Influential? Absolutely. Here are some drummers inspired by St. Catharines' Neil Peart
Lars Ulrich
Neil Peart served as Rush's drummer and lyricist for four decades, selling millions of albums and being inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame, as well as the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Canadian Music Hall of Fame.
Peart was born in Hamilton but grew up in St. Catharines, and many of his songs were influenced by his experiences here.
Neil Peart at work during the Rush concert at Hamilton's Copps Coliseum in July 2013.
Peart died in 2020 from brain cancer at the age of 67, and it wasn't long before there was discussion of a local memorial.
Niagara Region Coun. Kelly Edgar from St. Catharines was one of the early advocates, and a
fundraising campaign was launched for a proposed memorial in Lakeside Park.
The campaign is struggling, however.
Artist Morgan MacDonald of the Newfoundland Bronze Foundry was selected to create a St. Catharines memorial in Neil Peart's honour by an evaluation committee. Fundraising for the Lakeside Park project is faltering, however.
Aside from Peart's impact on Canadian rock fans, there is also the impact he left on the music industry as a whole.
'He was called 'The Professor' for a reason: We all learned from him,' Dave Grohl
Multiple drummers have credited Peart as being an inspiration and influence on their own work.
Here are some drummers who have called Peart one of their inspirations:
Dave Grohl with Nirvana.
Before fronting Foo Fighters, Dave Grohl was the drummer for Nirvana.
Hearing Rush's '2112' album
'changed the direction
' of Grohl's life and motivated him to become a drummer. Peart was 'as influential as any religion or any hero or any person in someone's life,' he said in a 2013 story with Rolling Stone magazine.
Dave Grohl of the band Foo Fighters performs at the Rock in Rio music festival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in September 2019.
Grohl got to perform with Rush in 2013 as part of the band's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and he describes it as 'one of the most special nights of my life.
'He was called 'The Professor' for a reason:
we all learned from him
,' said Grohl in an article in Far Out.
Taylor Hawkins, who drummed for Foo Fighters until his death in 2022, also cited Peart as an influence during Rush's induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2013: 'This guy spawned a generation of air-drummers … There can never be another Neil Peart.'
Taylor Hawkins, left, and Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters react as they induct Rush into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Bassist Flea and drummer Chad Smith of Red Hot Chili Peppers at FirstOntario Centre in Hamilton in 2017.
The drummer for Red Hot Chili Peppers believes 'it's a prerequisite for all rock drummers to go through a Neil Peart phase,' in the
Far Out article
. According to Smith, a good portion of his sophomore year in high school was spent listening to '2112.'
Drummer Lars Ulrich of Metallica performs live at U.S. Bank Stadium in August 2016 in Minneapolis.
According to Ulrich, getting advice from Peart early on in his career was like hearing from
'the god of gods.'
Ulrich fondly recalls talking to Peart for the first time on the phone in 1984. Peart was happy to give Ulrich, who was 20 at the time, info on everything from gear to technique.
'You can't play drums and not love Neil,' he says.
Lars Ulrich drums as Metallica visits Toronto's Rogers Centre in July 2017 during the band's WorldWired Tour in support of its 10th studio album 'Hardwired To Self-Destruct.'
After Peart's death, Ulrich posted on Instagram: 'Thank you for inspiring me and for all your help and advice along the way, especially in the early days when you took the time to talk to a young green Danish drummer about recording, gear and the possibilities that lay ahead.'
Drummer Danny Carey with Tool at FirstOntario Centre in Hamilton in May 2017.
After winning a Grammy for best metal performance in 2020, Tool's Danny Carey
discussed the influence
Peart had on his drumming style, in a story on
Blabbermouth.net
which cited his 2020 Grammy Award comments. Carey aimed to replicate Peart's precision with his style, listing the Rush drummer in a trifecta of influences, along with Led Zeppelin's John Bonham and jazz drummer Tony Williams.
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