We have a saying. Neil is your favorite drummer. If not, he’s your favorite drummer’s favorite drummer

Neil once said his mom asked him why he never smiles during the show. He replied, "it's hard".

41 years ago I was a 14 year old school band drummer and my first concert was Rush, seated on the side of Neil with a perfect view of him in action. To say my life was changed that night would be a understatement.

Neil was a true gentleman and one of the finest human beings to ever live. I am proud of him, he lived a full and long life. He fought the bravest fight I have ever seen.

The Professor Neal Peart, The best rock drummer in history..

He is THE name in the drumming world.... There is no other.

The horns near the end are triggers, the cymbals are Sabian, and yes - Neil was a machine. I’m not a drummer, but a lifelong Rush fan. He used to refer to the “xylophone” as the MIDI-Marimba, but I’m sure there’s a more technical term for it (and I’m sure someone will come along behind me with the right answer - you’ve reacted to a Rush video; the legions of Rush fans WILL find this reaction). Thanks for reacting to this - your perspective as a drummer lends credibility and is fun for us non-drummers to watch. ✌🏻

Neil Peart, drumming legend. A true renaissance man. Wrote many books, about his global travels on his motorcycle. Wrote most of the lyrics/poetry for all the Rush songs, to boot. Sold millions of albums. Always remembered for his regular reading and motorcycle riding. On an improvement journey his whole life. Then personal tragedy, recovery helped along by riding his motorcycle between multiple countries. US, Mexico, Peru, Costa Rica, Salvador, etc. Rode his motorcycle for a long time after the tragedy. Then he wrote best selling books about it. He's also a motorcyclists favorite motorcyclists. One of the best of the best...at most anything he did.

As a drummer, I am floored by what Neill did. R.I.P Neill, thank you for everything

The only musician I've ever shed a tear when he left us. RUSH is a band and for us fans a lifestyle. There will never be a better band!

Yes, that is a dryer. 😂 When Geddy switched to using the house amplifiers he felt that the stage was unbalanced with Alex still keeping his amps so Geddy had dryers with shirts that got thrown out to the crowd then popcorn makers at one point, then rotisserie chicken cookers so the crew could eat later. Great fun! 😁

Neil never stopped trying to improve at his craft. You didn’t miss out! Go back and get into Rush now! You won’t be disappointed. Along with many others, I consider him the greatest drummer ever.

Snakes and Arrows Tour. Took my youngest daughter. Corporate hospitality suite with seating overhanging the stage. Her and I still talk about it. Amazing drummer, amazing group.

Yes, he is sorely missed, but he did leave behind the gift of 40 years of musical drumming and songs with Rush. Amazing as his drumming was, he was also the lyricist for Rush, and his writing was deep, intellectual and well crafted. As such, Rush was known as the "thinking man's rock band", and he was known as "The Professor".

Danny Carey is one of the most elite and unique drummers of all time. Neil Peart is one of the few peers that Danny would be totally honoured to be compared to. GOAT, Neil Peart.

As a drummer he was the best that’s ever been

Through the 2000's to the 2015 tour, Rush played 3 hour concerts and Neil's solo was in the middle of the show. He was a machine conditioned to play long sets. The part you were talking (waltz) about was his way of showing that he can be independent with his feet and his hands at the same time. He was also in his mid 50s here. The horns you hear before the big band part was him playing with his left foot. The big band part was his tribute to Buddy Rich.

The professor at his finest. That kit is 24k gold plated!

Neil was also quite the author. You need to read his books, a fascinating and sometimes heartbreaking insight to the man behind the music.

Neil never stopped taking lessons and learning from other , when he goes to other countries in Africa , South America he paid attention to locals , H3 took lesson in mid life from Jazz greatJim Keltner , And Freddy Gruber, , He is the God Father to Taylor Hawkins son, At the last show of Rush was a list of who’s who of Drummers , And also his funeral , Chad Smith , TaylorHawkins , Dona Perry Jethro Tulls drummer, Danny Cary , Stewart Copeland and others ,

Long Live Neil and Rush !! As the old saying goes... chances are that your favorite drummers' favorite drummer is Neil Peart

The Drum Master- Circa 1991 Drumming has the power to unite people, no matter how varied their language or cultural background might be. On a recent trek through Africa, Neil Peart had a singular experience that proved just that. "I was in Gambia, walking through a small village, and I heard the sound of a drum. So of course I was curious! I looked into a compound and I could hear the drumming coming from a curtained room. I walked up to a woman doing laundry in front of the room. She could see my interest in the sound, so she waved me to go in. Inside I found a young, white missionary from a nearby Catholic school. Sitting across from him was the commanding presence of the local drum master. He was attempting to show the missionary how to play any kind of beat. The missionary was trying as hard as he could, but he wasn't having a lot of success." After a time the drum master, frustrated by the missionary's lack of ability, noticed the other man who had come into the room. The master had no idea who this person was, but he thought to himself, "Why not see if he can play?" According to Peart, what happened next was fascinating. "The drum master gestured to me to try and play a rhythm. So we began playing together, and he started smiling because he could tell I had a rhythm - maybe not his rhythm, but a rhythm of some kind. We were playing and playing, building the intensity, and little kids started coming in, laughing at the white man playing drums. Then a few women came into the room, and everybody began dancing to our beat! The master and I even started trading fours. It wasn't a spoken thing, but he could tell that I would lay out and listen to what he was doing for a certain amount of time, and then he would do the same. It was just a magical moment." When they finished, a confused and startled missionary ran up to Peart and asked, "How can you do that?" Chuckling to himself, Neil politely responded, "I'm in the business." World Inspiration Neil's love of bicycling and travel is well known - it's almost the stuff of legend. While on tour with Rush he's been known to avoid the tour bus and bike to the next town and venue. When not on the road with Rush, he has taken his bike to the four corners of the globe, including Europe, mainland China, and Africa. Upon entering Peart's Toronto home, one is immediately struck by the fact that this man has seen and experienced locales most people can't imagine. "Here's a prized possession of mine," he says proudly, showing a raw-metal sculpture standing about ten inches high and resembling a tribal version of Rodin's "The Thinker." "It's from Africa. It weighs about twenty pounds, and I had to carry it a hundred miles on my bike. but it was worth it." Neil's passion for authentic African art is obvious. Unique drums, with their rich, hand-carved elegance, are displayed in his home with reverence. Original Chinese gongs decorate a few of the walls. The decor hints at the fact that a drummer lives in the house, shouts at the fact that a word traveler resides there. Peart's love of travel is obvious, but does actually going to other parts of the world inspire him musically? "First of all, I think travel is very important for any person," he insists. "It's affected me enormously, and I'm sure it filters down to my work. Africa is not an abstraction to me anymore - neither is China. They're places I've experienced, places where I've met people, made friends - and just broadened my thinking. "I've written lyrics that were directly influenced by my travels abroad. In a drumming sense, I've had some interesting experiences in different countries, experiences that may not directly affect the way I play drums, but that certainly inspire my feelings about drumming. And I've gotten very interested in hand drumming. Lately I've been working on playing the djembe." One way Peart's wanderlust has directly affected the sound of his drums is through sampling. "One of the small drums I brought from China is an antique that's too fragile to play. So I took it and a few of the other delicate instruments that I own and sampled them - along with many of my other instruments like my temple blocks and glockenspiel. I've built up a huge library of sounds, and they've made their way onto our albums in many of the different patterns I play." A particular pattern Neil has recorded that demonstrates the value of "world inspiration" comes from Rush's last album, Roll The Bones. "On that record we had a song called 'Heresy' that had a drum pattern I heard when I was in Togo. I was laying on a rooftop one night and heard two drummers playing in the next valley, and the rhythm stuck in my head. When we started working on the song I realized that beat would complement it well."

Neil was known as the Professor. That last bit (with the video) was part of a Buddy Rich tribute. Watch their videos for Tom Sawyer and Limelight (in studio) . It gives you a good feeling for how they worked or their set from the SARS benefit concert in Toronto, Canada for how they were on stage.

the best way to realize just what Neil is on drums to witness.. every singl great drummer that has played the last 45 years.. their favorite drummer is Neil Peart.. so whoever ur favorite drummer is, their favorite drummer is Neil.. he is the GOAT for a reason

Yes, those were washing machines. Geddy Lee, vocals, bass, synth & keyboard, decided to get rid of the ampstack behind him and go through the house. Alex Lifeson, lead guitar, backing vocals kept his Marshall Ampstacks so as a joke Geddy stated to have the crew put other large items behind him to balance the stage visually. Washers and dryers, large chicken rotisserie oven, popcorn machines etc... stage crew would come out in costumes and do laundry, baste the chickens, get popcorn etc... at some shows, they would have merch in the dryers tumbling that they would throw out to the crowd... Became fun just to see what was next.

As if his playing wasn't enough, he wrote some of the most intelligent and thoughtful lyrics in music. Even with all that, in later years, he had keyboard triggers on his kit because Geddy and Alex were too busy.

I think you would enjoy Xanadu Exit Stage Left concert 1981. He does a lot of interesting percussive work through the song along with incredible fills and much more. The other two in the group are pretty much virtuoso’s as well. Loved your commentary on this one.

The goat Neil, John and Keith the dedication and studying Neil put into drumming Was lucky enough to see him 9 times...

Interestingly, before the big band recording kicks in full force behind him, Peart is triggering all the horn hits with the small electronic pads you can see mixed in between his acoustic drums, and some other triggers he has placed on his cymbols. I read several interviews with him back in the late 80's and early 90's when he first started playing with electronic pads and triggers. Neil took great pride in finding and sampling the horn and drum sounds that he programed into his pads rather than using the preloaded sounds that come preloaded on E-kits. The electronic "xylophone" is a trigger pad called a mallet kat. I think they still make them.

When he was getting the sound effects off the cymbals, later on in the solo, those were prerecorded digital samples that were triggered through a Yamaha Midi Controller. He would switch on the controller during the solo. The live drum solos were always jaw dropping, precise, and powerful. So glad I was fortunate enough to see him live several times

NP was your fav drummer's fav drummer ! RIP !

Neil did not feel that this was one of his best performances as he was dealing with having the flu. 🤯 and this was in the middle of a three hour show. He wore Jazz dance shoes to give him more fluidity while playing. A tip I believe that came from Freddie Gruber. Neil never stopped learning and growing. I read in one of his books where he was excited because he had mastered a drum piece where each limb was doing something different. I would suggest reacting to Xanadu from Exit Stage Left. Not only was he a drummer but also a percussionist and the main lyrist for the band. He also wrote a number of books himself about his travels. Later on in his career Neil would ride his motorcycle between cities when they were touring. He inspired a lot of drummers including Danny Carey. Neil was a true Renaissance man and sadly missed. 💔

The Professor giving a master class in percussion. "No slop" indeed.

And, Neil admittedly still took drumming lessons,probably right up to his last days! 😢. Neil, claimed not to be a drummer, but percussionist. I have watched this solo many many times, and never get tired of it! Thanks for recognizing my drumming, or percussionist hero!

For many drum solos some would head for the bar. When Neil’s solos started the bar emptied!

Great video! The solo during the live performance of "YYZ" from "Exit Stage Left" is also epic! He solos mid-song and resumes the song after. lol Also, his last name is pronounced "Peert". :) Thanks for posting!

Neil Peart is only one part of the band (two if you count the lyrics). But Rush as a band is an amazing experience. You should really check them out. They have some music that will blow your mind in their complexity.

I'm not sure if it's been recommended to you yet, but Neil released a DVD called "A Work In Progress". I'm not a drummer, but I am a musician/music lover, and I learned more about the *process* of drumming from this man than I realized existed. If you want to learn from a master who not only knew how to do what he did, he understood it at a very high level and was able to explain it so that even a sax player understood, check it out. Keep up the good work m'man. Deuces

Drummer legend. Rest easy bro

Big name in the music world? He is THE name in the music world!

I agree with you. We missed it. Rush will not be the same. I can kick myself In the rear end for not going to a ruch concert. 😢

And that is why he is known as your favorite drummers favorite drummer. The xylophone looking this is a Mallet Kat if memory serves me right. He has a Buddy Rich band video,small drumset complete with drumsolo

Actually the solo is from 2004, 19 years ago. I saw them in 1991 and 2004 and they were fantastic in 91, but significantly better in 2004. Rush has its harder moments. See the original live video for Anthem from 1975 with his then "tiny" kit. The graphic novel version of 2112 from the 2016 remaster. Freewill for an everybody solo section. Xanadu live from Montreal 1981 remaster (better video quality than the exact same video found as Exit...Stage Left) as the editing is nearly perfect so you can actually see just about everything they are doing. And then realize that they recorded the studio version in one take.

There's a making of video for this where Neil sits at the kit with a group of reporters and explains how he came up with each section. For the horns, he played them all himself and recorded it. Then he triggers the horn 'hits' himself during the solo.

Neil Peart is the master…..perfection!

yes, he does a call and response on the electronic marimba then back to his kit... insane...

He discussed the details of these switches in the DVD Anatomy of a Drum Solo. Variety wrote: "Widely considered one of the most innovative drummers in rock history, Peart was famous for his state-of-the-art drum kits-more than 40 different drums were not out of the norm-precise playing style and on stage showmanship." Peart's choice of drum brand played an important role in shaping his unique sound. He started his career playing Slingerland drums, but later switched to Ludwig and eventually settled on DW drums. Each brand had a distinct sound and feel, and Peart was known for customizing his drum sets to suit his specific needs.

Hi. The 'e' in Peart is long. Great drummer, great writer.

I saw Rush 5 or 6 times, all of them great shows. Everyone in the crowd was not going for beer when Neil did his drum solo. Air drummers were the norm for Rush :D

Sabien Paragon were Neil's signature cymbals. Beautiful Cymbals!

Neil Peart (pronounced PEERT!) Your favorite drummer’s Favorite Drummer. There will never be another like The Professor.

No you had it right the first time. He was using pads for the horns. Until he did the finale. Then it was a track. And you may have missed out. He's got some awesome videos out there. He has one that he's doing a tribute to Buddy Rich. And he does an awesome job on that. And check out Xanadu live from exit stage left. He also does a great solo on exit stage left during yyz .

After not being in a band for a long time, roughly in my mid 20's, I was going to sell my kit to my roommates friends. The second they came to the house I went in my bedroom and started crying like a baby! My roommate was knocking on my door, I cracked the door red-faced and snot pouring out of my nose and said I couldn't do it. I shut the door and a minute or two later there was a knock on my bedroom door again. When I opened the door it was the 2 or 3 guys that came to buy my kit, strangers to me. They wanted to tell me they TOTALLY UNDERSTOOD and seeing me in my lowest wouldn't take my kit even if I paid them to. I'll be 53 next week and I still have my kit.

Neil Peart: Your favorite drummer's favorite drummer.

@ minute 7;12 he was playing the old piano tune [Chop Sticks] on his cow bells! The PROFESSOR...is sadly missed by the world.

Please watch Xanadu from Exit Stage Left. Watch him play everything manual with no electronics. An arsenal of percussion components. Unbelievable! G.O.A.T!

You should check out Rush's "Xanadu - Exit Stage Left(1981). Neil does it all. Don't forget, there are only THREE members in RUSH.

The one and only the professor the best drummer in the world Niel peart. sadly passed.

It’s pronounced PEERT. He revealed this in a concert video. Two nerds (in the film) invaded his dressing room, both saying his name wrong and insisting they were right. Neil himself walks into the room and says “it’s pronounced PEERT.”

The Professor, he is missed

Sounds like machine gun brat brat brat on those doubles. . .miss u Neil

That is why he is called The Professor! There will never be another Neal Peart!

The end is triggers....the reason he was the "Professor"

The man continued to take lessons up to the end .

I figured out that he had the horns at the end triggered from his bass drum head. If you listen carefully enough, you can hear the horns activate right when he hits his kick drum.

😂It always gets to me when people ask if that is a washer & dryer

No the horns sounds were triggers on the cymbals. he uses a foot pedal to the left of the hi hat pedal to switch on or off

Horns trigger with left foot.

He would play with triggers on the cymbals.

Funny to think, Neil wasn’t feeling well this night apparently, and he lamented that this was the night of recording. He said he was not up to par. Yet we all think it’s good. Imagine, if you can, if it was to level Neil thought it should have been. 🙄

Every sound you hear is triggered right there at the kit by the man himself.

Phenomenal, beyond comprehension

Saw this in person (different city). Just amazing.

In my opinion Neil and Danny aren't drummers, they are percussionists.

Mans up early doing videos. Came over here from El Estepario Siberiano. Cool reacts man keep it up.

Imagine in the 90's and already considered to be a Drum god, Peart still wanted to learn more so he took jazz drumming lessons from Freddie Gruber.

Neil wore dancing shoes while performing, as he felt drumming was a dance.

Alex the guitarist has such a big stack of amps and speakers, Geddy the bassist felt the stage looked unbalanced. so he had the guys make a 'stack' of washing machines and dryers that would run during the shows to balance things out

This performance is going to make you flip your boots.

GOAT

So, after hearing and watching Neil Peart play the drums would you agree he’s one of the best to ever do it. Also, don’t forget that he had and ultimately died from brain cancer for the last 3 years of touring

No question Neil Peart is in the top 4. He was the one who would write most of the lyrics as the other 2 were not interested in doing it. Before Rush & Neil Peart there was ELP leading the way and in the 1974 California Jam Carl Palmer played the 1st ever recorded electronic drum solo live in a song called - Toccata. - I prefer the studio version from 1973 as the only actual live footage is the solo and not the rest of the song. There was another solo he did that day in "Karn Evil 9 1st impression pt 2. live Calif. jam 1974

Neil also teamed up with the master wood workers at DW drums and created that kit from the ground up, working with the team to get the right blend of woods and custom build all of his Tom's, his paragon line is also done by Zildjian symbols

The Professor!!

Ive been a RUSH fan for 40 years. Even when they were not cool. The washers, 3 of them, are the bands little inside joke with longtime fans cause some would say they were "washed up" which showed just how stupid they were. I saw them 9 times and was never disappointed. Neil is not called The Professor for nothing. If you notice at around 4:15 mark he is keeping a steady beat with the bass and his hands are doing a totally different time signature. That is incredibly hard to do, much less keep it up and accurate for the time he does.

🇨🇦❤

This is a pre-show clinic Neil put on during The Roll the Bones tour: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/e96Wnqidlt_anJs.html He explains the big band samples in his solo around (15:11)

Amazing cross overs

You said it was perfect and I agree, but Neil actually Neil said hated this performance and video because he said he made so many mistakes!

R.I.P Professor!

sabian paragon made in new Brunswick Canada

A while back Neil got into Buddy Rich where he learned or studied the new grip. I consider the Buddy Rich section of the drum solo from when he changes his grip to the end. Check him out soloing for a tribute to Buddy Rich... kzfaq.info/get/bejne/fqySZM9i09KzhGQ.html

The trumpets are triggered by his feet and drum pads. He uses a MalletKat, it looks like an electronic xylophone but is capable of reproducing any sounds he wanted...like trumpets, marimba and the gong at the end as examples. The reason he used it was because he used the sounds of so many types of drums that an acoustical kit would be too huge to use on stage...so he would sample drums and other sounds using the MalletKat and drum pads to save space. Also, the other reason was that a lot of Rush's songs used the whole gambit of "orchestral percussion and other instruments". So as you can see, there was no way he could fit just about every drum ever made or other instruments like a full sized bell tree or gong using an analog kit solely. Below is his massive acoustical kit he used during Rush's Hemispheres 1977-1979 tour. Drums: Slingerland in Black Chrome (or "Blakrome") finish with "Vibra-Fibing"; last Slingerland drum kit Used from 1977-1979 Cymbals: Avedis Zildjian. Added 20" China and 18" Wuhan Chinese cymbals. New percussion: Gong, temple blocks, triangles, and 4 windchime bars mounted on a rack system above the kit. This rack system would remain until the Signals tour. A set of crotales was also mounted above the tubular bells. New drum: 28″ tympanum (tympani drum) Sticks: Pro-Mark 747 wood tip (played "backwards") 5.5 x 14 "Old Faithful" Slingerland Artist Model snare with original Copper Wrap finish: 3-ply shell with 8 lugs This Slingerland kit was the second drum kit Neil played with Rush. It was used to record and tour: A Farewell to Kings Hemispheres Used to tour: The Slingerland Blakrome kit was used for three Rush tours, appearing in approximately 301 shows in all. A Farewell to Kings (1977-1978): 145 shows in the United States, Canada, England, and Scotland Archives (1978): 13 shows in the United States Hemispheres tour (1978-1979): 143 shows in the United States, Canada, England, Scotland, France, Belgium, Sweden, Norway, Germany, Switzerland, and Holland From the Hemispheres tour book, by Neil Peart My drums are all by Slingerland, with the inner surface of the wooden shells treated with a process called Vibra-Fibing. This consists of a thin layer of glass fiber and resin. (The drums include) two 24" bass drums, 6",8",10", and 12" concert toms, 12", 13", 15", and 18" tom-toms, and a 5"x14" wood shell snare drum. All cymbals are by Avedis Zildjian, with the exception of an 18" Chinese cymbal. The Zildjians are 6" and 8" splash, two 16", one 18" and one 20" crash cymbals, and 22" ride, a pair of 13" hi-hats, and 18" pang and a 20" China type. In the percussion department are orchestra bells, tubular bells, wind chimes, crotales, timbales, tympani, gong, temple blocks, bell tree, triangle, and melodic cowbells. For heads I use Remo black dots on the snare and bass drums, Ludwig silver dots on the concert toms and timbales, and Evans Looking Glass (top), and Speed King pedals, and Tama and Pearl stands. I use Pro-Mark 747 drumsticks with the varnish sanded off the gripping area.

It is not a band behind him. He triggers every sound you here. He is the GOAT and you all with these reaction video's need to just keep to yourselfs, OR, show how you are better.

G.O.A.T. Any questions?

"I wasn't into the heavy stuff..." Here, Hold Your Fire. (edit: changed to actual title vs wordplay since some wouldn't know) 😀

They put the laundry machines on stage to take up space since they are a three man band 👍🏼

You mentioned Danny Carey several times in this video, take a wild guess who Danny Carey favorite drummer is.

Buddy Rich is the best of all and Neil did a drum tour honoring Buddy

Dude, what Neil did there isn't second nature to anyone. Including Neil. He was playing on the edge.