I was very sad to hear the news on the weekend of the passing of a drumming hero of mine, Neil Peart. His passion was life and drumming!
It was in the early 80's when my friend Shawn introduced me to a band called Rush. It was the Moving Pictures album and the only comment he made was that this record has "really great drums". It did, boy did it ever. I had never heard anything like the style Neil was playing. It was intense and creative. Just when you think you had the pattern figured out, he would change it! There were odd time signatures, there were weird sounds! It was wild and I was hooked. I have been a Rush fan ever since. I even got to see a concert!
As I dove deeper into the band I began to enjoy the writing of the lyrics. Neil was a guy who would pass the time on the tour bus and backstage by reading. It caused him to be a deep thinker and a prolific writer. He wrote several books which I have read. I was impressed by his style and voice. He would write about his travels in a way that made you feel like you were on the road with him! He was a really shy guy that liked to stay out of the spotlight, yet he could not avoid it! He suffered some terrible losses in the 90's. His daughter was killed in a collision and his wife died of cancer. Wow. that's rough. I know for a fact that he was not a man who believed in organized religion, but he could write about the search for meaning in a very thoughtful way.
My hope is that we all find our passion, as he did and then give our all to it. He inspired so many people to play drums and think deeper. What will other people be inspired to do because of YOUR passion?
