Neil Peart
Neil Peart
Neil Ellwood Peart, OC, is a Canadian-American musician and author, best known as the drummer and primary lyricist for the rock band Rush. Peart has received numerous awards for his musical performances, including an induction into the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame in 1983, making him the youngest person ever so honored. He is known for his technical proficiency and stamina...
NationalityCanadian
ProfessionDrummer
Date of Birth12 September 1952
CityHamilton, Canada
CountryCanada
When I started playing, I played in R&B bands. I played James Brown, Wilson Pickett, Otis Redding and all that.
Live for yourself -- there's no one elseMore worth living forBegging hands and bleeding hearts will only cry out for more
Well, I know they've always told you/Selfishness was wrong/Yet it was for me, not you, I came to write this song/
What you own is your own kingdomWhat you do is your own gloryWhat you love is your own powerWhat you live is your own story
Lessons taught but never learned,all around us anger burns.Guide the future by the past.Long ago the mould was cast.
When they turn the pages of history,when these days have passed long ago--will they read of us with sadnessfor the seeds that we let grow?
It's a test of ultimate willThe heartbreak climb uphillGot to pick up the paceIf you want to stay in the raceMore than just blind ambitionMore than just simple greedMore than just a finish lineMust feed this burning need
We don't want to be Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones. That type of thing wasn't what we were after. It was most important for each of us to be equal in input and output - each of us has to pull the same amount, musically, in composition and in every sense of being in the band.
The thing for me about Ayn Rand is that her philosophy is the only one applicable to the world today - in every sense. If you take her ideas, then take them farther in your own mind, you can find answers to pretty well everything on an individual basis.
The reality is that my style of drumming is largely an athletic undertaking, and it does not pain me to realize that, like all athletes, there comes a time to... take yourself out of the game.
People say to me, 'Are you still excited when you go on tour?' Should I be excited about leaving my family? No, and no one should. It's as simple as that. If you put aside the fantasy of it, it is what it is and has to be done. And that's fine, and I pour my entire energy and enthusiasm into it, but of course, I'm of two minds about the whole idea.
Our songs were not written to be listened to in headphones or on the radio. They were written to be played. All of the little infinite detail that went into the arrangements and giving ourselves lots of breathing room in terms of playing what we wanted to play and using up any ideas that we had - all of those were conceived to be performed.
Once, I went speeding past an old couple and smiled as I imagined their conversation: him grumbling about me and her telling him not to be such an old grouch. Then, suddenly I was in tears, thinking, 'I'll never get to be a grumpy old grandpa!'
Live shows were always religion for us. We never played a show - whether it was in front of 15 people or 15,000 - where it wasn't everything we had that night.