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Near Miss Neil Sighting (Kinda Long)

Petamo

By Petamo,
in On The Lighted Stage

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Petamo

Petamo

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Since he's left town I can now post this picture and tell my story without any fear of being labeled a "stalker."

 

If you remember Neil's winter blog he told the story of passing through Knoxville between Cleveland and Charlotte last October.

 

Well, I live in downtown Knoxville and as I pulled into the parking garage last night these two bikes off to the left caught my eye. My wife immediately asked, "What are you looking at?"

 

I said, "I think that's Neil's bike. She then chirped, "How would you know that?" "Trust me, I would know."

 

So we park our car and walk down to the bikes. "Go see if the red one has Canadian or California plates, I asked."

 

She walks over and looks at the rear plate and a look of amazement takes over and out comes: "Holy, shit! The plates are from Quebec! It's his bike!"

 

So, now what to do? She leaves for yoga and I plot my next move.

 

I was going to put a business card on his windshield with "See tomorrow night in Nashville" on the back, but figured he would then have all the information he needed to file a restraining order.

 

And, as there's no way to casually walk over to his dinner table, the only way I could ever say anything would have to be a chance encounter on the street.

 

So I spent last night taking laps around downtown Knoxville ducking in and out of the top eateries. The problem is I had a drink at every stop.

 

No, I couldn't have had a water every now and again, it had to be vodka. Now it's 9:30pm and I'm a little loopy, so I head home.

 

My wife returns from yoga at 9:45pm and says she's hungry and let's go grab a bite at the Bistro.

 

I didn't want to admit to pub crawling in the off chance I might "bump into" Neil on the street, so I said I was too engrossed in my book and it was getting late.

 

Because let's face it, Neil doesn't want to hear from me in the first place and he REALLY doesn't want to hear from a guy with a snoot full.

 

We crawl into bed at 10:00pm, read, and fall asleep.

 

This morning we awoke to a missed call at 10:04pm on my wife's phone (remember, she was in yoga and all phones are set to silent). The girlfriend she went to yoga with had called to say she's pretty damn sure she just saw Neil walk into the Bistro and to get our butts over there. But again, the phone is on silent.

 

So, the Beemer Boyz stayed in Knoxville again last night and that was a close as I'll probably ever get to meeting Mr. Peart.

 

Now if I can just remember to order water every other time I'll be in business.

 

947126_10200959971551863_1502095461_n.jpg

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nhlrush

nhlrush

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great story, probably better off that you didn't see him...

 

as you know, he really only likes talking to people when he is just some guy on a bike....

 

I think the second he knows that you know who he is, the whole thing turns into an awkward exchange and you are standing there with egg or in this case vodka on your face....

 

kinda sucks that this is the way it is, but...

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mk2112

mk2112

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interesting story. It gets a bit ridiculous though. The other day I saw a couple of BMW bikes parked up and immediately thought 'it might be Neil!'..That was for around one microsecond then I remembered they're not in the UK yet! Sad! I have no idea what I'd do...probably stay away otherwise you come into 'stalker' territory. There's a lovely story on his blog about the bikes breaking down in the middle of nowhere, getting help, and then one of the helpers revealing they used to be a Rush fan etc etc...look it up.
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nhlrush

nhlrush

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I think it all depends on how YOU act....

 

if ur doing the wayne's world, "we're not worthy."

 

it's gonna be weird....

 

if you just act as normal as possible and that he is not a big deal, i think you would have more success...

 

I think the moment you say, "oh my god, you're neil peart." you are finished....

 

he knows he's neil peart, and he generally doesn't like that he's neil peart from a rock star perspective....

 

i think if he was pumping gas and said, "hey, man, i didn't know bmw made motorcycles," or something similar....and never mentioned music or rush or the rock world or drumming, i think you are going to have a much better encounter....

 

i can see, after a two minute chat at a gas station or similar, as you are saying goodbye, hey, by the way, really big fan of the band, that might be okay, what's he going to do if you've already had the exchange....he might even smile and be cool if you were normal....

 

i would feel compelled at the end to say that I appreciated his career, although I feel like I would probably screw it up somehow....

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Snaked

Snaked

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great story, probably better off that you didn't see him...

 

as you know, he really only likes talking to people when he is just some guy on a bike....

 

I think the second he knows that you know who he is, the whole thing turns into an awkward exchange and you are standing there with egg or in this case vodka on your face....

 

kinda sucks that this is the way it is, but...

 

He especially despises Preds fans from New Jersey... go figger!

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driventotheedge

driventotheedge

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I ride a lot too though of course not as many miles as he does (I do about 11,000 a year....not bad considering I live in the rainy Pacific Northwest). If I met him I would immediately go to talking about riding and what I'd really like to ask him is what his favorite scenic paved routes are so I could hopefully one day ride some of them as well. I'm not interested in the unpaved areas he rides as my bike is bigger and heavier and thus not as nimble as his. Besides, that's too much work to me. Of course after talking riding and as I was departing his company I would casually say something along the lines of "thanks for the great music over the years" as an aknowledgement of his and the band's talents and the joy they've brought me. But that would be the extent of my being a fan out of respect to how he feels about gushing over him and all that. Edited by driventotheedge
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GrandDesigner

GrandDesigner

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I always wonder if it's the "gushing, crazy" Rush fans he avoids or just Rush fans in general. I mean, I have no interest in motorcycling so I'd hate to fake that just to talk to him, but I would sincerely like to talk to him about lyrics he's written, or setlist decisions, or what state of mind he was in recording certain tracks, etc. Not in a total fanboy way, but more in a curious way about the history of a band that until recently, was very closed off.

 

 

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mlc

mlc

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Hey, mlc -

 

Great find on the Dragon photos. Makes total sense. Tuesday was a perfect day in East Tennessee.

 

Thanks, I just got back from Back of the Dragon in Marion with the S2000 club.

 

Great roads in this part of the country, didn't think a "bike guy" would pass up the chance to check them out.

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Freedom

Freedom

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Neil is the single reason I have been playing drums almost 30 years but no way would I want to meet him. 90 percent chance it would be a disappointment I would say.

 

Definitely. I would love to meet him, but I know that he isn't into fans that much so I would rather leave him be if I saw him. If I did meet him, I'd probably just be like: "beautiful day, isn't it?"

He has his own thing between Ged and Alex and I respect that.

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FOH Lights

FOH Lights

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I guess I'm always a little confused about the strong desire to meet Neil. I mean, anyone who is a fan, knows how uncomfortable he is with that sort of thing. If he won't do meet & greets, which are highly controlled and over in 2 clicks of the camera, what makes anyone think that approaching him on the street is a good idea? Why force him into a situation he hates to be put into?

 

Better just to admire his bike, take a picture, and move on, content in the fact that you got to see something that few ever do, without causing a rift in Neil's day.

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Aikenrooster

Aikenrooster

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I guess Neil is in the GSMNP, this morning, and will probably hike the AT today, or some other trails in the area, or ride the Blue Ridge Parkway, or US 129.
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Met_Neil_In_91

Met_Neil_In_91

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Like my username says, I met him in 1991. I went to the Buddy Rich Memorial Concert at the Ritz in NYC. The guy I went with used to work for NFL Films and they happened to be filming the show. He wore his NFL Films t-shirt that day. We got there early and went around to the backdoor to see if we could see any of the musicians. A guy noticed my buddy's shirt and come over for a talk since he worked them. He ended up letting us in to the backstage area. We walked in during Neil's soundcheck. Since it was a big band show, the drumkits were toward the front of the stage. I walked around to the front and was literally looking up at Neil as he played just a few feet away. My jaw was on the floor. We got to see everyone's soundcheck. I met all the drummers and got their autos on a paper plate. Along with Neil, Will Calhoun, Steve Smith, Marvin Smith, Omar Hakim and Aton Fig (there just hanging out). Even got Buddy Rich's grandson, Nick, to sign the plate. I didn't know at the time that Neil wasn't comfortable with meeting fans. He was the first one I approached and asked him to sign my shirt, but he said he doesn't sign body parts. I ran and grabbed a plate from the buffet line and he signed it: Hello, Chris and then his name. I also got a pic with him. He wasn't a jerk, but also not overly friendly and that's fine. If I had known he didn't like being approached, I probably would not have done it. The other drummers were all very happy to speak with us and sign which was cool. Maybe I will scan the pic and plate to show you guys. Once in a lifetime kind of thing.
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Aikenrooster

Aikenrooster

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I think if people actually took the time to think about what life would be like, on a daily basis, with people running up to you and going berzerk, and bowing down, and making fools of themselves, at random parts of the day, every day, it would be enough to drive a rational man insane. Only a psychopath would love that. It would really get irritating when you were simply trying to enjoy a meal or other activity. I'm thankful Neil doesn't want stalkers.
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Promark747

Promark747

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My friend and I were driving downtown Cincy in 1994 prior to the Counterparts tour stop. We actually saw him riding his bicycle and seriously almost ran into him!! My buddy did a u-turn to "kinda sorta" follow him but he basically bolted into the lower garage of the arena...
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