I just came across this photo of Neil Peart. It was taken at his Toronto studio in 1994 when I interviewed him for my second “Lessons With The Greats” book. At that time I had found him to be very pleasant, extremely well spoken and generous with his time.
From that point on he would always be sure to comp me tickets for my friends and family to the local Rush shows. The seats were always the best in the house, and backstage passes were also included with most of the shows.
When he was studying with Freddie Gruber, Neil would send me a note telling me about his progress and discoveries. Considered by many to be one of the worlds greatest drummers, I was amazed on how humble he was through his learning process.
Neil was not only generous with tickets to the Rush shows, he was also very generous in helping out our Soundwall Rock Music Camp. Here is a picture of one of his touring snare drums, and an autographed cymbal that he donated to the camp.
Neil has been gone since January 7. I miss my friend. And I’m sure many drummers world wide miss him as well.
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