First of all, I ordered the poster from Ludwig. To order a Ludwig poster meant you sent them a check for either $2 or $3 to cover the postage. When I would put a check in the mail, there always seemed to be enough of a gap between when I put it in the mail and my ability to remember that I had done so because when a tube would show up in the mailbox, I think I was always surprised... because enough time would pass for me to think about other things.
The other big piece of relevant context is that the only reason Peart began using Ludwig drums is because he had tested out three kits from three different manufacturers in the same configuration and was going to choose which manufacturer he was going to use. For many years, Tama had been Peart's choice. There used to be a ceiling to floor banner of him playing his candy apple double bass Tama drums at Carma Lou's House of Music that I would stare at in awe when I would be taken there for my weekly drum lessons.
Thus, when this poster was released, it represented a distinct and monumental change in the drum industry. Until this point, Ludwig had been pushed to the second tier of drum companies. Tama and Pearl ruled the industry, with Yamaha taking a strong #3 position. Now, all of a sudden, Peart had switched from playing Tama drums to Ludwig drums.
Personally, it was sweet vindication. My parents had purchased a Ludwig Vistalite set of drums in 1984. Then, as I got older, I would order drum catalogs to drool over these huge drum sets I felt like I would never own, which turned out to be true! The only set of drums I have ever owned is that Ludwig Vistalite set of drums that are stacked in the furnace room in the basement. Anyways, when Peart switched to Ludwig, it added to the awesomeness of owning Ludwig drums. Sure, Alex Van Halen played Ludwigs but this was NEIL PEART! Sure, John Bonham played Ludwigs, but now NEIL PEART played Ludwigs! It didn't matter that Peart's Ludwig drums and my 5 piece Ludwig drums looked nothing alike!
The epilogue to Neil Peart switching to Ludwigs is that he was involved with a contest in Modern Drummer magazine to give away three of his old sets. I remember that you had to submit a tape to the magazine to be involved and then, per the contest rules, Neil Peart would listen to all of these drum solos and then pick the "best" one.
I never submitted a tape because I lacked the self-confidence in my drumming to do so. That's the only reason I can accept when I look back on it now. I was a teenager and I wanted to be an awesome drummer like Neil Peart but I lacked the ability to translate what I wanted to do with the ability to actually do what I wanted to do. In other words, I lacked the conviction to learn my rudiments, to practice daily, and to improve my timekeeping abilities. Some days, when I look at the Yamaha electronic set in the den and I contemplate whether I want to practice drums or do something else, I feel like that teenage boy who would read comic books instead of work on his drum lessons. It's a character weakness in myself I struggle with on a daily basis. Someday, I want to grow out of that teenage boy's bad habits and be better.
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