Rush is a Band

A blog devoted to RUSH:
Neil Peart, Geddy Lee & Alex Lifeson

Thu, Mar 28, 2024

Neil Peart news update

Thu, Jun 19, 2008@11:01PM | comments removed/disabled

[NEWS, WEATHER, and SPORTS - June, 2008: WHEN THE ROAD ENDS]

As expected, Neil Peart has taken advantage of the band's last extended break on the 2008 tour to compose another News Update to his website. Neil spends a lot of time describing his motorcycle travels across the Northwest, through snow and wind and winding, rock-strewn roads. He adds this little tidbit regarding the upcoming live DVD of the Rotterdam shows, due out this fall:

... During that day I watched the finished edit for our live DVD from last October in Rotterdam. It looked really good, and we had played well, so it was enjoyable to view, but I could not get over how composed I looked. Such a contrast to how it feels, mentally and physically—brain frantically trying to keep everything “under control,” and body pounding away at full strength all the time. It doesn’t seem fair that it should look so easy. But as I learned a long time ago, “Ain’t no why, ain’t no fair.” ...

He also touches on the cancellation of the Red Rocks show:

... unfortunately the show we were on our way to—Red Rocks, near Denver—had been cancelled due to impending bad weather. The same front that delivered us a blizzard brought thunderstorms to Denver, and tornadoes to Kansas. Our equipment trucks and crew buses had already been on-site at Red Rocks that morning when the decision was made to cancel, but we’ll be making it up at the beginning of the next run.

Knowing the weather was threatening that show, I checked my cell phone at the park and saw I had a message, but there was no cell service until an hour later, back in Gunnison. I led Brian into a roadside spray-wash (a rare and valuable shelter for a motorcyclist on a rainy day—more roadcraft), and called tour manager Liam to discuss alternatives for the make-up date, and bus driver Dave to plan our logistics. I arranged to meet Dave and Michael in the parking lot of an arena in downtown Denver, where I did a quick oil change, then we loaded the bikes in the trailer and climbed on the bus. Dropping Brian at his hotel, Dave drove Michael and me to a truck stop in western Kansas. The following day we would enjoy a pleasant ride on the back roads of the Great Plains, without snow, rain, cold, police, or traffic. ...

So it sounds like the band and crew were already at Red Rocks the morning of the show when the decision to cancel was made. He continues describing his travels, moving across the Mississippi to points east - and closes with some thoughts regarding future projects including the upcoming Buddy Rich Memorial Concert and possibly another book:

... People often ask, “What’s next for the band?”, but we learned long ago that when you’re in the middle of a big job, you don’t need to talk about another one. So, in the middle of a tour, we never talk about making another album, and in the middle of recording, we never talk about another tour. One job at a time, even in your own head, is easier to deal with—you don’t need another burden if you can keep it “in storage” for a while.

For fifteen years people have been saying to me, “I hear this is your last tour” (I’ve been saying it myself since 1989), but subjects like that don’t even get raised among the three of us. Certainly after the last two summers of heavy touring, which will eventually add up to well over a hundred shows, there will be no more of that for a while.

(I adopted my current motto, “What cannot be altered, must be endured,” around New Year’s, and actually found it useful in such occasions as, say, flight delays. Only much later did I realize that the reverse was equally true, in a less passive way: “What cannot be endured, must be altered.”)

Some fresh challenges await me, no doubt. Later this year, I have agreed to take part in another big-band project, a Buddy Rich tribute concert in October, and that will be a huge occasion to try to rise to. I’m thinking a lot about that these days.

While I ride the open roads, from time to time I have given a little thought to trying to write another book. It seems to me that the stories I’ve been writing for this Web site are laying a good foundation for another challenge I might like to undertake: a book called ROADCRAFT: How to Work the World. If I could draw together all I’ve learned about traveling, in the literal sense and in a larger, metaphorical way, it might be worthwhile. It wouldn’t be just for motorcyclists, of course, or even just for travelers—but I would love to make the particular elements of roadcraft apply to the larger journey: life.

The gas can, the oil changes, the rain gear, the maps and signs.

How to make the most of the road you’re on; what to do when the road gets tough; what to do when the road ends.

That would be a tale worth telling.

(Hint: In reference to the question, “what to do when the road ends,” the correct response is not, “Pout.”)

Thanks to Ripsin2 for the heads up.

NOTE: Posts over 10 years old are partially archived. All comments, images and other embedded media have been removed.

Share