This is a Facebook post I wrote a couple weeks after Neil left us.


For those that don't know, my dad was the PE teacher at ##### Elementary, where I went to school for 6 years. Later on in my college years, I worked about 70-80 hours a week in the summers painting and umpiring with my dad. This meant I spent a lot of time in my dad's car in the summer.

Luckily, my dad liked most of the stuff I would throw in the cassette player. His favorite cassette was probably Boston-Don't Look Back. But he also liked Rush. In particular, a song from Fly By Night called By-Tor and the Snowdog.

This is an epic song about the evil By-Tor fighting the Snowdog, our hero.

"By-Tor and the Snowdog
Square for battle
Let the fray begin".

At this point in the song, Geddy's growling bass represented By-Tor and Alex's shrieking guitar the Snowdog, and the battle is on. My dad seemed to love this idea of the instruments representing the two foes as much as I did. He really loved it.

Inside the album read...

Geddy Lee - bass, vocals, By-Tor
Alex Lifeson - guitars, Snowdog

So me and my dad would come cruising up to the softball field, windows down in his God-awful, no AC, rust covered light blue VW bug with this crazy Rush "battle" blaring at max volume. I'm sure it was a sight to see.

About 6 years after my dad died, my amazing friend Jim ##### got us free tickets to the Rush show in Dallas and they played this song... And I couldn't help but smile a huge smile and lift my beer up to the heavens and drink to my dad. Maybe he's up there right now bugging Neil Peart about how much his boy loves Rush... And Neil is looking for the. nearest escape route...

In true Rush fashion, they created a funny video to go along with the song at the concert. They also brilliantly made up for the fact that Neil Peart didn't have a role to play in the whole By-Tor/Snowdog duel.

Here it is.

Here is my first Facebook post after Neil died.

Hello, friends, please indulge my long post... As many of you saw yesterday, Neil Peart, the drummer of Rush, died this week. All who know me well know my absolute love of all things Rush.

Growing up when most of us did, I lived for hearing that great new song on the radio. Before ever hearing Rush as a kid, I would sit by the radio full of anticipation waiting for "Desiree" by Neil Diamond, "Le Freak" by Chic, "Dancing Queen" by Abba... The list could go on forever, I'll stop there...

Fast forward... Middle school.. Girls. Popularity. Awkwardness. Grades. All the fun challenges and stress of a young teenager trying to fit in, trying to figure out who you are, what you want to do with your life. I would spend much time on my bed pondering these things and more while listening to the radio.

Then something incredible, amazing, life-changing happened to me. Laying there like always, I heard something that sounded like nothing I'd ever heard before. Alex Lifeson's timeless throat-punch of a guitar riff to begin "Limelight" literally reached through the radio and yanked me out of bed and onto my feet.

"WHAT IS THIS?!"

As Neil's signature drums kicked in followed by Geddy Lee's bass and vocals, my brain struggled to grasp just what it was I was listening to. "What is this?" I asked again - to nobody, to God, to my own mind, maybe wondering if what I was hearing was real or if I had dozed off and was dreaming this. Were these sounds even real, even possible?

"Living on a lighted stage
Approaches the unreal
For those who think and feel
In touch with some reality
Beyond the gilded cage"

From that second on, my life was changed. It may sound strange or overly dramatic, but it's no less true. My world was different because of these 3 guys from Canada I've never met. Rush became somewhat of an obsession, and lucky me, my first hearing of them was from their 8th studio album.

Little had I known that while I was listening to the Bee Gees, Abba, KC and the Sunshine Band - Rush had been creating masterpieces like 2112, Permanent Waves and Hemispheres. Absolutely nothing against those other bands, I still like them, but they are not Rush.

While Alex's amazing and unique guitar sound and Geddy's unique vocals were what first drew me to Rush, I soon began to hear the lyrics. To say these were unusual rock and roll lyrics is the understatement of all time.

"There is unrest in the forest
There is trouble with the trees
For the maples want more sunlight
And the oaks ignore their pleas"

One of my buddies used to make fun of those lyrics. And he wasn't alone. I mean, who writes that???

I'll tell you who writes it. Neil Peart writes it. GENIUS Neil Peart Unapologetically and without regard to whoever might think it's goofy. And thank God he did, because millions of people like me didn't find it goofy at all, but instead thought-provoking and mind-expanding.

Some days bored at school, I would in the best handwriting I could muster write the lyrics to Freewill or Red Barchetta or Xanadu instead of listening to a Chemistry or Algebra lecture. Then I would race home to throw the album on the turntable, lay on the floor with both 12 inch speakers an inch from each ear and escape. Every time, every listen brought some new sound, some drum beat, some bass or keyboard or guitar note I had never heard before, so complex and overflowing with detail and intricacy was their music.

You see, Rush was more than a band for me. They were an extended part of my family. When a girl broke my heart, when I missed a penalty kick to lose the city championship and couldn't sleep for a week, when I wrecked my car AGAIN... Rush was there for me. They always knew what to say and exactly how to say it. They always helped me get through.

Neil, thank you for all you did for me. I will miss you.

Big Cat `93 said:

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I love this version of my favorite Rush song. It became my favorite when my dad miraculously (literally) survived a v-fib in 2014. I had 7 bonus years with him until he died a month ago. The lyrics helped me to make the most of my time with him and my mom, who died in January. This song will always stand out for me.

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The Garden did the same for me in 2012 when my mom passed. I must have listened to Clockwork Angels beginning to end nearly a hundred times that year. The Garden was always healing.

Thank You for sharing that. As a former Aggie Bandsman and Rush fan, that was very enjoyable.

Band nerds love Rush. Been that way forever, I guess it still is.

KidDoc said:

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That is awesome! I don't hate Ohio State so much now.

Some Junkie Cosmonaut said:

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TP Ag '87 said:

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Embarrassing: I think my initial exposure to Rush was actually Geddy singing Take Off with Bob and Doug McKenzie. Loved his voice so much that I started the long, deep dig,..

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Man...his voice is the reason I just can't get into Rush. I know they're amazing musicians. I play guitar. Their musical prowess is undeniable. I get it. But I just can't take his voice.

Do they still tour? People tell me I need to see a show and I think I finally agree.

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Dammit, boys. I'm in.

I've resisted Rush all my life because I've always hated Geddy's voice. Couldn't flip the station or forward the song fast enough. However, as I've progressed in my own personal guitar journey it's made me revisit a lot of old stuff with a new eye.

So I decided to give Rush another visit and focus solely on Alex Lifeson's brilliance and dammit if I didn't come away loving it. All of it. Including a full 180 on Geddy. I've already added around 12 Rush songs to the playlist and diving into more. Watching Rock in Rio for the first time as I'm typing this. Absolute brilliance.

I get it. I'm all in. However, now I'm devastated I'll never see them live. Truly.

I'm going to give Rush in Rio another watch sometime this weekend. I was completely in awe. This may sound completely ridiculous and most people might think it's stupid but I am a huge TOOL fan and can draw a line between them. The technical proficiency is just jaw dropping. Both bands can create so much layered sound and are so adept at creating atmospheres within their songs. I still can't get over that all that sound that Rush creates emanates from just 3 guys. Amazing.