July 30, 2005

Must See for Drummers and Rush Fans

For those of you who are not aware, Neil Peart of the Canadian prog-rock trio "Rush" is one of the most influential rock drummers of all time. As a teenager, I spent countless hours learning Rush songs note for note. It is safe to say that Neil Peart was my biggest drumming inspiration during my formative years as a drummer. He's also the main reason I decided to pursue a career in drumming.

Anyway, a computer animation artist named Bobby Standridge created a cinematic video clip of Neil Peart playing "YYZ" (an instrumental track from Rush's Moving Pictures album, which was released in 1981). The clip is over 44 megs, so if you don't have broadband, you might want to skip this one. I have to say: this is one of the most amazing things I've ever seen online. Not only did Bobby nail every detail of Neil's huge drum kit, accurately reproduce every note in the song, just as Neil played it, but he also did it in such a creative and exciting way.

Click here to see the
"YYZ" Animated Video for yourself and let me know what you think!