In a recent interview in Drumerhead magazine, Neil Peart, said that he considers himself a retired drummer. “Lately, [my five-year-old daughter] Olivia has been introducing me to new friends at school as ‘My dad — he’s a retired drummer.’ True to say — funny to hear. And it does not pain me to realize that, like all athletes, there comes a time to… take yourself out of the game. I would rather set it aside then face the predicament described in our song ‘Losing It’. “The drummer also said that he is skeptical about another lengthy run of concert dates, pointing out that having a young child at home makes it difficult for him to be gone for weeks at a time: “I’ve been doing this for 40 years — I know how to compartmentalize, and I can stand missing her, but I can’t stand her missing me and it’s painful and impossible to understand for her. How can a small child process that? And there’s the guilt that comes with that — you feel guilty about it, of course. I’m causing pain.”
