SASKATOON -- A day after Neil Peart passed away, musicians in Saskatoon are reflecting on the impact the legendary drummer had on Canadian music.
Derek Desroches remembers growing up listening to Rush and says he has a lot of memories surrounding the Canadian icons.
"We’d play their record in the background and we’d just play song to song to song….terribly, trying to keep up with Neil Peart, Alex Lifeson, and Geddy Lee," Desroches said.
"Anyone watching would have been embarrassed for us, but it was a lot of fun. That really shaped our future for playing music."
Another local musician, Nathan Howe, recalls his first every big road trip, travelling to Calgary to see the iconic band.
"After we graduated grade 12, a couple friends and I took our first road trip out to Calgary to see them because they weren’t coming to Saskatoon. We drove the seven hours." Howe said. "We listened to exclusively rush for the whole week leading up to the show."
Long and McQuade sales person and drummer Alex Bent remembers growing up liking Rush, but loving Peart.
"I have his DVDs, instructional DVDs and watched them growing up. He was always kind of regarded as the big guy to pay attention to," Bent said. "It’s a big loss for a lot of musicians, especially drummers in the community."
Local musicians like Desroches, Howe, and Bent will have a bit more Rush on their playlists in the following days, remembering who they say is one of the greatest drummers of all time.
Peart died on Tuesday after a battle with brain cancer.
