As utterly fantastic as Neil was, Geddy and Alex were equally fantastic... A fan since 1976, I will proudly carry the Rush banner for the rest of my life!! Thanks Ray & Nick.
I FIRST Saw RUSH Open for KISS In 1975. I was 10. My brother took my sister and I for our Birthday Present. When the Lights went down and RUSH Came out doing, "BASTILLE DAYS" I was just BLOWN AWAY! Since then I saw them 45 more times AND Got to CLINIC With Neil back in 1987 at PIT In Hollywood Cal. He IS, WAS, and ALWAYS WILL BE my MENTOR and the Reason I BECAME a Drummer/Percussionist! I'm 55 now and I've been playing for over 42 yrs. and Neil STILL Continues to Inspire me and "PUSH ME TO STRIVE FOR EXCELLENCE"!!! THAT is what I learned the MOST From Neil... NEVER Turn down a Challange! When it comes to bands I've been in, I've ALWAYS Pushed for songs that CHALLENGED me but ALSO Made the Audience go, "WOW! I've NEVER Heard a band play that song before?!" And i continue to strive for that in EVERYTHING I do! :D Thanks for the Music and Insertion Neil.. You will LIVE ON in Our Hearts, Our Souls and Our Music! YOU ARE and ALWAYS WILL BE "THE MAESTRO" and "THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME"! I MISS YOU SO MUCH! Joe
Well said brother. I have been a guitarist for 40+ years and got into Rush in the late 70s. All three of them were astounding musicians and really set the bar for precision and musicianship. I saw them many times live as well and was blown away every time. Neil was on an entirely different level. Every drummer I have played with was influenced by Neil in some fashion. I began playing drums many years ago just out of a curious desire because of Rush (actually becoming somewhat proficient even though I consider myself a hack lol!). My teenage son began drumming and I told him if you want to become proficient, study the Professor. I showed him videos of Neil's performances. What a great story. There will never be another band like Rush. God bless and take care.
You probably dont care but if you guys are stoned like me during the covid times you can stream pretty much all the latest series on InstaFlixxer. Have been binge watching with my girlfriend for the last couple of days xD
It's still hard to believe Neil is gone. He inspired my drumming but, equally as important, his lyrics were great company for a lonely kid who felt like an outcast of society. Ray Luzier is also one of my all time favorite drummers. Fascinating to watch and inspiring to hear. I still jam out to Army Of Anyone on the regular. A timeless album. That groove on the chorus of "goodbye!" That monster fill on "leave it." Korn hit the jackpot when they scooped Ray up. He's such a perfect fit for that band. Keep Rockin around the world Ray and I'll admire your work from a distance here in PA; not too far from where you grew up.
In 1990 I went to the Show Don't Tell Your, I was able to go back stage, sit on Neil's drum set and his drum tech, Larry Allen gave me a pair of his sticks, I still have them as well.
@@d.a.w.975 My first Rush show was the summer of 1990 on that same tour with Mr. Big opening. Mr. Big appropriately ended with "Addicted To That Rush".
Thanks Nick for producing Snakes and Arrows, And Clockwork Angels 2 of my favorite albums,Next to 2112 being my all time fave . And thanks Ray, For having Neil as an inspiration you're an excellent drummer also, One question, Are you still drumming with Korn?
The fact that Nick ran into the drum room to tell him about something instead of just hitting the talkback button shows you how much of a fan he is and how excited he was to tell him haha. Love it.
Yeah that's not a *good* thing.. being produced by an overexcited fanboy did not do much for their sound, those final two albums are murky sludge-fests
Ray I've been a Rush fan since 1983 a freshman in high school now I still listen to rush but since Neil's past away I was checking out a few you tube videos and I ran into one of your drum clinic videos you started warming up with the snare and than I hear you started with Blind and a awesome medley. From the bottom of my heart ❤ you my man became my favorite drummer after Neil. Thanks Ray for your beautiful drum playing its so Awesome 👌. I hope to one day see you at a Korn concert even though I'm an old fart at 55..Love You Ray...Thanks for giving me a chance to really enjoy a new drummer in my life..
I have a good friend that was a concert rigger for RUSH and Green Day for over 25 years he said he would watch Neil from above on the light trusses and said Neil was the best drummer he had ever seen Thanks for sharing your thoughts guys Peace!
Thank you, Ray!! Became a Rush fan in 1978 and it changed how thought about rock music. I was a drummer at the time and fell in love with Neil's style, talent of the band, and technical difficulty of their music. I will always be grateful for the gift of Rush. RIP NEP.
Great talk Ray, I was also 12 when I first heard All the World’s a Stage, amazing , I was hooked. I was was very lucky to see Rush inducted into the RnRoll hall of fame in LA . Nick was there , and played awesome bass for 2112, with Dave Grohl and Taylor Hawkins, they killed it. Then Geddy, Alex and Neil joined them. It was amazing , I’ll never forget it. You are so right when you say Neil will live on forever🥁 The Professor on the drum kit.
I so wish we had the internet when I was growing up on Rush. The shear availability of information we have at our fingertips now, makes the '70s and '80s seem like the dark ages. I was trying to learn Neil with cassette tapes and a cheap boombox. When cds came out we thought we were so advanced that we had hit the ceiling of knowledge. My drum learning experience would have improved much faster. I am very thankful there is a lot of Rush footage now at our fingertips, though.
For me, the mystique was as important as the music. I go to concerts these days and people are bored. They prefer the sound of their own voice to what is going on on stage. Music, live shows and band info is now omnipresent. People watch the tour shows on TH-cam before they go to the concert. The excitement before the tour back then was electric. I wouldn't change it for the world.
@@Smudgie Great point. But you notice that this is evident mostly in those who have their eyes on their phone every hour of the day, the excess of over-stimulation. They allow themselves to drown in it, whereas even today if you have self discipline, you can still enjoy the moment and appreciate it for what it is. Glad you responded. Peace.
@@rogersanderscustoms8121 You're right of course, I was probably over-generalising. There are those who feel that if they weren't there, and they didn't post it on Facebook, then it didn't happen. And there are those who just want to see the band and listen and not watch a sea of mobile phones. Back then it was all about the music. The only time we saw the band was in the monthly music press or on the album sleeve. I remember when Tom Sawyer made it onto Top of the Pops, a weekly music show. It was a major event! These things are burned into my memory. I remember learning songs from the record, by ear. It was a sometimes tortuous project, and not kind to vinyl. Now everyone has access to teachers on TH-cam. Yes it's a good thing of course but I still feel something is missing. The trained ear. The dark ages had something going for it. ;-)
@@Smudgie You're right. Your description brought a lot back. I know a lot of kids are not going to feel that struggle and it will cost them and ultimately us. I do agree something is missing (proper guidance it seems). Kinda reminds of "No One At The Bridge" in a way......"I need, I need a guiding hand". It takes a pyramidical (my word, lol) team to raise a child and if you hand over the helm to them and walk away, many of them will have fun until they steer it into the rocks. I know, I'm sounding a bit cynical. Getting old sucks! :D
I'm just an ordinary, average guy who fell in love with Rush upon first hearing Entre Nous in 8th grade. It was a love song for grown-ups, and that fact just grabbed me by the nards, and over the course of the next 42 years never once let me go. Losing Neil was the greatest gut-punch in my life for somebody I was never lucky enough to meet. But through his books, especially Ghost Rider, and 19 albums worth of his lyrics, you felt like you knew him...at least the essence of who he was. I'm getting misty now as I write this. Thanks for the reflections, gentlemen. P.S. Nick: Signals was my first show too. I quit my job to see the show. Pretty sure I told the owner off with some colorful language too!
I got to see Neil playing up close and I remember thinking that for a guy with so much technique, he really smacked the drums HARD!!!!....I miss the Professor....
Thank you Mr Luzier! You're a great inspiration even when you're not playin! Neil was (and still is) my greatest inspiration, and a after a long time without playing the drums, the way you play motivated me to play again. Thank you so much!
The man looked like a school teacher ( just as smart) but was a Rockstar!! His inspiration will Never be fully realized!! At least now all the greats of today are talking about it much like EVH. It kinda sucks the Greats have to pass before they get there due! Neil was the GOAT. RIP sir!!
Enjoyed that guys thanks! - nice words and memories of the master - Ray, you are a brilliant teacher / exponent of the art of drumming - thank you both #ripneil
Nick, this is so cool. Great work...those last records sounded fantastic. We are the same age. My first time seeing them live was in1984 (I was 14), grace under pressure. I was fortunate enough to see them on every tour since that tour, until they retired. RIP professor
Unfortunately those last records do not sound fantastic. I am not even an audiophile by any means, but I can still hear "brick-walling" in the music. Listen to "The Garden", specifically Lifeson's solo. The strings in the background clip very frequently. I also opened the track in Audacity and the waveforms confirm it. They suffer from too much loudness and bass. Peart's work suffers the worst. His drums sound muddled and dull compared to the rest of their discography. I still love the music itself and hold Clockwork Angels in high regard, but the production is very hard to get over.
Hi ray. I’ve never gone down the path of Korn at all (sorry about that), but will definitely check you out now based on your high regard for Mr Peart. Enjoyed listening to you and nick (he’s awesome too) talk about Neil and the other guys. Miss that band not being in the spotlight anymore but the music lives on. Neil is a role model to many of us out there...so look forward to listening to Korn. 👍🏻
I hung out at a Hotel Party with Geddy, and Alex from Rush catching a Buzz together, and talking about music for about two hours sitting next to Alex. We were Drinking, and Puffing! That was back in 1976. That was Six years before Nick met them.
I am just as big a Ray fan as I am a Neil fan, you may have been influenced by Neil but you my friend are from your own planet, I hail thee in the same regard my brother
“Why am I sitting here between these speakers listening to the drums??? I am trying to be a guitar player….” 1978, listening to all the worlds a stage. And THAT folks is why Mr Peart is the exalted, kingly king of the universe of drumming…behold it, scream it from the mountaintops….the craft of drumming will never be better tended to than by Neil….I always gotta put Buddy at #1, but Neil is as close a number 2 as close can be….we forget how great he was because we had become accustomed to his sound.
Interesting little known fact: in the late 1980's, Neil lost a stick during a solo, which struck Geddy in the throat, dropping his voice several octaves thereafter. Thankgod.
As utterly fantastic as Neil was, Geddy and Alex were equally fantastic... A fan since 1976, I will proudly carry the Rush banner for the rest of my life!! Thanks Ray & Nick.
RUSH is greater than the sum of it's parts.
Watching two COMPLETE professionals talk about someone who has influenced me since I was in high school (1982) is immensely enjoyable. Thank you.
He’s the main reason why I wanted to learn to play the drums.
I FIRST Saw RUSH Open for KISS In 1975. I was 10. My brother took my sister and I for our Birthday Present. When the Lights went down and RUSH Came out doing, "BASTILLE DAYS" I was just BLOWN AWAY!
Since then I saw them 45 more times AND Got to CLINIC With Neil back in 1987 at PIT In Hollywood Cal. He IS, WAS, and ALWAYS WILL BE my MENTOR and the Reason I BECAME a Drummer/Percussionist! I'm 55 now and I've been playing for over 42 yrs. and Neil STILL Continues to Inspire me and "PUSH ME TO STRIVE FOR EXCELLENCE"!!!
THAT is what I learned the MOST From Neil... NEVER Turn down a Challange! When it comes to bands I've been in, I've ALWAYS Pushed for songs that CHALLENGED me but ALSO Made the Audience go, "WOW! I've NEVER Heard a band play that song before?!"
And i continue to strive for that in EVERYTHING I do! :D
Thanks for the Music and Insertion Neil.. You will LIVE ON in Our Hearts, Our Souls and Our Music!
YOU ARE and ALWAYS WILL BE "THE MAESTRO" and "THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME"!
I MISS YOU SO MUCH!
Joe
Well said brother. I have been a guitarist for 40+ years and got into Rush in the late 70s. All three of them were astounding musicians and really set the bar for precision and musicianship. I saw them many times live as well and was blown away every time. Neil was on an entirely different level. Every drummer I have played with was influenced by Neil in some fashion. I began playing drums many years ago just out of a curious desire because of Rush (actually becoming somewhat proficient even though I consider myself a hack lol!). My teenage son began drumming and I told him if you want to become proficient, study the Professor. I showed him videos of Neil's performances. What a great story. There will never be another band like Rush. God bless and take care.
Beautiful
RUSH and NEIL 4ever ! And Ray and Nick are awesome as well! :)
Goosebumps on just imagining to hold that drumsticks
Lucky to have seen them in 1979, Hemispheres tour, and 39 shows after. Neil has always been hit hard.
Same for me it started in 84 g/p Tour and 36 shows after.
@@01FUMBLE damn!
@@01FUMBLE GUP was my first tour too. Saw them on every tour through the final tour
You probably dont care but if you guys are stoned like me during the covid times you can stream pretty much all the latest series on InstaFlixxer. Have been binge watching with my girlfriend for the last couple of days xD
@Nixon Jase definitely, I have been using Instaflixxer for since december myself :D
Nice hearing you and Nick talk about Neil... hard to believe it has almost been a year since he passed.
It's still hard to believe Neil is gone. He inspired my drumming but, equally as important, his lyrics were great company for a lonely kid who felt like an outcast of society. Ray Luzier is also one of my all time favorite drummers. Fascinating to watch and inspiring to hear. I still jam out to Army Of Anyone on the regular. A timeless album. That groove on the chorus of "goodbye!" That monster fill on "leave it." Korn hit the jackpot when they scooped Ray up. He's such a perfect fit for that band. Keep Rockin around the world Ray and I'll admire your work from a distance here in PA; not too far from where you grew up.
"Neil Ellwood Peart"
September 12, 1952 -- January 7, 2020
"A Farewell to a King"👑
He plays drums man. Damn
@@mattjwatson5089 Yea, perhaps you've heard of him.
"(Neil was) your favorite drummer's favorite drummer." - I wish I could remember who first said that.
Signals tour in 82 was my first Rush show too. What more could a 12 year old wish for?!! A teacher of teachers. Such an influence. Thank you!
Saw him for the 1st time in 1977 & every UK tour thereafter
In 1990 I went to the Show Don't Tell Your, I was able to go back stage, sit on Neil's drum set and his drum tech, Larry Allen gave me a pair of his sticks, I still have them as well.
@@d.a.w.975 My first Rush show was the summer of 1990 on that same tour with Mr. Big opening. Mr. Big appropriately ended with "Addicted To That Rush".
Thanks Nick for producing Snakes and Arrows, And Clockwork Angels 2 of my favorite albums,Next to 2112 being my all time fave . And thanks Ray, For having Neil as an inspiration you're an excellent drummer also, One question, Are you still drumming with Korn?
2112 can never be eclipsed…..behold it and scream it for all to hear. 😅
@@joerectifier no doubt!!!
The fact that Nick ran into the drum room to tell him about something instead of just hitting the talkback button shows you how much of a fan he is and how excited he was to tell him haha. Love it.
Yeah that's not a *good* thing.. being produced by an overexcited fanboy did not do much for their sound, those final two albums are murky sludge-fests
Great interview Ray! I can speak for all NP fans...thank you!
Ray I've been a Rush fan since 1983 a freshman in high school now I still listen to rush but since Neil's past away I was checking out a few you tube videos and I ran into one of your drum clinic videos you started warming up with the snare and than I hear you started with Blind and a awesome medley. From the bottom of my heart ❤ you my man became my favorite drummer after Neil. Thanks Ray for your beautiful drum playing its so Awesome 👌. I hope to one day see you at a Korn concert even though I'm an old fart at 55..Love You Ray...Thanks for giving me a chance to really enjoy a new drummer in my life..
I have a good friend that was a concert rigger for RUSH and Green Day for over 25 years he said he would watch Neil from above on the light trusses and said Neil was the best drummer he had ever seen Thanks for sharing your thoughts guys Peace!
Thank you, Ray!! Became a Rush fan in 1978 and it changed how thought about rock music. I was a drummer at the time and fell in love with Neil's style, talent of the band, and technical difficulty of their music. I will always be grateful for the gift of Rush. RIP NEP.
Great talk Ray, I was also 12 when I first heard All the World’s a Stage, amazing , I was hooked. I was was very lucky to see Rush inducted into the RnRoll hall of fame in LA . Nick was there , and played awesome bass for 2112, with Dave Grohl and Taylor Hawkins, they killed it. Then Geddy, Alex and Neil joined them. It was amazing , I’ll never forget it. You are so right when you say Neil will live on forever🥁 The Professor on the drum kit.
Great Vid, fan since 1979
I so wish we had the internet when I was growing up on Rush. The shear availability of information we have at our fingertips now, makes the '70s and '80s seem like the dark ages. I was trying to learn Neil with cassette tapes and a cheap boombox. When cds came out we thought we were so advanced that we had hit the ceiling of knowledge. My drum learning experience would have improved much faster. I am very thankful there is a lot of Rush footage now at our fingertips, though.
For me, the mystique was as important as the music. I go to concerts these days and people are bored. They prefer the sound of their own voice to what is going on on stage. Music, live shows and band info is now omnipresent. People watch the tour shows on TH-cam before they go to the concert. The excitement before the tour back then was electric. I wouldn't change it for the world.
@@Smudgie Great point. But you notice that this is evident mostly in those who have their eyes on their phone every hour of the day, the excess of over-stimulation. They allow themselves to drown in it, whereas even today if you have self discipline, you can still enjoy the moment and appreciate it for what it is. Glad you responded. Peace.
@@rogersanderscustoms8121 You're right of course, I was probably over-generalising. There are those who feel that if they weren't there, and they didn't post it on Facebook, then it didn't happen. And there are those who just want to see the band and listen and not watch a sea of mobile phones.
Back then it was all about the music. The only time we saw the band was in the monthly music press or on the album sleeve. I remember when Tom Sawyer made it onto Top of the Pops, a weekly music show. It was a major event! These things are burned into my memory.
I remember learning songs from the record, by ear.
It was a sometimes tortuous project, and not kind to vinyl. Now everyone has access to teachers on TH-cam. Yes it's a good thing of course but I still feel something is missing. The trained ear.
The dark ages had something going for it. ;-)
@@Smudgie You're right. Your description brought a lot back. I know a lot of kids are not going to feel that struggle and it will cost them and ultimately us. I do agree something is missing (proper guidance it seems). Kinda reminds of "No One At The Bridge" in a way......"I need, I need a guiding hand". It takes a pyramidical (my word, lol) team to raise a child and if you hand over the helm to them and walk away, many of them will have fun until they steer it into the rocks. I know, I'm sounding a bit cynical. Getting old sucks! :D
You have the life sir!
I'm just an ordinary, average guy who fell in love with Rush upon first hearing Entre Nous in 8th grade. It was a love song for grown-ups, and that fact just grabbed me by the nards, and over the course of the next 42 years never once let me go. Losing Neil was the greatest gut-punch in my life for somebody I was never lucky enough to meet. But through his books, especially Ghost Rider, and 19 albums worth of his lyrics, you felt like you knew him...at least the essence of who he was. I'm getting misty now as I write this.
Thanks for the reflections, gentlemen.
P.S. Nick: Signals was my first show too. I quit my job to see the show. Pretty sure I told the owner off with some colorful language too!
Damn Ray Iv'e seen you live and being a player myself, I absolutely saw the Neil influence, to touch Neil's sticks.... I'm not worthy
I got to see Neil playing up close and I remember thinking that for a guy with so much technique, he really smacked the drums HARD!!!!....I miss the Professor....
Thank you Mr Luzier! You're a great inspiration even when you're not playin! Neil was (and still is) my greatest inspiration, and a after a long time without playing the drums, the way you play motivated me to play again. Thank you so much!
Nick! I’m loving the shirt! FTG.
My favorite drummer. I’ll be in Nashville tomorrow. Gonna check out this studio.
My hero. The greatest of all time
The man looked like a school teacher ( just as smart) but was a Rockstar!! His inspiration will Never be fully realized!! At least now all the greats of today are talking about it much like EVH. It kinda sucks the Greats have to pass before they get there due! Neil was the GOAT. RIP sir!!
Two titans of rock lost the same year.
@@jessez.4411 THE titans of rock
Enjoyed that guys thanks! - nice words and memories of the master - Ray, you are a brilliant teacher / exponent of the art of drumming - thank you both #ripneil
Nick, this is so cool. Great work...those last records sounded fantastic. We are the same age. My first time seeing them live was in1984 (I was 14), grace under pressure. I was fortunate enough to see them on every tour since that tour, until they retired. RIP professor
Unfortunately those last records do not sound fantastic. I am not even an audiophile by any means, but I can still hear "brick-walling" in the music. Listen to "The Garden", specifically Lifeson's solo. The strings in the background clip very frequently. I also opened the track in Audacity and the waveforms confirm it. They suffer from too much loudness and bass. Peart's work suffers the worst. His drums sound muddled and dull compared to the rest of their discography. I still love the music itself and hold Clockwork Angels in high regard, but the production is very hard to get over.
Awesome, thank you guys.
Thanks guys
Hi ray. I’ve never gone down the path of Korn at all (sorry about that), but will definitely check you out now based on your high regard for Mr Peart. Enjoyed listening to you and nick (he’s awesome too) talk about Neil and the other guys. Miss that band not being in the spotlight anymore but the music lives on. Neil is a role model to many of us out there...so look forward to listening to Korn.
👍🏻
Saw them in New Orleans in 1978!!! That was my first of five.
Both of those albums were recorded in Toronto, close to where I live.
I hung out at a Hotel Party with Geddy, and Alex from Rush catching a Buzz together, and talking about music for about two hours sitting next to Alex. We were Drinking, and Puffing! That was back in 1976. That was Six years before Nick met them.
Geddy Lee It IS tall Guy?
I am just as big a Ray fan as I am a Neil fan, you may have been influenced by Neil but you my friend are from your own planet, I hail thee in the same regard my brother
Jerry Mercer, Neil Peart, Stewart Copeland, Danny Carey, Ray, Tommy Aldridge. Seen Ray 3 times live to just watch him !
Ya, great to see you mention Mercer. Another Canadian drum legend.
RAY!
MONSTER!!!!
YOU MADE IT BRO!
DRUMMERS TALK ABOUT YOU...... NOW!!!
Uuugh here come the tears for Neil
My Favourite Drummer and Producer all over the world ever 🤘🤘 ❤️the band of KORN.. The NOTHING album is the Best sound record for me❤️👍.
Ray..........
You have the helm now
“Why am I sitting here between these speakers listening to the drums??? I am trying to be a guitar player….” 1978, listening to all the worlds a stage. And THAT folks is why Mr Peart is the exalted, kingly king of the universe of drumming…behold it, scream it from the mountaintops….the craft of drumming will never be better tended to than by Neil….I always gotta put Buddy at #1, but Neil is as close a number 2 as close can be….we forget how great he was because we had become accustomed to his sound.
Pro-Mark 747 oak. The only sticks Neil used during his entire career.
I started using those as a young player, anything else feels like a giant piece of lumber!
@@jessez.4411 LOL YEP! I've been using those SAME STICKS For over 42 yrs. now! ANYTHING ELSE Is like using LARGE TREE BRANCHES!!! LOL :D
The oaks were not too lofty in this case.
RUSH : CANADA'S GREATEST EXPORT
Heavy Ray. Super freak bar of 5, LOL!!!!
Nick rocked the Kimono.
👏👏👏🤟🏻🤟🏻🤟🏻🥁🥁🥁🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦
today is 21/12, 2020
Interesting little known fact: in the late 1980's, Neil lost a stick during a solo, which struck Geddy in the throat, dropping his voice several octaves thereafter. Thankgod.
❤
RushON!
Ray Luzier. I forgot about the stacks on the record player!! Mine had the radio and cassette player. That was the s@!t back in the day.
like being in a sub for a couple of months? Is Nick former Navy?
Achieve greatness through drumstick osmosis.
I need those sticks.
More Diamond Dave impersonations!
"You know"
Neil fvckin peart bro!!!
2020 went to shit after he died. Coincidence?
Neil smoked? I didn't know that. lol
Not the same as the Le Studio days!!
Neil smoked?
Hey rey luzihr eiy lov Drumsets Ken ju pliys Pikscher ey Drumsets