Neil Peart -- The Latest News

I was saddened to hear that Canadian photographer and director Andrew MacNaughtan, who had taken many of Rush's photos since 1989, passed away suddenly on Wednesday. He was 47. While I never met Andrew in person, I always enjoyed his photos of Rush -- and bought multiple prints from his website over the years. He took many of my favorite portraits of Neil Peart behind his drums, including this one of Neil for the Vapor Trails tour book:

MacNaughtan's photos of Rush first appeared in the Power Windows tour book. He became Rush's personal assistant during the Presto and Roll the Bones tours. MacNaughtan's portraits of Rush in the Roll the Bones tour book helped to capture the humorous side of the band in a new way.

But in the Counterparts tour book, he took the portraits to a whole new level. Who can forget this one of Alex Lifeson?

For many Rush fans, the years after Neil Peart's tragedies (1997 - 2001) were full of darkness and silence. I had doubts that the band would ever return. But then one day, I received photos of the band taken by MacNaughtan. And my world was a little brighter. We would find out later that MacNaughtan introduced Peart to his wife, Carrie Nuttall. 

In his book Ghost Rider, Neil tells the story of how he met Carrie:

In less than a day I was in Los Angeles; in less than a week Andrew introduced me to Carrie, my real angel of redemption; in less than a month we were deeply in love, and in less than a year we were married in a fairy-tale wedding near Santa Barbara...

After our first, awkward meeting at a Hollywood restaurant with Andrew and his date, Carrie and I were brought together again later that week by Andrew (a determined little matchmaker) for a hike in Topanga State Park with him and his dog, Bob, an amiable Jack Russell terrier. Carrie and I walked together the whole way (Andrew discreetly ahead with Bob: our chaperones) and talked about the world and our lives in it.   

With the next two Rush releases, MacNaughtan branched out into video. He was responsible for two Rush documentaries, including "The Boys in Brazil" on the Rush in Rio DVD and "The Game of Snakes & Arrows" on the DVD version of Snakes & Arrows. (MacNaughtan won a Juno for Music DVD of the Year for Rush in Rio.) Read an interview with MacNaughtan by Brad Parmerter about the Rio documentary.

While MacNaughtan had been Rush's principal photographer since 1989, now other celebrities came calling, including Canadians Bryan Adams, Celine Dion, the Tragically Hip, author Margaret Atwood -- even the Madam Clarkson, the Governor-General of Canada.

But MacNaughtan turned his success into a way to help other people. Many of the signed Rush portrait sales raised money for multiple charities. In 2006, MacNaughtan worked with World Vision on his ArtGivesHope exhibit, which raised $55,000 to build houses for families in Africa that are affected by HIV/AIDS.

More recently, MacNaughtan published the book Grace, featuring photos of people and animals in Africa. On the ArtGivesHope website, MacNaughtan said, "My photography of musicians is commercial art; this is the first time I've done a project that is strictly fine art and intensely personal, something artistic, powerful and dramatic."

I do have one personal story about Andrew that I think shows what kind of person he was. When the Rush in Rio print went on sale, I ended up buying one (my first). Unfortunately, I didn't follow the payment instructions correctly -- which meant I lost my signed, numbered print. After some email back and forth with Andrew, he found an alternate print for me that I could purchase. That print is now hanging proudly in my drum room.

Added after first publish:

I also have a second story about Andrew. It was on the Presto tour that I met my good friend, Monica Z. Among the many behind-the-scenes people Monica told me about was Andrew MacNaughtan, who was Rush's personal assistant at the time.

She told me the story of interviewing Andrew in Seattle with Mick Burnett and Neil Elliott for "The Spirit of Rush," one of the best Rush fanzines out of the UK. (This was way before the Internet, folks.) I still remember her saying that in the middle of the interview Andrew got a call. After he hung up, he said something like, "That was Neil."

Anyway, here's the full interview "Behind the Camera Eye" courtesy of PowerWindows. This is from The Spirit Of Rush, issue #17 - Winter 1991/1992 and issue #18 - Spring 1992. One thing that comes through is what a huge fan Andrew was of Rush.

Rush has issued a statement on their Facebook page:

We're deeply shocked and heartbroken to learn of the sudden passing of our close friend and long-time photographer, Andrew MacNaughtan. He was a sweet person and a very talented artist. Words cannot describe how much he will be missed. -- Geddy, Alex & Neil

Andrew MacNaughtan's official website posted the following image:

Labels: Andrew MacNaughtan

This survey was all about Neil Peart fills. I decided to open it up so people could add additional fills to the list. This made it more interesting, but also made it more difficult to count votes -- because I couldn't always tell which fill someone was referring to. Because of this, I had to drop some of the options people had added.

The Results

1. Tom Sawyer solo fills - 30%

You could say these are probably the most important fills Neil has ever played. "Tom Sawyer" was the song that launched Rush into popular culture and expanded Rush's audience considerably. (This was the song that captured my attention.) As I wrote about these series of fills on my "Top 10 Fills" page:

Who can forget this drum-solo-within a song? The first fill is trickier than it seems (if you watch the Archives studio video, Neil actually skips a tom on the way down). The second is the famous "quadruplet" with a triplet feel.

Here's Neil talking about the difficulties of playing "Tom Sawyer." There's also a clip of him playing it around the time it was recorded (at Le Studio):

2. Natural Science solo fill - 18%

This was the big surprise -- as I didn't have this on my original list (but it should have been). This is the kind of fill that happens so fast, you're left wondering what just happened. I had to slow it down to really understand what was happening. Neil would go on to use this same approach for solo fills in songs like "YYZ" and "Leave That Thing Alone." 

Watch Neil play "Natural Science" on the Snakes & Arrows tour:

If you're looking for more about what Neil's playing here, I recommend watching Ray Harber's lesson on "Neil Peart's four note grouping." The part about the "Natural Science" fill comes in around the 7-minute mark.

3. Vital Signs - Fill at the end of the song: 11%

This has always been one of my favorite fills because of the level of excitement it brings to the song.  

Here's what Neil Peart had to say about "Vital Signs" and this fill in his article, "Notes on the Making of Moving Pictures."

Conceptually, this song was an attempt to bridge the gap between the primal appeal of the rhythmic reggae "bounce" and the electronic energy of high-technology music. As a drummer, this gave me the opportunity to begin as a simple "groove" player, and then grow through various developments into the "overplaying show-off type" toward the end! I drew on many influences throughout this progression: notably the works of Creme and Godley, Ultravox, The Police, the great things that Michael Giles did with early King Crimson, a healthy dose of good old hard rock, and a little Caribbean influence.

Here's a version of "Vital Signs" with isolated drums. You can really hear how much they tweaked the drum and cymbal sounds.

Full results:

Thanks to everyone who voted!

Labels: drums, polls

Neil has written a new story for his website with an update called "At the Gate of the Year." Lots of great stories and reflections in this one.

Now, at the pivot of another year (my sixtieth, I am proud to crow--how foolish to regret the passing years, if you consider the alternative), I am drawn to a kind of "reckoning," a time to pause and reflect. The title phrase has long resonated for me that way: "the gate of the year."

NeilPeart.net: At the Gate of the Year

Labels: neilpeart.net, News updates, written by NEP

A few years back, Neil Peart recorded some drums with Rush producer Nick Raskulinecz. This session was turned into a release by Sonic Reality called Neil Peart Drums Vol. 1: The Kit. You can read my previous blog posts about this project here.

Now we have the follow-up release: Neil Peart Drums: Vol. 2 The Grooves. The idea here is you can sample Neil's "500 groove patterns" for use on your own songs if you want.

Buy R.A.W. Artist Pack: Neil Peart Drums Vol. 2 The Grooves. (Downloadable sounds)

Here's the info:

R.A.W. Artist Pack: Neil Peart Drums Vol. 2 The Grooves.

Pre-Release Version

MSRP:
$79.00

Your Price:
$49.00

As a follow up to Sonic Reality's Neil Peart Drums Vol. 1 The Kit, in 2012 Vol. 2 The Groove series is about to begin. Here is an opportunity to get a pre-release version of the the Neil Peart Drums R.A.W. Artist Pack featuring Rex, Apple Loops and Wave drum grooves performed by Neil Peart, the legendary drummer of the band Rush, which was recorded by producer Nick Raskulinecz (Rush, Foo Fighters, Alice In Chains). This title focuses on the hard rock grooves of Rush in the style of songs from Rush's "Roll The Bones" album up through "Snakes and Arrows". Over 500 groove patterns to work with in any combination with flexible tempos so they can fit into any style of music you re working on. It's like having Neil Peart play drums on your songs! Don t miss this chance to get a preliminary introductory price on an incredible new drum groove library from Sonic Reality! Neil Peart Drums R.A.W. Artist Pack is the ultimate collection of album quality stereo mixed drums for your music!

• Rex 597 Loops, 487MB (unzipped)
• Apple 597 Loops, 642MB (unzipped)
• Wave 597 Loops, 641MB (unzipped)

Included Grooves

• Armor Grooves
• Cry Grooves
• Dream Grooves
• Ghost Grooves
• MagNarc Grooves
• Main Monkey Beats
• Spind Grooves
• The Larger Beats
• Victory Grooves
• Way The Wind

Thanks to Rush Fan Unification Project for the head's up!

Labels: Neil Peart Studio Profile

I created a survey on Facebook recently, asking people to vote on 10 Neil Peart drum kits. (Note that this survey did not include all Neil Peart drum kits, as I could only include 10 due to a Facebook survey limitation.)

After 129 votes, here are the top 3:

#1: Time Machine DW - 43% of the vote

#2: Red Tama Artstar (prototype), used on Signals through Power Windows - 13% of the vote

#3: Tie between: Snakes & Arrows DW and 30th Anniversary DW - each with 10% of the vote

Full results:

Thanks, everyone, for voting!

Labels: drums

Like many Rush fans, I've been excited to hear remastered versions of the albums that bring new fidelity to the original recordings. I became a Rush fan in the 80s, and I can say that going from vinyl to CD versions was a revelation. On albums like Moving Pictures, I heard details that had been hidden for years.

With every new wave of technology, Rush has released remastered versions of some of their albums. The newest wave, Surround Sound (5.1 mixes), brings a different "soundscape" to an album, as it splits up the tracks into 5 full-range speakers and one sub-woofer. This gives the tracks a lot more room to breathe than the traditional 2-speaker stereo mix. The result is you can hear even more detail.

In April 2011, Rush released a 5.1 mix of Moving Pictures, and it got (mostly) rave reviews. I went out on the first day to Best Buy and picked it up, and could hardly wait to get home and put it on. As I listened on my home theater system, it felt like I was listening to Moving Pictures for the first time. But then I got to "Witch Hunt."

The problem with "Witch Hunt"

In "Witch Hunt," where the cowbell comes in (right before the "Features distorted in the flickering light" lyric), something sounded wrong. At first I didn't even know what it was, so I had to rewind. On second listen, I could hear it: Neil's drum part had been altered.

This is the point where I reveal that, like many Rush fans, I'm a drummer, and I've spent a lot of my life cracking Peart's rhythmic code. And even after playing for 30-odd years, I still haven't fully cracked this code, which is part of Peart's appeal.

This is also where I point out that Peart is mostly a compositional drummer. He writes drum parts that are part of the song -- and replicates those parts live (with some minor alterations). Go to a Rush show, and you'll see rows of air drummers playing along with the Rush rhythms they've grown to love.

Which brings me back to "Witch Hunt." I was still confused about why it had been changed. I switched from the 5.1 to the stereo mix and found that the drum part was not altered, which raised even more questions. I decided to go to the source of the mix, Richard Chycki, and ask the question.

From: Andy Olson
Sent: Friday, April 08, 2011 1:53 PM
To: web@richardchycki.com
Subject: Question about 5.1 "Moving Pictures" mix

Hi, Richard --  I'm enjoying the 5.1 mix of "Moving Pictures" (finally was able to listen to the entire thing last night). I love all the detail in this mix!

One question, which I'm sure you've already heard: Why were the drums edited/changed on "Witch Hunt" ( where the cowbell comes in)? I know there are probably lots of other changes that I'm not noticing, but I guess I'm curious about why the original performance was altered?

Thx,

Andy

There was no reply. So, I wrote again in June. Still no reply. Not a huge deal. I mean, this is just music, right? 

Rush Sectors

When Rush Sectors was announced, I was looking forward to getting pristine versions of the Mercury Rush catalog, as well as three additional 5.1 mixes -- Signals, A Farewell to Kings, and Fly by Night. I decided to buy Sectors 2 and Sectors 3 and leave one available for a Christmas gift.

When the box sets arrived, I enjoyed the Sectors packaging, with the black box and mini-versions of the LP covers and artwork. The first CD I put in was Hold Your Fire -- "Force 10" sounded great.

Then I moved on to "Time Stand Still." Right before the second verse, I noticed something odd. Instead of a pause, what I heard right after Geddy sings "Time stand still," were two electronic drum hits, similar to what Neil does leading into the bridge of the chorus. I figured I must have misheard it. After a second listen, I confirmed the added parts were indeed on the new mix. 

I talked to a few people about this, and someone mentioned that this might have been on the original tapes and deleted in post-production. OK, that kind of makes sense. Maybe the people doing the stereo mixes weren't familiar with the music. And then I saw this interview about Andy VanDette, Chief Master Engineer at Masterdisk. In the interview, Andy says:

It was very important to me that these be the best representation of the catalog possible and I think we accomplished that. Look, I'm a fan. When I put up Hemispheres for the first time I nearly cried. I may not have been able to muster every bass riff, or sung every high note in my band, but the memories of trying were overwhelming. I could not let Rush fans down. Each and every one of these albums got the deluxe treatment.

So, I guess Andy's a pretty big fan, too.

The problem with "The Weapon" 

As I worked my way through the Sectors 3 release, I finally got to the Signals 5.1 mix (once again mixed by Richard Chycki). Like Moving Pictures, listening to this version was full of new sonic surprises and details. One of the biggest was Geddy's vocals, which were much more dynamic than in the stereo mixes.

And then I came to "The Weapon," where I found more drum parts were changed. But unlike "Witch Hunt," these happen in at least three places (the DVD plays as one consecutive song):

• At 23:21 - Neil's fills leading into chorus #1
• At 24:45 - Neil's fills leading into chorus #2
• At 26:40 - The solo section where many changes have been made (not just to the drum parts)

The stereo version of the song, like "Witch Hunt," remains unchanged.

Rush responds?

On 12/3, Rush released the following statement:

We are aware of some slight technical issues surrounding the CD of 'Fly By Night' inside the Sector 1 box set release and the DVD for 'A Farewell To Kings' inside the Sector 2 box set that some fans are experiencing. It stems from a production flaw and it is currently being addressed. As soon as production is completed a formal announcement of how to replace the discs will follow shortly. Please be aware that there may be a time delay in shipping and receiving the disc and we sincerely apologize for this inconvenience -- Geddy, Alex & Neil

I still haven't heard Fly by Night, but the A Farewell to Kings 5.1 and stereo mixes sounded fine to me. So, I assumed the problems with "Time Stand Still" and "The Weapon" weren't what the Rush camp was talking about.

To see if I could find out, I emailed Anthem directly. There was no response.

The bottom line

Let's face it -- Rush fans love detail. And drummers love Peart's drum parts. It's obviously important to the band, too, since they recreate most of their parts live. The only problem I have with these new releases -- and especially with Sectors -- is the lack of transparency about what we're actually getting (if it was indeed intentional).

If you're like me and want pristine versions of the albums, that's not what you're getting here -- at least with Hold Your Fire and Signals 5.1. For this reason, I can't recommend these discs -- as much as I'd love to. Except for the alterations, these discs really do sound good.

It would be great to get some explanation about why these versions are different and if there are plans to update these recordings. I realize there are complexities in the record business that I can't begin to understand, which could possibly lead to these kinds of alterations. Regardless of who's at fault, it's Rush's reputation that will suffer. 

And I'm not the only one who's noticing.

Labels: Moving Pictures reissue, Sectors

Neil Peart's "Taking Center Stage" is now available from Hudson Music as an instant download.

You can download it from the Hudson Music website.

Learn more about instant downloads.

Labels: Taking Center Stage

There's a new contest for Canadian residents only called Snag the Snare, where you can win one of three limited editing snare drums ore some other secondary prizes. These snares are replicas of the drum Neil used to record his version of "The Hockey Theme." The contest ends on December 16.

Here's more information about the contest:

Contest starts on Monday, December, 5 2011 at 12:01 p.m. Eastern Time ("ET") and closes on Friday, December 16, 2011 at 11:59:59 p.m. ET (the "Contest Period"). There are (i) three (3) grand prizes (the "Grand Prizes"), one of which will be awarded in each of the following three provinces from among all the eligible entries received in each of these respective provinces during the Contest Period: Ontario, Manitoba and Quebec; and (ii) thirty (30) secondary prizes (the "Secondary Prizes"), each consisting of a CD, DVD or Blu Ray copy of "Rush -- Time Machine, Live in Cleveland" of which four (4) CDs, four (4) DVDs and two (2) Blu Ray copies will be awarded in each of the following three provinces from among all the eligible entries received in each of these respective provinces during the Contest Period: Ontario, Manitoba and Quebec, (the Grand Prizes and Secondary Prizes are collectively the "Prizes" and each a "Prize"). Limit of one Prize per household. No purchase necessary.

The contest is sponsored by TSN, Rush, and Drum Workshop.

Snag The Snare

Read more about Neil's "Hockey Theme" drum kit.

Thanks to Rushisaband for the head's up!

Labels: contests, drums, Hockey Theme