Rush’s Neil Peart says he’s retired

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Yes that's the word. But knowing these guys and they're desire for perfection, he won't be retired for long. My guess is that there will be a reunion tour.
 
He's making a smart decision. He can obviously afford to retire and is doing it while he's still as good as ever. No one will ever say "he needs to hang it up".
 
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These guys don't seem like the kind that would have Vinnie Colaiuta or some studio sausage as a replacement let alone get a new drummer. Whatever happens it would likely be pretty hard to resist the money generated from an ever-simmering reunion tour that goes out every two years or so.
 
I know there had been talk of the R40 tour being their last. I am sorry to see the band call it quits, but it seems fitting to me. They have been around for a very long time and there does come a time to stop. I may be wrong but I really don't see any of the guys in Rush doing a reunion tour. They all have more class than that and I highly doubt they need any more money. I have not cared for too many of their songs since the late 1980's but they have still left us a great body of work and some of the very best rock music ever written.
 
Well, he kind of retired after the loss of his daughter and wife, took a few years to work it out, so who knows.
Wish I had gone to the last concert here. I was supposed to go with my brother, but then his wife decided she wanted to go (he bought tickets for both of them, she was not feeling good so I was going to go, then she felt better the night of the concert).

If he does "retire", I could still see them doing a small tour here and there.
Music and performing is who and what they are. These grand world tours they are are surely exhaustive for them and their families.
 
Originally Posted By: blupupher
Well, he kind of retired after the loss of his daughter and wife, took a few years to work it out, so who knows.
Wish I had gone to the last concert here. I was supposed to go with my brother, but then his wife decided she wanted to go (he bought tickets for both of them, she was not feeling good so I was going to go, then she felt better the night of the concert).

If he does "retire", I could still see them doing a small tour here and there.
Music and performing is who and what they are. These grand world tours they are are surely exhaustive for them and their families.


What happened to his daughter and wife?
 
Originally Posted By: grampi
What happened to his daughter and wife?


Daughter (19 at the time, as I recall; and their only child) died in a car accident; wife slowly died of various broken heart-related things in the months following.

Peart wrote a book called "Ghost Rider" detailing a motorcycle tour he took of North America after their passing.

EDIT: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_Peart#Family_tragedy_and_recovery
 
Originally Posted By: dernp
Yes that's the word. But knowing these guys and they're desire for perfection, he won't be retired for long. My guess is that there will be a reunion tour.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_Peart#Retirement

Geddy Lee seemed to feel that Neil's announcement was simply referring to touring... I have tried **air** drumming the bridge in "Tom Sawyer" and I wouldn't want to do **that** 150 times in a year; much less a full set! Much less at 60-something. Much less away from my family.
 
Originally Posted By: Vuflanovsky
These guys don't seem like the kind that would have Vinnie Colaiuta or some studio sausage as a replacement let alone get a new drummer. Whatever happens it would likely be pretty hard to resist the money generated from an ever-simmering reunion tour that goes out every two years or so.


Neil is Rush. I would never want to see him replaced.

Vinnie Colaiuta is my favorite drummer and IMO, the greatest of our time.
 
Yeah, that was my point, these guys are so intertwined that it'll be interesting to see if they become a studio only act, call it quits, or eventually hit the reunion tour button. Not needing the money doesn't seem to be a reason for most big acts to not jump on a lucrative, occasional tour...these guys might be the exception.

I like Vinnie ( I've played drums for over 40 years and some of that time semi-professionally as a weekend warrior ) but there are a lot of great drummers out there. Neil Peart was never one of my favorites mostly because I'm not a prog rock fan per se but I don't hold that against him.
 
Originally Posted By: uc50ic4more
Originally Posted By: grampi
What happened to his daughter and wife?


Daughter (19 at the time, as I recall; and their only child) died in a car accident; wife slowly died of various broken heart-related things in the months following.

Peart wrote a book called "Ghost Rider" detailing a motorcycle tour he took of North America after their passing.

EDIT: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_Peart#Family_tragedy_and_recovery

His first wife was diagnosed with cancer shortly after their daughters death, and passed 10 months after their daughter (Neil does attribute her death to the passing of their daughter though, said his wife just had lost her will to live).
This was the reason for their 4-5 year hiatus after the Test for Echo tour, and Geddy and Alex thought the band was done then (and were OK with it).

Ghost Rider is an OK read for most, but a good one for those dealing with loss IMO, it shows how one can get through it and that the feelings one has are normal and things can get better over time. It was his way to get through his grief; it chronicles his motorcycle travels through North America figuring his purpose in life after his loss and finding new love. Not a book about Rush (just little bits here and there).
I need to pull my copy out and re-read it. I read it in 2005 or so before my dads passing, may make a little more sense this time through it.

Originally Posted By: buster


Neil is Rush. I would never want to see him replaced.
...

Yet the other 2 still call him "the new guy". LOL.
Alex and Geddy said they would not replace him if he had not wanted to play before, I don't know why they would replace him now.
 
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Originally Posted By: uc50ic4more
Originally Posted By: grampi
What happened to his daughter and wife?


Daughter (19 at the time, as I recall; and their only child) died in a car accident; wife slowly died of various broken heart-related things in the months following.

Peart wrote a book called "Ghost Rider" detailing a motorcycle tour he took of North America after their passing.

EDIT: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_Peart#Family_tragedy_and_recovery


That is so sad.
 
Originally Posted By: buster
Originally Posted By: Vuflanovsky
These guys don't seem like the kind that would have Vinnie Colaiuta or some studio sausage as a replacement let alone get a new drummer. Whatever happens it would likely be pretty hard to resist the money generated from an ever-simmering reunion tour that goes out every two years or so.


Neil is Rush. I would never want to see him replaced.


I don't think he can be replaced...I can't think of another drummer who can play what Neil plays...and IMO, he is the greatest of our time...
 
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^ many drummers can easily play what hep plays. Mike Portnoy, Mike Mangini, Thomas Lang.....those guys are far beyond Neil.

The torch has been passed a long time ago in progressive rock. Neil is one of the greats. There are no "best" drummers, just favorites.

It's a common myth that Neil is so technically great. He is, but there are now far more technically capable drummers.

Youtube Dave Weckl or Virgil Donati. Vinnie is far more technical than Neil.
 
Originally Posted By: buster
^ many drummers can easily play what hep plays. Mike Portnoy, Mike Mangini, Thomas Lang.....those guys are far beyond Neil.

The torch has been passed a long time ago in progressive rock. Neil is one of the greats. There are no "best" drummers, just favorites.

It's a common myth that Neil is so technically great. He is, but there are now far more technically capable drummers.

Youtube Dave Weckl or Virgil Donati. Vinnie is far more technical than Neil.

Even Neil admits that he can improve. He has studied with Freddie Gruber and Peter Erskine to learn how to be a better drummer.
I read an article a while back where he was upset when his producer told him he did not really sound any different after his "tutoring", but when he started playing with Geddy and Alex they were both "hey, whats different here".

I do agree, there is no "greatest", but he is one of the greatest that has been and will continue to be an influence on others.
 
If he's only retired from touring that's better than from playing at all. BUT, I saw a few articles that quoted him as saying he's retiring from music. To me that would mean touring and all.

I also agree that there are better guys technically, but each drummer on that level has a sound their own, so to me there's no comparing one to another. You could put anyone that is technically better then Peart on Pearts drumset and it still wouldn't sound like him no matter how good they are. Rush is those 3 guys, change any one of them and it isn't Rush anymore. They've all stated many times that if one goes they all go.

I went to the R40 show when it came and they were just as awesome as they were at all the other shows I've seen over the past 30 years.
 
Originally Posted By: AdRock
I also agree that there are better guys technically, but each drummer on that level has a sound their own, so to me there's no comparing one to another. You could put anyone that is technically better then Peart on Pearts drumset and it still wouldn't sound like him no matter how good they are.


That's exactly what I meant when I said Neil couldn't be replaced...
 
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