wrote to him through Modern Drummer. I've seen a few of these postcards, but had never seen one that was handwritten like what Neil Peart had sent to Neal Scanapico. (Thanks for letting me post this, Neal.)  

If you received a postcard from Neil and want to share it with other fans on this website, please send me an e-mail.

New photos in the 1980s gallery

I've posted five amazing photos that M. Hayden sent to me from the Hold Your Fire tour. (Thanks to M. for letting me post these to my site.)

 

 

Snakes & Arrows updates

As of this writing, Rush has performed 39 shows on this tour. The tour has been extremely successful so far, both financially and critically, and many fans have said this is the best tour they've ever seen. I would have to agree.

Here are a few links you might be interested in:

• I've posted two stories about the Rush shows I attended on my personal blog. You can read them here:
  • Rush at Clark County, Ridgefield, WA - 7/21/07
  • Rush at White River, Auburn WA - 7/20/07
• I've continued to update the Snakes & Arrows section of my site.
• I've continued to track and tag information about this tour using del.icio.us, a social-bookmarking site. I've turned a few of these tags (or categories) into feeds that are now available on this page. 

New auctions

My friend has posted more Rush items to eBay. You can check these out at the Featured Rush Auction Items page. This week there are a few rare items.

Paragon Diamondback cymbal now available

I found the new Paragon Diamondback cymbal at one online music store location. The list price for this cymbal is $449, but you can buy it for $269. If anyone knows when this cymbal will be available in other locations, let me know.

 Only four 30th Anniversary Commemorative kits remain

I saw on Guitar Center's website that there are only four of the 30th Anniversary kits left. According to the site, these kits are in the following Guitar Center stores:

• Manhattan, NY
• Phoenix, AZ
• San Jose, CA
• San Antonio, TX

Here's a happy owner of one of these kits.

Browser compatibility update

For those of you using Firefox or Safari, you might have had problems reading The Latest News in HTML format. A few weeks ago I updated this blog so that it will now work with these browsers. If you have any other problems, please e-mail me. 

Labels: auctions, cymbals, drums, pictures, Rush SnakesArrows

Neil Peart and Sabian are introducing the Diamondback Chinese cymbal to the Paragon line. Neil has used this cymbal on both "Snakes & Arrows" and the songs he recorded with Vertical Horizon.

In the Sabian forums, CymbalBob says of a new Paragon cymbal (presumably the Diamondback), "All I can tell you is we are planning to introduce 1 new Paragon model next month at Summer NAMM in Austin TX. It should be available to the general public sometime in August."

Here is the Press Release:

PRESS RELEASE

Sabian and Neil Peart Add Diamondback Chinese Cymbal to the Paragon Series
June 28, 2007



The 20" Paragon Diamondback Chinese is the latest collaboration between legendary Rush drummer Neil Peart and award-winning cymbal maker SABIAN. The thin, highly responsive model features a wide-flanged circumference punctuated by industrial cotter pins holding a total of four jingles that vibrate when the cymbal is struck. To increase the sound, the jingles are positioned in the shallow of the flange so they vibrate on both the bow and the edge, while a single rivet is positioned between each of the four jingle placements.

"While recording Snakes and Arrows," said Peart, "I was making good use of the two Paragon Chinese models I had developed with SABIAN's Mark Love a few years ago. The 20" had a sharp, tight attack, while the 19" had a warm, dark swell. However, a couple of the songs called for a different texture, something with a subtle stick sound, and a wispy, kind of ethereal voice, but with a sizzle...like a traditional rivet cymbal, but with more 'presence.'

Mark produced prototypes until we arrived at one particularly innovative combination, which I named Diamondback (thinking both of Paragon's diamond logo and the fact that it 'rattles'). I used the Diamondback prominently in such songs as 'The Larger Bowl' and 'The Main Monkey Business,' where it delivers a wispy, haunting ride effect with the sizzle of rivets and tambourine jingles. It also added a subtle accent in songs such as the opening track, 'Far Cry.'"

As with all Paragon models, the Diamondback combines various hammering and lathing styles including a hand hammered bell. Jumbo-sized HHX dimpling is applied specifically to the bow and lip after the lathing process in an effort to lower the fundamental pitch of the cymbal and give it a dark tone.

"Like the rest of our Paragon range," added Peart, "the Diamondback is a testament to the creative and uncompromising work of Mark Love and the other dedicated craftsmen at SABIAN. They share my vision that a cymbal company's ultimate product, after all, is music." The Diamondback Chinese is handcrafted from premium SABIAN B20 'cast' bronze and features the 'rich gold' logo markings exclusive to the Paragon series. To create a rich high-low response when the jingles and cymbal vibrate together, the jingles are of brighter sounding B8 bronze. This combination of B20 and B8 increases the complexity of sound produced. All Paragon cymbals are quality protected by the SABIAN one-year warranty. For more information, visit their web site at http://www.sabian.com/.

Labels: cymbals, press release, Rush SnakesArrows, Sabian