Rush, specifically, Neil Peart, inspired me to pick up the drums. When I was growing up, there was a kid a few streets over who had a drumset. Blue sparkle, I remember. I was able to watch him once or twice, so I knew the snare, cymbal, and drum sounds – what to hit to get what sound. I always loved music. I think “Juke Box Hero” may have been the first song I called my favorite. So I had some very basic understanding of drums, and an ear for music. Combining those things with a first hearing of Tom Sawyer in 1980 or ’81 set me on a path I could not avoid.
Fast forward to 2020. I got the news and then the world stopped in February that same year. Business and personal disaster followed for me, and while I had and have far more pressing matters, I feel a deep, selfish loss for never again feeling the cycle of a new Rush album every so often.
I never wanted “Signature” music instruments. I didn’t want an Ibanez Jem or a Music Man Wolfgang, for fear of not wanting to look like an imitator. It’s a silly concern, but it was me.
After Neil passed, I changed my perspective. It started with a need to add a Paragon Ride to my kit. That would be the homage.
Then Eddie died that same year. I called Chris Novak, who I knew to be a huge Van Halen fan, and who I knew had the goods. We discussed, and he agreed to do a live Van Halen tribute when the world came back to life. Over the months of discussions, it flipped from Van Halen to Rush. I had not known at the time I asked about the Van Halen thing that Chris is as big a Rush fan as he is. Once those conversations began, there was no turning back. The relatively easy task of a Van Halen tribute show metastasized into a Rush tribute.
On a technical note for the Rush fans that check in here: Neil, famously would rehearse for weeks before the full band rehearsals. He is credited for perfectionism because of this work ethic, but there is a practical concern beyond perfection. Prior to this tribute band, I laid off drums for years. My journey in the music business has not been rewarding, and my heart has been trashed by musicians in my past. I didn’t know that I would ever return. Neil’s passing changed that. It’s a morbid inspiration, I admit, but what he and Rush’s music means to me demanded my attention now.
In any case, after a multi-year hiatus, my hands could not play 30 seconds of “Losing It” without severely cramping. I was literally incapable of gigging. Neil and I both would need a conditioning time before we could work functionally with other musicians. Then it would be about “perfectionism.” I thought you might find it interesting. – Matt