A Drummer Becomes a Foodie so a Foodie Will Become The Drummer

Fig.1. Rush drummer Neil Peart branding his Food site. Notice how the sweater is covering the drum set.

It’s not enough for some people to be the best at something, they have to step into somebody else’s territory and be ‘over-achievers’.  The over-achiever I’m referring to is Neil Peart, drummer extraordinaire and Rush band member.

I love Rush.  I’ve been a rush fan ever since my neighbor, Micheal Paventi, brought his entire collection of Rush tapes over to my house; I was 13 years old. Apart from being a drum god, Neil Peart is also a poignant poet and lyrists, and an accomplished writer.  But all of these talents weren’t enough for Mr. Peart and woke up one morning and said to himself, ‘I think I’ll become a food writer.’

What ensued was a food section to his web site called ‘Bubba’s Bar and Grill’ (Bubba is one of Peart’s nicknames.)  In it, Peart claims that he’s, “learned a few things about preparing good simple food that might be worth sharing” and proceeds to stimulate our appetites with such simple recipes as salmon teriyaki, pollo pesto pasta, and avocado shrimp, to name but a few.  And ‘a few’ is right, considering the web site has been up and running for about two years, Peart doesn’t have very many recipes posted; nineteen at last count. But let’s not harp on size, Peart’s on-line portion of recipes might be skimpy, but he does also provide culinary insight on how to cook eggs and make orange juice, two sustenance’s which no doubt fuel the body after a couple of hours behind a drum set, and that’s exactly where you’ll find me these days, behind a drum set: If Mr. Peart wants extend his fork and proverbial pen on my turf, let’s see how he likes it when somebody beats on his. 

Fig.2. Get a good look Peart.  How does it feel when somebody steps into your territory? I'm practicing a solid 2 hours a week, I should have parts of Tom Sawyer by May 2013.

I now know how true actors feel when singers try their hand at acting, or how cannibals must have felt when Jonathan Swift published A Modest Proposal: imposed on, hitting my steering wheel with my fingers would no longer be enough. So with a tummy stuffed with bitterness I purchased my first drum set. I will learn every single Rush song down solid and then reach out to the other two Rush band members, Geddy and Alex.  I would point out to them that Neil “Bubba” Peart wasn’t getting any younger, and that an old man behind a drum set might start to affect ticket sales.  Since Peart is the ‘New Guy’ in the group, the other two shouldn’t have a problem replacing him.  So far I’ve got, A Passage to Bangkok, Fly by Night and Madrical down solid.  I would also like to point out that I have ‘pieces’ of other Rush songs down pact and me not being able to play 95 percent of Rush songs in their entirety might be resolved with pre-recorded drum tracks, should the guys want to replace Peart right away. 

Geddy and Alex, if you’re reading this, I would also like to say that I would be willing to cook for you while on tour or in the studio.  While my specialty is Italian food, I am not limited by it, I can also fry a mean egg and squeeze the sweetest orange juice outside of Florida.