The beat goes on

C/P from THE STANDARD
By DARRYL STERDAN, QMI AGENCY

If you want to know Neil Peart's feelings about fame, just read the words to Limelight.

"Living on a lighted stage approaches the unreal," the Rush drummer and lyricist wrote in 1981. "One must put up barriers to keep oneself intact."

Nearly three decades later, the 57-year-old Peart hasn't changed his tune -- he's still uncomfortable inside stardom's gilded cage.

"All that fuss," the former Port Dalhousie boy sighs from his home in Santa Monica, Calif., where he lives most of the year with his second wife and their baby daughter. "I'm shy about all that fuss." One thing Peart clearly doesn't shy away from: Work.

Over the years -- in addition to his main gig with singer-bassist Geddy Lee and guitarist Alex Lifeson -- the celebrated and innovative percussionist has written four non-fiction books about his life, career and travels; released two full-length instructional drum videos; done cartoon voiceovers and film cameos; organized tribute albums and concerts to iconic drummer Buddy Rich; and regularly blogs, reviews books and even shares recipes on his web-site. Most recently, he recorded a drum-based version of the iconic The Hockey Theme for TSN and shot a video to go with it, playing a custom-made kit bearing the insignias of all 30 NHL teams.

To publicize his latest project, the intensely private Peart -- who retreated more or less permanently from the media after the tragic deaths of his daughter and first wife in the late '90s -- emerged from hiding to talk with QMI Agency. And while he still shies away from personal questions, the personable ex-pat -- who spent his formative years in Port Dalhousie's Gracefield School and later Lakeport Secondary School and in local bands like Mumblin' Sumpthin', The Majority, J.R. Flood and Hush-- was happy to chat about everything from the future of Rush and the integrity of the album, to parenthood and pop music.

Some excerpts:

Q. What's happening with Rush? I read on your blog that you were going to meet in November to discuss your future. What happened?

A.Well, in fact, we've just started working on new material. So we plan to get some writing and recording done. And we're considering doing everything this year -- maybe even a bit of touring. We are in action.

And we feel a bit liberated by the state of the music business. Ever since 2006, when we started Snakes and Arrows, the album has become less significant in these times of iTunes and shuffle settings and whatnot.

But perhaps we can take advantage of that and work in a whole different way. So we decided, when we did meet, that we're not constrained by the patterns of the past, where you spend a year writing and recording, and the next year touring. Anything's possible now; we can record a couple of songs and put them out and then go on tour if we want. So at this point, we're just embarking on writing, but keeping ourselves open to all those other possibilities. One of our early titles for this year was Research and Development. That's where we're at.