Neil Peart

A Canadian musician and author He is the drummer for the rock band Rush Peart grew up in Port Dalhousie Ontario now part of St Catharines During adolescence he floated from regional band to regional band in pursuit of a career as a fulltime drummer After a discouraging stint in England to concentrate on his music Peart returned home where he joined a local Toronto band Rush in the summer of 1974 Early in his career Pearts performance style was deeply rooted in hard rock He drew most of his inspiration from drummers such as Keith Moon and John Bonham players who were at the forefront of the British hard rock scene As time passed however he began to emulate jazz and big band musicians Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich In 1994 Peart became a friend and pupil of jazz instructor Freddie Gruber It was during this time that Peart decided to revamp his playing style by incorporating jazz and swing components Gruber was also responsible for introducing him to the products of Drum Workshop the company whose products Peart currently endorses Peart has received numerous awards for his musical performances and is known for his technical proficiency and stamina In addition to being a musician Peart is also a prolific writer having published several memoirs about his travels Peart is also Rushs primary lyricist In writing lyrics for Rush Peart addresses universal themes and diverse subject matter including science fiction fantasy and philosophy as well as secular humanitarian and libertarian themes All four of his books are travelbased nonfiction though they diverge into his life and these subjects as well Peart currently resides in Santa Monica California with his wife photographer Carrie Nuttall and daughter Olivia Louise He also has a home in the Laurentian Mountains of Quebec and spends time in Toronto for recording purposes Description above from the Wikipedia article Neil Peart licensed under CCBYSA full list of contributors on Wikipedia