Neil Peart was a guest on NPR's Morning Edition earlier this morning as part of their Beat Week series. They speak with him about his early drumming influences, and Neil mentions Gene Krupa:

... "He was the first rock drummer, in very many ways," Peart says. "Without Gene Krupa, there wouldn't have been a Keith Moon. He was the first drummer to command the spotlight and the first drummer to be celebrated for his solos, because they were very flamboyant. He did fundamentally easy things, but always made them look spectacular." ...

Neil also talks about how intense and physically demanding drumming is for him:

... "I tend to define it as grim determination, because it is very physical and painful," Peart says. "The exertion level is very much of an athlete level, so when I see myself, I see a stone face. But it is that kind of immersion. I'll be looking out in between the immersion; I might pop my head out of the water for a second like an alligator, and see people in the audience reacting or holding up a sign or whatever. And that does delight me because, in a larger sense, I'm very much an audience kind of person more than a performer." Often, Peart says he dreams of being in the audience of his own Rush show. "I'd love to observe what we're a part of," he says. "Our band has been together for 40 years, so I sense sometimes when magic is happening. And also, if I was in the audience, I wouldn't have to be working so hard." ...

You can read excerpts from the interview and listen to the entire 7-minute news segment online at this location. Thanks to Gerrit G for the heads up.