Author | Neil Peart |
---|---|
Country | Canada |
Language | English |
Genre | Non-fiction, memoir |
Publisher | ECW Press |
Publication date | July 5, 2002 |
Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
Pages | 400 p.p. |
ISBN | 1-55022-548-0 |
OCLC | 49796529 |
Preceded by | The Masked Rider: Cycling in West Africa |
Followed by | Traveling Music: Playing Back the Soundtrack to My Life and Times |
Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road is a 2002 philosophical travel memoir by Neil Peart, drummer and main lyricist for the Canadian progressive rock band Rush. It chronicles Peart's long-distance motorcycle riding throughout North and Central America in the late 1990s as he contemplated his life and came to terms with his grief over the deaths of his daughter Selena in August 1997 and his common-law wife Jackie in June 1998. It was published by ECW Press.
Peart begins his story by explaining the beginning of his travels by motorcycle from his home in Quebec to Telegraph Creek, British Columbia. In reality he has no schedule, no restriction in time or life for that matter. In time, he finds himself traveling from Canada to Alaska and south through the United States to Mexico then to Belize. Eventually, he travels (by plane) back to his home in Canada where he continues a series of letters to his friend Brutus. He then continues his journey, which ultimately ends at his home.
The epilogue of Ghost Rider concludes with Peart summing up what has recently happened with him and his band Rush. He explains his new love for life (including his new wife Carrie) and how he had a revelation/epiphany of some sort, ultimately finding a reason to live. He explains that he found a will to also resume his career with Rush in Toronto.
An excerpt from chapters 1, 4, and 6 was published in the Art section of Toronto Star on July 27, 2002. [1] The Library Journal review called the writing lyrical and the story poignant as a travel adventure and a memoir. [2]
Neil Ellwood Peart OC was a Canadian musician, best known as the drummer and primary lyricist of the rock band Rush. Peart earned numerous awards for his musical performances, including an induction into the Modern Drummer Readers Poll Hall of Fame in 1983 at the age of thirty, making him the youngest person ever so honoured. He was known to fans by the nickname 'The Professor'. His drumming was renowned for its technical proficiency and his live performances for their exacting nature and stamina.
Rush was a Canadian rock band that primarily comprised Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson (guitar), and Neil Peart. The band formed in Toronto in 1968 with Lifeson, drummer John Rutsey, and bass guitarist/vocalist Jeff Jones, whom Lee immediately replaced. After Lee joined, the band went through several line-ups before arriving at its classic power trio line-up with the addition of Peart in July 1974, who replaced Rutsey four months after the release of their self-titled debut album; this line-up remained intact for the remainder of the band's career.
Fly by Night is the second studio album by the Canadian rock band Rush, released on February 14, 1975, by Mercury Records. It was the first Rush album to showcase elements of progressive rock for which the band has become known. It was also the first to feature lyricist and drummer Neil Peart, who replaced original drummer John Rutsey the previous summer just prior to the band's first North American tour. Peart took over as Rush's primary lyricist, and the abundance of fantastical and philosophical themes in his compositions contrasted greatly with the simpler hard rock of the band's debut album.
Vapor Trails is the seventeenth studio album by Canadian rock band Rush. It was released on May 14, 2002, on Anthem Records, and was their first studio release since Test for Echo (1996), the longest gap between two Rush albums. After the Test For Echo tour finished in July 1997, drummer and lyricist Neil Peart suffered the loss of his daughter and then his wife in separate tragedies. As a result, the group entered an extended hiatus during which it was not certain they would continue. They eventually reunited in January 2001 to rehearse material for a new album, recording for which lasted until December. For the first and only time since Caress of Steel (1975), the group did not use any keyboards or synthesizers in their music, incorporating many layers of guitar, bass and drums instead.
Grace Under Pressure is the tenth studio album by Canadian rock band Rush, released April 12, 1984, on Anthem Records. After touring for the band's previous album, Signals (1982), came to an end in mid-1983, Rush started work on a follow-up in August. The band had decided to not work with longtime producer Terry Brown, who had collaborated with Rush since 1974. The new material accentuated the group's change in direction towards a synthesizer-oriented sound like its previous album. After some difficulty finding a suitable producer who could commit, the album was recorded with Peter Henderson.
Test for Echo is the sixteenth studio album by the Canadian rock band Rush, released on September 10, 1996 on Anthem Records. It was the final Rush album to be co-produced by Peter Collins. The band supported the album with a world tour in 1996 and 1997, after which they went on a five-year hiatus following the deaths of drummer Neil Peart's daughter and wife, and would not record again until 2001.
Retrospective I: 1974 to 1980 is a compilation album by Canadian rock band Rush, released in 1997. The album features songs from the first decade of the band. The set is not in chronological order.
Different Stages is a live album by Canadian rock band Rush, released in 1998. The bulk of the first and second discs were recorded at the World Music Theatre in Tinley Park, Illinois, during the 1997 Test for Echo tour. Five other songs from various stops along the tour were included and three songs from the 1994 Counterparts tour. The third disc is taken from a performance at the Hammersmith Odeon in London during the A Farewell to Kings tour in 1978.
The BMW GS series of one purpose off-road/on-road BMW motorcycles have been produced from 1980, when the R80G/S was launched, to the present day. The GS refers to either Gelände/Straße or Gelände Sport. GS motorcycles can be distinguished from other BMW models by their longer travel suspension, an upright riding position, and larger front wheels – typically 19 to 21 inch. In May 2009, the 500,000th GS was produced, an R1200GS model.
ECW Press is a Canadian book publisher located in Toronto, Ontario. It was founded by Jack David and Robert Lecker in 1974 as a Canadian literary magazine named Essays on Canadian Writing. They started publishing trade and scholarly books in 1979.
Long-distance riding is the activity of riding motorcycles over long distances, both competitively and as a pastime. A goal of long-distance riding is to explore one's endurance while riding a motorcycle, sometimes across several countries.
Ghost Rider is the name of several fictional characters appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics.
Mount Hosmer is a mountain of the Canadian Rockies in British Columbia, Canada. It shares its name with the adjacent community of Hosmer, but its best-known elevation, a series of south-facing cliffs, can be seen from further down the Elk Valley in Fernie. The mountain is an upside down mountain, where the oldest part of the rock formation is near the top and the youngest is at the bottom.
Freddie Gruber was an American jazz drummer and teacher to a number of professional drummers.
"Serenity" is a single by the rock band Godsmack from the album Faceless. It reached number seven on the Mainstream Rock chart and number ten on the Modern Rock chart.
The Masked Rider: Cycling in West Africa (ISBN 1550226673) is a 1996 non-fiction book written by Rush drummer Neil Peart about a month-long bicycle tour he took through Cameroon in 1988.
The Test for Echo Tour was a concert tour by Canadian rock band Rush in support of their sixteenth studio album Test for Echo.
"Mission" is a song by Canadian rock band Rush from the 1987 album Hold Your Fire.
Traveling Music: Playing Back the Soundtrack to My Life and Times is a 2004 memoir and autobiography by Rush drummer Neil Peart. It is Peart’s third book and it chronicles his travel by car to Big Bend National Park and back, as well as his autobiography from “birth to Rush”, and other then-recent events, such as Rush’s performance at Molson Canadian Rocks for Toronto and their then-upcoming 30th Anniversary Tour.
"Force Ten" is a song written, produced and performed by Canadian rock band Rush, released as a promotional single from their album Hold Your Fire. It was the last song written for the album. The song has been critically positively received, and peaked at number 3 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.