The recent passing of Neil Peart has inspired to me write about how the band Rush has influenced my life. If you are a musician reading this there is no doubt in my mind that Rush has effected you in similar ways.
Rush was a musician’s band, while also being a music group for the everyday person. They wrote relateable songs while crafting innovative music. Rush was Canada’s most successful and influential rock band. This was our Canadian power trio.
In this article, we will talk about a moment that made me realize how influential the group Rush was.
The Influence of Rush on Musicians
I realized over time that the groups that I took influence from also took influence from Rush. If you had ever played seven degrees of Kevin Bacon, then Rush is the Kevin Bacon of the music world. All rock bands usually point back to Rush when it comes to influence.
The most memorable moment came to me when I realized that the influence of Rush was in an unlikely place, the group Primus. When you first hear Primus it is hard to hear Rush or anything else other than the thought WTF am I listening to? This is the strength of Primus, they are an oddball band, progressive to the core.
Check out Primus play Spirit of the Radio in 1989.
Once I had made that connection I realized that everything about Primus said Rush to me. The more I listened to each band the more I realized that the Primus band members were embodying the personas of Rush. Les Claypool was a distorted ironic version of Geddy Lee. Larry LaLonde was embodying Alex Lifeson, the strong right-hand man who holds down the fort. Tim Alexander was a literal incarnation of Neil Peart, look at his drum set and demeanor.
This was the archetypal power trio where the bass player is the singer. No group could escape the reach of Rush’s influence for the power trio ensemble format.
Watch Rush play Spirit of the Radio also in 1989. Notice how each member plays their instrument. Isn’t it uncanny? Claypool has his bass hiked up in the same way, Alexander has a massive drum set, and LaLonde is the strong silent type on guitar.
Neil Peart’s Drumming
Talking about Peart’s drumming is difficult. It is hard to explain how good Neil Peart was. Poetics does not even come close to explaining his skill as a drummer and percussionist. But if you forgot, Peart was also the lyricist for the group. Why not see is poetics in action?
I can only remember Rush through the lens of a bass player. This is important because bass players and drummers need to be in complete sync for any music group to have a good foundation. This connection is what can make or break a band.
The old saying goes that if you have a good drummer you have a good band. Everything else can slip, but if the drummer is good, it can carry the group. Not only did Rush have a good drummer, but the two other musicians were also skillful.
Book Recommendation
A great way to get to know St. Peart is to read his work. I had a wonderful opportunity to read Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road. When I read this it was around 2011. The book was gripping and insightful beyond measure. I had to shoe horn the book into a university reading schedule, but I am glad I did. Peart’s story gave me a valuable insight into my literary musical studies.
Studying musical biographies seemed to always have a theme of tragedy and mortality. St. Peart’s story is about overcoming his personal grief from the loss of his wife and daughter. This is a heart ache of a tale, but inspirational in that it shows you how someone like St. Peart overcame personal loss. The easiest way to get this book is through amazon. Yes, this is my amazon associates link, so be careful with it because I can be compensated for this. Know that if you do, it would go far into maintaining content growth on this site.
Since we are talking about books, I could give you another one. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintaince: An Inquiry Into Values. Because St. Peart traveled Canada on a motor bike, you may find that this philosophic text can take you a little further into new worlds. After all, isn’t that what good art does for us? Takes us somewhere we haven’t been? You may not have excepted to have book recommendations found in this article, but I feel that you should leave with some valuable resources. St. Peart was well a read lyricists. I feel that he would have appreciated the fact that you are becoming well read too.
The Rush Coda
The passing of Peart is a moment of sorrow, but it can also be the key moment when we can refer to Neil Peart as Saint Peart. Rush and St. Peart made it cool to take your instrument seriously. They showed us that we could take pride in being a good musician and working hard. St. Peart was a model for all drummer’s technical prowess.
We could talk more about Rush, but I want to keep this short and sweet. Rush touched the heart and soul of myself and everyone around me. There was no one in my social circle who was not affected by the group in some way. We are lucky to have had the privilege to experience Rush in our lifetime, and they will no doubt be remembered as one of Canada’s great musical gifts to the world.
If you like Rush you may like our podcast. Start on episode 2 where I mention Rush. Enjoy