Other Projects – Neil Peart

Burning for Buddy

A tribute to the music of Buddy Rich, featuring: Marvin ‘Smitty’ Smith, David Garibaldi, Simon Phillips, Gregg Bissonette, Dave Weckl, with The Buddy Rich, Big Band.

In May of 1994, Neil Peart undertook a project which will forever stand as the ultimate tribute to Bernard ‘Buddy’ Rich. He and Buddy’s daughter, Cathy, invited eighteen of the most respected drummers in the world to New York’s Power Station studio, and for two to four weeks, each day, two or three world-class drummers would perform with the Buddy Rich Big Band. To quote Neil Peart: I’ll never forget those two weeks at the Power Station. I’d walk in excited every morning, wondering, what’s going on today?

The result of this monumental project was some of the most exciting music ever put on tape. The music from these historic sessions has been released by Atlantic Records on two CDs (the first in 1995 and the second in 1997). DCI Music Video/Warner Bros. Publications has created a video documental of the recording of these CDs in four volumes. The making of Burning for Buddy Parts One and Two encompass the music from the first CD and Parts Three and Four cover the second CD. These videos include each final take, candid footage of the drummers interacting with the band, with each other, and listening to playbacks.

Also included are clips of the master himself – Buddy Rich.

Neil Peart Taking Center Stage: Lifetime of Live Performances

Filmed in various locations over the course of a year, Neil Peart takes you on a behind-the-scenes look at Rush’s 2010-11 Time Machine tour. This includes rare and exclusive footage of Neil’s personal pre-tour rehearsals and backstage events at a Rush concert (including a visit to the soundcheck and an unprecedented backstage inteerview as Neil warms up for the show.) Each song features analysis and demonstrations by Neil, which are coupled with a detailed PDF eBook containing transcriptions of his parts. At the end of each song discussion, the viewer is transported onstage to a Rush concert to see the actual live performance of the song from the perspective of drum cameras only.

Neil Peart – A Work in Progress

This 2-DVD box documents the “work in progress” of recording Rush’s “Test for Echo” album, as well as Neil himself, in the studio. Neil’s special approach to drums is featured in songs from “Test”, also a 4 camera shoot as Neil lays down the fiery creative drummikng for which he is known. Other topics include a discussion of Neil’s DW drumset, his approach to odd times, playing with a vocalist & a “guided tour” of Neil’s warmup routine; lots more.

Neil Peart – Anatomy of a Drum Solo

Anatomy of a Drum Solo presents newly recorded, in-studio footage of Neil discussing his approach to soloing. Using a solo recorded in September of 2004 in Frankfurt, Germany as a framework, Neil talks about each segment of this nine-minute tour de force that is a feature of every Rush performance. He describes the inspiration and the conceptual thinking behind each part of the solo and discusses, and often demonstrates, the technique necessary for playing that segment.