Yesterday Neil Peart performed a drum solo on the Late Show with David Letterman as part of the show's Drum Solo Week. The episode will air this Thursday, June 9th. MusicRadar.com caught up with Peart in New York City for an interview before his performance on the show. Neil talks at length about drum solos and describes the solo he performed for the show:
... It's half improvised and half composed. I've tried to become more of an improvisational soloist over the past few years, pushing myself in the direction. So the first half of it follows a certain pattern of basic grooves – essentially, I try never to repeat, though – and then the second half is composed. I always say, 'I know where I'm going, but I don't always know how I'm going to get there.' To me, drum soloing is like doing a marathon and solving equations at the same time. Trying to edit everything for the Letterman performance is a lot for my tiny poo brain." ...
When asked about stagefright he describes the Eric Clapton factor:
... "Stewart Copeland calls it the 'Eric Clapton Factor,' because Eric Clapton hated not being able to go out and play the guitar casually – he had to be brilliant. In fact, Stewart Copeland himself stopped playing the drums for a few years after the first go-round with The Police because of the 'Eric Clapton Factor.' He just wanted to go out and play; he didn't want to have to be 'brilliant' all the time. It's a very strange occurrence, and I certainly feel it when it comes to drum solos. I'm naked out there without the band. I have to conquer my nerves and perform with skill and grace, without all the terrible things like flubs and drumsticks flying around." ...
Reports from fans who attended the taping indicate that maybe the Eric Clapton factor caught up with Neil as he apparently dropped a stick twice during the performance. Although the good news is that he was given a second take. When asked how much he works off the crowd's reaction and energy in a live show Peart says the following:
..."I do it all the time. Of course! It's called inspiration, and that's what live performance is really all about. You're feeding off that energy. One of the things that happened with the in-ear monitors was that it was hard to get a balance of the audience. So that was something that we've worked on. But yes, when you're playing, you definitely try to do something that works for you, works for the audience. And it happens during our songs, too – there are parts where you just feel it; everybody's knitted together and gets into this rhythmic frenzy."...
It's a great interview. Be sure to read the whole thing at this link. Thanks to RushFanForever for the heads up.
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