Category — Sabian Cymbals

Pretty much every drummer worth their salt knows who Neil Peart is, the drummer of Rush has topped musician polls for over 2 decades now. I’ve been into Neil Peart’s drumming and Rush for a while now, but recently I picked up a vinyl copy of their classic “Moving Pictures” album and it stands out even more to me now.

I don’t know if it’s because I have a really nice turntable and speakers, but his drumming and drum sound is pretty much perfect on this album, at least to my ears. Now, maybe a lot of other drummers out there are thinking “duh” but I’m a younger guy and didn’t have the chance to get into the album when it was first released (as I was one year away from being born).

I’ve heard almost every Rush release, and while they all have something unique to offer, I’d consider their best work to be either “Moving Pictures” or “2112″. It’s a hard decision to make, but I’m going to go out on a limb and put my vote in for “Moving Pictures” just because of the strength and hooks so many of the songs possess. I did some digging around online and found a great picture of the band in the studio from this era (above). If anyone reading this knows, around what era did Neil Peart start using roland drums? I know he is a roland drums endorser and used Simmons early on.

SABIAN has announced that it is an official sponsor for “The Big Beat,” an event which will be the “largest gathering of drummers ever assembled for a simultaneous drumming experience.” The company is collaborating with the Five-Star Drum Shops, an organization of 37 American independently owned drum stores, to put organize “The Big Beat,” which is set to take place on Sunday, Nov. 2, 2008 and will benefit The Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation. SABIAN will contribute approximately $2,500 worth prizes to be raffled off, including drum related items and even artist support to each participating store.

According to the vice president of marketing at SABIAN, Stacey Montgomery-Clark, “It’s a privilege for SABIAN to be connected with ‘The Big Beat,’ this year. We relish opportunities like this in which we can support the percussion industry and in particular the drummer consumer and independent retailer.”

Their goal is to break the Guinness world record for the most drummers playing the same beat at one time and drummers of all skill-levels are encouraged to contact one of these seven participating drum stores:

• Just Drums - Toronto, Ontario, CA - justdrums.com
• Resurrection Drums - Hollywood, FL. - rezdrums.com
• Buffalo Drum Outlet - Depew, NY - buffalodrumoutlet.com
• Columbus Percussion - Columbus, OH - columbuspercussion.com
• Stebal Drums - Willowick, OH - stebaldrums.com
• Drum World - Tulsa, OK - drumdaytulsa.com
• Memphis Drum Shop - Memphis,TN - memphisdrumshop.com
• Percussion Center - Houston, TX - percussiononline.com
• Donn Bennett Drum Studio - Bellevue, WA - bennettdrums.com

What I wanna know is, why are there two in Ohio?!

For more information, check out their web site at www.sabian.com. And while you’re there, check out their report on the Modern Drummer Festival.

In case any drummers out there missed it, legendary progressive rock band Rush made their first TV appearance in 33 years on The Colbert Report last night.

When it was announced, some (such as Stereogum), joked about the fact that Neil Peart’s drum kit might not fit in Colbert’s studio, surprisingly it did. The band played their hit “Tom Sawyer” and were interviewed. Stephen Colbert even jokingly asked Neil Peart “how many drums do you have there?” with Neil responding “enough”. It seems like the band must really appreciate Colbert’s show and/or humor to choose his show to break their 33 year TV absence.

Check out awesome footage of Neil Peart’s kit and more importantly awesome footage of the band playing Tom Sawyer on television…

Rush on The Colbert Report.