Neil Peart -- The Latest News

You can now hear the full version of "Tom Sawyer" from XYZ - A Tribute to Rush. This is one of five tracks on the EP, which also includes "Red Barchetta," "YYZ," "Limelight," and an original, "Trifecta."

Pre-order Sonic Elements XYZ - A Tribute to Rush featuring Neil Peart Drums EP

• Download version (pre-order)
• Physical CD (pre-order)

Musicians:

• Vocals, Guitar - John Wesley (Porcupine Tree)
• Keyboards - Dave Kerzner (Simon Collins Band, Thud)
• Bass - Billy Sherwood (Yes, Circa)
• Drums - Neil Peart* (*Neil Peart Drums by Sonic Reality)

Read my interview with Dave Kerzner about Neil Peart Drums:

Everything you wanted to know about Sonic Reality's Neil Peart Drums

Labels: Neil Peart Drums, Neil Peart Studio Profile, Sonic Reality, XYZ - A Tribute to Rush

I recently had the opportunity to talk to Sonic Reality CEO Dave Kerzner about the story behind producing Neil Peart Drums. It was a fascinating conversation about not only how something like a virtual drum kit gets captured -- in this case Peart's Snakes & Arrows kit -- but also how you can use it in your own drumming or songwriting. If you've been wondering how to get started with Neil Peart Drums, check out this interview:

Everything you wanted to know about Sonic Reality's Neil Peart Drums

Dave also talked about what it was like to work Neil Peart. Here's an excerpt:

Neil was totally cool. Really nice guy. Quiet and introverted for the most part, but I talked with him and he was very gracious, accommodating, and good spirited�

If you are working with someone famous you have to control the fanboy in you and chill out (laughs). I mean to a certain extent. Even Nick Raskulinecz is like a big kid who loves Rush and air drums all the fills. Neil knows we're all in awe of that stuff. But you just have to be totally pro and keep your cool. Get things done and you have his respect. Enough respect for him to let you play his kit! Apparently that rarely ever happens. But I convinced Neil and his tech Loren to let me do it so I could explain how we sample the drums, which you can see on YouTube.

Thanks to Dave Kerzner for taking the time to talk to me.

If you have other questions for Dave, feel free to leave them in the comments, and I'll try to get them answered for you.

Labels: Neil Peart Drums, Neil Peart Studio Profile, Sonic Reality, XYZ - A Tribute to Rush

Sonic Reality's David Kerzner has been collaborating with other musicians on a unique project called XYZ - A Tribute to Rush. The 4 song EP, along with one bonus track, will be released on April 21, 2012.

This release, which is part of the Sonic Reality Progressive Rock Project, features Neil Peart Drums by Sonic Reality. These were samples recorded by Neil himself at the recording sessions for Neil Peart Drums a few years ago.

Here's more information about the tracks and the musicians:

1. Tom Sawyer

• Vocals, Guitar - John Wesley (Porcupine Tree)
• Keyboards - Dave Kerzner (Simon Collins Band, Thud)
• Bass - Billy Sherwood (Yes, Circa)
• Drums - Neil Peart* (*Neil Peart Drums by Sonic Reality)

2. Red Barchetta

• Vocals, Guitar -Rik Emmett (Triumph)
• Keyboards - Dave Kerzner (Simon Collins Band, Thud)
• Bass - Matt Dorsey (Simon Collins Band)
• Drums - Neil Peart* (*Neil Peart Drums by Sonic Reality)

3. YYZ

• Guitar, Bass - Billy Sherwood (Yes, Circa)
• Keyboards - Dave Kerzner (Simon Collins Band, Thud)
• Additional Guitars - Alastair Greene (Alan Parsons)
• Drums - Neil Peart* (*Neil Peart Drums by Sonic Reality)

4. Limelight

• Vocals - Randy McStine (Lo-Fi Resistance)
• Guitar - John Wesley (Porcupine Tree)
• Keyboards - Dave Kerzner (Simon Collins Band, Thud)
• Bass - Billy Sherwood (Yes, Circa)
• Drums - Neil Peart* (*Neil Peart Drums by Sonic Reality)

5. Bonus Track: Trifecta

(Original instrumental song written with the grooves of YYZ by Billy Sherwood & Dave Kerzner paying tribute to progressive rock)

• Guitar, Bass - Billy Sherwood (Yes, Circa)
• Keyboards - Dave Kerzner (Simon Collins Band, Thud)
• Drums - Neil Peart* (*Neil Peart Drums by Sonic Reality)

Release date: 4-21-12 Available for download and limited edition CD.

Listen to more at Sonic Elements' Soundcloud page.

Labels: Neil Peart Drums, Neil Peart Studio Profile, Sonic Reality, XYZ - A Tribute to Rush

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

Sonic Reality updated its website to include a page for Neil Peart Drums, a new target release date, and price.

Availability: Second Quarter 2010

Price: $199 (DVD edition)

Specs: (from a forum posting) 35 GB of hard disk storage

There's also a "making of" video showing the producers working on Neil's drum kit and Neil playing the kit.

There's also a demo video you can watch of someone playing the kit via keyboard.

I found this information about this product in the comments of the demo video, which explains a little more about how this product works.

Hello Sonic Reality,
I am FAIRLY new to these type of programs. I have a V-Drum setup and use? either Superior 2.0 and/or Addictive Drums. Could you tell me how I could use this with the V-Drums. What Player would I NEED to buy for it to work? THANKS ! Sounds are outstanding ! Can't wait for the electronic kit sounds to come out also. 3 weeks ago

sonicreality (uploader) You don't need anything! It comes with the software? to be able to play it. Infinite Player from Sonic Reality & Kontakt Player 4 by Native Instruments... now comes FREE with Neil Peart Drums Vol. 1: The Kit. You'll need a good 35 gigabytes of space on your hard drive though! Pre-orders start this week and the product will be shipping in 3-4 weeks or less. 1 week ago

Via rushisaband.com 

Labels: Neil Peart Studio Profile

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

There are a few things to report for this week:

The Snakes & Arrows Live DVD and Blu-ray disc was released on Monday, 11/24. I bought the Blu-ray (High Definition) version, and I have to say it's breathtaking. If you've been thinking of getting a Blu-ray player, this would be a great excuse. Here are some streams from Rounder:

• Limelight
• Far Cry
• The Spirit of Radio

The Drum Channel now has a free preview available of the Buddy Rich Memorial 2008 concert. The full concert is scheduled to be available on-demand on December 23, and then on DVD and Blu-ray in 2009. The Neil Peart segment is near the end, and it includes a bunch of camera angles including a footcam!

Neil Peart Studio ProFile Update

Back in April this year, we learned about a Neil Peart Studio ProFile project from Sonic Reality. While there's no confirmed release date, Sonic Reality told me in e-mail this week that they were looking at a possible April 2009 release. I'll keep you posted about this project.

To read more, go to this blog category.

Labels: Buddy Rich Memorial Concert, Neil Peart Studio Profile, Rush SnakesArrows

According to the KVR audio forum, a company called Sonic Reality recently completed a Neil Peart drum sampling session, engineered by Nick Raskulinecz. It appears the session started on March 18 in Los Angeles, and the final product is scheduled to be released by the end of 2008.

The end result of this project will be a "Neil Peart Studio Profile," most likely a complete sample of Neil's Snakes & Arrows DW kit and his V-drum sounds -- and possibly Neil Peart loops. Sonic Reality has produced other Studio Profiles on such drummers as Cheap Trick's Bun E. Carlos and Yes/Earthworks/King Crimson drummer Bill Bruford.

If you're curious about what this all means, you can basically buy professionally-recorded sampled sounds of drummers that you can use with music software on a computer -- or plug these samples into keyboards or electronic drums. Studio Profiles cost around $79.00.

In addition to this exciting news for drummers and other musicians out there, there are a few tidbits in the forum write-up by Squid (in several posts, which I edited a little). One thing that he writes about is the DW Snakes & Arrows kit will be available to buy in the near future.

March 18

Squids and Co in LA right now. We're doing a session with Neil Peart today! It's more than just me sampling but yes we are sampling his drum kit too! I will reveal more about the project when I am able to.

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March 19

So... I am at The Foo Fighters' studio right now. We just listened back to the tracks with Neil. HOLY S#$#*(%*#T!!!!!!!! There is this SEISMIC floor tom in his set that is the most massive boom! Wow. Explosive! Can you imagine playing Neil's kit? I can't WAIT until this is mapped. But, that is just one part of this session we did. There's more to it than that... very cool. Nick Raskulinecz who I think did a phenomenal job producing the last Rush album is co-producing this particular project with me (his studio is the Foo one... he mixed a bunch of Foo records) and it's really amazing that Neil and everyone are up for it! Very exciting.

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March 21

... Anyway, I was talking to Neil about playing his own kit from V-Drums after and he wasn't as interested in that (as say Omar Hakim was). So I think Neil is more just open to the idea of everyone else getting a chance to play around with his drum kit sound (and the rest of the project)... which is surprising and very cool. He's never done anything like this before.

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March 23

I was tempted to ask Neil about Rush lyrics. It's incredible that he's such an amazing drummer and writes those complex lyrics as well. I've always been curious what some of them mean or why he chose certain words that you don't commonly hear. But I wasn't sure if he'd want to talk about it or not so I didn't go there. I asked Nick if he ever talked at length to him about it and he hadn't either (with some significant hang time having produced the last Rush album). Neil is very comfortable with Nick so it was a good thing he was there. Plus Nick is a fantastic engineer. It was a very interesting mic set up. Two RCA ribbons for one room set and two U67s plus a Telefunken 251 mono room. 3 C12's for overheads to capture Neil's enormous kit.

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March 25

Anyway, here's a cool pic of Neil Peart, Terry Bozzio, me and Nick Raskulinecz. Nick was amazing in the session. He's one of the hottest producers around right now. He produced the last Rush album and three Foo Fighters albums and a bunch of other stuff. Cool guy and fun to work with too! Terry Bozzio is another really cool person who came by when we were recording Neil Peart. We have sampling session coming up with Terry recreating the sound he got with Missing Persons and producer/engineer/manager Ken Scott! Me, I'm just weaseling my way into a pic with these legends.

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March 30

... Apparently this "Neil Peart Kit" spec is or will be available to buy from DW! You wanna hear something totally cool? Neil liked Nick Raskulinecz' work so much on the last Rush album that for Nick's birthday a truck showed up at Nick's door with that DW kit as a present. Nice present huh? Shows you the kind of guy Neil is... and the kind of people the whole band and label are. Very grateful and generous.

When we were done, Neil signed a drum head for me wishing us success with the project. ... So... okay, yeah we're doing a Neil Peart Studio ProFile. But there's more to the session than that... quite exciting stuff! More news later.

Labels: drums, Neil Peart Studio Profile