What if RUSH decided to play again.

Who would be the best drummer to replace the professor?

Rumor has it that RUSH's Geddy Lee "does not oppose" playing with Alex Lifeson again. The very prospect of Lee and Lifeson playing/performing again would be huge! However, can you imagine the process of finding someone to take the place of Neil Peart? Could this be seen as some sort of sacrilegious endeavor, by diehard Neil Peart fans? Geddy has said in past interviews that, "He would never want to play without those other two guys", [as RUSH]. Maybe the old rule still applies, even for RUSH - that everyone in any band is replaceable.

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There is no doubt that in this day and age, there are arguably plenty of drummers in the world who could probably emulate Peart's precision and technical skills behind a kit. There's just one thing - who's gonna write new lyrics? Will lyrics even matter? Would a new drummer bring a completely different feel and style to a new version of RUSH? 

If I were to guess at a list of drummers who might qualify to play in the band RUSH, the first drummer that comes to my mind is Mike Portnoy. He is clearly one of the best technical drummers out there. So is Gregg Bissonette. Could either of these guys play just like Peart? Probably, yes. It really just comes down to nuance. No matter who they might pick, nobody could ever replace Peart.

Maybe it isn't so much about replacing anybody. Maybe it's about there being a whole lot more music that was left on the “RUSH table” that still needs to be played, regardless of who plays it. Every band should be considered a "group" effort, not just one individual. What if Dave Grohl auditioned and suddenly became the new drummer for RUSH? How cool would that be?

We live in a world now that desperately needs good music again, even if it means going back to the old rock bands with new players. But, should every old, classic rock band do a reboot? Probably not. Look at Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony. They brought in Joe Satriani again to play Eddie Van Halen guitar on a possible Van Halen reunion tour. Do you know of anyone else better qualified to do that? I might even consider Nuno Bettencort. Honestly, there are many guitarists who can play exactly like Eddie. But, like Neil Peart, there will never be another Eddie Van Halen.

Maybe this is the next direction music needs to go, since it's pretty much exhausted everything else. The garbage of today’s music needs to be replaced with great music again. My guess is that there are millions of fans who would love to hear RUSH again.

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On another note

In reference to "rebooting" Van Halen. The latest on the Van Halen tentative reunion is that David Lee Roth is rumored to join the tour. Here's where I’ve gotta shrug my shoulders. In my opinion, there are only four people who should ever play in any version of a Van Halen Tribute reunion band: 

1) Alex Van Halen, 2) Wolfgang Van Halen, 3) Michael Anthony and 4) Sammy Hagar. This would be the lineup that makes sense to me.

It isn't about bringing in the world's greatest guitarist to play Eddie's parts. It's about keeping together as much of what used to be the original Van Hagar. Unfortunately, this super group doesn't look like it will ever actually come to fruition. Alex Van Halen has gone dark. Wolfgang is doing his best to create his own music in an attempt to step out of his father's limelight.

Also…

Honestly, I don't really want to hear any Van Halen songs with keys dropped down a whole step or lower, just so Sammy can screech through them with his limited vocal abilities. No disrespect towards Sammy, but Michael Anthony is the only one of the two who can still sing on key.

AND…I really, really don't want to hear another pitchy-scratched note coming out of Roth's mouth, either.

Old classic rock bands who are still riding the coattails of their earlier success seems like kind of a colossal waste effort to me. The Eagles have been grinding away at it since the passing of Glenn Frey nearly eight years ago. Once Frey died, that was the end of the road for the Eagles, (in my opinion). Some people simply cannot be replaced in a band, as it will usually change everything about the band; making it nothing more than a faint copy at best. If Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson want to write, record and perform again as RUSH - I guess, I see no problem with it. I'm sure they would be incredibly meticulous about who they would allow to play drums with them. Perhaps they could do an album with several different drummers as a sort of tribute to Neil Peart. Remember you read it here first!