https://i.imgur.com/WL7PUr4.jpg
― Josh in Chicago, Monday, 10 April 2023 20:51 (one year ago) link
I swear I remember a Peart interview where he was asked why he switched to Ludwig. “Because they paid me. It doesn’t matter anyway; all drums sound the same.”
― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Monday, 10 April 2023 21:38 (one year ago) link
Neil Peart's reputation as a great drummer was of course earned, but listening to "Hold Your Fire" today I was still reminded as always by just how creative the guy was: his arrangements, his fills, his use of triggers to enhance the aforementioned, even his tuning. Just so distinctive. He clearly put a ton of thought into what he was doing.
I found this dude playing the drums to "Second Nature," a pretty minor Rush song, and it's kind of incredible to consider the amount of concentration this must take:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdMvfrAmjc4
― Josh in Chicago, Monday, 22 May 2023 20:29 (eleven months ago) link
> his use of triggers to enhance the aforementioned
I regret that Peart left behind digital drums in the late 1980s and went back to a purely acoustic kit (except when performing some 1980s material in concert). He felt forced to retire in his early sixties because his body wasn't physically up to the same sort of drumming he had done before, but digital could have potentially compensated for that and let him be creative for another decade.
― Melomane, Monday, 22 May 2023 20:58 (eleven months ago) link
I think he never stopped triggering stuff, but yeah, at some point he stopped using electric drums as a sub for real drums. Though as I understand it, it was his feet/legs giving him the most trouble, at least at first, brought on by either a bike injury or just wear and tear from biking so much.
― Josh in Chicago, Monday, 22 May 2023 21:25 (eleven months ago) link
iirc, he developed a foot infection from hours of motorcycling in the rain. wrt his tendonitis, he sat too low, and/or most of his drums and cymbals were positioned too high and out-of-reach, necessitating extra effort, causing him to keep his shoulders raised, and leading to tendonitis.
― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Monday, 22 May 2023 21:41 (eleven months ago) link
I'm assuming when he went to study with that jazz guru guy it was motivated by wanting to play with less force and wear and tear on his body
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Monday, 22 May 2023 22:33 (eleven months ago) link
He definitely changed up his style immediately after that, but it seemed like he gravitated back towards his old ways later on.
― Muad'Doob (Moodles), Monday, 22 May 2023 22:36 (eleven months ago) link
the drum guru was freddie gruber, and one of the ways he changed his shit up was that he swore by traditional grip, like "this is the best way to hold the sticks, what was I thinking, that did so much damage to my hands," and then after the hiatus re: Jackie and Dominique's demises in 2002, he went back to matched grip…
― veronica moser, Monday, 22 May 2023 23:07 (eleven months ago) link
I hesitate to sully this good thread here, but I'm currently listening to the new Crown Lands. And as much as I didn't want to like it, I have to admit that it is doing a decent job of filling a Rush filled hole in my life.
https://crownlandsmusic.bandcamp.com/album/fearless
― Maxmillion D. Boosted (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Thursday, 27 July 2023 14:56 (nine months ago) link
Hmm, I don't know what to think of that.
― Josh in Chicago, Thursday, 27 July 2023 15:22 (nine months ago) link
The first song I heard I was still very skeptical, but the more I listened I found myself enjoying it. They are talented and the vocals make it hard not to immediately think of Geddy, but they are pretty damn talented. Far better than, say, Greta Van Fleet.
― Maxmillion D. Boosted (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Thursday, 27 July 2023 15:30 (nine months ago) link
Do people really have a Rush-shaped hole? Personally, I’m satisfied by the band’s 19 albums which kept pace with various developments in rock, and whose career ended once rock as a cultural force was pretty much spent.
― Melomane, Thursday, 27 July 2023 17:11 (nine months ago) link
It does grieve me that Neil Peart is no longer with us.
― immodesty blaise (jimbeaux), Thursday, 27 July 2023 17:18 (nine months ago) link
I'd love to see Ged and Alex do a little tour with a Chad Smith or Dave Grohl and just hammer out some 74-75 material. They sure had a lot of fun at the Taylor Hawkins tributes.
― A. Begrand, Thursday, 27 July 2023 18:15 (nine months ago) link
Yeah, I mean, maybe Rush ended at a good time, but on the other hand, with all the other dinosaurs still touring and recording new music, I think they'd have had a lot more good stuff in them had things not developed the way they did.
― Maxmillion D. Boosted (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Thursday, 27 July 2023 18:18 (nine months ago) link
once rock as a cultural force was pretty much spent.
side topic but this does not matter to me at all one bit? who cares?
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Thursday, 27 July 2023 18:20 (nine months ago) link
just hammer out some 74-75 material
Except Geddy mostly hates that stuff, and hasn't been able to sing it either for decades.
― Halfway there but for you, Thursday, 27 July 2023 18:24 (nine months ago) link
Please tell if Geddy Lee's new television show is worth watching.
― Robert Adam Gilmour, Saturday, 28 October 2023 22:54 (six months ago) link
I'm sure it's worth watching but I don't really want to sign up for whatever service this is on
― Robert Adam Gilmour, Saturday, 28 October 2023 22:55 (six months ago) link
He's also touring his memoir.
― Josh in Chicago, Sunday, 29 October 2023 03:09 (six months ago) link
i had no idea that he had a solo album until about a week ago. #thingsyoulearnedwhenyouwereold
― scott seward, Sunday, 29 October 2023 14:33 (six months ago) link
With Matt Cameron on drums, I think.
― Josh in Chicago, Sunday, 29 October 2023 15:00 (six months ago) link
is every song about how much ayn rand sucks?
― scott seward, Sunday, 29 October 2023 15:08 (six months ago) link
All the songs are about being a Working Man who is In the Mood.
― Halfway there but for you, Sunday, 29 October 2023 17:55 (six months ago) link
https://i.redd.it/1av52ozxomxb1.jpg
― Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, 1 November 2023 01:51 (six months ago) link
Woah!
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Wednesday, 1 November 2023 02:46 (six months ago) link
This is a great piece:
https://wapo.st/3QzxgNL
― Josh in Chicago, Saturday, 11 November 2023 00:39 (five months ago) link
Thanks for that.
― il lavoro mi rovina la giornata (PBKR), Saturday, 11 November 2023 04:04 (five months ago) link
Would Rush have had the success they did with Gershon Eliezer Weinrib and Aleksandar Živojinović fronting them? Given the era, I suspect not.
― I don't want to catastrophise but there's a catastrophe looming (Matt #2), Saturday, 11 November 2023 15:53 (five months ago) link
That WaPo article is wonderful, thanks for that.
― A. Begrand, Saturday, 11 November 2023 16:31 (five months ago) link
KISS featuring Chaim Witz and Stanley Eisen.
― immodesty blaise (jimbeaux), Saturday, 11 November 2023 17:36 (five months ago) link
Anyone seeing the Geddy Lee book tour?
I forget why it came up, maybe it was that WaPo feature, but my wife watched the Rush doc and really liked it. She doesn't like the band, but did gain a newfound respect for them. She had a best friend in high school who was really into Rush, and could never figure out why this shrieky hard rock band clicked with her. Supposedly the doc helped her understand.
― Josh in Chicago, Monday, 20 November 2023 16:32 (five months ago) link
And oh shit, apparently Alex just guested on a Tool song in Toronto the other night?
― Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, 22 November 2023 00:14 (five months ago) link
my wife watched the Rush doc and really liked it. She doesn't like the band, but did gain a newfound respect for them.
― Naive Teen Idol, Friday, 1 December 2023 05:17 (five months ago) link
^^^
― il lavoro mi rovina la giornata (PBKR), Friday, 1 December 2023 14:07 (five months ago) link
Nice interview with Geddy transcribed here:
https://www.cygnus-x1.net/links/rush/mojo-01.2024.php
― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 12 December 2023 03:20 (four months ago) link
Nice, thanks for the link!
Meanwhile, the other day I learned that one of Neil's biggest inspirations for his drum technique on "Animate" were Lush and Curve. Colour me pleasantly surprised!
― A. Begrand, Tuesday, 12 December 2023 03:38 (four months ago) link
Great Geddy interview. Love that guy. Sort of surprised about the coke revelations.
― il lavoro mi rovina la giornata (PBKR), Tuesday, 12 December 2023 14:14 (four months ago) link
It just goes to show that apparently *every* musician was doing coke, to some extent. Even Geddy Lee. I was kinda shocked at the revelation a few years ago that Mike Rutherford was a big coke abuser. (Whereas Phil was largely a teetotaler).
― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 12 December 2023 14:46 (four months ago) link
yeah it seems like it's pretty much impossible to comprehend how prevalent coke was in the entertainment biz in the 80s
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Tuesday, 12 December 2023 15:16 (four months ago) link
As soon as the first Zeppelin LP dropped we all bought it and thought, What is this? It had a kinda Humble Pie vibe
Geddy has his chronology a little mixed up, the first Humble Pie album came out seven months after Zeppelin's debut.
It's touching to see how moved he is discussing Neil and Alex.
― Halfway there but for you, Tuesday, 12 December 2023 15:17 (four months ago) link
(Whereas Phil was largely a teetotaler).
Maybe with coke but he was apparently hitting the weed pretty heavily back in the day, plus his notorious problems with alcohol.
― dinnerboat, Tuesday, 12 December 2023 15:58 (four months ago) link
Imagine getting high with Tony Banks
― sophie glanced up, looking concerned (Matt #2), Tuesday, 12 December 2023 16:39 (four months ago) link
cool he can be insufferable at a higher tempo
― STUPID CRAP FACE (Neanderthal), Tuesday, 12 December 2023 17:39 (four months ago) link
I think Phil's drinking problem came much, much later, like after he had (first) retired and had too much time and money.
I found the Curve/Lush quote btw!
For the opening track, 'Animate,' for instance, I used a basic R&B rhythm that I played back in my early days, coupled with that hypnotic effect that a lot of the British bands of the turn of the 90's had - bands like Curve and Lush. The middle section of the tune is the result of the impact African music has had on me, although it wasn't a specific African rhythm. I hear a section of a tune, and immediately I have to make choices, and many times those world influences I talked about earlier will come into play and contribute to my parts.
I can ... kind of hear it? Fwiw, I remember seeing Curve with Steve Monti and his playing made a big impression on me.
― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 12 December 2023 17:50 (four months ago) link
the biggest Rush fan I know is also a big Curve fan, so this makes lots of sense to me
― Muad'Doob (Moodles), Tuesday, 12 December 2023 17:53 (four months ago) link
The Geddy book is *great.*
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 12 January 2024 14:12 (three months ago) link
Yeah I need to get that. Too much backlog!
The Lush/Curve detail above, I like that. (I'm kinda not surprised at a Curve/Rush fan continuum, Dean Garcia being such a studio hound in the best sense.)
― Ned Raggett, Friday, 12 January 2024 19:04 (three months ago) link
I'm going to publish my suspicion that there will be some musical project to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the first album.
― Halfway there but for you, Friday, 12 January 2024 19:15 (three months ago) link