Over the weekend i finally had the chance to see the much hyped doc “It Might Get Loud“… Man, what a snooze-fest! Actually, i was very interested in what The Edge had to say, but those other two? However, i powered through it with the occasional daydream of how a doc about drummers would be so much more interesting. Then it dawned on me; in the 25 years that i’ve been playing drums, maybe 3 people have asked who inspired me to play initially, as well as who is still inspiring to me. So, this blog goes out to those 3 peeps, the rest of you may want to check back in later 🙂
No drummer of my age can escape the influence of Neil Peart. I loved Rush as a kid, but not one single band i’ve been in has sounded in any way like Rush. Nor am i capable of the kind of Mojo required to play most Rush songs. That being said, i still love watching this man play, it’s good to have him set the benchmark, and i do notice some of his influence in my “feel” when behind other great musicians. Here’s the most air-drummed song of all time; ‘Tom Sawyer’ by Rush.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JK1MTh_NcYY&feature=related]
Now, i mentioned above that i am still not capable of playing most of the Rush catalogue, but that’s not a problem for this little guy, and he’s 9x my junior! Check out 4 year-old Jonah!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBm2jY7yrSM&feature=related]
Lastly, what would a blog about Rush & Neil Peart be without both YYZ & a drum solo?
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sa0C5Uxpd3c&feature=related]
Tony
Media Producer
PlayNetwork, Inc.
