Top 10 Rush Songs Top 10 Rush Songs REDDIT Hulton Archive, Getty Images It took some time, but Rush are finally recognized as rock royalty. After years of being a punching bag for music fans not into complicated time signatures, instrumental grandstanding and twisty sci-fi concepts, Rush saw their reputation swell over the past few years, with famous-people testimonials, movie cameos, induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and a documentary that made them look like the coolest guys in the world fueling the charge. But their longtime fans already know how awesome they are. And we expect to hear from plenty of them after they read our list of the Top 10 Rush Songs. 10 From: ‘Hold Your Fire’ (1987) The most recent track on our list of the Top 10 Rush Songs comes from their 12th album, one of the band’s late-’80s/early-’90s attempts to stretch their music into new territories. The relatively melodic ‘Time Stand Still’ features backing vocals by Aimee Mann — the first time the eternally insular Rush ever worked with another singer.

The opening track to the band’s follow-up to the career-defining ‘Moving Pictures,’ like most of the songs on ‘Signals,’ scales back the epic scope of Rush’s earlier work. Still, the album was a hit with fans, who took it to the Top 10. ‘Subdivisions,’ the first single, has become a concert favorite since its release 30-plus years ago. Rush’s follow-up to the surprisingly pop-oriented ‘Spirit of Radio’ (see No. 2 on our list of the Top 10 Rush Songs) is more in step with the band’s, um, technically impressive material, with limbs and notes flying all over the place. Guitarist Alex Lifeson even fires off one of his all-time greatest solos midway through. From: ‘A Farewell to Kings’ (1977) One of the group’s first songs to crack the Top 100, ‘Closer to the Heart’ remains a regular part of Rush’s live shows and a fan favorite. It sort of sticks out on the album it comes from, ‘A Farewell to Kings,’ because it clocks in at less than three minutes and doesn’t push the thematic concept that barely holds the other songs together.

The classical guitar, though, fits right in with the rest. We can’t be the only ones who’ve played some furious air drums to this popular ‘Moving Pictures’ album track, right? ‘Red Barchetta’ features one of Rush’s all-time tightest group performances, a sleek six-minute ride that takes all the twists, turns and curves as effortlessly as the car Geddy Lee sings about. ‘2112 Overture / The Temples of Syrinx’ Generally regarded by the band’s fiercely loyal fan base as Rush’s masterpiece, the group’s fourth album is really kind of a snooze once you get past the epic title track, which is divided into a 20-minute, seven-movement suite. But that awesome sidelong piece is all the album really needs. The first two parts set it up majestically. Fans of bloated and eye-rollingly ridiculous prog-rock like to claim ‘2112’ as Rush’s best album (see No. 5 on our list of the 10 Best Rush Songs), but they’re wrong. The band’s true masterpiece is 1981’s ‘Moving Pictures,’ an exercise in restraint, song craft and totally awesome drumming by Neil Peart .

It’s also the Rush album containing the least amount of filler. ‘Limelight’ is one of its many highlights. From: ‘Fly by Night’ (1975) The title track to the band’s second album was the song that got teenage boys across the continent to pay attention to the Canadian trio. It’s also the song that pretty much got things rolling for Rush. It features Peart’s first appearance with the group, and it introduces the trio’s stylistic signposts: the rolling drums, the airtight band interplay and Lee’s impossibly high vocals. All that’s really missing are lyrics about soul-crushing dystopias and the winged freedom fighters coming to the rescue. ‘The Spirit of Radio’ almost became Rush’s first Top 40 hit in 1980 before stopping short of the Top 50. It would have been appropriate — not only because of the song’s theme but also because it features one of the group’s most pop-leaning hooks. Still, the fans love it too because it still sounds like Rush — from the catapulting instrumental passages to Lee’s searing vocal, one of his best.

When ‘Moving Pictures’ was released in early 1981, it quickly became Rush’s most popular album, making it all the way to No. 3 — their highest-charting record at the time. And ‘Tom Sawyer’ climbed to No. 44, their best showing on the singles chart up to that point. It’s one of their most accessible LPs, stuffed with songs that keep out most of the pretentious stuff that people hate about bands like Rush. ‘Tom Sawyer’ is the opening track from ‘Moving Pictures’ and its anchor. You Think You Know Rush? See All Album Reviews Latest Articles Top 100 Classic Rock Songs Welcome back to Ultimate Classic Rock It appears that you already have an account created within our VIP network of sites on . To keep your personal information safe, we need to verify that it's really you. To activate your account, please confirm your password. When you have confirmed your password, you will be able to log in through Facebook on both sites. Enter your password YES, Activate My Account Now! Welcome back to Ultimate Classic Rock It appears that you already have an account on this site associated with . To connect your existing account just click on the account activation button below. You will maintain your existing VIP profile.

After you do this, you will be able to always log in to using your original account information. Alex Lifeson - Biography - IMDb Alex Lifeson Biography Showing all 26 items Jump to: Overview (4) | Mini Bio (1) | Spouse (1) | Trade Mark (3) | Trivia (13) | Personal Quotes (4) Overview (4) 6' (1.83 m) Mini Bio (1) Alex Lifeson is best known as the broadly-skilled guitarist for the rock group Rush , which also features drummer Neil Peart and bassist Geddy Lee . Rush is the most successful Canadian music group in history, and is the third most prolific seller of consecutive (American) Gold and Platinum Records and videos, behind only the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. Lifeson's ability to pull double-duty as both a melodic rhythm-guitar player and a searing soloist has earned him a reputation similar to that of his bandmates. All three share the distinction of being among the most highly influential virtuosos in their crafts. Alex has a passion for studio production, and is the only member of Rush to compose and produce a television theme ( Andromeda (2000)).

But his live performances are where his spontaneous side really shows. During live performances, Alex deftly switches from rhythm guitar to soloing, while simultaneously triggering his own pre-recorded accompaniments. Being the soul of spontaneity in the band, Alex is the member of Rush who most frequently contributes comedy to the show. This side of Alex can be seen during the performances of "La Villa Strangiato" on two of Rush's concert videos, Rush in Rio (2003) and Rush: A Show of Hands (1989), and to an even greater degree on the documentary "The Boys In Brazil" (2003), part of the bonus material included with Rush in Rio (2003). Alex's prowess can be heard on a few non-Rush recordings, primarily his solo album, entitled simply "Victor" (1996), and the soundtrack album for South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (1999). After their longest break from recording and touring, a highly successful 2002 tour brought Rush back to the United States, Canada, and Mexico, to the great anticipation of fans.

Rush ended their 2002 tour with their first-ever shows in Brazil, where they played to 125,000 fans in three nights. The final performance of the 2002 tour was captured on DVD as Rush in Rio (2003), which was certified double-platinum within weeks of its release. Alex has fostered several younger groups, such as The Dexters, who he often guests with during their live performances at The Orbit Room, a Toronto club that Alex owns in part. - IMDb Mini Biography By: Manfrenjensenton Spouse (1) Subtle humorous antics while on stage Gibson Guitars Trivia (13) Member of the rock music group Rush (with Geddy Lee and Neil Peart ). Plays lead guitar, with Lee on Bass/Vocals/Synth and Peart on Drums/Percussion/SongWriting. Children: Justin and Adrian. He uses "Lifeson" as a stage name. It's a semi-literal translation of his surname "Zivojinovich" which is a Serbian name meaning roughly "son of life." He has not, however, changed his name legally.

On February 26, 1997, he and his bandmates Geddy Lee and Neil Peart became the first rock musicians to be inducted into the prestigious position of Officers of the Order of Canada. This is the highest honor bestowed upon a civilian by the Canadian government. According to the Ottawa Sun, "The award was given as much for their community service as for their contribution to the arts. They have raised over $1 million for food banks and the United Way." His birthday (August 27) is also the anniversary of the death of Stevie Ray Vaughan . Alex, along with fellow members of Rush Geddy Lee and Neil Peart , was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in April 2013. His acceptance speech consisted of a made-up language with only one word, "Blah", that told the story of their wait to become inductees. Performed with Rush for 450,000 people as part of the Toronto SARStock relief benefit, alongside major bands including AC/DC and The Rolling Stones. Rush was one of the few native Toronto bands to perform at this historic event to herald Toronto's graceful endurance of the SARS scare.

[July 2003] Hot on the heels of their triumphant 2002 tour, 2003 DVD, and benefit performance for 450,000 at the 2003 SARS benefit, Rush has announced plans to commemorate the 30th anniversary of their current lineup with a celebratory tour. Planned shows include their first visits to Europe since 1992. [December 2003] "Contents Under Pressure: 30 Years of Rush at Home and Away" is released. It is an authorized biography of the band, written by Martin Popoff. [June 2004] Alex, Geddy and Neil are back in the recording studio working on Rush's new album to be released early 2007. [November 2006] Los Angeles, CA, USA: Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the band Rush. [April 2013] With Rush, released "Feedback", an EP containing 8 cover songs. This marks the first Rush release wherein the band performs songs other than their own.

After "Feedback", Rush embarked on a highly successful Thirtieth Anniversary Tour ("R30" for short). On this tour, the band performed some of the cover songs live -- also a first for them. [June 2004] Played bass on fellow Canadian band Platinum Blonde's follow up album Alien Shores. Personal Quotes (4) [in response to the question posed by a fan in a guitar magazine, asking if he felt, as a Canadian, he should apologize for Bryan Adams] Bryan Adams might not be what I want to put on, but he's a pop singer with a great voice and great guitar tone. Plus, he's done more for Canada than Rush have, because he works all the time. I envy him for that. I really consider myself more of a rhythm guitarist than a soloist. I'm not that fluid when it comes to scales and modes. I just pick up the guitar and play. It's all about exploration: just tune the guitar any way you want and start playing. For the first few weeks of rehearsal, we tend to sound like a really, really bad Rush tribute band.

See also Rush.com | Official News and Information about the Legendary Rock Band Rush “Listening to 2112 today, one is struck by both its brilliance and its brevity.” – Classic Rock The 40th Anniversary edition of 2112 is now available – own yours along with other 2112 items all available at RushBackstage.com Wednesday, November 30th, 2016 Rush Announce Donation to Gord Downie Brain Cancer Research foundation Earlier this month, Canadian Music Week announced that the members of RUSH would be the 2017 recipients of the Allan Slaight Humanitarian Spirit Award at Canadian Music Week in April. Part of this prestigious Humanitarian award includes $40,000 to be made to the recipient’s charity of choice. The members of Rush – Geddy Lee, Alex … Tuesday, November 15th, 2016 November 17 Encore Screenings Due to overwhelming demand by our fans, there will be encore screenings of TIME STAND STILL documentary on Thursday, November 17, across the US. Check for a local theatre near you!

The theatrical screenings will feature two very special extras that will not be included on the home video released on the 18th: an animated … » Neil Peart Biography, Drum Videos and Pictures | Famous Drummers Neil Peart Pictures Who Is Neil Peart? Drummer and main lyricist for progressive rock band Rush, “The Professor” has unquestionably set high standards in the world of drumming with his well thought out and challenging drum parts, as well as with his magnificent sculptured drum solos. He’s one of the biggest drum heroes in the world of rock music, and one of the main reasons many of you have picked up a pair of drumsticks. Born Neil Ellwood Peart on the 12th of September of 1952, Neil Peart would be the first of four kids his parents wound up raising. For the first couple of years of his life, he logged with his parents on their own farm in Hagersville, on the outskirts of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Eventually, they moved to St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada the largest city in the Niagara Region. Glen Peart, Neil’s father, became parts manager at Dalziel Equipment, an international harvester dealer.

A year after moving to St. Catharines, his first brother Danny was born. The following year, the Pearts welcomed Judy to this world. In 1956, the Pearts moved to a house on Dalhousie Avenue, St. Catharines. Neil’s grandma lived nearby, so she would look after him and his siblings from time to time, especially when his mother started working at Lincoln Hosiery. Neil recalls his grandmother playing hymns on the family’s pedal organ for him and his brothers. Neil Peart went to kindergarten at MacArthur School, and from grades 1 to 5 he attended Gracefield School. It was not until he was around 12 years old that Neil Peart first started feeling the need to play drums. It all began after watching The Gene Krupa Story. The dramatization of Gene’s life was so powerful, as well as his inspiring drum solos, that it made Neil perceive the life of a drummer as being a very exciting one. Neil Peart’s love for music would start to blossom around this time also, when his parents gave him a transistor radio. This episode also served as a catalyst for his willingness to start learning to play drums.

“…I used to lay in bed at night with it turned down low and pressed to my ear, tuned to pop stations in Toronto, Hamilton, Welland, or Buffalo. I still remember the first song that galvanized me: “Chains”, a simple pop tune by one of those girl groups, with close harmonies syncopated over a driving shuffle.” – Neil Peart in Peart, Neil “A Port Boy’s Story.” St. Catharines Standard 24/25 June 1994. The rhythm of the tune really awoke something inside of Neil Peart. Another great influence on him was his uncle Richard, who was only one year older than him. He drummed in a band called The Outcasts, playing Sam and Dave, Wilson Pickett, Otis Redding, and James Brown songs. Listening to them play was a really powerful thing to Neil Peart. At the time, R&B was considered more of an underground style of music, so Neil wasn’t used to listening to it. It didn’t take a while for him to start tapping on stuff all the time – on tables, his knees, and with a pair of chopsticks on his baby sister Nancy’s playpen.

His parents saw something in this new interest of his, and so they offered him drum lessons, drumsticks and a practice pad for his thirteenth birthday. Some years before, Neil had had some piano lessons, but showed no interest in the instrument. With the drums, things were different, he had a genuine interest in them. Neil’s parents promised him that if he kept his interest up, and was still having lessons one year from then, they would offer him a drum set for his fourteenth birthday. Neil Peart’s desire to have a set of drums was so strong, that he would set drum magazines across his bed to create a fantasy drum set. He would then proceed on beating the covers off of them as if they were a real drum set. From that moment on, every Saturday morning, Neil Peart would go to the Peninsula Conservatory of Music to have lessons with Don George. The lessons were on a set of drum pads and muffled cymbals. Don ended up being a very important influence to Neil. He really built a solid foundation for him, teaching him basic technique, rudiments and sight reading, as well as some fancier stuff like the crossovers Neil is so fond of using in his solo work.

With that being said, Neil feels that Don’s most important influence on him was his encouragement. Telling Neal that he would definitely become a drummer was one of the most important things anybody ever said to him. One year after he began taking drum lessons, Neil Peart was still a faithful student of the drums and therefore received his first drum kit as promised. After lecturing Neil on a weekly basis for about 18 months, Don George quit teaching at the Peninsula Conservatory of Music. Neil continued having lessons with Don’s successors for a while. He eventually quit the lessons, since none of the new teachers was as inspiring as Don. Since Neil Peart was already used to practicing on a daily basis at home after school, he just continued studying on his own, learning from all the drummers he heard on the radio or in local bands. He was totally obsessed with drumming, needing no one to encourage him to practice or play. At the time, the Pearts lived on Gertrude Street, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The neighbors next door – The Kyles – were surprisingly tolerant of Neil’s after school afternoons of drumming, which further helped him spend the needed time to hone his skills.

One of Neil Peart’s early major influences was non other than the great Hal Blaine, drummer on a lot of the hits of the 1960s. Without knowing about it, Neil played along with the top hits Hal was featured on. Neil feels the time he spent playing along to the radio with Simon and Garfunkel, The Beach Boys, Johnny Rivers, The Byrds, Roy Orbison, The Association, Gary Lewis and the Playboys, The Mamas and the Papas, Frank Sinatra, Nancy Sinatra, and The Carpenters as being a great learning experience. Neil Peart supported his drumming by working the odd job here and there – newspaper delivery, cutting lawns, and by working at his father’s farm equipment dealership. This way, he could buy drumsticks and a new LP every now and then. At the time, he was listening to a lot of The Jimmy Hendrix Experience, The Who, Cream, Blue Cheer, Moby Grape, Traffic, Jefferson Airplane, The Grateful Dead, Yes, Genesis, King Crimson and Led Zeppelin, among others. It was at this time that Neil Peart started being influenced by progressive rock drummers.

Keith Moon is and was his greatest influence on the drum set. To Peart, Keith represented a rock version of everything he had enjoyed about Gene Krupa when he first saw him in his movie. John Bonham from Led Zeppelin, Michael Giles from King Crimson, Bill Bruford and Alan White from Yes, Phil Collins from Genesis, Billy Cobham and Steve Gadd , were also huge influences. Neil Peart debuted playing live at St. John’s Anglican Church Hall in Port Dalhousie, during a school Christmas pageant. In 1967, and with only 15 years old, Neil made his second public appearance by playing drums for a trio called The Eternal Triangle. They played three songs, with one of them being an original called “LSD Forever” which featured a drum solo at the end. Their performance was at the Lakeport High School variety show, and the drum solo was a complete success. It was through this show that Neil Peart got into his first actual rock band – Mumblin’ Sumpthin’. In the following years, Neil Peart would also play for the bands The Majority, J.R.Flood, and Seventh Wave.

In 1970, an 18 years old Neil Peart packed his things and moved to London, England in search of fame and fortune. Neil got to play in some bands, picking up occasional session work. However, in a few months he saw himself with no money and with his drumming career going absolutely nowhere. He was able to secure a job selling trinkets to tourists at a souvenir shop in Carnaby Street, London called The Great Frog, and in another shop at Piccadilly Circus, London. It was during this time that Neil got acquainted with the writings of novelist Ayn Rand. Her study of individualism and objectivism really spoke to Neil, and inspired some of the lyrics he would write with Rush – “Anthem” from Fly by Night (1975) and “2112” from 2112 (1976), for instance. His drumming was also influenced by his stay in London. In one of the places he worked at, Neil and his coworkers took turns in choosing the music to play in the shop.

One of his colleagues always liked to hear an instrumental record called Movements by an arranger/conductor named Johnny Harris, with British session musician Harold Fisher on drums. The drum parts in that album were intricately designed and elegant, something that really attracted Neil Peart. Seeing his musical career was going nowhere in England, eighteen months after he started his European adventure, Neil Peart called it quits and returned to Canada. Upon returning to St. Catharines, Neil started working as parts manager for his father’s company, Dalziel Equipment. “I went to England with musical motivations and goals. But when you go out into the big world, as any adult knows, you’re in for a lot of disillusionment. So while I was there I did a lot of other things to get bread into my mouth…When I came back from there, I was disillusioned basically about the music business. I decided I would be a semi-pro musician for my own entertainment, would play music that I liked to play, and wouldn’t count on it to make my living. I did other jobs and worked at other things, so I wouldn’t have to compromise what I have to do as a drummer.” – Neil Peart in Fish, Scott K.

“Neil Peart.” Modern Drummer Magazine April 1984. After returning to Canada, Neil began drumming for a band named Hush, who played on the South Ontario bar scene. Shortly after, he got a phone call where he was invited to audition for Rush , since their drummer had just quit. “Neil actually had to think it over. He was working full time at his Dad’s business, and had recently returned disappointed after trying to “make it” as a drummer in England. At the time, Hush members saw Rush as merely a Led Zepplin clone band – ‘You’re making a big mistake, Neil,’ one of us sagely opined at a band meeting.” – Brian Collins in Peart, Neil “A Port Boy’s Story.” St. Catharines Standard 24/25 June 1994. Eventually, Neil Peart decided to show up for the audition, which would be overseen by Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson from Rush. He showed up driving a beat up car and carrying his drums in trash cans. To this day, Neil thinks the audition was a complete disaster. “It was funny because Geddy and I hit it off right away.

Conversationally we had a lot in common in terms of books and music…so many bands that we both liked. Alex, for some reason, was in a bad mood that day. So we didn’t have much to say to each other. Playing together, we did what eventually became ‘Anthem’. We jammed around with some of these rhythmic ideas. I thought, ‘Oh this is awful’.” – Neil Peart in Banasiewicz, Bill “Rush Visions:The Official Biography.” 1988. Geddy convinced Alex in letting Neil join the band. Neil Peart officially joined Rush on July 29 of 1974, two weeks before the group’s first United States tour. His first gig with Rush was as an opening act for Uriah Heep and Manfred Mann in front of over 11,000 people at the Civic Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on August 14, 1974. And the rest as they say, is history. Career Highlights & Musical Projects Neil Peart has been the drummer for Rush since 1974. His drumming is featured on nineteen of their twenty studio albums, on eight live albums and ten compilation albums.

The band has sold more than forty million copies of their albums worldwide, having obtained twenty-four gold certifications and fourteen platinum certifications, three of which have gone multi-platinum – 2112 (1976), Moving Pictures (1981), Chronicles (1990). If you want to know more about Rush’s music, you can check their full discography on their website . Rush has been nominated for various awards, including six Grammy nominations for Best Rock Instrumental Performance. They have also received prestigious awards and honors due to the contributions they have made to the world of music. The awards and honors include: Juno Awards 1975: Most Promising Group of the Year; 1978, 1979: Group of the Year; 1990: Artist of the Decade (1980’s); 1991, 1992: Best Hard Rock/Metal album – Presto and Roll the Bones respectively; 2004: Music DVD of the Year – Rush in Rio.

Miscellaneous Awards 1990: Mayor’s Award at the Toronto Music Awards; 1992: Harold Moon Award by the Society of Composers, Authors, and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN); 1997: Concrete/Foundations Outstanding Contribution to Music Award. Honors 1993: Inducted into the Harvard Lampoon and named “Musicians Of The Millennium”, Recipient of the Toronto Arts Award; 1994: Inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame; 1996: Rush are made Officers of the Order of Canada; 1999: Inducted into Canada’s Walk Of Fame in Toronto; 2000: Best Canadian Musicians of All Time from JAM! Music’s online poll; 2003: Inducted into the Canadian Music Week (CMW) Canadian Music Industry Hall of Fame; 2009: The song “Tom Sawyer” ranked number 19 on VH1’s 100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs; 2010: Inducted into the Canadian Songwriter’s Hall of Fame, Received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Aside from his work with Rush on various albums and DVDs, Neil has developed some projects of his own. The first one came in 1995 when he was invited by Paul Siegel and Rob Wallis, founders of the Drummer’s Collective in New York City and of Hudson Music, to create an instructional video. The idea behind it was to document the way Neil Peart approaches drum part composition. The video was tentatively named A Work In Progress (1996). In 2005, Neil Peart developed his second instructional product – Anatomy of a Drum Solo. The whole video walks you through Der Trommler (the drummer), a solo developed for the 2004 R30 Tour. Neil deconstructs the whole solo, and shows how and why he played each section of the solo like he did. The following year saw the release of another DVD, a five-hour documentary called The Making of Burning for Buddy. The product documents the recording sessions that took place in the 1990s for each of the two Burning for Buddy: A Tribute to the Music of Buddy Rich albums, which were produced by Peart himself. Neil Peart has developed several products with the companies he endorses.

In 2004, and in tandem with Sabin Cymbals, Neil developed the collection of cymbals known as Paragon, for the Sabian Vault series. In 2011, the Paragon family got even bigger with the release of the Paragon cymbals in brilliant finish. Drum Warehouse (DW) is famous for not having signature drum sets or snares for any of their artists. In 2011, they opened an exception by introducing the limited edition Neil Peart Evolution – DW Snare Drum Collection. This collection features the four snare drums that have been part of Neil’s historic DW drum sets used while touring with Rush. Pro-Mark has been producing Neil Peart’s signature drumstick since 1991. Throughout the years, Neil Peart has won a series of awards from various high profile drum magazines such as DRUM! and Modern Drummer. His awards include: DRUM!

Magazine 2007: Best DVD (Anatomy Of A Drum Solo), Best Drumming Album (Rush – Snakes & Arrows) 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010: Drummer of the Year; 2007, 2009: Best Progressive Rock Drummer; 2008, 2010: Best Progressive Rock Drummer (Runner-Up); 2007, 2008: Best Live Drumming Performer; 2010: Best Live Drumming Performer (Runner-Up), Best Mainstream Pop Drummer (Runner-Up).

Modern Drummer Magazine 1980: Most Promising New Drummer; 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 2006, 2008: Best Rock Drummer; 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986: Best Multi-Percussionist; 1982: Best Percussion Instrumentalist; 1986: Honor Roll – Rock Drummer & Multi-Percussionist, Best All Around Drummer; 2006: Best Instructional Video for Anatomy of a Drum Solo; 2007: Best Drum Recording of the 1980s for “YYZ” from Rush’s Exit…Stage Left; Best Recorded Performance: Permanent Waves (1980), Moving Pictures (1981), Exit…Stage Left (1982), Signals (1983), Grace Under Pressure (1985), Power Windows (1986), Hold Your Fire (1988), A Show

 of Hands (1989), Presto (1990), Roll the Bones (1992), Counterparts (1993), Test for Echo (1997), Different Stages (1999), Vapor Trails (2002), R30 (2004), Snakes & Arrows (2007).

Neil Peart is not your normal rock superstar. Besides writing lyrics and playing drums for Rush, Neil has been developing his skills as a writer throughout the years. His first book was published in 1996 – The Masked Rider: Cycling in West Africa. The book details Peart’s month-long bicycling tour through Cameroon’s towns and villages, accompanied by four of his friends in November of 1988. In 2002, Neil launched his second book penned Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road. This book is a first-person narrative of Peart’s 55,000 mile journey by motorcycle across much of North America, down through Mexico to Belize, and back again, in an effort to put his life back together after a series of tragic events. In 2004, Neil Peart released his third book – Traveling Music: The Soundtrack Of My Life And Times. In another first-person narrative, Neil describes his reflections and emotional associations and stories behind each album he plays in his car, through his road trip from Los Angeles, California to Big Bend National Park, Brewster County, Texas.

His next book – Roadshow: Landscape With Drums, A Concert Tour By Motorcycle (2006) details the 30h anniversary tour of Rush on both the stage, and on the road while driving his motorcycles in between shows. Neil Peart’s next book – Far and Away: A Prize Every Time” is due to be published in May of 2011. When The Sports Network (TSN) acquired the rights to the Hockey Night in Canada, they decided to revamp the theme song for that very special television program. Neil Peart was invited to arrange the drum part for the new version of the theme song in 2009. He was able to inject some of his own traits and personal touch into the drum parts while remaining true to the original theme. You can watch behind the scenes footage of Neil working on this new version in the DVD Neil Peart: Fire on Ice, The Making of “The Hockey Theme” (2009). In 2010, “DrumChanel.com” released a master class conducted by Neil Peart entitled Frontiers of Composition and Articulation . What Can We Learn From Neil Peart?

For more than 40 years now, Neil Peart has been honing his skills behind a drum set. He’s pretty well known as a prolific player when it comes to drum soloing and drum part writing. However, he’s also an experienced professional musician that has been able to keep the original line up of Rush since first entering the band. So there’s obviously a lot to learn from the man, even when it comes to subjects not directly related to drumming. When you think about it, keeping the same members in a band may be a very hard task at times. We’re talking about maintaining a working relationship with people that have very different takes on life, have different personalities, experiences and ambitions. Believe it or not, for Rush to be able to endure more than 30 years with the same three members, and being very popular and successful at the same time, requires the same as any other relationship that stays as healthy and long as this one. First and foremost, you and your band members have to be respectful of each other. Respect is the definite basis under which relationships will keep on growing. “We always are careful with each other’s ideas to be respectful, you know. You can’t go, “That sucks!”.

You can’t maintain a 33-year relationship, or any kind of relationship in life, by being coldly critical. You have to be enthusiastic and supportive too, as we always are with each other.” – Neil Peart in “A Conversation With Neil Peart.” Drumhead Magazine September/October 2007. Another thing you have to think about is how to handle each one’s visions for a song or future directions for the band. This can be a great source of altercations, since everyone has his own vision for how things should be done. It’s only natural that you don’t like certain ideas your band mates are pretty stoked about. Some bands run on democracy to sort this kind of issues out, however, Neil Peart finds that the best way to go for is consensus, so that in the end everybody’s happy. “I described it to people: you can’t run a band, even of three, on a democracy, because you’re going to have one unhappy person. And that’s not good, so we find a way that gives all of us a sense of consensus, that we’ve all been involved in it, and we’ve made the best possible deal.

If I want a certain song to open and the other guys want another song to open, then we settle on one we can all agree on and go with it, and stop the fight.” – Neil Peart in “A Conversation With Neil Peart.” Drumhead Magazine September/October 2007. Likewise, you need to really enjoy the music you’re creating with the band you are playing with, and make sure all members are committed to it. Like any relationship, if you’re the only one working for it, it won’t take long until the boat you’re all sailing in sinks. Another very important factor, which can sometimes be overlooked is that you have to like the musicians you’re working with. “There’s no easy answer for that, and yet it is basically a simple relation: We like each other, and we like working together.” – Neil Peart on how Rush has managed to stay together in Wanderman, David “Neil Peart Interview.” Ugo.com 2005. Playing drums solos is a great way of improving the way you move around the drum set, as well as improving your overall creativity and improvisational skills. With that being said, soloing however is not for everyone.

This means that not everybody likes soloing, and that is OK. There is not a written rule that says you’ve to solo. But if you like soloing, you have to check Neil Peart’s work in that field of drumming. Neil Peart is one of great masters of the art of drum soloing. One of his first experiences with soloing came even before he started playing drums, with the solos played on The Gene Krupa Story. So for NEil Peart soloing has been with him since day one. He uses a lot of variety when it comes to rhythmic and dynamic phrasing. He also likes creating and adding interesting new textures, with his large array of cowbells and use of electronic percussion like the MalletKAT and Roland V-Drum pads and sound modules. Neil has been developing his solo work in a very artistic way. As you listen to his solos throughout the years, you’ll notice that he tends to revisit a lot of different textural and rhythmical aspects of previous solos. The fact is that he orchestrates his solos and plans them beforehand, always making sure to leave some space to improvise.

This gives the solo a set structure, making it a lot more enjoyable to listen to. This way, he avoids playing random ideas on the drums without any meaning whatsoever, and without any connective tissue to make it progress in a meaningful way. This of course makes the solo way more enjoyable to watch and listen to. The improvisational bits he plays tend to help him come up with new ideas that he can later work on to add to his solos. So, you can think of his solos as a work in progress, a piece of art he’s molding and perfecting as time goes by. The coolest thing about this all is that Neal as a soloist is nothing more than the juxtaposition of all his favorite soloists and drummers. By working on other drummer’s solos, “stealing” ideas from them, their solos and their playing, and then adding some of his own ideas results in the amazing soloist that is Neil Peart. So, learning how to play your favorite drum solos, taking ideas from drum beats and drum fills, or of small portions of solos, and incorporating them into your own solos will help you define your own identity as a soloist.

Don’t forget to experiment and use different instruments, you never know what you can come up with. One last point we’d like to focus on is on Neil Peart’s heavy use of odd time signatures in Rush’s songs. If you ever want to learn some odd time beats and fills, Rush tunes are a great way to go, having a great wealth of cool ideas for you to get some inspiration from.

Next, we present a small list of Rush tunes for you to check out, with information about the album where you can find them and the time signatures used: “Circumstances” from Hemispheres (1976) – the song is mostly played in 2/4, 3/4, 4/4, 5/4, 3/8, 5/8, 6/8, and 7/8; “Jacob’s Ladder” from Permanent Waves (1980) – the song is played in 5/4, 6/4, 6/8, and 7/8; “YYZ” from Moving Pictures (1981) – the song is played in 5/4, 6/8, 4/4, 2/4, 5/8, and 3/4; “Losing It” from Signals (1982) – the song is mostly played in 11/8; “Subdivisions” from Signals (1982) – the song is mostly played in 7/8; “Kid Gloves” from Grace Under Pressure (1984) – the song

 is played in 5/4 and 4/4; “Superconductor” from Presto (1989) – the song is played in 7/4 and 4/4.

With odd time signatures, as you start learning them, you’ll need to count them out. This will ensure you’ll begin playing and feeling them correctly from the get go. Neil Pearl started this way, and through practice he naturally evolved to feeling odd time signatures as naturally as 4/4. The more you practice odd times the more naturally you’ll feel them when playing around with them. Geddy Lee - Biography - IMDb Geddy Lee Biography Showing all 35 items Jump to: Overview (4) | Mini Bio (1) | Spouse (1) | Trade Mark (6) | Trivia (22) | Personal Quotes (1) Overview (4) 5' 10" (1.78 m) Mini Bio (1) Geddy Lee is best known as the vocalist, bassist, and keyboard player for the rock group Rush, which also features drummer Neil Peart and guitarist Alex Lifeson . Rush is the most successful Canadian music group in history, and is the third most prolific seller of consecutive (American) Gold and Platinum Records and videos, behind only the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. Lee's spectacular bass-playing ability has earned him a reputation similar to that of his bandmates.

All three share the distinction of being among the most highly influential virtuosos in their crafts. Geddy Lee is a natural overachiever when it comes to the production and performance of his music. He is equally well known for his wizard-like bass-playing ability as he his for his magical juggling of bass, singing, playing keyboards, and triggering his own pre-recorded accompaniments during live performances, all while maintaining his trademark enthusiasm as Rush's "frontman". Geddy has, in the past carried the dubious distinction of a hard-rocking, if somewhat unnatural, high-pitched singing voice. This has matured over the course of Geddy's career into a voice that is more widely accepted outside of Rush's original core hard-rock following, and shines most especially on recent Rush albums such as 2002's "Vapor Trails", and Geddy's polished 2000 solo album, "My Favorite Headache". After their longest break from recording and touring, A highly successful 2002 tour brought Rush back to the United States, Canada, and Mexico, to the great anticipation of fans.

Rush ended their 2002 tour with their first-ever shows in Brazil, where they played to 125,000 fans in three nights. The final performance of the 2002 tour was captured on DVD as Rush in Rio (2003), which was certified double-platinum within weeks of its release. Geddy is the son of Polish parents who were survivors of the Nazi concentration camps. In addition to his composing, arranging, and performing duties for Rush, Geddy has produced albums for various other bands, including Rocket Science. - IMDb Mini Biography By: Manfrenjensenton Spouse (1) His unusually high pitched vocals Distinctive nose Long hair Fender Signature model Jazz Bass Use of kitchen appliances and other industrial items as "balance" to Alex Lifeson's stack of amps on stage in concerts. Trivia (22) Is the bassist/keyboardist/vocalist of the Canadian rock trio, Rush . Lee's real name is Gary. His nickname is attributed to his mother who pronounced "Gary" with such a heavy Yiddish accent that it came out sounding like "Geddy." The name stuck and he has been known as Geddy ever since.

On February 26, 1997, he and his bandmates Neil Peart and Alex Lifeson became the first rock musicians to be inducted into the prestigious position of Officers of the Order of Canada. This is the highest honor bestowed upon a civilian by the Canadian government. According to the Ottawa Sun, "The award was given as much for their community service as for their contribution to the arts. They have raised over $1 million for food banks and the United Way." Has a son Julian and a daughter Kyla Avril He is known to collect baseball memorabilia Attended school in the Toronto, Canada area with comedian Rick Moranis . His band, Rush, has been nominated for two Grammy awards. The band's first nomination came in 1982 for Best Rock Instrumental for "YYZ" from the album "Moving Pictures". The band was nominated again a decade later in the same category for "Where's my Thing?" from the 1991 album "Roll the Bones." "Leave That Thing Alone!" was nominated for the Best Rock Instrumental Performance Grammy in 1995 (their third nomination).

"Malignant Narcissism" was nominated for the Best Rock Instrumental Performance Grammy in 2008 (their fifth nomination). Missed their Grammy nomination for best rock instrumental in 2005 for their song from Rush in Rio "O Baterista" which lost to Brian Wilson 's song "Smile". His distinctive voice was impersonated by Matt Maiellaro on an episode of Aqua Teen Hunger Force (2000). Ranked as the 96th Greatest Canadian who ever lived by voters of The Greatest Canadian (2004). The son of Jewish refugees from Poland. Starting in the mid-1990s, would choose to use a concert venue's "house" speakers rather then amplifier stacks, which created a vast empty space behind him. He would soon use that space to put kitchen appliances, clothes dryers, etc. for humorous purposes. Along with other Rush members Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart , Geddy was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in April 2013. In the recording studio working on Rush's new album to be released in early 2007.

[November 2006] After their first leg of the tour in 2007, Rush started their 2nd leg which will last through the 22nd of July 2008 [April 2008] Performed with Rush for 450,000 people as part of the Toronto SARStock relief benefit, alongside major bands including AC/DC and The Rolling Stones . Rush was one of the few native Toronto bands to perform at this historic event to herald Toronto's graceful endurance of the SARS scare. [July 2003] Hot on the heels of their triumphant 2002 tour, 2003 DVD, and benefit performance for 450,000 at the 2003 SARS benefit, Rush has announced plans to commemorate the 30th anniversary of their current lineup with a celebratory tour. Planned shows include their first visits to Europe since 1992. [December 2003] With Rush, released "Feedback", an EP containing 8 cover songs. This marks the first Rush release wherein the band performs songs other than their own.

After "Feedback", Rush embarked on a highly successful Thirtieth Anniversary Tour ("R30" for short). On this tour, the band performed some of the cover songs live -- also a first for them. [June 2004] "Contents Under Pressure: 30 Years of Rush at Home and Away" is released. It is an authorized biography of the band, written by Martin Popoff. [June 2004] "Snake & Arrows Live" album is released. [April 2008] Inducted as a part of Rush into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. [April 2013] He and the other members of the band will reportedly be back in the recording studio in early 2006. [September 2005] Personal Quotes (1) [on re-imagining an earlier composition] Once you start playing it, it's amazing how you can put yourself back into that mindset of how you felt when you wrote the song. You can reignite a point-of- view, and a good feeling about playing it, even though initially your instincts said: 'Oh, I can't play that song anymore - that's too dated'.

But your can. You can go home again. See also

Question: What nationality are the pop group Rush?
Answer: Canadian