What Goes On: Neil Peart Takes New Approach To Rush Recordings

Nearl Peart of Rush, Vegas, 2008 (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

There are few rock bands in the world that feature drum tracks as complicated and multi-faceted as those that are produced by Rush and their percussionist Neil Peart. For their upcoming album, Peart speaks of a new approach to keeping time.

“I played through each song just a few time on my own,” Peart told Rock News Desk, “then called in [producer Nick 'Booujzhe' Raskulinecz]. He stood in the room with me, facing my drums, with a music stand and a single drumstick. He was my conductor and I was his orchestra. I later replaced that stick with a real baton.”

“I would attack the drums, responding to his enthusiasm, and his suggestions between takes,” he added, noting that the new process is far more spontaneous, less reliant on working through complicated drum charts.

The article reports that the band are about to start mixing Clockwork Angels. Peart says: “It is too early to say anything about the results. I once described mixing as ‘the end of waiting’ – Geddy Lee calls it ‘the death of hope’.”

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