Rush 35th Anniversary Interview From ‘In The Studio’

Although the program’s host sounds as if he might be just as comfortable behind the wheel of an 15th century pirate ship in the Mediterranean as he does behind the microphone for his actual job, Redbeard from “In The Studio” certainly seems to have made the right career choice. With the unmistakable sound of a classic radio announcer, he certainly contributes positively to the professional production value of the programs available for listeners on the “In The Studio” website.

This time, Redbeard welcomes two-thirds of Canadian rock trio Rush for an interview in honor of the group’s 35th anniversary. A few interesting tidbits from both frontman Geddy Lee and guitarist Alex Lifeson are revealed which I was not previously aware.

Among the most interesting tidbits for this long-time fan included word that the group first started out calling themselves The Projection.

Looking back to their teen years when they first joined up to form a band, both Lee and Lifeson do not spare the self-deprecating comments, with Lee admitting that they probably considered themselves more cool than “the next guy,” and probably weren’t, while Lifeson talks about how badly they performed the dozen or so songs that they had learned to play.

As every serious Rush fan surely knows, the real breakthrough for the group resulted when they were joined by drummer and lyricist Neil Peart after original drummer John Rutsey had to leave the group due to health reasons. With only about a week before their first major U.S. performance, one can only imagine the pressure that Peart and his new band mates felt as they rehearsed to open for Uriah Heap and Manfred Mann in Pittsburgh.

Despite many years and a number of albums that were all but ignored by most U.S. radio markets and critics alike, at the same time they also cultured an extraordinarily devoted base of fans, who appreciated the way the group has always approached the way they create their music: More for their own satisfaction and less for the purposes of commercial success.

After thirty-five years, the group finally seems to be attracting the kind of attention that their fans feel they have been deserving of for far too long. With a feature story in Rolling Stone magazine and an appearance on the hit Comedy Central show The Colbert Report over the course of the last year or so, it appears that Rush has finally arrived. Many of us already knew, however,  that they had really arrived more than three decades ago.

You can listen to the interview on the “In The Studio” website.

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Tags: 35th Anniversary, Geddy Lee. Alex Lifeson, In The Studio, Interviiew, Redbeard, Rush

Rush Frontman Geddy Lee Featured In ‘Heeb’ Magazine

I would have not imagined that there was a magazine called Heeb that catered to the Jewish community, but lo and behold, there is indeed! What makes the most recent edition of the publication interesting for Rush fans who may not be Jewish is a pretty good interview with Geddy Lee.

In the interview we learn a little bit about Lee’s childhood, a “nerd” by his own admission, who tended to be somewhat socially isolated and lived in a world inside his own head. Going from suburban nerd to rock star is quite a journey indeed, and probably one that Lee still finds hard to believe today.

In a potentially controversial portion of the interview, Lee admits to being a Jewish atheist, “if that’s possible,” he adds. Something that I don’t find particularly surprising when one considers some of the lyrics that are such a big part of what shapes the group’s identity.

Drummer and lyricist Neil Peart has made no secret of his thoughts about religion, and although I cannot remember hearing anything about where guitarist Alex Lifeson stands on the issue, it appears that Lee is onboard with Peart where that subject is concerned.

Lee also spends some time talking about a 1995 trip he made to some of the Nazi concentration camps with his mother, who is a holocaust survivor. Although many Rush fans have probably already figured it out, the song “Red Sector A” was inspired by events that Lee’s mother related to him regarding her own experiences during that terrible time in history.

Although Rush has a reputation as one of the best-behaved bands in rock, Lee does admit that they were not always on their best behavior. “I can’t vouch for us being well-behaved every night,” he says. What he means by that is not clear, and he is reluctant to elaborate.

Perhaps his wife will have some questions for him when she sees the interview, if she has not already. Seriously however, I don’t imagine the guys from Rush getting into all that much trouble. After all, these are guys that are known for spending part of their downtime sampling wine from various (and probably upscale) restaurants while on tour.

The Heeb Interview is interesting since it is not so focused on the whole rock star thing and seems more about Geddy Lee the human being rather than Geddy Lee the rock star. It’s an interesting perspective, and one that Rush fans will surely want to check out. Don’t forget to click on “Heeb Web exclusive: Click here for the extended Geddy Lee interview” at the bottom of the page  to see the rest of the interview.

You can check out the Heeb interview on their website.

Tags: Geddy Lee, Heeb Magazine, interview, Rush

Boatload of Rush Video From ‘Retrospective 3’ on VH1 Classic Site

This past weekend, VH1 Classic aired a special program featuring the latest release from Canadian rock trio Rush. The show, entitled Rush: Retrospective 3 Box Set Special, appropriately enough, aired on Saturday night at 10:00 PM.

For those who do not have access to the VH1 Classic channel (like myself), content from the special has been posted on the VH1 Classic website.

The bulk of the content is footage of Rush performances and accompanying commentary from Geddy Lee which fills in some interesting details on some well-known Rush favorites.

Lee provides some interesting background on some of their material and what inspired them to do it and also talks a little about some of the technical aspects of working in the studio and getting the sound that they want.

Considering all the albums they have done, Lee does an impressive job of recalling the details of the group’s experiences creating, recording and performing. After that many albums and tour dates, one might think it would all be a blur by now.

If, for whatever reason, you are a dedicated Rush fan who does not have your own copy of the new box set, it’s well worth your time to check out this special online.

Thanks to the Rush Is A Band blog for calling attention to this.

Tags: Geddy Lee, Retrospective 3, Rush, Special, VH1 Classic, Video

Rush’s Geddy Lee And Alex Lifeson In New Interview and Magazine Piece

These days it seems like Rush is coming out of the closet. No, I don’t mean that closet. What I’m saying is that they seem to be garnering more acceptance in the mainstream. Whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing is likely to be a touchy subject amongst the Canadian trio’s dedicated fans.

Recalling my early days as a Rush fan in the late 70’s, there was a certain air of “coolness” that myself and my Rush-adoring friends enjoyed by feeling that we were members of a somewhat exclusive club – those who understood at the time how cool Rush was, and appreciated how unique they were among their rock star peers. To say nothing of their amazing ability as musicians.

With Rush showing up in U.S. television for the first time in 30 years, being featured not long ago in Rolling Stone magazine after decades of being snubbed, being interviewed for Entertainment Weekly and appearing in the new comedy movie I Love You Man, it appears that the perceived exclusivity of being a Rush fan may be something that’s slowly slipping away. The real world, it seems, has begun to notice Rush.

Now it appears that the lack of attention the group received from the mainstream may have been due in part to choices that they themselves had made. In the Entertainment Weekly interview, Geddy Lee is quoted as saying: “We’re so ass-backwards sometimes. We don’t do the things we should do, from a practical point of view. As we’ve gotten older we’ve lightened up about a lot of things. What used to be such a big deal is maybe not such a big deal to us anymore.”

That was in response to a question about why it was that they had decided to appear on Comedy Central’s Colbert Report last summer. Lee attributes the tragic events in drummer Neil Peart’s life that nearly led to the groups break-up for giving them a fresh perspective on things and adopting that “lighter attitude.”

Asked about the possibility of appearing in other movies, Lee, in his trademark tongue-in-cheek style responds: “Any movie. We’re all available. We’re putting ourselves out there. We all want to be character actors now. “We’re ready to be in any movie anybody wants to put us into.”

Yes, fellow Rush fans, our favorite Canadian trio does appear to have lightened up significantly of late, but perhaps the opportunity to grow their fans base and introduce a younger generation of fans to their music outweighs that little thrill some of us enjoyed by feeling like we were members of an exclusive club or secret society. I am still a little disappointed that I was never quite able to master the secret handshake, however.

More Rush News comes to us by way of Power Windows where they link to a feature piece in Premier Guitar on Alex Lifeson. Although there is some discussion of general interest to Rush fans, the bulk of it, as one might expect, is best enjoyed by guitar geeks, as Lifeson talks about the kinds of things guitar geeks like to know about.

Although they insist that they are now enjoying a nice rest after their grueling two-part Snakes & Arrows tour, it seems like it might be hard for these guys to sit still for very long. Lee and Lifeson has been showing up in both radio and print interviews of late, and it appears that Neil Peart may actually be enjoying some personal pursuits, although it’s hard to be sure since he’s known to be the most reclusive of the three. He does however, dedicate some of his time periodically to update fans with posts to his personal website. Always and interesting read in this fan’s opinion.

Tags: Alex Lifeson, Entertainment Weekly, Geddy Lee, interview, Premier Guitar, Rush

Rush Audio Special Features Tracks From Retrospective 3

In an audio special that is billed as an exclusive by Boston-area rock radio station WAAF, Rush fans can hear comments from each member of the group and a number of tracks from the latest release, a compilation entitled Rush Retrospective 3.

From the band’s humble beginnings where they had hoped to achieve five or so years of success to the present day which bassist and lead vocalist Geddy Lee refers to as “hyper reality,” when the group shares an onstage moment of realization that they have achieved a level of success they had not dared imagine more than three decades ago.

No comprehensive examination of the group’s history can avoid the tragic events in drummer Neil Peart’s life in the late 1990’s which nearly disbanded the group permanently. Lee and guitarist Alex Lifeson talk about the series of events that led up to the group’s reformation after five years apart as Peart found his own unique way of dealing with tragic loss of both his daughter and wife in a relatively short span of time.

Among more recent topics covered included comments from Geddy Lee regarding their rare television appearances on Comedy Central’s Colbert Report last summer. Although the group has historically shied away from television appearances through the years, Lee says that they have softened their position on that issue and are now much more open to those kinds of opportunities.

This special is obviously very professionally-produced and sounds as if it was intended for syndication purposes, although, as mentioned earlier it is referred to as exclusive by WAAF.

The content of the special is mostly tracks from Retrospective 3 with comments and stories from the band in between. Although much of the information presented will not be new to Rush fans, it seems there is always a new tidbit or two that has not surfaced before and casts new light on the inner workings and thoughts behind the music that has earned the trio a fan base whose dedication is second to none.

The three-part special is available on WAAF’s website.

Tags: Alex Lifeson, Audio Special, Geddy Lee, Neil Peart, Retrospective 3, Rush