June () is the sixth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and one of the four months with a length of 30 days. Ovid provides two etymologies for June's name in his poem concerning the months entitled the ''Fasti''. The first is that the month is named after the Roman goddess Juno, wife of Jupiter and equivalent to the Greek goddess Hera, whilst the second is that the name comes from the Latin word ''iuniores'', meaning "younger ones," as opposed to ''maiores'' ("elders") for which the preceding month May is named (''Fasti'' VI.1–88). See: Months in various calendars also called the season of the unicorn.

At the start of June, the sun rises in the constellation of Taurus; at the end of June, the sun rises in the constellation of Gemini. However, due to the precession of the equinoxes, June begins with the sun in the astrological sign of Gemini, and ends with the sun in the astrological sign of Cancer.

June is the month with the longest daylight hours of the year in the Northern Hemisphere and the shortest daylight hours of the year in the Southern Hemisphere.

June in the Northern Hemisphere is the seasonal equivalent to December in the Southern Hemisphere and vice versa.

In the Northern hemisphere, the beginning of the meteorological summer is 1 June. In the Southern hemisphere, the beginning of the meteorological winter is 1 June.

June is known for the large number of marriages that occur over the course of the month. According to one etymology, June is named after Juno (Hera). Juno was the goddess of marriage and a married couple's household, so some consider it good luck to be married in this month.

In Iceland, folklore says that if you bathe naked in the morning dew on the morning of June 24, you are supposed to keep aging at bay for longer.

In both common and leap years, no other month begins on the same day of the week as June. This month and May are the only two months that have this property. June ends on the same day of the week as March every year.

Events in June

Festa della Repubblica Italian Republic Day is celebrated in Italy on the second of June each year. The day commemorates the institutional referendum held by universal suffrage in 1946.

Adur festival The first two weeks of June every year.

Madaraka Day June 1 to commemorate when Kenya gained internal self-rule.

Flag Days of Sweden (June 6), United States (June 14—see Flag Day in the United States), Denmark (June 15), Argentina (June 20), and Romania (June 26).

D-Day landings by Allied forces in Normandy, June 6, 1944.

Primož Trubar Day, on 8 June, a public holiday in Slovenia in commemoration of the birth of the founder of the Slovene literary language, who was according to some sources born on 8 June 1508

Kamehameha Day, on June 11, is a state holiday in Hawaii, US, honoring the first ruler of the one-time kingdom.

Philippine Independence Day is on June 12.

Feast of St. Anthony of Padua June 13

United Kingdom – Trooping the Colour (Military celebration of the monarch's official birthday held in London on the second Saturday of June)

Bloomsday in Ireland, and worldwide among fans of James Joyce's ''Ulysses'' June 16

Youth Day in South Africa June 16

The Comrades in South Africa June 16.

Juneteenth, (aka Freedom Day or Emancipation Day) primarily in Texas June 19,

"Martyrs Day" in Eritrea June 20

West Virginia Day in the U.S. state of West Virginia June 20.

The solstice called the summer solstice in the northern hemisphere and the winter solstice in the southern hemisphere occurs on dates varying from 22 June to 23 June (in UTC). In the pagan wheel of the year the summer solstice is the time of Litha and the winter solstice is that of Yule.

Feast of the Birth of St. John the Baptist (Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day in Quebec) June 24.

Statehood Day (Slovenia) in Slovenia June 25

Feast of St. Peter and St. Paul, principal patrons of the Roman Catholic Church, June 29

Mother's Day (in Luxembourg on the second Sunday in June)

Father's Day (in Belgium on the second Sunday in June)(in the United States, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Venezuela, the Netherlands, Ireland and Canada on the third Sunday in June)

Midsummer is celebrated in Finland and Sweden on the third Friday in June.

Gay pride celebrations take place in many countries in honour of the Stonewall riots.

The majority of the Portland Rose Festival occurs.

The first Monday in June is one of the public holidays in the Republic of Ireland; in the Irish Calendar the month is called Meitheamh and is the middle month of the summer season. Secondary schools are off during the month (and also July and August), while June is the last month in primary schools.

The second Sunday in June is Canadian Rivers Day.

Children's Day celebrated in many eastern European countries including Portugal, Poland, Slovakia, Romania as well as China and other countries throughout the world.

Almost all of interleague play in baseball occurs in this month, with 15 of the 18 interleague games occurring this month. The other three are played on the third weekend in May (Fri-Sun).

Caribbean-American Heritage Month (United States)

Bike month in the Lower mainland in British Columbia, Canada

Independence day (June 17) in Iceland

Fishermansday (first Sunday in June) celebrating the work of fishermen and those lost at sea. (Iceland)

June is Black Music Month

In the United States June is officially LGBT Pride Month.

June symbols

June's birthstones are the pearl, the Moonstone (gemstone), and the Alexandrite. The meaning is health and longevity.

Its birth flowers are the honeysuckle and the rose.

The horoscope for June is Gemini (astrology) or Cancer (astrology).

References

06 *

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William Levy (born January 10, 1939), known as the Talmudic Wizard of Amsterdam and Dr. Doo-Wop, is the author of such works as The Virgin Sperm Dancer, Wet Dreams, Certain Radio Speeches of Ezra Pound and Natural Jewboy.

Before leaving the U.S. in the autumn of 1966 aboard the R.M.S Queen Mary, Mr. Levy attended the University of Maryland and Temple University and taught in the literature department at Shippensburg State College, in Pennsylvania. In the sixties and seventies, he was founder and chief-editor of many magazines such as: The Insect Trust Gazette, International Times, Suck, and The Fanatic. Recently, he served as European Editor for American glossy fanzines High Times and Penthouse magazine and as an associate editor of Amsterdam zines Het Gewicht, Ins & Outs, La Linea and Atom Club. Mr. Levy has been a regular contributor to Andrei Codrescu's Exquisite Corpse and Libido and is currently publisher of Transactions of the Invisible Language Society series. His meditation play Europe in Flames was also featured at the Festival of New Radio in New York. In 1998, Mr. Levy was awarded the Erotic Oscar for writing at London's Sex Maniac's Ball. Until his recent retirement from radio and for 20 years non-stop, Mr. Levy's alter-ego, Dr. Doo Wop, could be heard weekly spinning groovy music across Amsterdam's airwaves.

Mr. Levy currently lives in Amsterdam with his wife, the literary translator Susan Janssen (translator of many works of Bukowski and of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby).

Selected works

Playing Tennis with Kafka

Have Rock Will Roll

Confessions of a Failed Dealer

France: Oxygen, a Thirsty (American-in-Paris) Satori

Refugee TV

A Call for Chaos & Beans On Toast, Please!

Poetry and Pensees

Three Poems

Dear George W Bush

Impossible: The Otto Muehl Story (New York: Barany Artists, 2001)

The Virgin Sperm Dancer

Wet Dreams

Certain Radio Speeches of Ezra Pound

Jeremiad Chants

Natural Jewboy (Ins & Outs Press, Amsterdam, 1981)

Voicings and Transmissions

Radio Art

Blood

Rape

An Introduction to Political Porno in Europe

A Vilna Legend

The Night Before Charisma

Billy's Holiday

Viagra Blues

Is There Sex Over Forty?

Never Knew Never From Less: Secondary Raw Materials of Harry Hoogstraten

ZOCK: The Outlaw Manifesto of the Century

Death of a Gunslinger: An Obituary on Ed Dorn for America

Requiem for Christian Loidl

Hanging Out With Zalman Shneour

Two Mornings in Amsterdam Pt. 1 Lost Soles

Fourth and Fifteen & A Poet's Guide to Fashion

External links

Dr. Doo-wop A film by Michiel Brongers

William Levy: Beyond Criticism a Biopic by Malcolm Hart

Category:1939 births Category:American journalists Category:American novelists Category:American poets Category:Living people

birth name	Maite Perroni Beorlegui
birth date	March 09, 1983
birth place	Mexico City, Mexico
occupation	Actress, Singer
yearsactive	2004–present
Relatives	Adolfo and Francisco Perroni (siblings)
Url	http://www.maite-perroni.com/ }}

Maite Perroni Beorlegui (born March 9, 1983) is a Mexican actress and singer/songwriter, who is best known for starring in ''Rebelde'', ''Cuidado con el Ángel'', ''Mi Pecado'' and ''Triunfo del Amor''. She gained international fame as a member of the Latin Grammy nominated pop group RBD. Univision named Maite Perroni as the new Queen of the Telenovelas in 2009.

Biography

Early life

Maite Perroni Beorlegui was born in Palenque,Mexico, But moved to Mexico City from the age of eleven . Her father's job transferred the family there and the Perroni family stayed for over twelve years. She has two siblings, Adolfo and Francisco, who are three and nine years younger than she is.

Perroni studied acting at Televisa's Centro de Educación Artistica (CEA) in the year 2000, completing two years of a three year course.

Career

Acting career

Perroni made her acting debut in ''Rebelde'', a remake of the acclaimed Argentinean novela ''Rebelde Way''. She portrayed Guadalupe "Lupita" Fernández, a teenage girl from a lower class family who gets the opportunity to study at the fictitious Elite Way School. ''Rebelde'' ran from 2004 to 2006, filming 440 episodes.

Following the success of ''Rebelde'', in 2007, Televisa released ''RBD: La Familia'', which starred the members of RBD. The characters of the sitcom were not based on the band's characters in ''Rebelde'', but intended to be similar to the actors' real personalities. ''RBD: La Familia'' was the first Mexican show shot entirely in high definition and ran from March 14, 2007 to June 13, 2007, and only lasted 13 episodes.

In 2008, Maite starred as the lead character in ''Cuidado con el Ángel'', opposite William Levy. The show had great success around the world. She starred in her second leading role in ''Mi Pecado'' opposite Eugenio Siller. She was part of the third season of ''Mujeres Asesinas'' in the sixth episode called ''Las Blanco, Viudas'' along with Diana Bracho, Luz Maria Aguilar and Mark Tacher.

In 2010, Perroni was confirmed to star with her previous co-star, William Levy, in ''Triunfo del Amor'', a remake of the Venezuelan classic ''Cristal''.

Musical career

Perroni was a member of the popular band RBD, which was launched off of the success of the telenovela ''Rebelde''. To date RBD has made 9 studio albums, including albums in Spanish, Chinese and English. They have sold over 15 million albums worldwide, and have embarked on various international tours including shows throughout Latin America and Europe.

Maite composed ''Tal Vez Mañana'', for RBD's fourth Spanish language album, ''Empezar Desde Cero'' and sang solo on the title track for the album.

On August 8, 2008, RBD released a message telling fans that they had decided to split up. They went on one final tour, Gira Del Adios World Tour, which ended in early 2009. Perroni was absent part of the tour, due to her filming in ''Cuidado con el Ángel''.

For her role in ''Cuidado con el Ángel'', Perroni recorded three songs for the show called ''Esta Soledad'', ''Separada de Ti'', and ''Contigo''.

She recorded a song with Reik, entitled ''Mi Pecado'', which was used as the opening song for the telenovela, ''Mi Pecado''.

On July 17, Perroni released her new single ''No Vuelvas'', which will be featured on an EP she is releasing for her Brazilian Pocket Show performances, on her website MaiteMVP.com.

She recently recorded a song with Marco di Mauro called ''A Partir de Hoy'' which forms part of the musical soundtrack of the telenovela she is currently filming called ''Triunfo del Amor''.

Personal life

Perroni was engaged to Guido Laris, the musical director from RBD, but the pair split in August 2008. On November 2010 she officially announced she was dating singer and composer Mané de la Parra.

Products and endorsements

Maite is the Spokemodel for NYX Cosmetics. In 2007, a Barbie doll version of Perroni was released, based on her character in ''Rebelde''.

In June 2009, Perroni announced her support for the Ecologist Green Party of Mexico. She has starred in several commercials promoting the party.

She started in commercials for Giraffas, Pepsi, Helato de Bonice, Asepxia, Teleton, Wal Mart, Ades Class, Hinds, Pantene.

Awards and honors

In 2006 she won her first award at the Premios TVyNovelas, along with her RBD bandmates, for "Best Theme Song". In March 2009, Maite won "Best Young Actress in a Leading Role" for her performance in ''Cuidado con el Ángel''.`\

She won Premio Juventud for most beautiful telenovela actress`Chica que me quite el sueno` in 2009 y 2011.

In 2009, she topped ''Los 50 Más Bellos'' list from ''People en Español'', sharing the front cover with Eva Longoria and Ana Bárbara. She was part of the same list in 2010. She was named `Queen of telenovelas` by her fans and Univision channel.

Filmography

! Year	! Title	! Role	! Notes
	''Rebelde''	Guadalupe "Lupita" Fernández	440 episodes (Lead Role)
	''Lola...Erase Una Vez''	La nueva Cenicienta	1 episode (Supporting)
	''RBD: La Familia''	May	13 episodes (Lead Role)
		María de Jesús "Marichuy" Velarde	195 episodes (Lead Role)
	''Mi Pecado''	Lucrecia Córdoba Pedraza	110 episodes (Lead Role), currently broadcasting in telefutura
		Estela Blanco (Las Blanco,Viudas)	1 episode (Lead Role)
	''Triunfo del Amor''	María Desamparada Iturbide Sandoval	176 episodes (Lead Role), currently broadcasting in univision

Theatre

Obras
! Year	! Title	! Role
	''Cena de Matrimonios''	Elisa

Solo Tour

Tours
! Year	! Title
	''Maite Perroni Brazilian Tour 2010''

References

External links

Official Website

Twitter Maite Perroni

Official YouTube Channel

Category:1983 births Category:Living people Category:Mexican female singers Category:Mestizo Category:Mexican songwriters Category:Mexican telenovela actors Category:People from Guadalajara Category:Portuguese-language singers Category:RBD members

bg:Маите Перони ca:Maite Perroni de:Maite Perroni el:Μάιτε Περρόνι es:Maite Perroni fr:Maite Perroni hr:Maite Perroni it:Maite Perroni he:מאיטה פרוני hu:Maite Perroni nl:Maite Perroni pl:Maite Perroni pt:Maite Perroni ro:Maite Perroni sq:Maite Perroni sk:Maite Perroni sl:Maite Perroni sr:Мајте Перони sh:Maite Perroni tl:Maite Perroni

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

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