Neil Peart -- The Latest News

Neil has posted another Quality Reading review on his website. In this issue, he reviews:

• Brighton Rock -- Graham Green
• The Winter of our Discontent -- John Steinbeck
• Frank Lloyd Wright -- Ada Louise Huxtable
• Pike's Folly -- Mike Heppner

Excerpt:

First of all, in the previous issue of "Bubba's Book Club," I definitely set the bar too high with that Hemingway review. In the first few installments, I only set out to offer brief recommendations of particular books I had read recently and enjoyed. However, I should know by now that everything I start out doing for fun eventually turns out getting all serious. Though I am by no means an overachiever, I do tend to get overly ambitious.

That same "trap" has led me into ever-growing ambitions in drumming, bicycling, motorcycling, reading, writing, and even posting updates on my Web site. Lately I keep wanting every one of those little "open letters" to be better than the one before, and instead of dashing off a casual report, I end up laboring over those stories as much as I would "serious writing."

Labels: neilpeart.net, written by NEP

What's it like to travel with Neil Peart on a tour? What was Neil like back in his early pre-Rush London days? Peter Brocklehurst answers these questions in a nine-chapter story about how his life has intersected with Neil's. This is available at The National Midday sun.

I actually took the time to read all nine chapters, and it was well worth it. Brocklehurst's (and his guest writer's) observations of NP are quite interesting; they gave me a better sense of Neil Peart the man -- not just the abstraction of Neil Peart the drummer on stage or on a CD. This is only the third time I've felt this way after reading an article or book about Neil or Rush. The first was Bill "B-man" Banasiewicz's biography of Rush, "Visions"; the second was Bob Mack's article in Spin Magazine about the influence of Rush on popular music.

Thanks to rushisaband.com for bringing this story to my attention.

Excerpt:

"A lot has been said about Neil's attitude to fans and his unwillingness to meet them. Basically he is a very, very shy guy who feels uncomfortable with adulation. If anyone reading this was to meet him socially, you would be most pleasantly surprised. He is warm, funny and very genuine. He can be amazingly silly, in a lovely humane way. He just doesn't understand why people would want to meet him. He doesn't seem to comprehend that concept any more than we can of being in the falsely elevated world of rock star royalty that he has to live in. But believe me, this is a wonderful human being and I am very lucky to have him as a friend. He has never judged me, and always accepted my criminal activities. I think the main reason we have remained mates for so long is that to me he is still that slightly naive Canadian I met in London all those years ago, and not a super star rock drummer. Perhaps the fact that I am not a big fan of Rush also has helped. We both know that isn't the reason I keep in touch. Also I know my slightly unusual life style has kept NEP often amazed and frequently amused."

Michael over at neilpeartdrumsticks.com sent me info about two new sets of NP drumsticks that will be available October - December 2006.

For more details go to http://www.neilpeartdrumsticks.com/r30kitsticks.html.

If you haven't visited neilpeartdrumsticks.com before, you're in for a real treat. The Pro-Mark 747 model is the only piece of drum equipment that hasn't changed for Neil since the beginning of his career. But the design on the sticks has changed almost every tour. Michael has documented these changes on his website with interesting quotes throughout. Check it out.

A limited number of Neil Peart 30th Anniversary drum kits are now available to buy exclusively from Guitar Center. If you are interested in buying one, contact John Chenette, assistant manager at Guitar Center in Nashua, NH. (Thanks to John for supplying this information.)

Kit details:

• Cost: $30,000 US
• Only 30 kits are being made
• Drums: 7x8, 7x10, 8x12, 9x13, 12x15, 13x15, 16x16, 16x18, 16x22
• Three snare drums: 6x14 Edge, 5x14 solid, 3.5x13 Piccolo
• 24k gold-plated stands and pedals
• Complete set of Paragon cymbals
• The kits will be numbered 1-30
• Letter of authenticity

Other details:

• This drum kit will only be available through Guitar Center.
• Change to payment info - 8/18/06: You don't need to wait until October 30 to buy your NP drum kit. As long as you're one of the first 30 people to buy one of these, $30,000 buys you the kit.

I posted Neil's first Modern Drummer interview from 1980. This is definitely worth reading.

http://www.andrewolson.com/Neil_Peart/neilpeart_firstinterview.htm

Excerpt:

Interviewer: When you were coming up, did you set your sights on any particular goals?

NP: My goals were really very modest at the time. I would get in a band and the big dream was to play in a high school. Ultimately, every city has the place that's the "in" spot where all the hip local bands play. I used to dream about playing those places. I never thought bigger than that. For every set of goals achieved, new ones come along to replace them. After I would achieve one goal it would mean nothing. There's a hall in Toronto called Massey Hall which is a 4,000 seat hall. I used to think to play there would be the ultimate. But then you get there and worry about other things. When we finally got to play there we were about to make an album, and thought about that.