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This is a clip from the documentary Beyond the Lighted Stage telling the story of how Neil was invited to audition for Rush. It's an amazing story, pulling up in the white Corvette to Neil's parents farm equipment store with him behind the counter. Just magic. RIP Neil.
Neil and geddy are the reasons I play bass. Never will forget the first time I heard the band—there was a drum-obsessed kid at summer camp in like 1981 that wore out his copy of the Moving Pictures cassette playing it over and over while drumming on a practice pad. Heartbroken, I feel like I lost a good friend.
My most favorite drummer of all time. He has inspired my drumming for the last 42 years.
R.I.P. Neil Peart
R.I.P. Neil Peart
Nah, then we'll end up with some garbage, half-assed, oldies touring act - see what Yes has become, as an example.
A true short story:
When I was young about 16 years old along with my brother who was about 13 years old we would go see bands in concert at a place called "The Hollywood Sportatorium", A.K.A. "The Sporto". It was a huge barn like building like a super large aluminum yard shed that was plopped right down in the middle of no where. It was located off of a lonely two lane highway way out west on Hollywood Boulevard in Florida.
I can remember seeing SO many bands there. It was there where my brother and I saw RUSH for the very first time and they blew us away. Blew us away because every single musical intricacy that were on their albums were being played live and by these three musicians! It was AMAZING to listen to and to see live.
Since my brother and I were still too young to drive yet, my father would always drive us to the concert(s) that were held there then pick us up later that night after it was over. He was really never into that type of loud music. He had always been a Nat King Cole, Johnny Mathis, Sammy Davis Jr., kind of music lover.
One night after one of the many RUSH concerts we attended he came to pick us up. We always had a designated area where we would meet our dad because there were so many people. My brother was already at our designated meeting spot but I wasn't there just yet. My dad asked my brother, "so where's your brother?" My brother said," I don't know dad, last time I saw him he was off with his friends". My dads anger / frustration began to grow slowly but surely. He just wanted to go home which I didn't blame him because it was already late, very dark and every single time you left that venue it would take forever just to get out of the parking lot. And since the highway was only two lanes it meant that you would be sitting in your car for a long while.
Finally about 35 minutes AFTER the show was over I showed up. I could see on my father's face that he wasn't too happy. My dad was SUPER pissed by now and said, "GET IN THE CAR!", my brother and I thought: "well THIS will be the very last time we will ever see RUSH or ANY BAND live in concert ever again". As we walked to the cart he asked me, "where have you been!?, I simply said, "I was with my friends dad". I was petrified cause I was a bit high on some weed.
Well needless to say not a single word was spoken on the 45 minute car ride home, not to mention about an hour just sitting in the car to get out of the parking lot!
The ONLY movement in the car came when my dad rolled down his window, and lit a cigarette and began to smoke. After about an hour of silence and a couple of puffs or so of his cigarette he finally speaks and said to us:
"YOU BOYS DO KNOW VERY WELL THAT I REALLY DON'T LIKE THAT KIND OF LOUD ROCK AND ROLL MUSIC RIGHT?"
My brother and I looked at each other and thought, "oh Lord here it comes, "THE SPEECH", the lecture about how that loud music will affect AND ruin our hearing, about all the different types of drugs are there and about all the drinking and all the pot smoking and how we will never ever step foot into the Hollywood Sportatorium ever again OR at least for as long as he was still alive".
Then he says:
"but I DO have to admit that that band has ONE HELL OF A DRUMMER!"
Then I thought;
"YESSSS! he gets it!" AND he didn't even smell the reefer on me!"
(but truth be told, I still don't know to this very day if he did or didn't!)
True Story.
R.I.P. Neil.
When I was young about 16 years old along with my brother who was about 13 years old we would go see bands in concert at a place called "The Hollywood Sportatorium", A.K.A. "The Sporto". It was a huge barn like building like a super large aluminum yard shed that was plopped right down in the middle of no where. It was located off of a lonely two lane highway way out west on Hollywood Boulevard in Florida.
I can remember seeing SO many bands there. It was there where my brother and I saw RUSH for the very first time and they blew us away. Blew us away because every single musical intricacy that were on their albums were being played live and by these three musicians! It was AMAZING to listen to and to see live.
Since my brother and I were still too young to drive yet, my father would always drive us to the concert(s) that were held there then pick us up later that night after it was over. He was really never into that type of loud music. He had always been a Nat King Cole, Johnny Mathis, Sammy Davis Jr., kind of music lover.
One night after one of the many RUSH concerts we attended he came to pick us up. We always had a designated area where we would meet our dad because there were so many people. My brother was already at our designated meeting spot but I wasn't there just yet. My dad asked my brother, "so where's your brother?" My brother said," I don't know dad, last time I saw him he was off with his friends". My dads anger / frustration began to grow slowly but surely. He just wanted to go home which I didn't blame him because it was already late, very dark and every single time you left that venue it would take forever just to get out of the parking lot. And since the highway was only two lanes it meant that you would be sitting in your car for a long while.
Finally about 35 minutes AFTER the show was over I showed up. I could see on my father's face that he wasn't too happy. My dad was SUPER pissed by now and said, "GET IN THE CAR!", my brother and I thought: "well THIS will be the very last time we will ever see RUSH or ANY BAND live in concert ever again". As we walked to the cart he asked me, "where have you been!?, I simply said, "I was with my friends dad". I was petrified cause I was a bit high on some weed.
Well needless to say not a single word was spoken on the 45 minute car ride home, not to mention about an hour just sitting in the car to get out of the parking lot!
The ONLY movement in the car came when my dad rolled down his window, and lit a cigarette and began to smoke. After about an hour of silence and a couple of puffs or so of his cigarette he finally speaks and said to us:
"YOU BOYS DO KNOW VERY WELL THAT I REALLY DON'T LIKE THAT KIND OF LOUD ROCK AND ROLL MUSIC RIGHT?"
My brother and I looked at each other and thought, "oh Lord here it comes, "THE SPEECH", the lecture about how that loud music will affect AND ruin our hearing, about all the different types of drugs are there and about all the drinking and all the pot smoking and how we will never ever step foot into the Hollywood Sportatorium ever again OR at least for as long as he was still alive".
Then he says:
"but I DO have to admit that that band has ONE HELL OF A DRUMMER!"
Then I thought;
"YESSSS! he gets it!" AND he didn't even smell the reefer on me!"
(but truth be told, I still don't know to this very day if he did or didn't!)
True Story.
R.I.P. Neil.
Last edited:
At the end of the day Peart gave it all to us. He couldn't even enjoy his retirement. My only consolation is that he packed a hell of a lot of living in those 67 years. Probably more than 5 lifetimes worth. RIP Peart. I'm devastated today.
I think we will see Geddy and Alex making music together again, but not as Rush and not playing Rush songs.
Great photos. They harken back to a time we thought would last forever, but will never come back again.
First time I heard Rush was Tom Sawyer. I was a kid and watched wrestling on television, and Kerry Von Erich used that song for entrance music. Aside from that, I knew nothing about them. Then, fate kicked in as I received their Chronicles CD from the record club (remember those?). It took a little time for me to warm up to them, it was so different from what I was listening to at the time. The longer I listened, the more I was hooked!! I eventually acquired almost every one of their albums and was lucky enough to see them 4 times. At two of those concerts, I watched Neil almost exclusively, including the show that I was able to share with my son. He checked in with me yesterday afternoon to see if I had heard the news, and to see if I was OK. My daughter and I always share a look when that unique part of A Passage to Bangkok comes on. I am thankful for all the years they gave us, and had come to terms with the fact that Rush was done, but this news was a shocker. It's really sad to know that he had less than a year of retirement before getting the news that he would likely not get to see his daughter grow up. Though the world will never again get to see him do what he did best, we all have access to their large library of some of the best music ever made. I will spend today in my wood shop catching up on projects, and listening to Rush exclusively, likely paying a little closer attention to the lyrics he penned while surely fighting back the occasional tear. He touched more lives than he could ever know, and changed music forever!!!!! RIP Neal!!!
Obviously things could change, but I did see a somewhat recent interview with Geddy (maybe on Dan Rather's The Big Interview or in Beyond The Lighted Stage?) where he very clearly said there is NO Rush without the three of them. And based on all the other interviews I've seen with them over the years, I'd believe it.
Actually, if Geddy and Alex do make music again in the future, I do hope it's something new. It will be interesting to see what they come up with and what they morph into with the influence of other players.
A true short story:
When I was young about 17 years old along with my brother who was 14 years old we would go see bands in concert at a place called "The Hollywood Sportatorium", A.K.A. "The Sporto". It was a huge barn like building like a super large aluminum yard shed that was plopped right down in the middle of no where. It was located off of a lonely two lane highway way out west on Hollywood Boulevard in Florida.
I can remember seeing SO many bands there. It was there where my brother and I saw RUSH for the very first time and they blew us away. Blew us away because every single musical intricacy that were on their albums were being played live and by these three musicians! It was AMAZING to listen to and to see live.
Since my brother and I were still too young to drive yet, my father would always drive us to the concert(s) that were held there then pick us up later that night after it was over. He was really never into that type of loud music. He had always been a Nat King Cole, Johnny Mathis, Sammy Davis Jr., kind of music lover.
One night after one of the many RUSH concerts we attended he came to pick us up. We always had a designated area where we would meet our dad because there were so many people. My brother was already at the spot but I wasn't there just yet. My dad asked my brother, "so where's your brother?" My brother said," I don't know dad, last time I saw him he was with his friends". My dads anger / frustration began to grow slowly but surely. He just wanted to go home which I didn't blame him because it was already late, very dark and every single time you left that venue it would take forever just to get out of the parking lot. And since the highway was only two lanes it meant that you would be sitting in your car for a long while.
Finally about 35 minutes AFTER the show was over I showed up. My dad was SUPER pissed by now and my brother and I thought: "well THIS will be the very last time we will ever see RUSH live again". He asked me, "where have you been!?, I simply said, "I was with my friends dad". I was petrified. Well needless to say not a single word was spoken on the 45 minute car ride home, not to mention about an hour just sitting in the car to get out of the parking lot!
The ONLY movement in the car came when my dad rolled down his window, lit a cigarette and began to smoke. After about an hour of silence and 3 puffs or so of his cigarette he finally speaks and said to us:
"YOU BOYS DO KNOW VERY WELL THAT I REALLY DON'T LIKE THAT KIND OF LOUD ROCK AND ROLL MUSIC RIGHT?"
My brother and I looked at each other and thought, "oh Lord here it comes, the lecture, about the loud music and how it will affect our hearing, about the drugs and the drinking and all the pot smoking and how we will never ever step foot into the Hollywood Sportatorium ever again OR for as long as our dad was alive speech!"
Then he says:
"but I DO have to admit that that band has ONE HELL OF A DRUMMER!"
True Story.
R.I.P. Neil.
View attachment 3663490 View attachment 3663492 View attachment 3663493 View attachment 3663494 View attachment 3663495
Excellent post man. Neil likes it to.
A true short story:
When I was young about 17 years old along with my brother who was 14 years old we would go see bands in concert at a place called "The Hollywood Sportatorium", A.K.A. "The Sporto". It was a huge barn like building like a super large aluminum yard shed that was plopped right down in the middle of no where. It was located off of a lonely two lane highway way out west on Hollywood Boulevard in Florida.
I can remember seeing SO many bands there. It was there where my brother and I saw RUSH for the very first time and they blew us away. Blew us away because every single musical intricacy that were on their albums were being played live and by these three musicians! It was AMAZING to listen to and to see live.
Since my brother and I were still too young to drive yet, my father would always drive us to the concert(s) that were held there then pick us up later that night after it was over. He was really never into that type of loud music. He had always been a Nat King Cole, Johnny Mathis, Sammy Davis Jr., kind of music lover.
One night after one of the many RUSH concerts we attended he came to pick us up. We always had a designated area where we would meet our dad because there were so many people. My brother was already at the spot but I wasn't there just yet. My dad asked my brother, "so where's your brother?" My brother said," I don't know dad, last time I saw him he was with his friends". My dads anger / frustration began to grow slowly but surely. He just wanted to go home which I didn't blame him because it was already late, very dark and every single time you left that venue it would take forever just to get out of the parking lot. And since the highway was only two lanes it meant that you would be sitting in your car for a long while.
Finally about 35 minutes AFTER the show was over I showed up. My dad was SUPER pissed by now and my brother and I thought: "well THIS will be the very last time we will ever see RUSH live again". He asked me, "where have you been!?, I simply said, "I was with my friends dad". I was petrified. Well needless to say not a single word was spoken on the 45 minute car ride home, not to mention about an hour just sitting in the car to get out of the parking lot!
The ONLY movement in the car came when my dad rolled down his window, lit a cigarette and began to smoke. After about an hour of silence and 3 puffs or so of his cigarette he finally speaks and said to us:
"YOU BOYS DO KNOW VERY WELL THAT I REALLY DON'T LIKE THAT KIND OF LOUD ROCK AND ROLL MUSIC RIGHT?"
My brother and I looked at each other and thought, "oh Lord here it comes, the lecture, about the loud music and how it will affect our hearing, about the drugs and the drinking and all the pot smoking and how we will never ever step foot into the Hollywood Sportatorium ever again OR for as long as our dad was alive speech!"
Then he says:
"but I DO have to admit that that band has ONE HELL OF A DRUMMER!"
True Story.
R.I.P. Neil.
View attachment 3663490 View attachment 3663492 View attachment 3663493 View attachment 3663494 View attachment 3663495
Yep, I remember the Sportatorium well, as evidenced by many of these ticket stubs:
Been listening to Rush all day absolutely devastated by this news. "I don't want to be famous I want to be good" Well you achieved both. RIP Neil Peart. Enjoy that great drum solo in the sky.
Neil's music and lyrics - 2112 in particular - inspired me to become a musician.
His music and lyrics have been the main soundtrack of my life.
My heart goes out to his family, bandmates and loved ones.
RIP, Neil.
His music and lyrics have been the main soundtrack of my life.
My heart goes out to his family, bandmates and loved ones.
RIP, Neil.
Deserves at least a year break in my book.
Still reeling from the news, I came across a brief but touching tribute to “Pratt” that summed up my feelings - worth a watch.
From age 13 to now as much as ever I've been a Rush fan. Neil Peart is one of my real life heroes. I'm gutted by this loss. Condolences to his family and bandmates.
