Closer to the Peart: One Man’s Quest to Memorialize His Hero

April 15, 2021 rognrolla Corporate News, Latest Drum News Comments Off

An article by Mike Jueneman

Everyone grieves in their own personal way. For Danny de Hoyos, the shocking news of Neil Peart’s passing was both devastating and motivating. Like so many others around the world, Danny had been a hardcore Rush fan since he was kid. He started collecting anything and everything band-related at age 11. Cassettes, LPs, even 8-track tapes; it didn’t matter whether he could actually listen to them or not. If it had a Rush logo on it, he collected it.

Danny started playing drums in high school after attending his first Rush concert during their Presto tour. He got to borrow his older brother’s hand-me-down kit, a five-piece Ludwig, which was the brand that Neil was playing at the time). Shortly after he began playing, he bought his first piece of Rush merch specific to their drummer; a set of Neil Peart signature drumsticks. He continued to play drums all through high school, but then college and adult life got in the way and eventually resulted in a 22-year hiatus in his playing.

But even without a direct connection to the instrument, Danny’s interest in collecting lived on. Besides Rush memorabilia, he was always a pretty serious collector of rare books. So it makes perfect sense that the first item he owned that was actually touched by Peart was a hardcover set of his first three books that were all signed on the cover. That purchase was a bit of a spark that rekindled his interest in Rush collectables, but he assumed there would always be plenty of time to chase those pursuits.

Then came the heartbreaking announcement that on January 7^th of 2020, Neil Peart had died from brain cancer. “I kind of freaked out when he died. I didn’t know anything was happening with his health and I did not expect it. I felt broken for like a month and then sort of had this moment of panic. I decided then that since I never got the chance to actually meet the guy, I was going to start getting my hands on everything related to him that I could before collectors snatched everything up. I had been working hard and stashing away my money over the last 20+ years, so screw it!”

His journey started with the Peart signature series snare drums issued by Drum Workshop. His first acquisition was the Time Machine snare, followed by Snakes and Arrows, and then nearly all of the rest. At the time of this article being written, de Hoyos is two drums away from having possibly the only privately-owned complete set of Peart signature snares in the world.

Danny de Hoyos with his collection of snare drums.

It was while on this hunt that he received a call from a new friend and fellow collector/drummer/Rush fan named Ivo Maury. Ivo found a listing from a guy up in Canada who was looking to sell his R30 kit. This was also made by DW to commemorate the 30^th anniversary of Rush. It was a limited edition of 30 kits, and this one was number 20 in the series. The seller had begun the process of rebuilding it to become a more authentic replica, but sort of lost interest along the way. After much negotiating, Danny flew to Buffalo and then rented a truck to drive up to Canada and haul the kit back down in March of 2020. He made it across the border less than a week from the start of the COVID shutdown.

Now, with the heart of the R30 kit and some of the finer details in place, the real work would begin. No expense was spared and no rock was left unturned in the effort to make this kit a truly EXACT replica. To help him along the way, Danny made some invaluable contacts with a couple of heavy hitters at DW, as well as Lorne Wheaton, Neil’s long time drum tech. Some of the unique extras included the rotating drum riser, custom DW wood shells for the electronic toms, floor-mounted gold plated stands, all of the same electronics Neil used on stage, and even a couple of strategically placed squirrel fans to keep the Professor’s hands dry during a show. Everything was done to perfectly match Neil’s original specs.

The end result speaks for itself. The kit is awe inspiring whether you’re a Rush fan or not. A detailed list of all of the equipment and specs will be included at the end of this article. And if the kit itself doesn’t drop your jaw, there’s the rest of the room. Danny’s shrine, mini-museum, or whatever you want to call it is pretty mind blowing. A complete list of the rest of his Rush collection will also be included, as well as a video tour.

In the end, should you ever find yourself in the Dallas area and are lucky enough to bump into him, Danny is quite generous with his collection and tries to be very accommodating to fellow Rush fans, even when they’re relative strangers. During our interview, he mentioned recently being approached by his cable guy. He had just finished doing some work on his house, when he sheepishly approached Danny and asked “Excuse me sir, but would you mind opening that door upstairs the rest of the way? I could see a little bit inside and I’m a huge Rush fan.” Danny immediately escorted him back up the stairs. Once they stepped inside, the guy was completely blown away. They chatted about the band for a while, compared shows they had been to, and that lucky cable guy got to leave with a photo of himself sitting behind one of the most iconic drum kits of the last twenty years.

Danny’s Inventory List

Signed Items:

Neil Peart Signed Retrospective Poster #251/500
Snakes & Arrows Snare drum head signed by Alex, Geddy & Neil
Alex Lifeson signed Moving Pictures Concert photo #10/100
Neil Peart signed Moving Pictures Concert photo #10/100
Geddy Lee signed Moving Pictures Concert photo #10/100
Alex Lifeson signed Hemispheres concert photo #46/50
Neil Peart signed Hemispheres concert photo #46/50
Geddy Lee signed Hemispheres concert photo #46/50
Neil Peart signed Spirit of Radio snare drum head
Roll the Bones press photo signed by Alex, Geddy & Neil
Neil Peart 30^th anniversary drum poster #1 signed by Neil Peart #292/500
Neil Peart 30^th anniversary drum poster #2 signed by Neil Peart #174/500
Geddy Lee 30^th anniversary bass poster signed by Geddy Lee #441/500
Alex Lifeson 30^th anniversary guitar poster signed by Alex Lifeson #294/500
Neil Peart Anatomy of a drum solo signed by Neil Peart
Neil Peart signed certificate for #20/30 of the R30 replica drum kits
Drumsticks played by Neil Peart on the R30 tour Blue R30 limited edition #17/30 with certificate signed by Neil Peart
Test 4 Echo CD cover signed by Alex Lifeson & Geddy Lee
Neil Peart #65/150 signed hardback books: The Masked Rider, Ghost Rider & Traveling Music
Neil Peart #445/600 signed hardback edition of Clockwork Angels
Neil Peart #247/500 signed hardback edition of Clockwork Lives
Neil Peart #224/500 signed hardback edition of Clockwork Angels graphic novel
Neil Peart #392/500 signed hardback edition of Far and Away
Neil Peart #119/500 signed hardback edition of Far and Near
Neil Peart #340/1000 signed hardback edition of Far and Wide
Hard Bound Tour books from 1977-2004 signed by Alex, Geddy & Neil #183/500
Hard Bound The Art of Rush signed by Alex, Geddy & Neil #34/40
Ultimate Edition of Geddy Lee’s Big Beautiful Book of Bass signed by Geddy Lee #199/250
Geddy Lee’s Big Beautiful Book of Bass signed by Geddy Lee & personalized “To Danny”
Rhythm & Light (photo book of Neil) by Carrie Nuttall (Neil’s wife) signed by Neil Peart and Carrie Nuttall

Drums:

Full R30 replica kit (only full kit in existence)
- #20/30 of the DW R30 Replica kits – Including solid shell snare and R30 edge snare signed by John Good and Louie Garcia inside shell
- Full Electronic kit on back side with 24k gold plated hardware & DW shells to match the R30 drums over 7 Vdrum pads and kick drum (with customized skull drum head)
- 2 FATKAT pedals and Dauz Trigger Pad
- 2 Rolland TD30 Brains
- MalletKat Pro electronic Xylophone
- Working Rotating Riser replica with cymbal stands that screw into the riser
- Black R30 mirrored sticks #20/30 only came with R30 kits
Full Set of Sabian Brilliant Time Machine Cymbals
DW Fire and Ice Logo Hockey Snare (only 1 of 6 made including Neil’s)
DW Fire and Ice Rink Hockey Snare (only 1 of 3 with ice blue painted hardware – Including Neil’s)
DW Time Machine Evolution Snare
DW Time Machine Icon Snare
DW R30 Starman Snare
DW R40 Snare made from 1500 year old river oak
DW Snakes and Arrows Snare
DW Snakes and Arrows Bubinga Vaneer shell Snare
DW Vapor Trails replica Snare with Brass Hardware
DW Black Nickel over Brass hand etched by John Aldridge #10/10 Neil Peart commemorative snare
**I am only missing the DW Snakes & Arrows Birds Eye Maple & DW Snakes & Arrows Walnut with Sycamore Inlay and I will have the complete DW Replica set of snares. If I am able to get these last two snares I will be the only one to have the full set of DW replica snares.
Replica Bass Drum Heads for the following Alubms/Tour Kits:
- Rush
- 2112
- Hold Your Fire Head #1
- Power Windows Head #1
- Vapor Trails
- Presto
- Grace under Pressure
- Time Machine
- Counter Parts
- R30 (front bass and electric bass)
- Roll the Bones
- Test 4 Echo Neil’s face (version 1 & 2)
- Clockwork Angels