Neil Peart -- The Latest News

According to an interview with Alex Lifeson in Rolling Stone, Rush is gearing up for a 41st Anniversary tour in 2015. And even though Alex says he doesn't know if this will be called the "41st anniversary tour," let's see how this looks:

Read the full story here: Rush Plotting 41st Anniversary Tour for 2015 | Music News | Rolling Stone

Rush Plotting 41st Anniversary Tour for 2015

By Andy Greene

March 20, 2014 2:50 PM ET

Rush wrapped up their worldwide Clockwork Angels tour just seven months ago, but they're already planning a lengthy "41st anniversary" tour for 2015, according to guitarist Alex Lifeson. "The three of us just had a meeting," Lifeson tells Rolling Stone. "We said, 'Let's not talk about anything band-wise for the next year. Let's separate ourselves and come back rejuvenated.' Unfortunately, the other people at that meeting didn't hear what we were talking about, so there are already plans being made for spring of 2015. It's going to be a 41st anniversary tour, or whatever they're going to call it."

The specifics of the tour are still in flux. "We haven't really talked seriously about what we want to do," says Lifeson. "But I think we're probably going to lean towards making it a real sort of fan event, and really try to put something together that's very pleasing for the fans across the board. That's always been difficult, for us to sort of balance things."

Rush's last tour was centered around the group's new album, Clockwork Angels, as well as deep cuts from their 1980s catalog. They didn't play a single song from the 1970s until a show-closing medley of tracks from 2112. "We want to try and play different material this time," Lifeson says. "I've always wanted to do some rarer Rush material, and this should be a good opportunity to do that. I also think it's going to be a long tour. We just need to stay healthy until then."

This year marks the group's 40th anniversary with drummer Neil Peart, but the group was too burned out to celebrate with a tour. "We have had a great 10 years of tour, album, tour album," bassist/singer Geddy Lee told Rolling Stone in September. "I can honestly say that the three of us enjoyed this tour more than any one we've ever done. We left on a high note, but we recognize that we need to pay attention to our families and recharge our batteries."

Additional reporting by Brian Hiatt.

Thanks to Rushisaband for the head's up!

Labels: Rush 2015 Tour

Neil Peart wrote the foreword for Gavin Harrison's new Hudson Music drum book, Rhythmic Composition. Here's more info from Hudson Music's website:

Rhythmic Composition documents Gavin's work with the popular progressive rock band Porcupine Tree. The book includes 20 highly detailed drum transcriptions by Terry Branam and in-depth commentary from Gavin Harrison taking you through the concepts of each song. Included are some of Gavin's most legendary drum parts, including "Blackest Eyes," "Trains," "The Sound of Muzak," "Futile," "Halo," "Anesthetize," "Nil Recurring," "Cheating the Polygraph," and others.

Following an enlightening foreword by drumming legend Neil Peart of Rush, Gavin discusses the drum parts of each song, and often details the recording process and the source of his ideas for the drum parts and songs themselves. Overall, the book provides a fascinating and educational look at the conceptual, creative, and technical  sides of Gavin's drumming.

Labels: foreword, Gavin Harrison, written by NEP

The first of six Clockwork Angels comics was released today, March 19. This series is a collaboration between writer Kevin J. Anderson (who brought us Clockwork Angels: The Novel) and artist Nick Robles -- based on a story and lyrics by Neil Peart.

You can buy Clockwork Angels #1 (and upcoming issues) at your local comic store or Rush Backstage, including "Cover A" and "Cover A Limited Edition" versions. There are even more covers available from BOOM! Studios.

Check out a preview of the comic here.

Here's the "Cover A Limited Edition":

The reviews so far have been great. You can read a few here:

Comic Bastards:

The art in this book is really gorgeous.  Apparently, Nick Robles is a newcomer so hopefully a lot of people will discover his art through this book, because I'm already a fan.  The whole steampunk thing is very hackneyed at this point, but the art is so good in this book that I overlooked that fact completely.

Big Comic Page:

To start off with. WOW! Robles' illustrations on this are nothing short of spectacular, managing to encapsulate perfectly the writing of Anderson and the feel that Peart gives to all of his works. The use of sepia tones to indicate present time is a nice touch as well, what with the story being mostly told in flashbacks, and gives the whole thing an almost 'Wizard of Oz' feel to it. Everything is so beautifully sculpted that a world is created that manages to be both Victorian Steampunk and Sci-Fi Opera.

Labels: Clockwork Angels Comic Adaptation, Kevin J. Anderson

Neil has updated his website with a new story (two months in a row now!). You can read it here:

March 2014: "Not All Days Are Sundays"

Labels: neilpeart.net, written by NEP

Neil is featured in the March 2014 BMW Owners News (ON) magazine in a story called "Backroads & Backbeats: Neil Peart Takes the Scenic Way to Work", by Don Argento. This magazine is only available to subscribers,  but John at Cygnus-x1.net has kindly posted a copy.

Here's an excerpt (I added the link to a related article on Neil's site):

"When I was in my forties, I decided I had grown up as far as I was going to." In the mid-1990s, he and his pal Brutus started their BMW motorcycling experiences with an R1100RS and a K1100RS that they rode up to the Arctic and around Mexico. He reports, "Those were very unsuitable bikes for adventure touring." So when the first Oilhead GS came out, they both bought those and traveled through Germany, Austria, Italy and Sicily, ferried over to Tunisia and went around the Sahara. He recalls excitedly, "We had all the adventures that adventure travel should contain. We said, 'Okay, this is for us!'" So the GS became his "preferred mode of travel."

Neil was previously featured in BMW ON in April 2005. You can read it on NeilPeart.net: "Motorcycling: The Perennial Gift" (PDF).

Labels: BMW On, interview, motorcycling