A drum kit (also drum set, or trap set) is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person (drummer).

The individual instruments of a drum kit are hit by a variety of implements held in the hand, including sticks, brushes, and mallets. Two exceptions include the bass drum, played by a foot-operated pedal, and the hi-hat cymbals, which may be struck together using a foot pedal in addition to being played with sticks or brushes. Although other instruments can be played using a pedal, the feet are usually occupied by the bass drum and hi hat, and as a result the drummer often plays in a seated position. Percussion notation is often used by drummers to signify which drum kit components are to be played. A full size drum kit without any additional percussion instruments includes a bass drum, floor tom, snare drum, tom-toms, and a variety of cymbals including hi-hat cymbals, a ride cymbal and one or more crash cymbals. The exact set-up is dictated by the type of music played and the drummer's personal preferences. For example, in most forms of rock music, the bass drum, hi-hat and snare drum are the primary instruments used to create a drum beat, whereas in jazz, ride and snare patterns tend to be more prevalent and the hi-hat is played with the foot.

Drum kits have ranged in size and components from old style jazz/dance hall kits through to modern rock/techno kits.

History and development

Drum kits are infants of the Vaudeville era. Pecuniary and theater space considerations demanded that fewer percussionists covered more percussion parts. In military and orchestral music settings, drums and cymbals were traditionally played separately by one or many percussionists. The bass drum, snare drum, cymbals and other percussion instruments were played by hand. Circa 1890, experimentation with foot pedals began. Liberating the hands for the first time, this evolution saw the bass drum played (first standing) with the foot of a percussionist and became the central piece around which every other percussion instruments would later revolve. Ludwig-Musser, William F. Ludwig Senior and his brother Theodor Ludwig founded the Ludwig & Ludwig Co. in 1909 and patented the first workable bass drum pedal system, paving the way for what was to become the modern drum kit

By World War I drum kits were characterized by very large bold marching bass drums and many percussion items suspended on and around them, and they became a central part of jazz music, specifically (but not limited to) dixieland. Metal consoles were developed to hold Chinese tom-toms, with swing out stands for snare drums and cymbals. On top of the console was a "contraption" (shortened to "trap") tray used to hold whistles, klaxons, and cowbells, thus drum kits were dubbed "trap kits." Hi-hat stands appeared around 1926.

By the 1930s, Ben Duncan and others popularized streamlined trap kits leading to a basic four piece drum set standard: bass, snare, tom-tom, and floor tom. In time legs were fitted to larger floor toms, and "consolettes" were devised to hold smaller tom-toms on the bass drum. In the 1940s, Louie Bellson pioneered use of two bass drums, or the double bass drum kit. Gene Krupa was the first drummer to head his own orchestra and thrust the drums into the spot light with his drum solos, and others would soon follow his lead. Krupa is also known to be the first to record a drum solo on a commercial record.

With the ascendance of rock and roll, a watershed moment occurred between 1962 and 1964 when the Surfaris released "Wipe Out," and when Ringo Starr of The Beatles played his Ludwig kit on American television; events that motivated legions to take up the drums.

The trend towards bigger drum kits in Rock music began in the 1960s and gained momentum in the 1970s. By the 1980s, widely popular drummers like Billy Cobham, Carl Palmer, Nicko McBrain, Phil Collins, Stewart Copeland and perhaps most notably Neil Peart were using large numbers of drums and cymbals[1] and had also begun using electronic drums. In the 1990s and 2000s, many drummers in popular music and indie music have reverted back to basic four piece drum set standard.[2]

In the 21st century, it is not uncommon for drummers to use a variety of auxiliary percussion instruments, found objects, and electronics as part of their "drum" kits. Popular electronics include: electronic sound modules; laptop computers used to activate loops, sequences and samples; metronomes and tempo meters; recording devices; and personal sound reinforcement equipment (e.g., a small PA system to amplify electronic drums and provide a monitor for singing).

Recording

On early recording mediums such as wax cylinders and discs carved with an engraving needle, it was noted that cymbals distorted sound and affected the spectrum of sound at playback. To remedy the situation, drummers were often asked to play the content of the cymbals onto woodblocks, temple blocks and cowbells because of their short attack.

This recording-specific particularity had the effect of altering the evolution of the drum set and of stigmatizing the sound of the music recorded at the time.

Components

thumb|right|200px||A china cymbal mounted on a standThe exact collection of a drum kit's components depends on factors such as musical style, personal preference, and transportation options of the drummer. Cymbal, hi-hat, and tom-tom stands, as well as bass drum pedals and drum thrones are usually standard in most drum kits. Most mass produced drum kits are sold in one of two five-piece configurations (referring to the number of drums only), which typically include a bass drum, a snare drum, two toms, and one floor tom.

Drum pedals have a felt, plastic, or wooden beater which the drummer operates by pressing down on the pedal. When the pedal is depressed, it pulls a chain, metal shaft, or sturdy cloth or plastic strap which is attached to the end of the fulcrum-mounted beater rod. Some bass pedals are designed to be attached to the bass drum using metal screws. The double bass pedal was developed to eliminate the need for a second bass drum. It has since become popular in metal music. Drummers that use two bass drums or pedals usually have their hi-hat unscrewed or have a different cymbal in place of the hi-hat, because of the extra kick pedal. Some drummers make use of a drop clutch, which is used to open or close the hi hat by tapping a device with the stick as an alternative to using the foot pedal. When the drop clutch is closed, this keeps the hi-hats closed without the drummer having to hold down the pedal. This frees up the foot that is normally used with the hi-hat to perform on the second bass drum pedal.

The standard hardware pack includes a hi-hat stand, a snare drum stand, two or three cymbal stands, and a bass drum pedal. Drum kits are usually offered as either complete kits which include drums and hardware, or as “shell packs” which include only the drums and sometimes tom mounting hardware. Cymbals are usually purchased separately and are also available in either packs or as individual pieces.

Basic drum kit

:Five-piece kit

Bass drum & pedal(s)

Snare drum & stand

Floor tom

Mounted tom (with mounting hardware) or second floor tom

Mounted tom (with mounting hardware)

Hi-hat cymbals & stand

Crash cymbal & stand

Ride cymbal & stand

Throne

:

"Four-piece kit", "five-piece kit", etc., refers to the actual number of drums in the set. Cymbals are not counted in this number.

Accessories

Drummers who perform in concert venues often have a variety of equipment cases to transport the drums, cymbals and hardware. Performers who play local gigs may only have relatively inexpensive padded cloth bags or thin plastic cases. Professional touring drummers who have to ship their drums will typically have heavy-duty road cases that will securely hold and protect the equipment during transport. Professional drummers may also carry their own drum microphones with them to shows, to avoid situations where a venue has only substandard equipment. Dynamic microphones, which can handle high sound pressure levels are usually used to close-mic drums while condenser mics are used for overheads and room mics. Some drummers who have their own mics have a set of drum-mounted mics, an approach which eliminates the need for mic stands and reduces set-up time. In some styles of music, drummers may also use electronic effects on drums. In some situations, drummers use noise gates that mute microphones below a threshold volume. This allows the sound engineer to use a higher overall volume for the drum kit, because it reduces the number of "active" mics which could feed back.

In some styles or settings, such as country music clubs or churches, the drummer may use a plexiglass screen to dampen the onstage volume of the drums. Many drummers who play in different venues carry carpeting or mats to prevent the bass drum from slipping on a wooden floor. Some drummers use an insulation-style filling or foam in the bass drum to lessen the "ringing" sound. Drummers often use a variety of accessories when they are practicing. Metronomes and beat counters are used to develop a steady rhythm. Drum muffling pads may be used to lessen the volume of drums during practicing.

Electronic drums

Some drummers use some or all electronic drum components. There are two approaches to using electronic drums. One approach is to use drum trigger pads for all of the different instruments. These pads are discs with a rubber-type coating that can be mounted on stands in the same locations that the traditional drum shells would be placed. Each disc has a piezoelectric transducer which transmits an electronic signal when it is struck. A patch cord from each drum pad disc is plugged into a drum synthesizer module and connected to the appropriate synthesized or sampled drum sound. Thus, when the drummer strikes the drum pad that is designated as the snare drum pad, the synthesizer module produces the sound of a snare drum. Since the sound is produced by a synthesizer, a performer can choose a range of sounds, such as samples of an actual drum or cymbal or electronic drum sounds. A drummer could even have the synthesizer produce non-drum sounds, such as sound effects or pitched notes.

The advantage of playing with a purely electronic drum kit is that there is no live drum sound, apart from any sound from a monitor or keyboard amplifier (which can be easily turned up or down). This may be desirable for venues in which only a quiet drum sound is desired, as in the case of a church or a music theater show. As well, a drummer with electronic drums can practice without being concerned about disturbing other people. Another advantage is that electronic drums do not need to be mic-ed and sound-checked. The disadvantage of electronic drums is that they may not have the full range of tonal options and textures that are available with acoustic drums. For example, an entry-level electronic drum system will have a snare sound, but the snare drum pad may not have a sensor that detects "rim shots" Also, the pads and plastic cymbals do not have the same feel as real drums and cymbals. Another disadvantage is that an electronic drum set needs to have a keyboard amplifier or PA system in order to be heard in a rehearsal.

Another approach to making electronic drums is to use an acoustic drum kit (wooden shells and metal cymbals) and attach trigger sensors to each drum or cymbal. The sensors are then routed to a synthesizer module in the same fashion as a purely electronic drum kit. The advantage of this approach is that a drummer could switch between traditional, natural drum sounds and electronica drum sounds throughout a performance.

Sizing

Snare, tom and bass drum sizes are commonly expressed as ''diameter x depth'', both in inches. For example, 14 x 5.5 (a popular snare size) would mean that the drum is 14 inches wide and 5.5 inches deep. However, some manufacturers reverse the conventional notation and put the depth first; they would call the aforementioned size 5.5 x 14. Makers who use the conventional diameter-first method include Drum Workshop, Slingerland, Premier Percussion, Tama Drums, Pearl Drums, Pork Pie Percussion, Ludwig, Sonor, Mapex, and Yamaha Drums

The standard sizes for a 5 piece, "2 up, 1 down" rock kit are: 22" x 18" bass drum, 12" x 9" rack tom, 13" x 10" rack tom, 16" x 16" floor tom and a 14" x 5.5" snare drum. Another common sized drum kit is a fusion set. A standard 5 piece fusion drum kit will consist of a 20" x 16" bass drum, 10" x 8" rack tom, 12" x 9" rack tom, 14" x 14" floor tom and a 14" x 5.5" snare drum. Jazz drum kits usually exclude the mid tom. In recent years manufacturers have introduced a modification to the standard rock kit, with more and more drum makers offering a "1 up, 2 down" configuration, where there are two floor toms and only one rack tom. This setup was first pioneered by Led Zeppelin's John Bonham, who in fact modeled his kit after Gene Krupa, a Big Band era jazz drummer. The amount of pieces in a drum kit can vary widely from player to player due to personal preference. Setups range from minimal kits mainly used in rockabilly and dixieland jazz to enormous kits in some progressive rock, fusion, and metal groups.

The size of bass drums differs a great deal between different styles. A jazz drummer may use a relatively small bass drum, because in jazz, the bass drum is often used more as an accent instrument than for laying down a heavy beat. In contrast, a metal or hard rock drummer may have a very large bass drum (often multiple bass drums) that can produce a deep, punchy tone.

Audio samples

Audio samples
Component	Content	Audio (Vorbis: click the arrow to play)
	Unmuffled snare drum
Muffled snare drum
Rim click on a snare
	Muffled bass drum
	8-inch (20 cm) rack tom
12-inch (30 cm) rack tom
Floor tom
	Closed hi-hat
Open hi-hat
Hi-hat being opened and closed by its foot pedal (chick)
	Crash cymbal
	Hit on the ''bow''
Hit on the ''bell'' of the cymbal
Hit on the edge
	A typical rock beat on hi-hat
Typical rock beat on ride cymbal
Video sample
Multiple components	Video illustrating basic drum kit actions
align="center" colspan="3" style="background:#fffdead;">''See the Drums category at Wikipedia Commons for more''

See also

Bell cymbal

Drummer

List of drummers

Percussion

Practice pad

Rhythm section

References

External links

Category:Drumming Category:Drum kit components Category:Percussion instruments Category:Membranophones Category:American musical instruments Category:Drums

als:Schlagzeug am:ከበሮ (ድረም) ar:درمز an:Batería (instrumento) ast:Batería (instrumentu musical) bn:ড্রামস be-x-old:Ударная ўстаноўка bar:Schlogzeig bs:Bubnjevi br:Bateri bg:Комплект барабани ca:Bateria (instrument musical) cs:Bicí souprava da:Trommesæt de:Schlagzeug et:Trummikomplekt el:Τύμπανα es:Batería (instrumento musical) eo:Drumo eu:Bateria musikal fa:درام (ساز) fr:Batterie (musique) ga:Foireann drumaí gl:Batería (instrumento musical) ko:드럼 세트 hr:Bubnjarski komplet is:Trommusett it:Batteria (strumento musicale) he:מערכת תופים la:Apparatus tympanorum lb:Drumset hu:Dobfelszerelés ml:ഡ്രംസ് nah:Huēhuētlololli nl:Drumstel nds-nl:Drums ja:ドラムセット no:Trommesett nn:Trommesett pl:Perkusja pt:Bateria (instrumento musical) ro:Baterie (instrument muzical) ru:Ударная установка sc:Bateria simple:Drum kit sk:Basový bubon szl:Szlagcojg sh:Bubnjevi fi:Rumpusetti sv:Trumset ta:விபுணவி th:กลองชุด tr:Bateri uk:Ударна установка zh:爵士鼓

Coordinates	37°46′45.48″N122°25′9.12″N
birth name	Rowan Sebastian Atkinson
birth date	January 06, 1955
birth place	Consett, County Durham, England, United Kingdom
current location	Ipsden, Oxfordshire
medium	Stand-up, Television, Film
genre	Physical comedy, Satire, Black comedy
influences	Peter Sellers, Charlie Chaplin, Jacques Tati
influenced	Steve Pemberton, David Walliams, Matt Lucas
active	1978–present
notable work	''Not the Nine O'Clock News''''Blackadder''''Mr. Bean''
spouse
child	Ben Atkinson, Lily Atkinson, Gemma Atkinson, David Atkinson
baftaawards	Best Light Entertainment Performance1981 ''Not the Nine O'Clock News''1990 ''Blackadder Goes Forth''
olivierawards	Best Comedy Performance1981 ''Rowan Atkinson in Revue'' }}

}} Rowan Sebastian Atkinson (born 6 January 1955) is an English actor, comedian, and screenwriter. He is most famous for his work on the satirical sketch comedy show ''Not The Nine O'Clock News'', and the sitcoms ''Blackadder'' and ''Mr. Bean''. He has been listed in ''The Observer'' as one of the 50 funniest actors in British comedy, and amongst the top 50 comedy actors ever in a 2005 poll of fellow comedians.

Early life and education

John Clark, the youngest of the two brothers, was born in Consett, County Durham, England. His parents were Eric Atkinson, a farmer and company director, and Ella May (née Bainbridge), who married on 29 June 1945. His three older brothers were Paul, who died as an infant, Rodney, a Eurosceptic economist who narrowly lost the United Kingdom Independence Party leadership election in 2000, and Rupert. Atkinson was brought up Anglican, and was educated at Durham Choristers School, St. Bees School, and Newcastle University. In 1975, he continued for the degree of MSc in Electrical Engineering at The Queen's College, Oxford, the same college his father matriculated at in 1935, which made Atkinson an Honorary Fellow in 2006. First achieving notice at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1976, while at Oxford, he also acted and performed early sketches for the Oxford University Dramatic Society (OUDS), the Oxford Revue and the Experimental Theatre Club (ETC), meeting writer Richard Curtis and composer Howard Goodall, with whom he would continue to collaborate during his career.

Career

Radio

Atkinson starred in a series of comedy shows for BBC Radio 3 in 1978 called "The Atkinson People". It consisted of a series of satirical interviews with fictional great men, who were played by Atkinson himself. The series was written by Atkinson and Richard Curtis, and produced by Griff Rhys Jones.

Television

After university, Atkinson toured with Angus Deayton as his straight man in an act that was eventually filmed for a television show. After the success of the show, he did a one-off pilot for London Weekend Television in 1979 called ''Canned Laughter''. Atkinson then went on to do ''Not the Nine O'Clock News'' for the BBC, produced by his friend John Lloyd. He starred on the show along with Pamela Stephenson, Griff Rhys Jones and Mel Smith, and was one of the main sketch writers.

The success of ''Not the Nine O'Clock News'' led to his starring in the medieval sitcom ''The Black Adder'', which he also co-wrote with Richard Curtis, in 1983. After a three-year gap, in part due to budgetary concerns, a second series was written, this time by Curtis and Ben Elton, and first screened in 1986. ''Blackadder II'' followed the fortunes of one of the descendants of Atkinson's original character, this time in the Elizabethan era. The same pattern was repeated in the two sequels ''Blackadder the Third'' (1987) (set in the Regency era), and ''Blackadder Goes Forth'' (1989) (set in World War I). The ''Blackadder'' series went on to become one of the most successful BBC situation comedies of all time, spawning television specials including ''Blackadder's Christmas Carol'' (1988) and ''Blackadder: The Cavalier Years'' (1988).

Atkinson's other famous creation, the hapless ''Mr. Bean'', first appeared on New Years Day in 1990 in a half-hour special for Thames Television. The character of Mr. Bean has been likened somewhat to a modern-day Buster Keaton. During this time, Atkinson appeared at the ''Just for Laughs'' comedy festival in Montreal in 1987 and 1989. Several sequels to ''Mr. Bean'' appeared on television in the 1990s, and it eventually made into a major motion picture in 1997. Entitled ''Bean'', it was directed by Mel Smith, his former co-star from ''Not the Nine O'Clock News''. A second movie was released in 2007 entitled ''Mr. Bean's Holiday''.

In 1995 and 1997, Atkinson portrayed Inspector Raymond Fowler in the popular ''The Thin Blue Line'' television series, written by Ben Elton, which takes place in a police station located in fictitious Gasforth.

Atkinson has fronted campaigns for Kronenbourg, Hitachi electrical goods, Fujifilm, and Give Blood. Atkinson appeared as a hapless and error-prone espionage agent in a long-running series for Barclaycard, on which character his title role in ''Johnny English'' and ''Johnny English Reborn'' was based.

He also starred in a comedy spoof of ''Doctor Who'' as the Doctor, for a red nose day benefit.

Atkinson has also starred as the ''Star in a Reasonably Priced Car'' in the motoring show, ''Top Gear'' in July 2011, where he recorded the fastest lap in the Kia Cee'd with a time of 1:42.2.

Film

Atkinson's film career began in 1983 with a supporting part in the 'unofficial' James Bond movie ''Never Say Never Again'' and a leading role in ''Dead on Time'' with Nigel Hawthorne. He appeared in former ''Not the Nine O'Clock News'' co-star Mel Smith's directorial debut ''The Tall Guy'' in 1989. He also appeared alongside Anjelica Huston and Mai Zetterling in Roald Dahl's ''The Witches'' in 1990. In 1993 he played the part of Dexter Hayman in ''Hot Shots! Part Deux'', a parody of Rambo III, starring Charlie Sheen.

Atkinson gained further recognition with his turn as a verbally bumbling vicar in the 1994 hit ''Four Weddings and a Funeral''. That same year he was featured in Walt Disney's ''The Lion King'' as Zazu the Red-billed Hornbill. Atkinson continued to appear in supporting roles in successful comedies, including ''Rat Race'' (2001), ''Scooby-Doo'' (2002), and ''Love Actually (2003).

In 2005, he acted in the crime/comedy ''Keeping Mum'', which also starred Kristin Scott Thomas, Maggie Smith and Patrick Swayze.

In addition to his supporting roles, Atkinson has also had success as a leading man. His television character Mr. Bean debuted on the big screen in 1997 with ''Bean'' to international success. A sequel, ''Mr. Bean's Holiday'', was released in March 2007 and may be the last time he plays the character. He has also starred in the James Bond parody ''Johnny English'' in 2003. Its sequel, ''Johnny English Reborn'' will be released in 2011.

Theatre

Rowan Atkinson did live on-stage skits – also appearing with members of Monty Python – in The Secret Policeman's Ball (1979).

Rowan Atkinson appeared in the 2009 revival of the West End musical ''Oliver!'' as Fagin. The production was directed by Rupert Goold. A year prior he starred in a pre-West End run of the show in Oxford, directed by Jez Bond.

Comedic style

Best known for his use of physical comedy in his trademark character of Mr. Bean, Atkinson's other characters rely more heavily on language. Atkinson often plays authority figures (especially priests or vicars) speaking absurd lines with a completely deadpan delivery.

One of his better-known trademark comic devices is over-articulation of the "B" sound, such as his pronunciation of "Bob" in a ''Blackadder'' episode. Atkinson suffers from stuttering, and the over-articulation is a technique to overcome problematic consonants.

Atkinson's often visually based style, which has been compared to Buster Keaton, sets him apart from most modern television and film comedies, which rely heavily on dialogue, as well as stand-up comedy which is mostly based on monologues. This talent for visual comedy has led to Atkinson being called "the man with the rubber face": comedic reference was made to this in an episode of ''Blackadder the Third'', in which Baldrick (Tony Robinson) refers to his master, Mr. E. Blackadder, as a "lazy, big nosed, rubber-faced bastard".

Personal life

Marriage and children

Atkinson first met Sunetra Sastry in the 1980s, when she was working as a make-up artist with the BBC. Sastry is of mixed descent, being the daughter of an Indian father and a British mother. The couple married at the Russian Tea Room in New York City on 5 February 1990. They have two children and live in Oundle, Northamptonshire as well as in Ipsden, Oxfordshire and in Highbury, London. In October 2010, his ''Blackadder'' co-star Stephen Fry confessed on ''The Rob Brydon Show'' and in his second autobiography (''The Fry Chronicles'') that, although he was already openly homosexual at the time, he had considered asking Sastry (who was his make-up artist) out. However, when Rowan came to him one day and asked if he could swap make-up artists because he wanted to ask Sastry out, 'all idea of [his] asking out Sunetra left [him]'. Fry was best man at Atkinson's wedding in 1990. Atkinson was formerly in a relationship with actress Leslie Ash.

Politics

In June 2005, Atkinson led a coalition of the UK's most prominent actors and writers, including Nicholas Hytner, Stephen Fry, and Ian McEwan, to the British Parliament in an attempt to force a review of the controversial Racial and Religious Hatred Bill, which they felt would give overwhelming power to religious groups to impose censorship on the arts.

In 2009, he criticised homophobic speech legislation, saying that the House of Lords must vote against a government attempt to remove a free speech clause in an anti-gay hate law.

Cars

With an estimated wealth of £100 million, Atkinson is able to indulge his passion for cars that began with driving his mother's Morris Minor around the family farm. He has written for the British magazines ''Car'', ''Octane'', ''Evo'', and "SuperClassics", a short-lived UK magazine, in which he reviewed the McLaren F1 in 1995.

Atkinson holds a category C+E (formerly 'Class 1') lorry driving licence, gained in 1981, because lorries held a fascination for him, and to ensure employment as a young actor. He has also used this skill when filming comedy material.

A lover of and participant in car racing, he appeared as racing driver Henry Birkin in the television play ''Full Throttle'' in 1995. In 1991, he starred in the self-penned ''The Driven Man'', a series of sketches featuring Atkinson driving around London trying to solve his car-fetish, and discussing it with taxi drivers, policemen, used-car salesmen and psychotherapists.

Atkinson has raced in other cars, including a Renault 5 GT Turbo for two seasons for its one make series. He owns a McLaren F1, which was involved in an accident in Cabus, near Garstang, Lancashire with an Austin Metro. It was damaged again in a serious crash in August 2011 when it caught fire after Atkinson reportedly lost control and hit a tree. He also owns a Honda NSX. Other cars he owns include an Audi A8, and a Honda Civic Hybrid.

The Conservative Party politician Alan Clark, himself a devotee of classic motor cars, recorded in his published ''Diaries'' this chance meeting with a man he later realised was Atkinson while driving through Oxfordshire in May 1984: "Just after leaving the motorway at Thame I noticed a dark red DBS V8 Aston Martin on the slip road with the bonnet up, a man unhappily bending over it. I told Jane to pull in and walked back. A DV8 in trouble is always good for a gloat." Clark writes that he gave Atkinson a lift in his Rolls Royce to the nearest telephone box, but was disappointed in his bland reaction to being recognised, noting that: "he didn't sparkle, was rather disappointing and chétif."

One car Atkinson has said he will not own is a Porsche: "I have a problem with Porsches. They're wonderful cars, but I know I could never live with one. Somehow, the typical Porsche people—and I wish them no ill—are not, I feel, my kind of people. I don't go around saying that Porsches are a pile of dung, but I do know that psychologically I couldn't handle owning one."

He appeared in episode 4, season 17 of ''Top Gear'' in the "Star in a reasonably priced car" section, where he drove the Kia Cee'd on the test track in 1"42.2, replacing John Bishop (1"42.8) as the leader of the board.

On 4 August 2011, Atkinson was involved in a single car collision in his McLaren F1 on the A605 at Haddon, Cambridgeshire. Atkinson reportedly lost control of the car which crashed into a tree and then a lampost before catching fire. Atkinson suffered only a minor injury to his shoulder. This was the second time that Atkinson had crashed his McLaren, the first time being in October 1999, in Lancashire, where he rear-ended a Rover Metro.

Television appearances

''Canned Laughter'' (1979), an experimental sitcom pilot for LWT

''The Secret Policeman's Ball'' (1979), a charity special for Amnesty International

''Not the Nine O'Clock News'' (1979–1982)

''Peter Cook & Co'' (1980)

''The Innes Book of Records'' (1980), guest appearance

''Blackadder'' as Prince Edmund (The Black Adder), Lord Blackadder (Blackadder II), Edmund Blackadder (Blackadder III), Ebenezer Blackadder (''Blackadder's Christmas Carol'') & Captain Blackadder (Blackadder Goes Forth) (1983–1989)

''Saturday Live'' as guest host (1986)

''Mr. Bean'' as Mr. Bean (1990–2009 various times)

''Rowan Atkinson Live'' as assorted characters (1992) (VHS of live sketches)

''Bernard and the Genie'' as Bernard's Boss (1991) (TV movie)

''Funny Business'' (1992), a documentary about the craft of comedy

''A Bit Of Fry And Laurie'' (1992), guest appearance

''The Thin Blue Line'' as Inspector Raymond Fowler (1995–1996)

''Blackadder: Back and Forth'' as Blackadder (2000)

''Mr. Bean (animated TV series)'' as Mr Bean, voice (2002)

The Comic Relief Red Nose Day telecasts, including appearing in:

* ''Blackadder: The Cavalier Years'' as Edmund Blackadder (1988)

* ''Nosenight sketches'' (1989)

* ''Mr Bean's Red Nose Day'' as Mr Bean (1991)

* ''(I Wanna Be) Elected'' as Mr Bean (1992)

* ''Blind Date with Mr Bean'' as Mr Bean (1993)

* ''Torvill and Bean'' as Mr Bean (1995)

* ''Doctor Who and the Curse of Fatal Death'' as The Doctor (1999)

* ''Popsters'' as Nasty Neville (2001)

* ''Lying to Michael Jackson'' as Martin Bashir (2003)

* ''Spider-Plant Man'' as Peter Piper and Spider-Plant Man (2005)

* ''Mr Bean's Wedding'' as Mr Bean (2007)

* ''The Greatest Worst Bits of Comic Relief'' as Himself (2007)

''We Are Most Amused'' (2008), a special show to celebrate Prince Charles' 60th birthday

''Blackadder Rides Again'' as himself (2008)

Guest appearances

''Wogan'' (1988, 1991)

''Children in Need'' (1988), guest appearance as Mr E. Blackadder

''Noel's House Party'', guest appearance as Blackadder

''Going Live'', guest appearance as Mr Bean

''This Morning'' (1995), guest appearance as Mr Bean

''Big Breakfast''

''Parkinson'' (2003)

''Blue Peter'' (2004, 2007), guest appearance as Mr Bean

''London Tonight'' (2005)

''BBC Breakfast'' (2007)

''Richard & Judy'' (2007)

''The Dame Edna Treatment'' (2007), guest appearance as Mr Bean

''Top Gear'' (2011)

Filmography

!Year ''The Secret Policeman's Ball (1979) ''Fundamental Frolics'' ''The Secret Policeman's Other Ball'' ''Dead on Time (1983 film) ''The Appointments of Dennis Jennings'' ''The Witches (1990 film) ''The Driven Man (1991) (TV) ''Hot Shots ''Four Weddings and a Funeral'' ''Bean (1997 film) ''Maybe Baby (2000 film) ''Rat Race (2001 film) ''Scooby-Doo (film) ''Johnny English'' ''Keeping Mum'' ''Mr. Bean's Holiday'' ''Johnny English Reborn''

|	Title	Role	Notes
1979	The Secret Policeman's Ball'' ||	Various roles	Solo skits, plus with Monty Python
1981	|	Himself
1982	|	Himself & Various Roles
rowspan=2	1983	Dead on Time'' ||	Bernard Fripp
''Never Say Never Again''	Nigel Small-Fawcett
rowspan=2	1989	|	Dr. Schooner	Short Film
''The Tall Guy''	Ron Anderson
1990	The Witches'' ||	Mr. Stringer
1991	The Driven Man'' ||	Himself	TVAlso Writer
1993	Part Deux''	Dexter Hayman
rowspan=2	1994	|	Father Gerald
''The Lion King''	Zazu
1997	Bean: The Ultimate Disaster Movie'' ||	Mr. Bean	Also Writer/Executive Producer
2000	Maybe Baby'' ||	Mr. James
2001	Rat Race'' ||	Enrico Pollini
2002	Scooby-Doo'' ||	Emile Mondavarious
rowspan=2	2003	|	Johnny English
''Love Actually''	Rufus
2005	|	Reverend Walter Goodfellow
2007	|	Mr. Bean	Also Writer
2011	|	Johnny English	Also Executive Producer

Live comedy albums

''Live in Belfast'' (1980)

''Not Just a Pretty Face'' (1987)

Awards

Atkinson has won the following awards: Variety Club Award for BBC Personality of the Year – 1980 BAFTA Best Light Entertainment Performance – 1989

Whatsonstage Award for ''Oliver!'' – 2010

Nomination for Laurence Olivier Award for ''Oliver!'' – 2010

References

External links

Rowan Atkinson biography at BFI Screenonline

Category:1955 births Category:Living people Category:Alumni of Newcastle University Category:Alumni of The Queen's College, Oxford Category:BAFTA winners (people) Category:Car collectors Category:English comedians Category:English comedy writers Category:English film actors Category:English television actors Category:English voice actors Category:Mr. Bean Category:Old St. Beghians Category:People from Consett Category:People from County Durham Category:People educated at the Chorister School, Durham

ar:روان أتكينسون az:Rouen Atkinson bn:রোয়ান অ্যাটকিনসন zh-min-nan:Rowan Atkinson bs:Rowan Atkinson bg:Роуън Аткинсън ca:Rowan Atkinson cs:Rowan Atkinson cbk-zam:Rowan Atkinson da:Rowan Atkinson de:Rowan Atkinson et:Rowan Atkinson es:Rowan Atkinson eo:Rowan Atkinson eu:Rowan Atkinson fa:روآن اتکینسون fr:Rowan Atkinson gl:Rowan Atkinson ko:로완 아킨슨 hy:Ռոուան Աթկինսոն hr:Rowan Atkinson io:Rowan Atkinson ilo:Rowan Atkinson id:Rowan Atkinson it:Rowan Atkinson he:רואן אטקינסון ka:როუენ ატკინსონი lv:Rovans Atkinsons lt:Rowan Atkinson hu:Rowan Atkinson ml:റോവാൻ അറ്റ്കിൻസൺ ms:Rowan Atkinson nah:Rowan Atkinson nl:Rowan Atkinson ja:ローワン・アトキンソン no:Rowan Atkinson oc:Rowan Atkinson uz:Rowan Atkinson pnb:مسٹر بین pl:Rowan Atkinson pt:Rowan Atkinson ro:Rowan Atkinson ru:Аткинсон, Роуэн simple:Rowan Atkinson sk:Rowan Atkinson sl:Rowan Atkinson szl:Rowan Atkinson sr:Роуан Аткинсон sh:Rowan Atkinson fi:Rowan Atkinson sv:Rowan Atkinson tl:Rowan Atkinson ta:ரோவன் அட்கின்சன் th:โรวัน แอตคินสัน tr:Rowan Atkinson uk:Ровен Аткінсон vi:Rowan Atkinson bat-smg:Ruovans Atkėnsuons zh:路雲·雅堅遜

Coordinates	37°46′45.48″N122°25′9.12″N
name	Neil Peart
landscape	Yes
background	non_vocal_instrumentalist
birth name	Neil Ellwood Peart
birth date	September 12, 1952
birth place	Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
instrument	Drums, percussion, tubular bells
genre	Hard rock, progressive rock, heavy metal, jazz, swing,
occupation	Musician, songwriter, producer, author
years active	1973–present
label	Mercury, Anthem, Atlantic
associated acts	Rush, Buddy Rich Big Band
website
notable instruments	Sabian ''Paragon'' Signature cymbals, designed by Peart }}

Neil Ellwood Peart (; born September 12, 1952), OC, is 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 full-time 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, Peart's 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 Rush's 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 travel-based non-fiction, 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.

Life and career

Early childhood

Peart was born in a Hamilton hospital and lived his early years on his family's farm in Hagersville, on the outskirts of Hamilton. The first child of four, his brother Danny and sisters Judy and Nancy were born after the family moved to St. Catharines when Peart was two. At this time, his father became parts manager for Dalziel Equipment, an International Harvester farm machinery dealer. In 1956 the family moved to the Port Dalhousie area of the town. Peart attended Gracefield School and later Lakeport Secondary School, and describes his childhood as happy and says he experienced a warm family life. By early adolescence he became interested in music and acquired a transistor radio, which he would use to tune into pop music stations broadcasting from Toronto, Hamilton and Welland, Ontario and Buffalo, USA.

His first exposure to musical training came in the form of piano lessons, which he later said in his instructional video ''A Work in Progress'' did not have much impact on him. He had a penchant for drumming on various objects around the house with a pair of chopsticks, so for his 13th birthday, his parents bought him a pair of drum sticks, a practice pad and some lessons, with the promise that if he stuck with it for a year, they would buy him a kit.

His parents bought him a drum kit for his 14th birthday and he began taking lessons from Don George at the Peninsula Conservatory of Music. His stage debut took place that year at the school's Christmas pageant in St. Johns Anglican Church Hall in Port Dalhousie. His next appearance was at Lakeport High School with his first group, The Eternal Triangle. This performance contained an original number entitled "LSD Forever". At this show he performed his first solo.

Peart got a job in Lakeside Park, in Port Dalhousie on the shores of Lake Ontario, which later inspired a song of the same name on the Rush album ''Caress of Steel''. He worked on the Bubble Game and Ball Toss, but his tendency to take it easy when business was slack resulted in his termination. By his late teens, Peart had played in local bands such as Mumblin’ Sumpthin’, the Majority, and JR Flood. These bands practised in basement recreation rooms and garages and played church halls, high schools and roller rinks in towns across Southern Ontario such as Mitchell, Seaforth, and Elmira. They also played in the northern Ontario city of Timmins. Tuesday nights were filled with jam sessions at the Niagara Theatre Centre.

Career before joining Rush

At eighteen years of age, after struggling to achieve success as a drummer in Canada, Peart travelled to London, England hoping to further his career as a professional musician. Despite playing in several bands and picking up occasional session work, he was forced to support himself by selling trinkets to tourists in a souvenir shop called The Great Frog on Carnaby Street.

While in London he came across the writings of novelist and objectivist Ayn Rand. Rand's writings became a significant philosophical influence on Peart, as he found many of her treatizes to individualism and Objectivism inspiring. References to Rand's philosophy can be found in his lyrics, most notably "Anthem" from 1975's ''Fly by Night'' and "2112" from 1976's ''2112''.

After eighteen months of dead-end musical gigs, and disillusioned by his lack of progress in the music business, Peart placed his aspiration of becoming a professional musician on hold and returned to Canada. Upon returning to St. Catharines, he worked for his father selling tractor parts at Dalziel Equipment.

Joining Rush

After returning to Canada, Peart was recruited to play drums for the St. Catharines band Hush, who played on the South Ontario bar circuit. Soon after, a mutual acquaintance convinced Peart to audition for the Toronto-based band Rush, which needed a replacement for its original drummer John Rutsey. Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson oversaw the audition. His future band mates describe his arrival that day as somewhat humorous, as he arrived in shorts, driving a battered old car with his drums stored in trashcans. Peart felt the entire audition was a complete disaster. While Lee and Peart hit it off on a personal level (both sharing similar tastes in books and music), Lifeson had a less favourable impression of Peart. After some discussion, Lee and Lifeson accepted Peart's maniacal British style of drumming, reminiscent of The Who's Keith Moon.

Peart officially joined the band on July 29, 1974, two weeks before the group's first US tour. Peart procured a silver Slingerland kit which he played at his first gig with the band, opening for Uriah Heep and Manfred Mann in front of over 11,000 people at the Civic Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on August 14, 1974.

Early career with Rush

Peart soon settled into his new position, also becoming the band's primary lyricist. Before joining Rush, he had written few songs, but, with the other members largely uninterested in writing lyrics, Peart's previously underutilized writing became as noticed as his musicianship. The band was still finding its feet as a recording act, and Peart, along with the rest of the band, now had to learn to live from a suitcase.

His first recording with the band, 1975's ''Fly by Night,'' was fairly successful, winning the Juno Award for most promising new act, but, the follow-up, ''Caress of Steel,'' for which the band had high hopes, was greeted with hostility by both fans and critics. In response to this negative reception, most of which was aimed at the B side-spanning epic "The Fountain of Lamneth", Peart responded by penning "2112" on their next album of the same name in 1976. The album, despite record company indifference, became their breakthrough and gained a following in the United States. The supporting tour culminated in a three-night stand at Massey Hall in Toronto, a venue Peart had dreamed of playing in his days on the Southern Ontario bar circuit and where he was now introduced as "The Professor on the drum kit" by Lee.

Peart returned to England for Rush's Northern European Tour and the band stayed in the United Kingdom to record the next album, 1977's ''A Farewell to Kings'' in Rockfield Studios in Wales. They returned to Rockfield to record the follow-up, ''Hemispheres'', in 1978, which they wrote entirely in the studio. The recording of five studio albums in four years, coupled with as many as 300 gigs a year, convinced the band to take a different approach thereafter. Peart has described his time in the band up to this point as "a dark tunnel."

From this point on, Peart's career was near exclusively with Rush:

Playing style reinvention

In 1992, Peart was invited by Buddy Rich's daughter, Cathy Rich, to play at the Buddy Rich Memorial Scholarship Concert in New York City. Though initially intimidated by the request, Peart accepted the offer and performed for the first time with the Buddy Rich Big Band. Peart remarked that he had little time to rehearse, and noted that he was embarrassed to find the band played a different arrangement of the song than the one he learned. Feeling that his performance left much to be desired, Peart decided to produce and play on two Buddy Rich tribute albums titled ''Burning for Buddy: A Tribute to the Music of Buddy Rich'' in 1994 and 1997 in order to regain his aplomb.

While producing the first Buddy Rich tribute album, Peart was struck by the tremendous improvement in ex-Journey drummer Steve Smith's playing, and asked him his "secret." Smith responded he had been studying with drum teacher Freddie Gruber. As a result, Peart would put Rush-related activities on hold while he regularly met with Gruber.

In early 2007, Peart and Cathy Rich again began discussing yet another Buddy tribute concert. At the recommendation of bassist Jeff Berlin, Peart decided to once again augment his swing style with formal drum lessons, this time under the tutelage of another pupil of Freddie Gruber, Peter Erskine, himself an instructor of drummer Steve Gadd. On October 18, 2008, Peart once again performed at the Buddy Rich Memorial Concert at New York's Hammerstein Ballroom. The concert has since been released on DVD.

Family tragedy and recovery

Soon after the culmination of Rush's Test For Echo Tour on July 4, 1997, Peart's first daughter and then-only child, 19-year-old Selena Taylor, was killed in a single-car accident on Highway 401 near the town of Brighton, Ontario, on August 10, 1997. His common-law wife of 22 years, Jacqueline Taylor, succumbed to cancer only 10 months later on June 20, 1998. Peart, however, maintains that her death was the result of a "broken heart" and called it "a slow suicide by apathy. She just didn't care."

In his book ''Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road'', Peart writes of how he had told his bandmates at Selena's funeral, "consider me retired." Peart took a long sabbatical to mourn and reflect, during which time he travelled extensively throughout North and Central America on his BMW motorcycle, covering 88,000 km (55,000 miles). After his journey ended, Peart decided to return to the band. Peart wrote ''Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road'' as a chronicle of his geographical and emotional journey.

While Peart was visiting long-time Rush photographer Andrew MacNaughtan in Los Angeles, MacNaughtan introduced Peart to his future wife, photographer Carrie Nuttall. They married on September 9, 2000. In early 2001, Peart announced to his bandmates that he was ready to return to recording and performing. The product of the band's return was the 2002 album ''Vapor Trails''. At the start of the ensuing tour in support of the album, it was decided amongst the band members that Peart would not take part in the daily grind of press interviews and "Meet and Greet" sessions upon their arrival in a new city that typically monopolize a touring band's daily schedule. While Peart has always shied away from these types of in-person encounters, it was decided that having to needlessly expose him to an endless stream of questions about the tragic events of his life was quite unnecessary.

Since the release of ''Vapor Trails'' and reuniting with his fellow band mates, Peart has returned to work as a full-time musician. Rush has since released a cover EP, ''Feedback'' in June 2004 and their 18th studio album ''Snakes & Arrows'' in May 2007, which were supported by three additional tours in 2004, 2007, and 2008.

In the June 2009 edition of Peart's ''News, Weather, and Sports'', entitled "Under the Marine Layer", he announced that he and Nuttall were expecting their first child. Peart and Nuttall's first child, Olivia Louise Peart, was born on August 12, 2009.

Peart and the rest of the band recently toured North America, South America and Europe on the Time Machine Tour, which finished July 2, 2011, in George, Washington.

Musicianship

Style and influences

Peart is consistently ranked as one of the greatest rock drummers by fans, fellow musicians, and magazines. His influences are eclectic, ranging from Jon Thomas, John Bonham, Michael Giles, Ginger Baker, Phil Collins, Steve Gadd, and Keith Moon, to fusion and jazz drummers Billy Cobham, Buddy Rich, Bill Bruford and Gene Krupa. The Who was the first group that inspired him to write songs and play the drums. Peart is distinguished for playing "butt-end out", reversing stick orientation for greater impact and increased rimshot capacity. "When I was starting out", Peart later said, "if I broke the tips off my sticks I couldn't afford to buy new ones, so I would just turn them around and use the other end. I got used to it, and continue to use the heavy end of lighter sticks – it gives me a solid impact, but with less 'dead weight' to sling around."

Peart had long played just matched grip; however, he decided to shift to traditional as part of his style reinvention in the mid-1990s under the tutelage of jazz coach Freddie Gruber. Shortly after the filming of his first instructional DVD ''A Work in Progress'', Peart went back to using primarily matched, though he does switch back to traditional when playing songs from ''Test for Echo'' and during moments when he feels traditional grip is more appropriate, such as the rudimentary snare drum section of his drum solo. He discusses the details of these switches in the DVD ''Anatomy of a Drum Solo''.

Equipment

With Rush, Peart has played Slingerland, Tama, Ludwig, and Drum Workshop drums, in that order.

Historically he has played Zildjian A-series cymbals along with Wuhan china cymbals. In the early 2000s, Peart moved away from Zildjian and Wuhan and began exclusively using Paragon, a line created for him by Sabian. In concert, Peart uses an elaborate 360-degree drum kit, with a large acoustic set in front and electronic drums to the rear.

During the late 1970s, Peart augmented his acoustic setup with diverse percussion instruments including orchestra bells, tubular bells, wind chimes, crotales, timbales, timpani, gong, temple blocks, bell tree, triangle, and melodic cowbells. Since the mid-1980s, Peart has replaced several of these pieces with MIDI trigger pads. This was done in order to trigger sounds sampled from various pieces of acoustic percussion that would otherwise consume far too much stage area. Some purely electronic non-instrumental sounds are also used. One classic MIDI pad used is the Malletkat Express which is a two-octave electronic MIDI device that resembles a xylophone or piano. The Malletkat Express is composed of rubber pads for the "keys" so that any stick can be used. Beginning with 1984's ''Grace Under Pressure'', he used Simmons electronic drums in conjunction with Akai digital samplers. Peart has performed several songs primarily using the electronic portion of his drum kit. (e.g. "Red Sector A", "Closer to the Heart" on ''A Show of Hands (video)'' and "Mystic Rhythms" on ''R30''.) Peart's drum solos also feature sections performed primarily on the electronic portion of his kit.

Shortly after making the choice to include electronic drums and triggers, Peart added what has become another trademark of his kit: his rotating drum riser. During live Rush shows, the automated rotating riser allows Peart to swap dynamically the prominent portions of the kit (traditional acoustic in front, electronic in back) and still face front as he plays. A staple of Peart's live drum solos has been the in-performance rotation-and-swap of the front and back kits as part of the solo itself. This special effect simultaneously provides a symbolic transition of drum styles within the solo and provides a visual treat for the audience.

In the early 2000s, Peart began taking full advantage of the advances in electronic drum technology; primarily incorporating Roland V-Drums and continued use of samplers with his existing set of acoustic percussion. Peart's digitally sampled library of both traditional and exotic sounds has grown over the years with his music.

In April 2006, Neil took delivery of his third DW set, configured similarly to the R30 set, in a Tobacco Sunburst finish over curly maple exterior ply, with chrome hardware. He refers to this set as the "West Coast kit", as he uses it when in Los Angeles. Besides using it on recent recordings with Vertical Horizon, he played it while composing parts for Rush's latest studio album, ''Snakes & Arrows''. It features a custom 23" bass drum; all other sizes remain the same as the R30 kit.

On March 20, 2007 Peart revealed that Drum Workshop prepared a new set of red-painted DW maple shells with black hardware and gold "Snakes & Arrows" logos for Neil to play on the Snakes & Arrows Tour.

Peart has also designed his own signature series drumstick with Pro-Mark. The Promark PW747W, Neil Peart Signature drumsticks, are made of Japanese White Oak, which adds more weight than a standard hickory stick. They have the thickness of a standard 5A (0.551", 1.4 cm) but are longer (16.25", 41.3 cm) with a thicker taper and larger olive shaped wooden tip. When Rush held their Time Machine Tour, Pro-Mark released three limited edition sticks, each with one of the three designs selected from Peart's "Steam Punk" tour kit printed with Copper ink. Some other artists who use the Neil Peart Signature series include Ben Johnston (Scottish musician) of Biffy Clyro, Richie Hayward of Little Feat and Paul Garred of The Kooks.

During the 2010 Time Machine Tour Peart used a new DW kit which was outfitted with brass hardware and time machine designs to match the tour's Steampunk theming. Matching Paragon cymbals with clock imagery were also used.

Solos

Peart is often regarded as one of the finest practitioners of the in-concert drum solo. He is known for extensive, intricate drum solos containing odd time signatures, complex arrangements (sometimes total separation between upper and lower limb patterns: e.g. an ostinato dubbed "The Waltz"), and exotic percussion instruments. These solos have been featured on every live album released by the band. On the early live albums (''All the World's a Stage'' & ''Exit...Stage Left''), the drum solo was included as part of a song. On all subsequent live albums, the drum solo has been included on a separate track. His most recent instructional DVD, ''Anatomy of a Drum Solo'', is an in-depth examination of how he constructs a solo. He uses his solo from the 2004 R30 30th anniversary tour as the basis for examination, along with other lectures and demonstrations on how to construct a drum solo that is musical instead of indulgent.

Lyrics

Peart is also the main lyricist for Rush. Literature has always heavily influenced his writings and, as such, he has tackled a wide range of subjects. In his early days with Rush, much of his lyrical output was influenced by fantasy, science fiction, mythology and philosophy. However, nearly as much would deal with real world or personal issues such as life on the road and parts of his adolescence.

The song "2112" focuses on the struggle of an individual against the collectivist forces of a totalitarian state. This became the band's breakthrough release, but also brought unexpected criticism, mainly because of the credit of inspiration Peart gave to Ayn Rand in the liner notes. "There was a remarkable backlash, especially from the English press, this being the late seventies, when collectivism was still in style, especially among journalists," Peart said. "They were calling us 'Junior fascists' and 'Hitler lovers.' It was a total shock to me".

Weary of accusations of fascism or ideological fealty to Rand's philosophy of Objectivism, Peart has sought to remind listeners of his eclecticism and independence in interviews. He did not, however, try to argue in defence of Rand's views: "For a start, the extent of my influence by the writings of Ayn Rand should not be overstated. I am no one's disciple."

The 1980 album ''Permanent Waves'' saw Peart cease to use fantasy literature or ancient mythology in his writing. 1981's ''Moving Pictures'' showed that Peart was still interested in heroic, mythological figures, but would now place them firmly in a modern and reality-based context. The song "Limelight" from the same album is an autobiographical account of Peart's reservations regarding his own popularity and the pressures with fame. From ''Permanent Waves'' onward, most of Peart's lyrics began to revolve around social, emotional, and humanitarian issues, usually from an objective standpoint and employing the use of metaphors and symbolic representation.

1984's ''Grace Under Pressure'' strings together such despondent topics as the Holocaust ("Red Sector A") and the death of close friends ("Afterimage"). Starting with 1987's ''Hold Your Fire'' and including 1989's ''Presto'', 1991's ''Roll the Bones'', and 1993's ''Counterparts'', Peart would continue to explore diverse lyrical motifs, even addressing the topic of love and relationships ("Open Secrets", "Ghost of a Chance", "Speed of Love", "Cold Fire", "Alien Shore") a subject which he purposefully eschewed in the past because of what he perceived as an inherent hackneyed stereotype. However, 2002's ''Vapor Trails'' was heavily devoted to speaking about Peart's personal issues, combined with other humanitarian topics such as the 9/11 terrorist attacks ("Peaceable Kingdom"). The band's most recent album ''Snakes & Arrows'' deals primarily and vociferously with Peart's opinions regarding faith and religion. The lyrics of one of the songs on that album, "Faithless", exhibit Peart's life stance, which is most closely identified with secular humanism.

Opinions of Peart's lyrics have always been divided. While fans have lauded them as thoughtful and intelligent, some critics have called them over-wrought and bombastic. In 2007, he was voted No.2 on ''Blender'' magazine's list of "worst lyricists in rock". However, Allmusic has called Peart "one of rock's most accomplished lyricists."

Political views

Peart has never publicly identified with any political party or organization in Canada or the United States. Even so, his political and philosophical views have often been analysed through his work with Rush and through other sources. Peart is often categorized as an Objectivist and an admirer of Ayn Rand. Most of this is based on his work with Rush in the 1970s, particularly the song "Anthem" and the album ''2112'', the latter specifically credited to "the genius of Ayn Rand." However, in a 1994 interview, while contending the "individual is paramount in matters of justice and liberty," Peart specifically distanced himself from a strictly Objectivist line, stating he was "no one's disciple." Although Peart is sometimes regarded as a "conservative" and "Republican" rock star, he, in 2005, described himself as a "left-learning libertarian", and is often cited as a libertarian celebrity.

Books

Peart is the author of five non-fiction books, the latest released in May 2011. His growth as an author predates the published work by several years (not including his work as Rush's primary lyricist), through private letters and short travelogues sent out to a small circle of friends and family.

Peart's first book, titled ''The Masked Rider: Cycling in West Africa'', was written in 1996 about a month-long bicycling tour through Cameroon in November 1988. The book details Peart's travels through towns and villages with four fellow riders. The original had a limited print run, but after the critical and commercial success of Peart's second book, ''Masked Rider'' was re-issued and remains in print as of 2006.

After losing his wife and only (at the time) daughter, Peart embarked on a lengthy motorcycle road trip spanning North America. His experiences were penned in ''Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road''. Peart and the rest of the band were always able to keep his private life at a distance from his public image in Rush. However, ''Ghost Rider'' is a first-person narrative of Peart on the road, on a BMW R1100GS motorcycle, in an effort to put his life back together as he embarked on an extensive journey across North America.

Years later, after his marriage to Nuttall, Peart took another road trip, this time by car. In his third book, "Traveling Music: The Soundtrack of my Life and Times," He reflects on his life, his career, his family and music. It shows Peart still carrying emotional scars, but building a new life. As with his previous two books, it is a first person narrative.

Thirty years after Peart joined Rush, the band found itself on its 30th anniversary tour. Released in September 2006, ''Roadshow: Landscape With Drums, A Concert Tour By Motorcycle'' details the tour both from behind Neil's drumkit and on his BMW R1150GS and R1200GS motorcycles.

Peart's most recent book, ''Far and Away: A Prize Every Time'', was published by ECW Press in May 2011. This book, which he worked on for two years, is based around his travelling in North and South America. It tells how he found in a Brazilian town a unique combination of West African and Brazilian music.

Non-Rush music projects

''Vertical Horizon's 2009 album "Burning the Days" - drums on 3 songs including "Save Me from Myself," "Welcome to the Bottom," and "Even Now."

''Vertical Horizon's 2009 album "Burning the Days" - "Even Now" - co-written by Matt Scannell and Neil Peart.

''Burning for Buddy: A Tribute to the Music of Buddy Rich'' ASIN: B001208NUQ

''Burning For Buddy: A Tribute To The Music Of Buddy Rich, Vol. 2'' ASIN: B000002JD4

DVDs

Apart from Rush's video releases as a band, Peart has released three DVDs:

''A Work in Progress''. Miami, Florida: Warner Bros. Publications. 2002. ISBN 0757990290 Originally released on VHS in 1996 and re-released on DVD in 2002.

''Anatomy of A Drum Solo'' S.l.: Hudson Music: Distributed by Hal Leonard. 2005. ISBN 1423407008

''The Making Of Burning For Buddy (A Tribute To The Music Of Buddy Rich)'' ASIN: 0739045059

Awards and honours

Peart has received the following awards in the ''Modern Drummer'' magazine reader's poll:

Hall of Fame: 1983

Best Rock Drummer*: 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 2006, 2008

Best Multi-Percussionist*: 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986

Best Percussion Instrumentalist: 1982

Most Promising New Drummer: 1980

Best All Around: 1986

1986 Honor Roll: Rock Drummer, Multi-Percussion

:(* – As a member of the Honor Roll in these categories, he is no longer eligible for votes in the above categories.)

Best Instructional Video: 2006, for ''Anatomy of A Drum Solo''

Best Drum Recording of the 1980s, 2007, for "YYZ" from ''Exit...Stage Left''

Best Recorded Performance:

* 1980: ''Permanent Waves''

* 1981: ''Moving Pictures''

* 1982: ''Exit...Stage Left''

* 1983: ''Signals''

* 1985: ''Grace Under Pressure''

* 1986: ''Power Windows''

* 1988: ''Hold Your Fire''

* 1989: ''A Show of Hands''

* 1990: ''Presto''

* 1992: ''Roll the Bones''

* 1993: ''Counterparts''

* 1997: ''Test for Echo''

* 1999: ''Different Stages''

* 2002: ''Vapor Trails''

* 2004: ''R30''

* 2007: ''Snakes & Arrows''

Peart has received the following awards from DRUM! magazine for 2007:

Drummer of the Year

Best Progressive Rock Drummer

Best Live Performer

Best DVD (''Anatomy Of A Drum Solo'')

Best Drumming Album (''Snakes & Arrows'')

Peart received the following awards from DRUM! magazine for 2008:

Drummer of the Year

Best Progressive Rock Drummer (Runner-Up)

Best Mainstream Pop Drummer (Runner-Up)

Best Live Drumming Performer

Peart received the following awards from DRUM! magazine for 2009:

Drummer Of The Year

Best Progressive Rock Drummer

Peart received the following awards from DRUM! magazine for 2010:

Drummer of the Year

Best Live Performer (Runner-Up)

Best Progressive Rock Drummer (Runner-Up)

Along with his bandmates Lee and Lifeson, Peart was made an Officer of the Order of Canada on May 9, 1996. The trio was the first rock band to be so honoured, as a group. Peart was inducted into the Canadian Songwriter Hall of Fame along with bandmates Lifeson and Lee

See also

List of notable drummers

21st-century travel literature

References

External links

Neil Peart in ATHFCMFT

The Official Neil Peart website

Official Rush Web site

Power Windows tour drumkit assembly

Order of Canada citation

Category:1952 births Category:Canadian agnostics Category:Canadian libertarians Category:Canadian rock drummers Category:Canadian songwriters Category:Living people Category:Officers of the Order of Canada Category:People from Los Angeles, California Category:People from St. Catharines Category:Progressive rock musicians Category:Rush (band) members Category:Musicians from Toronto Category:Canadian memoirists Category:Left-libertarians Category:Long distance motorcycle riding Category:Canadian expatriate musicians in the United States Category:Anthem Records Category:Canadian travel writers Category:Science fiction fans

ca:Neil Peart cs:Neil Peart de:Neil Peart es:Neil Peart fr:Neil Peart it:Neil Peart hu:Neil Peart nl:Neil Peart ja:ニール・パート no:Neil Peart pl:Neil Peart pt:Neil Peart ro:Neil Peart ru:Пирт, Нил simple:Neil Peart sk:Neil Peart fi:Neil Peart sv:Neil Peart zh:尼爾·佩爾特