Tributes are Pouring In For Rush Drummer Neil Peart RIP
One of the most celebrated drummers in rock history is no more. NEIL PEART from RUSH died last Tuesday of brain cancer. He was 67.
The band announced it Friday morning, saying, quote, "It is with broken hearts and the deepest sadness that we must share the terrible news that on Tuesday our friend, soul brother and band mate of over 45 years, Neil, has lost his incredibly brave three and a half year battle with brain cancer . . .
"Rest in peace brother."
Peart never made his illness public, but it obviously had something do with the fact that Rush had been inactive since the R40 Live tour in 2015.
As vital as he was to the band, Neil wasn't Rush's original drummer. He replaced John Rutsey in 1974, and quickly became the band's main lyricist.
His first album with Rush was 1975's "Fly By Night" . . . and the rest is history.
For anyone who needs to be reminded, their classic tracks include "Tom Sawyer", "Limelight", "Closer to the Heart", "Fly By Night", "Free Will", and "New World Man".
Peart and his bandmates GEDDY LEE and ALEX LIFESON were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by Dave Grohl in 2012. (Apologies to John Rutsey.)
Tributes have been pouring in from the Foo Fighters, Questlove, Chad Smith and Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Adam Sandler, Jack Black, Geezer Butler . . .
And Metallica's Lars Ulrich, who said, quote, "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."
Former Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy said, quote, "He was so gracious and so full of heart, and I'm honored to have become friends with him over the past 15 years."
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And Blue Oyster Cult guitarist Buck Dharma shared a poster from one of their shows back in 1974 that says, quote, "Plus special guest stars Kiss . . . and introducing Rush." And admission was SIX BUCKS. (!!!)
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With the passing of Rush drummer Neil Peart, we found a Funny or Die clip where Jason Segel and Paul Rudd use fake backstage passes to hang out with the band. Neil calls Jason out for stealing his sandwich from the catering tray, and then Paul mispronounces Neil's last name. He says PAY-ART, but the correct pronunciation is PEERt. [Although a lot of people also incorrectly say Pert.]
(The video continues for a couple of minutes and Neil says "ass" again at 4:40 after they discover the fake backstage passes. It ends with Geddy Lee giving Paul's guitar back to him . . . and it was autographed by the band.)
Here's another great clip honoring Neil Peart and Rush. It's Jann Wenner announcing the 2013 Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame inductees. He rips through an impressive list of names and everyone politely applauds . . . until he says "and from Toronto." The crowd of usually jaded industry people suddenly goes absolutely crazy before he can even say Rush's name.
Final Results Of Rock Hall Of Fame Fan Vote
Voting is officially closed on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s fan ballot. Dave Matthews Band has come out on top.
Out of over eight-million total votes cast, Dave Matthews Band was the only entry to get over one-million. Rounding out the top five is Pat Benatar with the second-most votes (nearly 900K), followed by The Doobie Brothers (nearly 800K), Soundgarden (over 700K), and Judas Priest (almost 700K).
There’s no guarantee that the group will be inducted, but it’d be a pretty good guess. There’s a pattern of the top fan vote artists being inducted into the Rock Hall of Fame. The 2020 class of inductees will be officially announced on Wednesday.
See Results HERE
Pearl Jam Tease New Album?
Pearl Jam got their fans in a tizzy this weekend with speculation ripe that the band will be releasing a new album and possibly announcing a new tour.
It all started Thursday at midnight when the band tweeted out new artwork that featured their name written out like a heart EKG. Then later Friday they shared a map with markers in certain parts of the country, with the message, “We have something special for you. Locate the nearest marker and activate the lens once you arrive."
When clicked the markers revealed coordinates on the map, and took fans to an interactive augmented reality installation that Instagram and Facebook users could activate with their phone. The feature revealed a picture was melting ice caps, and when fans followed those coordinates in the highlighted cities they found billboards with the photo, by PaulNicklen, with the word Gigaton.
Many now speculating Gigaton is either the name of the band’s new single, or their new album and the photo is the cover of the new album. A Gigaton, by the way, is unit of measurement used to measure the loss of ice in the Antarctic.
·As for an official announcement of the album, fan club rumors suggest it may come as early as today, with possible North American tour dates to follow.
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DAVID LEE ROTH: EDDIE VAN HALEN 'Is Not Doing Well'
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