Massey Hall/Classic Rock
Ethan Iverson: Dave, tonight we played Massey Hall. What is "YYZ"?
David King: It is the airport code of Toronto and the "Giant Steps" of rock and roll.
EI: What band played "YYZ"?
DK: Rush.
EI: What were they famous for?
DK: They are a prog-rock power trio that uses iconoclastic playing to create a sound much bigger than three guys. They also made wizard hats sexy.
EI: Who was the drummer of Rush?
DK: Neil Peart was the second and most famous drummer, but on the first record it was John Rutsey.
EI: But Peart is who we mean when we talk about odd-meter mayhem, right?
DK: He was a loud Joe Morello with gongs.
EI: Does Peart have good technique at the drums?
DK: Does the new Pope drink umbilical-cord blood from a satanic chalice?
EI: Yes. Can anyone play faster in seven than Peart?
DK: Probably some obscure Doumbek player, but not many in rock. The thing about Neil Peart that appealed to me (and probably a lot of drummers of my generation) is that he was an active force in creating the sound of the band he was in. He wasn't just a timekeeper. Rush represented a certain freedom of ideas for the drum as a lead instrument in rock and roll.
EI: What are the quintessential Peart performances?
DK: This could be controversial, but my favorite period of Rush and Peart is from 1979's Permanent Waves through 1984's Grace Under Pressure. This was a period of Peart's most progressive playing. From the merging of electronic and acoustic drums to the dark themes of the music, this period represented the most complete realization of Peart's concepts. (This is just my opinion, of course. I don't know much of their music after this period.) There is a fill in the song "Natural Science" that is truly some avant-garde shit. It makes no rational sense in the composition. It reminds me of an interpretation of Chinese box drumming or something.
EI: Why do some people hate Rush?
DK: Because they stole their girlfriends. Seriously, though, I think that any music that doesn't belong to any scene and follows its own path without being concerned with what's cool will naturally turn off a great hunk of the masses. I suppose some people think it's kind of geeky and kind of masturbatory, but I believe it's pretty ballsy to do your own shit without apology.
EI: The Bad Plus is now playing "Tom Sawyer," and you play the Peart drum fill just like on the record.
DK: I play the four-piece kit version. Peart had a 37-piece kit with nine bass-drums when he recorded it, so my version is a little small in comparison. But the intention is strong. I felt you had to pay homage to one of the most recognizable drum solos in recorded history. It's almost like a song in itself. It's like if you covered "In the Air Tonight" by Phil Collins and didn't do "the fill that brings in the big chorus." You'd get your ass kicked on the street if word got out that you were the doof that thought you could do better. Phil Collins fans are fucking vicious and they will shank you without thinking twice.
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