In Collaboration with Drum Workshop
(18th June, 2020 – Oxnard, CA) In 2015, when Drum Workshop Inc. (DW) began working with Edge Factor to create the Masters of Resonance documentary, Neil Peart was rehearsing for Rush’s final R40 tour in the on-site Drum Channel studio. A chance introduction between the film’s writer/producer, a fellow Canadian, Jeremy Bout and Peart resulted in a short film Growth Rings. Written and narrated by the revered drummer and wordsmith, it chronicles the importance of music in marking key life moments, and historic milestones.
Since its quiet release on the 12th June 2020, this vivid and thoughtful reflection on the importance music has struck a chord with many people and is fast becoming a viral internet sensation. Its prescient and measured tones resonate in a world that is full of uncertainty and challenges and as Peart reminds everyone music is ‘the weather of its time’ embodying ‘the moods and movements that gave it context’, just like the growth rings of a tree. Peart continues ‘communal music has the power to bring people together, to inspire and reinforce their shared beliefs’.
Global Vice President of Marketing, Scott Donnell, comments, “This project was a labor of love. It’s an inspiring message that means so much to so many in these turbulent times. Neil was truly the Word Whisperer.”
The Professor, known for his meticulous and intricate drum work, was also Rush’s primary lyricist and conceptual brainchild, adept at weaving his philosophic thoughts into many of the band’s catalog of critically acclaimed songs. The perceptive words of this short film will, like many of his song lyrics, become ‘milestones and eras of our lives’ and ‘resonate with us during these times’.
Peart passed away in January 2020, after a lengthy battle with cancer, sending shockwaves through the music world and drumming community. Considered one of the best rock drummers in history, his legacy continues to echo through people’s lives because as he concludes in the film, ‘when you find that singular focus, the thing you were created to do, your art will take root’.
To watch the video please go to www.youtube.com/watch?v=auNoE0u9mqM
