The band Neil Peart thought destroyed themselves: “They became damaged”
Not all rock and roll bands are built the same way as Rush was when Neil Peart joined.
As much as some bands like to get their egos involved every single time they make a record, all three members of the power trio seemed to remain the best of friends up until Peart’s tragic passing. Every single thing they made came from a place of fun for them, but ‘The Professor’ was a little bit confused seeing that not every other rock and roll band was thinking the same way when they made their classics.
Granted, no other rock band could have carved out a place in history like Rush did when they started their career. They were seen as the black sheep of their label for the longest time, and after launching themselves into superstardom with 2112, it wasn’t like they had to prove themselves like every other band. Their fanbase went out of their way to seek them out, but getting those kinds of devotees isn’t always easy when you’re slogging it out on tour for most of the year.
They weren’t exactly the most fashionable, either, to be fair. Let’s face it, the band had no clue what was “hip” when they played their classics, and seeing them don strange kimonos when they started performing albums like A Farewell to Kings and Hemispheres felt like Rick Wakeman’s wizard outfit if it were taken to its most ridiculous conclusion. Then again, their sense of style wasn’t all that different in the era of glam.
The biggest names at the time were David Bowie and Elton John, but Kiss were something different when they took Rush out for the first time. They were bringing a circus atmosphere to rock and roll every single time they played, and while it was entertaining to see Gene Simmons breathe fire or Paul Stanley act as the master of ceremonies in a holy church of rock and roll, Peart did see a little more than he wanted.
Compared to every other band they toured with, Peart started to get a bit wary of what Stanley and Simmons were doing onstage. They were business-minded in terms of every single thing they played, and when listening to the stage wraps, it all seemed way too manufactured for his taste. But he could at least walk away from the side of the stage if he wanted. Peter Criss and Ace Frehley were still trapped in their makeup personas, and that was never going to last for too long.
So when Frehley and Criss were sent packing only a few years down the road, Peart said that he could have seen their implosion coming a mile away, saying, “Kiss were a perfectly focused corporation. Gene and Paul knew exactly what they were going to do and how they were going to do it. But the softer hearted ones, Ace and Peter, they couldn’t play that role with that cynicism and they became damaged by it in a tragic way because they were such lovable people.”
Which probably explains why Peart always had a touch-and-go relationship with fame. He didn’t like the idea of being treated like the greatest drummer in the world, and even when he was among other rock and roll giants, all he wanted to do was be treated like one of the guys rather than being looked at as a god among men.
Stanley and Simmons had worked hard to reach the top of that mountain, but music was about a lot more than the raw success for Peart. He never wanted to lose the same spark he had when he was 16, and he was going to do everything in his power to make sure nothing Rush ever did ended up becoming that kind of corporation.
