Neil Peart -- The Latest News

The June 2009 DRUM! magazine interview with Neil is now online.

Read the interview here.

Labels: DRUM magazine

I thought it would be interesting to have a place where you could view all of Neil Peart's book recommendations -- so I set up an Amazon store with all the books he's reviewed so far (around 60 books).

There were a few books that I couldn't include, because they weren't available on Amazon.

Go to my page featuring all Bubba's Book Club books

I'll continue to update this page when Neil reviews new books.

Go to Bubba's Book Club on NeilPeart.net.

Labels: books, Bubba's Book Club, Site updates

The interview that Rush did for the 30th anniversary of Permanent Waves is now online.

Click to go to the In the Studio website.

Labels: interview, permament waves

Labels: Hockey Theme, polls

Update: 1/24 - Listen to a sample of Neil Peart Drums here.

Neil Peart's Studio Profile by Sonic Reality, which was recorded in 2008, is going to be released in the first quarter of 2010. This release is called Neil Peart Drums Vol. 1: The Kit.

Here's the press release from Sonic Reality:

January 2010, Sunrise FL, USA - For the Winter NAMM show of 2010, Sonic Reality sound development company is proud to announce "Neil Peart Drums Vol. 1: The Kit", a sample library for BFD2 and Infinite Player, powered by Kontakt, as part of the Drum Masters series. Neil Peart, legendary drummer of the band "Rush", has collaborated with Sonic Reality and producer/engineer Nick Raskulinecz (Rush, Foo Fighters, Alice In Chains) to bring the authentic sound of Neil's "Snakes and Arrows" Custom DW Drum Kit into the digital domain. With advanced features such as deep level dynamics, humanized random alternating hits, discrete multiple mic mixing and more, this deluxe sampled kit is an ultra-realistic recreation of Neil's actual acoustic set as used live on tour and in the studio.

Now, for the first time, e-drummers, keyboardists and composers can play rock drum samples with the iconic signature sound of drum legend - Neil Peart and have a world-class, hard-hitting drum kit suitable for many styles of music from Progressive Rock to Heavy Metal! Producer Nick Raskulinecz engineered the sample sessions with over 20 channels of Neve mic preamps, deluxe vintage tube mics and multiple room positions for one of the most elaborate sampled drum kits ever. With the assistance of Don Lombardi and DrumChannel.com, every detail of "The Kit" was captured both in high-resolution audio and documented on video with a thorough explanation by Dave Kerzner of Sonic Reality on how the drums were sampled.

"To sample Neil Peart's incredible drum kit for our Drum Masters series was truly an honor and it fit perfectly with our focus on capturing the most desirable character drum sounds." Says Dave Kerzner, CEO of Sonic Reality. "We're also honored to be able to record it with 'Rush' producer - Nick Raskulinecz to help us capture the authentic, signature Neil Peart drum sound."

"The Kit" features 8 Toms, a vast array of cymbals including 3 Chinas, 4 Crashes, 3 Splashes, Ride, 2 Snares, Massive Kicks, Percussion - such as Cowbells and more. It comes mapped in GM, iMap, V-Drum and a Custom Map mode to be controlled by any electronic drum kit. It includes both discrete mic mixing and album-quality presets right out of the box for instant gratification.

"Neil Peart Drums Vol 1: The Kit" will be available in standard and deluxe size versions for FXPansion's BFD software and for Sonic Reality's Infinite Player software powered by Kontakt.

Shipping Q1, 2010

Price: TBA

Thanks to Rushisband.com for the head's up!

Labels: Neil Peart Studio Profile

The video for Neil Peart's version of The Hockey Theme is now available on TSN.

Click to watch the video on TSN. (Unfortunately, you'll need to wait through an advertisement.)

Or you can watch a different version of the video on YouTube:

There's also a gallery of the photo shoot.

An official mailing from Rush included the following:

Peart's rendition of The Hockey Theme also available to fans on iTunes on January 19 and his custom drum kit used to record "Canada's second national anthem" to be donated to the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Thanks to Roman Dino for the head's up!

Labels: Hockey Theme

In an interview with the Canadian Press, Neil Peart discusses Rush's "liberated" approach to the new Rush album as well as his re-recording of the Hockey Theme.

Rush drummer says next project might not be album

Speaking of the Hockey Theme, the new version of the song will premiere this Thursday, January 14, according to this interview:

Peart's version (of the Hockey Theme) will debut on TSN during Thursday's broadcast of the Toronto-Philadelphia game and will then be used for the rest of the season by the network.

Labels: Clockwork Angels, Hockey Theme, interview

I've been hearing about Paragon cymbals with a "brilliant" finish for a little while, and it appears that Paragon Brilliant is now a finish available from Sabian.

Neil Peart wrote an article about the new cymbal finish for Sabian.com.

------------------------------------

Dec 22, 2009

- NEIL PEART SPEAKS UP ABOUT PARAGON BRILLIANT -

   The evolution of Paragon Brilliant is about more than spit and polish. It began with the pursuit of the openness and responsiveness of an older cymbal, right "out of the bag."

   I have always found that brand-new cymbals have a certain "tightness," both in their physical response and in their sound, and it takes a few shows to play them in. Then they loosen up and start to "dance" on the stand, and the swell of sound from attack to decay would become smooth and open.

   When I was talking about that quality to the dedicated cymbal-makers at SABIAN, they took it as a kind of challenge: how can we build that "played-in" quality into the cymbals?

   Wheels started turning in the imagination of Mark Love, chief designer and sound alchemist at the factory in Meductic, New Brunswick. He figured that because playing the cymbal creates heat in the friction among the molecules of the metal, then perhaps carefully-applied heat to a newly lathed-and-hammered Paragon could create the same effect.

   Experiments began, and prototypes were sent to California for "field-testing" by me and Sabian's Chris Stankee. Each prototype was carefully weighed and played, with stick-tip, shoulders, and mallets; notes were collected on a (very scientific) clipboard then exchanged with Mark at the factory. Eventually the formula was perfected.

   A careful application of the finished Paragon cymbal to a buffing wheel (a big old "steampunk" kind of machine, where a craftsman controls the force and time) brought it to a temperature of 400-degrees F, and produced a well-tempered instrument that danced on the stand, and sang out clear and bright. 

-  Neil Peart

Via Rushisaband and PowerWindows.com

Labels: cymbals, Sabian, written by NEP