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Subject: RUSH Fans Digest of 09/11/90 (#48)
RUSH Fans Digest, Number 48
Tuesday, 11 September 1990
Today's Topics:
Radio
Welcome back, etc.
Rush Archives: More Files
Spirit of Radio, indeed!!!
24 of May
Benefits/equipment
(none)
RE: RUSH Fans Digest of 09/10/90 (#47)
ooops
Lakeside Park
Permanent Waves tour program transcribed
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Date: Mon, 10 Sep 90 13:54 EDT
From: "Derek D. Lichter [Cinderella Man]" <DEREK%ALBNYVMS.BITNET@UACSC2.ALBANY.EDU>
Subject: Radio
Just a quick reply to someone's comment yesterday. Radio does not HAVE to
be bad -- it's a very cheap and effective means of communication, and there
ARE good radio stations out there: NPR is the best example of this; being
non-commercial, it can play whatever the listeners want. College radio
stations are also a good alternative, even if you have to filter out a lot
of stuff you don't like. And there are the occasional good commercial
stations, like WEQX up here in lower New England/upper NYS. Boycotting
all radio will only help you miss out on a lot of good things.
Derek L.
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Date: Mon, 10 Sep 90 14:05:29 -0400
From: DANIEL LAURENCE MC DONALD <danmcd@zip.eecs.umich.edu>
Subject: Welcome back, etc.
Hey, I'm back on the Rush mailling list! The priests of the temples of IBM
Rochester wouldn't let any of us have Internet access, so I had no news over
the summer.
After reading Monday's digest...
Chris Klausmeier <mixcom!cyaa01@uwm.edu> writes...
>Don't be too sure of that, we HAVE a Rush hour here in Milwaukee, Wisc.
>It's on at like midnight on Saturdays, on LZR (Laser) 103. And yes,
>until a year ago or so, we had a "Get the Led Out". As a matter of fact,
>WLZR could stand for Wisconsin's Led Zeppelin Radio, they sure play
>enough of it. The Rush hour is pretty good though, they play a lot of
>obscure songs. In general, we seem to have it pretty good here, Rush
>radio-wise. They're pretty popular here, and a good variety is played.
I agree Chris. Although I go to U. of Michigan, I was raised in Milwaukee,
and the Milwaukee area has always been very kind to Rush. I remember
hearing Grace Under Pressure a week before it came out, compliments of
Tim the Rock-n-Roll animal on 93QFM. (I guess he''s back on QFM again, also!)
By-tor <UCSKRT@UWPLATT.EDU> writes...
> Neil's sounds I've always liked, especially when he branched into the
>electronic realm for odd tones and when he brought in African drums and bongos
>around Power Windows time. Anyone notice a change from the Tama kit he was so
>fond of to the Ludwig he's got now? He seems to really like the switch, but I
>don't make much of a distinction.
I'm a drummer, and I can tell some distinction. The Ludwigs have heavier bass
drum (or he's miking them differently) and the toms sound slightly mellower.
The reason you might not notice too much is because the cymbals are still
Avedis Zildjian, and his snare drum is still that old Slingerland Artist model.
DANM, it's good to be in the company of so many Rush fans again.
_____________________________________________________________________
Daniel L. McDonald | Internet: danmcd@zip.eecs.umich.edu |
University of Michigan| Bitnet: danmcd@umichub.BITNET |
Computer Science, '91 | USnail: 1705 Hill St. Ann Arbor, MI 48104|
______________________|_____________________________________________|
"rising falling at force ten
we twist the world and ride the wind..." - Rush
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Date: Mon, 10 Sep 90 11:30:00 -0700
From: Elisabeth Perrin <livia@blake.acs.washington.edu>
Subject: Rush Archives: More Files
Rush Archives - Today's Files: PRESTO Tourbook & "Thrice Told Tales"
PRESTO.TOURBOOK:
PRESTO
Scissors, Paper, Stone
by Neil Peart
[ Reproduced without permission ]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Writing a story about making a record is like making a record; you never
get it quite right, so you keep trying. In the past I've talked about the
studios, the people we've worked with, the weather, our methods of work --
lots about what we do, but nothing about WHY we do it, and nothing about how
the songs themselves develop. So maybe it's time to try a glass-bottom boat
on those murky waters.
One of those French guys, Balzac or Flaubert, said that a novel should be
applies to songwriting as well. "Reflecting on life" could certainly be the
unifying theme of Rush's odyssey through the years -- though of course we
never thought of it at the time. We were too busy moving down the road, as
most people are. But at least when you're moving fast, you have to look
AHEAD; there's only time for a quick glance in the rear-view, just to make
sure no flashing red lights are gaining. Otherwise it's no good dwelling
on what's behind you. Just your own tailights.
To belabor the metaphor in a general sense: all of us are moving down
that road with DIFFERENT mirrors, and we don't just REFLECT life, we
RESPOND to it. We filter things through our own lenses, and respond
according to our temperaments and moods. As the Zen farmer says: "That's
why they make different-colored neckties."
That's why they make different-sounding music too. To beat another
metaphor into submission: in musical terms Rush is not so much a mirror,
but a satellite dish moving down the road, soaking up different styles,
methods, and designs. When the time comes to work on new songs,you turn on
the satellite descrambler, unfilter your lenses, activate the manure
detector, check the rear-view mirror, and try desperately to unmix your
metaphors.
When the three of us start working on a new record, we have NO idea
what we'll come up with. There is only the desire to do it, and the
confidence that we can. The uneasiness of starting from nothing is
dissipated by the first song or two, but still the mystery remains -- in the
know that it's what we want to do at that point in time, but we don't know
what it adds up to. And often we WON'T know for a long time -- until well
after the record has been released and everyone else has had their say
about it. Then it seems to crystallize in our own minds, and we develop of
little objectivity about it -- what we're pleased with, and where it could
have been better.
And that's where progression comes in -- where it could have been
better. As a band and as individuals, we always have a hidden agenda, a
subtext of motivation which is based on dissatisfaction with past work, and
desire to improve. That agenda has changed as we have changed; when we
started out, we just wanted to learn how to PLAY, and sometimes our songs
were just vehicles for technical experiments and the Joy of Indulgence.
But still, PLAYING is the foundation for us -- the Stone -- and rock is our
favorite kind of stone. Despite our dabbles in other styles, it is the
energy, flexibility, and attitude of rock which remain most compelling for
us. We exercised our fingers and exorcized our demons by trying every note
we could reach, in every time signature we could count on our fingers. But
after we'd played with those toys for awhile, the songs themselves began to
attract our interest. Rock is not made of Stone alone, and we wanted to
learn more about conveying what WE felt as powerfully as we could. Paper
wraps Stone -- the song contains they playing, gives it structure and
meaning.
More experiments resulted as we pursued that goal, and those
experiments had to lead us into the field of arrangement. Once we felt
more satisfied with the pieces of the songs, and how we played them as
individuals and as a band, it became more important how we assembled the
pieces. Scissors cut Paper -- the arrangement shapes the songs, gives it
focus and balance. So our last few albums have relected that interest,
tinkering with melodic and rhythmic structure in pursuit of the best
possible INTERPRETATION of the song.
All of these qualities -- arrangement, composition, and musicianship --
add up to one thing: presentation. Beyond the idea, presentation is
everything, and must take that spark of POSSIBILITY, the idea, from
inner-ear potential to a realized work. In an ideal song, music conveys
the feeling and lyrics the thought. Some overlap is desirable -- you want
ideas in the music and emotion in the lyrics -- but the voice often carries
that burden, the job of wedding the thoughts and feelings. Since the goal
of those thoughts and feelings is to reach the listener, and hopefully be
responded to, success depends on the best possible balance of sttructure,
song, and skill. Scissors, paper, stone. Where once we concentrated on each
of them more-or-less exclusively, now we like to think that each element
has been stored in the "tool box," and we're trying to learn how to juggle
them all at once (though juggling scissors can be damned unpleasant).
At the same time, Rush's hidden agenda has a wide scope. The
presentation of our music has to accomplish several demands: it has to be
all the above, plus it must be intersting, and challenging to play, and
remain satisfying in the long term -- when we play it night after night on
the road. The recording must be captured as well as men and machines
possibly can, and thus be satisfying to listen to, as well as fit to stand
as the "benchmark" performance, the one we'll try to recrate on each of
those stages.
Before making _Presto_ we had left those stages behind for a while. At
the end of the _Hold Your Fire_ tour we put together the live album and
video, _A Show Of Glands_ -- I mean _Hands_. Because we were just about to
sign with a different record company, Atlantic, we found ourselves free of
deadlines and obligations -- for the first time in fifteen years -- so we
decided to make the most of that. We took some time off, got to know
ourselves and our families once again, and generally just backed away from
the infectious machinery of Rash -- I mean Rush.
This was a good and important thing, although it was one of the few
times in our history when the future was in doubt -- none of us really knew
what would happen next. After that six-month hiatus, when Geddy and Alex
came over to my house to discuss our future, there was no sense of
COMPULSION about it -- it was simply a question of what WE wanted to do.
And, we decided, what WE wanted to do was make another record. The reasons
remain elusive, but the motivation seems obvious: something to do with
another chance to express ourselves, to try to communicate what interests
us in words and music, and, simplest of all, a chance to PLAY. In both
senses. Without any obligations on us, we found we were still excited about
making music together, and truly wanted to make something new.
For _Presto_, like all of our records in recent years, we started with a
trip to the country. We rented a house with a small studio at one end, a
desk at the other, and all the usual stuff inthe middle. During the bright
winter afternoons, Geddy and Alex worked in the studio, developing musical
ideas on a portable recording setup, while I sat at my desk in the other
end, staring out at the snow-covered trees and rewriting lyrics. At the end
of the day I might wander into the studio, ice cubes clinking, and listen
to what they'd been up to, and if I'd been lucky, show them something new.
It was the perfect situation; isolated, yet near enough Toronto that we
could commute home for the weekends, and with the studio and house
connected, whenever we had ideas to share we could run from end to end with
tapes and bits of paper.
Personally, this is my favorite part of everything we do: just the three
of us and a couple of guys to keep the equipment running. We have nothing
else to worry about but writing new songs, and making them as good as we
can. With few distractions, we can concentrate on the work, and also feel
the reward: the excitement of creating things, of responding to each
other's ideas, and the instant gratification of putting brand-new songs
down on tape. At this time we get the REAL feedback from our work; it's new
enough to be as exciting for us as we hope it will be for the listener.
And that is where a coproducer comes into the picture. Peter Collins,
who worked with us on _Power Windows_ and _Hold Your Fire_, told us that he
felt his own career needed more varity and scope, and reluctantly bowed out
of our next album. By this time we had learned how to make a record
ourselves if we wanted to, but we still wanted an Objective Ear, someone
whose judgment and ideas we could trust. Once we'd sorted out the paper and
stone, we wanted someone to help with the scissors.
Of a few different candidates, Rupert Hine was the one we decided on.
Rupert is a songwriter, singer, and keyboard player in his own right, and
has made about fifteen albums himself, in addition to producing seventy-odd
records, for other people, like Tina Turner, Howard Jones, and The Fixx.
All this experience, combined with his ideas and enthusiasm, made Rupert's
input valuable, particularyly in the area of keyboard and vocal
arrangements. We were a little bemused when we first played the songs for
him, and at the end of some of them he actually seemed to be LAUGHING! We
looked at each other, eyebrows raised as if to say: "He thinks our songs
are FUNNY?" But evidently it was a laugh of pleasure; he stayed 'til the
end.
For the past eight years Rupert and engineer Stephen Tayler have worked
together as a production team, and at Rupert's urging, we brought Stephen
in to work behind the console. As an engineer Stephen was fast, decisive,
enthusiastic, and always able to evoke the desired sound, while his
unfailing good humore, like Ruper's, contributed to making _Presto_ the
most relaxed sessions we've enjoyed in years. But it was as a volleyball
player that Stephen really shone, unanimously voted "rookie of the year" in
our midnight games at Le Studio.
A long day's work behind us, we gathered outside, charged by the cool
air of early summer in the Laurentians. We doused ourselves with bug
repellant, then gathered on the floodlit grass, took our sides, and
preformed a kind of St. Vitus Dance to shake off the mosquitoes.
Occasionally one of us hit the ball in the right direction -- but not
often. Mostly it was punched madly toward the lake, or missed completely,
to trickle away into the dark and scary woods. ("That's okay; I'll get
it.") We were as amused by Rupert's efforts at volleyball as he'd been by
our songs, but indeed, all of us had our moments -- laughter contributed
more to the game than skill. And if the double-distilled French
refreshments subtracted from our skill, they added to our laughter.
Between games the shout went up: "Drink!", and obediently we ran to the
line of brandy glasses on the porch. Richard the Raccoon poked his masked
face out from beneath the stairs, wanting to know what all the noise was
about. "Richard!" we shouted, and the poor frightened beastie ran back
under the steps, adn we ran laughing back onto the court. The floodlights
silvered the grass, an island of light set apart from the world, like a
stage.
On this stage, however, we leave out the drive for excellence; no
pressure from within, no expectations from others. Mistakes are not a
curse, but cause for laughter, and on this stage, the play's the thing --
we can forget that we also have to WORK together.
Work together, play together, frighten small mammals together: Are we
having fun yet? Yes, we are. And THAT, now that I think about it, is why we
do what we do, and why we keep doing it: We have fun together. How boring
it would be if we didn't. Not only that, but we work well together too,
balancing each other like a three-sided mirror, each reflecting a different
view, but all moving down the road together. As the Zen farmer says: "Life
is liek the scissors-paper-stone game: None of the answers is ALWAYS
right, but each one sometimes is."
ALEX LIFESON
------------
After taking a long break from touring, I started thinking about setting
up a new system that was different from what I had been using during the
last few tours. It occurred to me that perhaps I should consider using
equipment manufactured in a country on the leading edge of this technology,
and in the spirit of perestroika and glasnost decided that the Soviet Union
was just the place. I arrived in Moscow and made my way to the local music
shop: "Large Fun Music Store," and spoke to the salescomrade about the
latest in musical equipment.
"First ting, you are coming to right place. Second ting, I give you best
deal dis side of Leningrad and I want you to know I'm losing rubles on dis
deal. Nobody can ever say Yuri Leestiniki try to rip dem up."
Feeling assured that I wasn't getting rubble for my ruble, I asked Yuri
to show me what he had in the way of guitars. He returned ten minutes
later with the strangest guitar case I'd ever seen. It was quite flat and
about a half meter square, made of plywood with a long nail hammered into
the top and bent over to use for a carrying handle.
"Dis is last model in whole Soviet Union and was sold to guy from Kiev
but he never call me back today, so even because I will to get in trouble,
I will sell to you."
What a deal, I thought.
"Okay Yuri," I said, "let's have a look at it."
Yuri opened the case by prying with two screw drivers at either end and
keeping his foot firmly on the 'carrying nail.' When he finally got it
opened, there was this...this thing. It sort of looked like the shape of a
guitar but in place of the pickups were these magnets like we used to have
in school with the red-painted ends, and in place of a volume control was
an on/off switch that looked as if it had come out of a household fuse
panel.
Oh yeah, it didn't have a neck.
"Oh, you are wanting neck too?" he said, surprised. "Neck is extra but I
can order for you one to be here in four to six month. Maybe."
"Okay," I said, "forget the guitar for now. What about amplifiers?"
"Best amplifier in world I have in stock right now. Is called a "Khrumy"
and it come already wit speaker. Is new modren design and also is good for
heavy-metal sound because is made from pure and complete iron. You are
first to solder wires into electric plug on wall in house and after to
maybe stand ack for maybe one minutes. Is good to wear big orange rubber
gloves when making amplifier to work. Is good amp but sometimes someting is
maybe breaking, and so is good buying one more amplifier for spare part. Is
nice green color, don't you tink?"
Yes, well. I asked about the price anyway, thinking that it could make a
decent fridge at least.
"If you have to ask, you are not affording it," he answered me. "But I
am liking you and we are just finish a big sale. Dis is last day as matter
of fact. I must to be crazy but I let it go for...aah...eight tousand
rubles."
"WHAT!?" I screamed.
"Okay, okay. How about two pair of jeans and maybe some sandwich."
The amp came with wheels and a small thirty-horsepower motor, so after I
paid Yuri and we got the motor started, I said goodbye and he reminded me
to fill in the warranty card for the ten-day warranty. I drove the amp back
to the airport and headed home.
I arrived home and was excited to get the amp plugged in and hear it. I
got out the soldering gun, soldered the wires into the receptacle, stood
back for one minute...and my house burned down.
You know, I kinda liked my OLD gear.
GEDDY LEE
---------
Thurs. Jan 18th -- 10:25 a.m.
Subject: A Kwipment Lisp
Yes, I've just received a fax (what a modrin world) from my Pal Pratt
(pardon my French) requesting this year's equipment list. Sounds exciting,
doesn't it? An equipment list. Just rolls off the tongue. Oh boy!
Equipment. You mean equipment for performance? Equipment for living on the
road? Well, how about things I need. Or things I love. Nope! Too small a
space. A list or is it liszt or at least, er, excuse me -- I guess I'm
wanted back on the planet Earth. Does it sound like I'm stalling? Or trying
to shirk my responsibilities? It DOES? I apologize. Where were we? Lists.
Ah yes, what I use. Well, I use a Wal and a Leica R5, some big amps and a
Wilson Profile (what a profile!). Some black jeans and shoes. (It's so hard
to find good shoes isn't it?) I now have a Mizuno Liteflex glove and lots
of Roland stuff (especially samplers!...LOVE those samplers -- NEED those
samplers. Once again I've been Saved By Technology).
I also use the sports section of _USA Today_. I NEED that daily! I also
use Jack Secret, John Irving, W.P. Kinsella, W.C. Fields, Skip G., Pedro
Almodovar, Modigliani, Andre Kertesz, Sandy Koufax, Diego Giacometti
(sorry, dreaming again) and obviously Woody Allen, M. Joe, B. Mink,
sweaters by Loucas (just TELL me if this is going too FAR). Okay -- I also
have some Fender Basses; that's equipment!! And one N. Young and Julian W.
and some Steinbergers and Snidermans and...
Oh...have I run out of time? But there's so much more...oh well...next
time...Peace and save the planet!
NEIL PEART
----------
Don't be fooled, these are NOT new drums. Nope, they're the same Ludwigs
as last time, the ones that USED to be pinkish, only now they're a dark,
plummy sort of purplish color. (Beautifully done by Paintworks).
Cymbals are all by Avedis Zildjian, except for the Chinese Wuhans, and
the brass-plated hardware is a hybrid of what-have-you: Ludwig, Tama,
Pearl, Premier, and some custon-made bits from the Percussion Center in
Fort Wayne. The gong bass drum comes from Tama, and the cowbells come from
Guernsey & Holstein. Sticks are Promark 747, and heads -- always subject to
change, just like human ones -- are some combination or other of Remo and
Evans. I just keep changing my mind -- and my heads.
Same with snare drums. That remains an open question, but I'm sure to
using SOME combination of my old reliable Slingerland, a Solid Percussion
piccolo, an old Camco, and/or a Ludwig 13" piccolo (cute little thing).
The electronics are triggered by d-drum pads and Shark foot pedals,
driving a Yamaha midi controller and an Akai S900 sampler. A KAT
midi-marimba drives another Akai for all the keyboard percussion parts and
various effects.
You know, I was thinking about what my drum kit would look like if I had
all the REAL instruments up there, rather than a box full of floppy disks
and a couple of samplers. Picture a stage which contained (in addition to
THAT little ol' drumset): temple blocks, orchestra bells, bell tree,
glockenspiel, marimba, various African drums (including ones like 'djembe'
that I don't even know what it LOOKS like), three tympani, a full symphony
orchestra, a 'beeper,' a big gong, harp, synthesizer, congas, bongos,
another timbale, castanets, voice-drums (recorded drum sounds vocalized by
MOI) a big huge sheet of metal, jackhammer, wood block, claves, jingled
coins, my old red Tama drumkit, and Count Basie and his band.
Oh sure, it would LOOK great alright, but honestly -- where would I put
all that stuff? And where would the other two guys stand?
Yeah, you're right; I don't need those guys anyway.
THRICE.TOLD:
Thrice Told Tales
by Neil Peart
Well let me see. How can I possibly manage to write another history of
Rush that's at all different from those many others by so many writers
(including myself) who have told it before?
Couldn't I think up some new and imaginative way of presenting those same
old facts? Couldn't I bring a fresh and lively perspective to that tired old
story?
Ah...., no?
Alright, alright. Here we go.
(Ahem) It all began for the three of us in the summer of 1974. Or; it
all began in the early fifties when we were born. Or; it all began in the
late sixties when we began to get interested in music and playing in bands.
Let's start there, shall we?
(A phone rings in a house in the suburbs of North Toronto).
"Hello?"
"Hello, can I speak to Geddy please?"
"Just a minute"...
"Hello?"
"Hi Geddy, it's Alex here!"
"Oh, hi man, how's it going?"
"Great, just great! Listen, ah, my band has a gig tonight at the coffee
house, and I was wondering, like, if we could borrow your amp?"
"Oh. Well, okay, I guess so. But be careful of it, okay?"
"Oh yeah! Of course! Could we pick it up at about six-thirty?"
"Sure. I'm not going anywhere."
"Great, thanks a lot, eh! That's really nice of you."
"Yeah, sure. See ya."
"Okay, 'bye."
(The same phone a few weeks later.)
"Hello?"
"Hello, can I speak to Geddy please?"
"Just a minute"...
"Hello?"
"Hi Geddy, it's Alex here."
"Oh, hi man. How's it going?"
"Great, just great. Listen, ah, my band has a gig at the coffee house
tonight, and I was wondering, like, if you could come and play bass?"
"Sure, I'm not going anywhere."
"Great! Pick you up about six-thirty?"
"Yeah, okay. See you then."
"Great! 'Bye!"
So that's how the two of them got together. Now, I was just reading over
a biography of the band that I did for our "A Farewell to Kings" concert
program, and it covers all of this early history pretty well. Rather than try
and improve on that, I think I'll just be lazy and quote a long passage from
it. (Cheap, huh?)
THE PAST-Rush came to be in a basement in suburban North Toronto during
the first wave of progressive hard rock in the late sixties. This was the era
of the Who, Cream, Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck, Led Zeppelin et cetera, and was
the first truly free and creative period of popular music. This was to have a
profound effect later on. The origin of the name is now uncertain, but it
would seem to express a basic ingredient of the band even then; energy.
It was Alex, Geddy and the original drummer John Rutsey, sometimes
augmented by a temporary fourth on rhythm guitar or keyboards, but
fundamentally always a trio. They would work in the endless succession of
drop-in centres, parties, dances, high schools, hockey arenas, and finally
bars, bars, and more bars, which can prove so frustrating to a young band in
Canada, (usually spelling disaster in the form of a downward spiral towards
security and a "real job".)
(A brief aside) During this period yours truly was engaged in exactly the
same endless succession with a variety of small-time bands around the Niagara
Peninsula. I eventually took off to live in England for a year and a half when
I was eighteen, playing in more small-time bands, and doing a bit of
unglamourous session work. It was just as difficult there to get anywhere as
it had been at home, so I returned the proverbial sadder-and-wiser man, only
to find success unlooked-for in some band I'd never heard of from Toronto-but
that's another story!
(Back to the story) In early 1974, the first album, aptly and simply
entitled "Rush", was recorded -- financed and independently released on Moon
Records by the band's long-time manager Ray Danniels and his partner Vic
Wilson. This had to be done because no record company in Canada would take
them for free -- No Commercial Potential, you see!
The sessions were late at night, often after gigs, and the extreme
limitations of Time and Money were excruciating. The material was raw and
immature, some of it in the band's repertoire for several years, and the
production was a patch-up job, rescued at the last minute by the saving grace
of Terry Brown (a.k.a. Broon), who remained our co-producer, Objective Ear,
and fourth member in the studio right up to our "Signals" album.
Still, a dream had been realized; there was an album!
During that summer of 1974, many important things occurred which were to
alter the whole concept of Rush before the year was out. A radio station in
Cleveland began playing the album, resulting in the importation and sales of a
few boxes of albums.
There was interest.
An American booking agency (ATI) began discussing the possibility of some
American dates for the band, thereby triggering the interest of Mercury
Records, who signed them to a lucrative long-term contract.
There was an international release.
Next Mercury and ATI got together and came up with a promotional tour
which would cover much of the United States, and allow the band to play before
many thousands of people.
There was an American tour.
Then suddenly, after a long period of fragile health and musical
frustration, John announced that he was going to leave the band -- only weeks
before the album was to be released, and the tour to commence.
There was no drummer.
It is at this point in the story that I cease to speak in the third
person, and "they" becomes "we". I joined the band on Geddy's twenty-first
birthday, June 29, 1974, with a scant two weeks remaining in which to assemble
enough material to hit the road. Somehow we managed it, and played our very
first show together in front of some 18,000 people, opening for Uriah Heep at
the Pittsburg Civic Centre.
This was the first night of an endless tour, the first of many to be spent
on the concert stages of America and Canada, refining and developing our skill,
and learning to live with a permanently packed suitcase, and a very brief, very
occasional sojourn at home.
During this time we were putting together much of the material which would
form our first album together, pooling our creative resources, and exploring
each other's aptitudes and personalities.
Somehow I found myself writing many of the lyrics, (probably because
neither Alex nor Geddy were very interested in doing it!), and it seemed to me
that it would be fun.
We were getting to know each other better, and the personal chemistry and
unity of purpose began to develop, which has sustained and inspired us to this
day.
In January of 1975, we went into Toronto Sound to record the album "Fly
By Night". We set many standards and directions for ourselves with this
album, venturing into a broad thematic and dynamic range, concentrating on
composition, musicianship, and more interesting arrangements. (Ambitous, what?)
The album was very well received, earning us a gold record in Canada, very
respectable sales in the U.S., as well as the "Juno" award for the most
promising new group in Canada. These things helped to reinforce our belief in
what we were trying to accomplish, and we became dedicated to achieving success
without compromising our music, for we felt that it would be worthless on any
other terms.
Suddenly people began to take us seriously, or at least to recognize our
existence -- (except for the radio programmers and the press, for if they had
heard of us they were keeping it a closely-guarded secret!). We were still
touring intensely, as it was the only means of being heard. (Also of course,
we enjoyed it!) There are only two ways open to survival for a band in the
music business. One is a quick capitalization on a manufactured or accidental
"hit", the other is a slow steady climb accomplished by long hard touring.
So we toured. And toured.
In July of that year, we again entered the familiar otherworld of Toronto
Sound, to record our third album, to be intitled "Caress of Steel". We went
in serene and confident, and emerged with an album that we were tremendously
proud of as a major step in our development. We felt that it featured a lot of
dynamic variety and at least a bit of true originality. This was also the
first album to display the artistic gifts of Hugh Syme, who has since been
responsible for all of our covers.
Unfortunately, many things conspired against us, and the album sold
poorly. The ensuing tour was half-jokingly referred to as the "Down-the-Tubes
Tour", and it was a pretty depressing string of small towns and small clubs,
and a lot of unwelcome pressure from certain quarters about making our music
more accessible and more "saleable". It was uncertain for a time whether we
would fight or fall, but finally we got mad!
We came back with a vengeance with "2112", certainly our most powerful and
passionate album yet. We were talking about freedom from tryanny, and we meant
it! This was the first real blend of our diverse and schizophrenic influences,
and it was also our first really successful album.
We felt at the time that we had achieved something that was really our own
sound, and hopefully established ourselves as a definite entity. The side-long
title piece itself became a featured part of our live shows, as much fun for us
as for our audiences, and the trend was all upwards from that point on.
"2112" was again recorded at Toronto Sound, during the cold winter of
1976. At last we had learned how to get our sound across on record, and how to
strike the balance between what could do in the studio, and what we could
reproduce on stage.
"All the World's a Stage", our first double live album, was recorded in
Toronto's venerable Massey Hall from three memorable shows on June 11, 12, and
13th. It is made up of our complete live show at the time, basically an
anthology of the high points from the first four albums. To quote from the
liner notes, "This album, to us, signifies the end of the beginning, a
milestone to mark the close of chapter one, in the annals of Rush."
Which brings us up to 1976 -- only seven more years to go! We may be
here for awhile!
This brings us to "A Farewell to Kings", an album which has many "firsts"
associated with it. We recorded outside of Toronto for the first time,
travelling to Rockfield Studios in the pastoral countryside of Wales. The
mixing was done at Advision Studios in London. After the long hiatus which was
made possible by the release of the live album, we were able to introduce many
new sounds on this record, with Geddy moving onto keyboards, Alex to a greater
variety of guitars, and myself into other areas of percussion "bells and
whistles". This gave the album a very open and atmospheric feel, almost like a
soundtrack, and took us into a greater instrumental emphasis in our work. This
would certainly set the stage for the next series of albums. "Hemispheres" was
once again recorded at Rockfield, with the mixing being done at Trident Studios
this time, which was an historic studio in the heart of London's lurid Soho
district and has since closed down. We went straight into the studio at the
end of the ridiculously gruelling "Drive til You Die" tour, with none of the
material prepared beforehand, and our minds already drained from a relentless
several months of constant touring. The nature of the music was very ambitious
and complicated, and the intense effort that it took to write, arrange, and
play it perfectly in such a short time was very hard on us, leaving scars that
I'm sure will never heal! We were learning the pitfalls of overwork. The
hard way.
But we learned our lesson! Oh, we still toured for the next eight months,
but we stopped doing ten or fourteen consecutive shows with three hundred mile
drives in between them! And we actually took six weeks off during that summer
of 1979 before we made our next album "Permanent Waves". And, clever lads that
we were getting to be, we set aside a month just to write the album, and even
had a chance to play quite a few of the new songs live during a short tour
prior to entering the studio. "The Semi-Tour of Some-of-the Hemispheres";
I've always liked that.
We came back to Canada to record this time, to Le Studio in the beautiful
Laurentain Mountains of Quebec. The background, the facilities, and the people
combined to create a wonderful working environment, and of course we would
return many times to this most productive and agreeable place.
The songs were getting a little more concise for the most part, with "The
Spirit of Radio" and "Free Will" giving us new standards of both style and
substance. I have a lingering fondness for the two longer tracks, "Jacob's
Ladder" and "Natural Science", perhaps because they were the definitive and
last statements of their kind, but it was more exciting to see what we could
accomplish in a tighter and more aggressive style of song.
Which brings us to 1980, for heaven's sake! Time does fly. In the summer
of that year, we began working on the material for "Moving Pictures". We
followed the same pattern of the previous year; going up to northern Ontario
for a month of writing, then a few warm-up shows and into the studio.
Objectively speaking, I think I am justified in saying that this is
probably our best album as a whole. It just seems to hang together really
well, and it seems to me that the combination of the songs and the quality of
the sound is a near-perfect marriage. (But that's just my opinion!) It is
certainly true that songs like "Tom Sawyer", "Red Barchetta", and "YYZ" have
become standards in our live show, and it seems as if a whole lot of
experiments, ideas, developments, and techniques became consolidated into a
unified whole on the record. We must have done something right!
And then, it had been another one, two, three...yup-four studio albums,
and a good time to record another live one. Once again "Exit...Stage Left"
would represent what we felt to be the high-water marks of the previous studio
albums, and again serves as an effective milestone to mark and measure our
growth. This time the songs were recorded in different halls all over Canada
and the U.K., over a period of about two years, and this gave us a wide
variety of performances and different sounding halls to choose from.
During the mixing of the live stuff, there was really not a lot for the
three of us to do, other than to be there and offer our opinions when
necessary, so we began to spend our time working on some new songs. We came up
with "Subdivisions" at that time, as well as most of "Digital Man", and it was
nice to be writing songs just for the fun of it, with no pressure whatever.
The following March of 1982 found us sequestered in the frozen (very
frozen!) North. Once again, it was our month of "Writing, Research and
Development", and we would be working on some more material for our "Signals"
album. Like "Caress of Steel" and "Hemispheres" before it, "Signals" would be
a very experimental, transitional, and somewhat strange sort of record. Along
with those records which consolidated a style, like "2112" or "Moving
Pictures", it is also necessary for us to explore different areas, try out new
styles, and generally enjoy ourselves musically. (At our fans' expense, you may
cynically say, but ultimately to their benefit took, I am sure.)
It is interesting to wonder where those experiments will lead us. Some of
them we will respond to, and develop further, while others will be left behind
and forgotten (at least by us!)
As I write this, we are on the eve of beginning our traditional month of
writing, working on material for an album which should be released early in
1984, (an ominous thought). At this point we know nothing whatever about that
album. No title, no well-defined direction, no idea of style, nor substance -
just a vague eagerness to get to work, and a determination to make this the
really great record we keep trying to make.
I'm sure we'll go on trying.
So what else?
Rush Archives - next time: Album Artwork, Caress of Steel Press Kit,
Discography, & Equipment
--Mike Owen
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 10 Sep 90 09:33:37 hst
From: Hinano Akaka <bigtuna!hinano@uhccux.uhcc.Hawaii.Edu>
Subject: Spirit of Radio, indeed!!!
HEY, EVERYONE, GUESS WHAT?!!!!!
AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!! I'M SO STOKED!!!!!!!!!!!
One of the rock stations, 98 Rock, was having, and I STILL don't believe
this, a "Boxed-set Weekend" with, yep, you guessed it, RUSH!!!! They
were giving away "Chronicles" and the boxed set from Derek and the
Dominoes, the Layla sessions!!! The deal was, if you heard a song by
either RUSH or D & D, you had to call in, and if you were the ninth
caller, you got BOTH sets. That isn't all, though!
I was doing my homework on Saturday and I thought, "Well, maybe
I'll listen to the radio." So, I turned it on, and heard something
about a "Boxed set Weekend", and that some guy had already won a set.
Then I thought, "Well, they probably won't be playing anything for
the contest anytime soon." So I put on my Jethro Tull cd; but after
awhile, I was curious to see if they were playing anything yet. So,
I turned to the radio, and they were playing "Fly By Night"! I sat
there wondering if I should bother to call in. Oh, what the heck! I
grabbed the phone, and immediately realized that I had forgotten the
number! Oh, brilliant! It would help to know the number!!! After
frantically thinking about it, I remembered it, and punched up the
number. Busy signal. Damn! Try again... Oh, for Pete's sake, a
dumb recording... Should I? Yeah, what the heck... dial again. It's
ringing... ah, man! I'm too late! Oh well, I tried...
"Hello, 98 Rock."
"Yeah, hi! I'm calling about the Boxed Set thing. Did I get
it?" Did I get it? DID I GET IT? What kind of line is that? Geez
let's not get our heads stuffed, shall we. But what else was I going
to say?
"Well, you're the ninth caller. You get both sets..." Or
something to that effect. I almost dropped the phone, but managed to
yell in the guys ear...poor thing, and I'd forgotten that they might
be recording that. How embarassing...but I WON!!!!!!! I WON!!!
After getting my name and number and address, he gave me the
instructions. I was to go pick them up at the station, however, they
would not be getting RUSH until Wed. (I almost laughed. How
appropriate, considering the date...) and D & D until the 18th. Cool.
No problem. I hung up and went into an immediate frenzy. I WON!!!!!
I WON SOMETHING OF RUSH!!!!! YEEEAAAAAHHHHHH!
I'm still on Cloud 9...talk about making one's weekend...ah!
I also took the opportunity to see what RUSH songs they would play
Not surprising--FBN, CTTH, and Freewill were all I got. Geez. At least
they made a contest with RUSH in it!!!!!! That's enough to make anyone
feel good!
BTW, I came across an interview with Neil in mag called Hitmen.
I'll type it up and send it to the Digest for all to read. It was done
around the time of GUP and he gives a lot of info. about it, and a bunch
of other stuff. It'll take me awhile, though, but I'll get it off
eventually
I have a request, would anyone be willing to make transcripts
of the Rockline Interviews? We don't get that down here, I guess the
radio stations are on the wrong network. Thanx.
Oh, I saw Chronicles in the store today-I like the cover!!! Did
Hugh Syme do the cover? It's great! I can't wait to get it, now!
--the Spirit of Radio, indeed! Puanani Akaka
P.S. The University has gotten a new computer system. They're
switching to uhnix, so my address has changed. It is now:
hinano@uhnix.uhcc.hawaii.edu
WORQ: "but glittering prizes and endless compromises,
shatter the illusion of integrity."
(hope you feel better, rush-mgr!)
----------------------------------------------------------
From: yackob@eeserv.ee.umanitoba.ca
Date: 10 Sep 90 14:56 -0500
Subject: 24 of May
Yesterday, Chris Bhagwan Fuzzy Normandeau <N200280@pavo.concordia.ca>
wrote
" In the song Lakeside Park on Caress of Steel
there was a reference to "sit around on the 24th of May to watch the
fireworks display..." or something like that. What would be on the 24th
of May that would merit fireworks? I can't think of any holidays."
The 24 of May is Victoria Day in some years. The holiday is
like Easter in that it's not the same date every year. It's "celebrated"
across Canada except in Quebec, of course. It's a holdover from the
English Empire, so it's observed in England and the rest of the commonwealth.
I find it ironic that a Quebecois (and a Canadian!) has never heard of this.
--
Kerry Yackoboski <yackob@eeserv.ee.umanitoba.ca>
The Scanning Tunneling Microscopy Laboratory in the Cellar
U of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 10 Sep 90 16:35 EST
From: Shane Faulkner <V127L2QZ@ubvmsc.cc.buffalo.edu>
Subject: Benefits/equipment
Every tour Rush plays 2 shows at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto and donates
all money from one of the shows to the United Way.
As far as equipment goes, I think the best sound both Geddy and Alex ever
achieved is on Exit...Stage Left. I Totally agree that Gedd's Wal has
not enough bottom end.
Another equipment change I Don't like is Gedd's switch from Moog Taurus
to Midi pedals.... (ie listen to Midi pedals during guitar solo on Closer to
the Heart on 'ASOH' video)... obvioulsy they are more versatile in that
he can play any sound with his feet, but to me the Moog's sounded better.
-Shane
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: 10 Sep 90 16:40 -0500
From: Kerry Yackoboski <yackob@eeserv.ee.umanitoba.ca>
>From yackob Mon Sep 10 16:29:46 1990
From: yackob
To: rush
Subject: Rush's gear
Date: Mon, 10 Sep 90 16:29:46 CDT
Yesterday Kevin Tipple started a conversation about the band's
equipment and asked about Geddy Lee's Fender Jazz Bass and wanted to know
of instances where it appears in a song. Kevin, my (informed) hunch
is that it appears pretty well every time you think you hear a
Rickenbacker. It's certainly the J-Bass on YYZ; this was stated in
International Musician & Recording World's interview at the time
p/g was released. I don't have my notes here, but other likely songs
are La Villa Strangiato, Vital Signs, Red Barchetta, Analog Kid,
Subdivisions. I know he rarely played a J-Bass in concert, but I
have my theories as to why that might be.
It's easier to get a
Ricky sound like Chris Squire's out of a J-Bass than a Rickenbacker;
I have a stock J-Bass that naturally sounds like Geddy on the
songs I mentioned, or like Chris Squire on "The Yes Album" or
"Tales From Topographic Oceans". A friend had a Rick 4001 that sounded
nothing like this - Squire's is heavily modified, and Geddy Lee's
is somewhat modified. I think the Rick might be preferable to the
J-Bass in concert because the Rick is more comfortable, and the J-Bass
(at least mine) weighs somewhere over ten pounds. I don't know
if you play, and this might not seem like a lot, but after two hours,
after you're tired and you've started slouching, night after night,
it can cause some real discomfort, or even serious problems a la
Carol Kaye (?) , the LA studio bassist (did the Barney Miller theme)
who was temporarily crippled.
Kerry Yackoboski <yackob@eeserv.ee.umanitoba.ca>
The Scanning Tunneling Microscopy Laboratory in the Cellar
U of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: 10 Sep 90 21:02:00 EST
From: gbear@ucs.indiana.edu
Subject: RE: RUSH Fans Digest of 09/10/90 (#47)
Hello again everyone! It is nice to be back to school and reading up
on RUSH again.
Just one quick question for all of you. I only got to see RUSH once
summer because I was in New Orleans and they didn't come South all
summer. What a bummer. I guess I will have to wait for another
tour . . . In the meantime, can anyone give me any information about
the band Freewill. From what I understand, they are a RUSH tribute
band. I would be interested in seeing some live RUSH, even if it isn't
the Boyz. Any tour dates/locations would be apprecited.
Thanks,
Glenn
ORQ: "The men are free to run now, from labyrinths below" - RUSH
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 11 Sep 90 00:21:33 EDT
From: joezete@wpi.wpi.edu (Peter John Chestna)
Subject: ooops
I would like to make a formal apology for my stupid comments
in the last digest to Chris and to anyone else I offended
with my off the cuff comments. I really wasn't thinking
and probably put it a little better. I should have taken
my head out of my you know what. I'm sure you can understand
getting a little emotional about Rush, not that it is an excuse.
The spirit of this newsletter is the best I've seen and
I don't want to be responsible for screwing it up.
Sorry.
-Pete
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 11 Sep 90 00:46:02 EDT
From: joezete@wpi.wpi.edu (Peter John Chestna)
Subject: Lakeside Park
The 24th of May is Canada's independance day if I'm not mistaken.
When I went to see them in Toronto, I made a special trip
to the infamous park. Not as easy to find as I thought,
it's a very small park in a very small town. It was worth
the trip because it was just as the song describes it.
willows in the breeze, peirs and all. a really nice place
but less than I had expected. I would recomend that anyone
going by car to the Toronto area should stop by Lakeside and
see the place.
-Pete
----------------------------------------------------------
From: Adrian N Ogden <ano@csres.cs.reading.ac.uk>
Date: Tue, 11 Sep 90 12:10:15 BST
Subject: Permanent Waves tour program transcribed
P E R S O N A L W A V E S
The story of an album
by Neil Peart
[ reproduced without permission ]
On June the fourth 1979, the "Tour of the Hemispheres" was brought to a
successful, but relieved close, at the Pink Pop Festival, in The Netherlands.
After eight months of touring across Canada, the United States, Great Britain,
and Western Europe, it is probably self-evident that we were all very glad to
be returning home for our first summer vacation in about four years! One
forgets what a stately and serene thing summer can be when subjected to the
almost uninterrupted overcast skies which are native to South Wales, where
our last two summers were spent. Out of one period of three weeks, two summers
ago, the sun only shone for two days! We might get rid of our green suntans!
This also marked the first time that we had ever taken time off prior
to recording an album, our usual schedule consisting of tour, tour, tour,
write-rehearse-record, and then perhaps a couple of brief weeks of Domestic
Therapy in which to attempt to glue yourself back together before going on
the road again. The advantages of a rest between touring and writing new
songs are probably readily apparent to the discerning reader, and certainly
proved themselves to us in the making of this record, however such a liberty
had never before been economically possible for us. (Nor this time either,
really). Such indulgence!
It was one of those classic, golden days of mid-July, six relaxing and
enjoyable weeks later, we all made our way northward, to a small town not
far from Georgian Bay, where we were to begin writing and rehearsing some
new material. The place was Lakewoods Farm, a rambling and comfortable old
farm-house, somewhat modernized, surrounded by a hundred acres of farmland,
including a barn containing many interesting and articulate cows, and
fascinating fields of dynamic wheat! About a quarter of a mile distant from
the house was a rough little cottage, set on a tiny jewel of a lake, which
proved to be the perfect setting for a flow of lyric writing.
I arrived in the afternoon to find Alex happily at work in the kitchen
preparing his famous lasagna, as he is our willing and able chef at every
possible occasion (even on the bus microwave!), and from the basement came
the exploratory mewings of the long-awaited Interface, a device which would
allow Geddy to trigger all of the voices in his Polyphonic synthesizer by
depressing one pedal of his Taurus Bass Pedals. This would give a rich and
readily attainable texture to add to our sound, and came in very useful
indeed. As did Alex's cooking.
So here we were, tanned, healthy, and well-rested, fair bursting with
new ideas, and our gear crammed wall to wall in the basement. The first
night we put together a giant hodge-podge of instrumental mish-mash, which
we christened "Uncle Tounouse". It never became anything itself, but parts
of it were plundered bit by bit to form quite a few other things. We soon
settled into a schedule which both suited and served us well. After a huge
breakfast from Alex, I would gather my things and walk down to the cottage,
to spend the afternoon working on lyrics, while Alex and Geddy would descend
to the basement to work on musical ideas. Within the first few days we had
put together "The Spirit of Radio", "Freewill", and "Jacob's Ladder", the
ideas flowing in such a smooth and painless way that it almost seemed too
easy! The only complete lyrics I had brought with me were "Entre Nous",
and neither Alex nor Geddy had brought more than a few incomplete ideas,
just having clear and relaxed minds had made all this difference.
I had also been working on making a song out of a medieval epic from
King Arthur's time, called "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight". It was a real
story written around the 14th century, and I was trying to transform it
while retaining it's original form and style. Eventually it came to seem
too awkwardly out of place with the other material we were working on, so
we decided to shelve that project for the time being. (More on that later).
One of the great feature attractions at Lakewoods Farm was Alex's
radio-controlled aeroplane and it's dramatic succession of "horrible
crashes", into the trees, the fields, the cows, and finally to meet it's
end on a combination of chimney and roof. One day, four of us spent about
four hours combing the waist-high fields in search of the out-of-control
plane, and Alex would spend hours every day re-assembling the pieces with
gallons of epoxy, styrofoam cups elastic bands, toothpicks, bits of plastic
etc. Most entertaining!
These two idyllic weeks in the country were soon over, however, and
it was time for the next step, into the Demo studio. We moved into a small
studio in North Toronto called the Sound Kitchen, where we would be able
to record the songs in a rough fashion, to hear what they really sounded
like, and if they were any good or not! (All recording at the farm had been
handled by the Slider JVC mobile unit, leaving him without a cassette
player!) Also we had to prepare ourselves for an upcoming series of dates,
which were to hone ourselves into razor-sharp precision prior to entering
the studio proper. We spent our time here refining and rehearsing the
arrangements, again aided and edited by the keen perception and critical
appraisal of the omniscient Broon, our beloved and belaboured co-producer.
We also were to spend the last few days putting together a stage
presentation, and polishing up our older material. This we now did.
During this "Semi-tour of Some of the Hemispheres", we were able to
play "The Spirit of Radio", "Freewill", and "Jacob's Ladder" during our
soundcheck every day, and the former two we had worked into the new show.
This marked another significant historical first, the first time any amount
of new material had been performed live prior to being recorded. The last
song to receive this valuable advantage had been "Xanadu", and before that
I think you'd have to go way back to the "Fly by Night" album to find any
other examples of that phenomenon. Although it was only a three and a half
week tour, we did cover most of the area of the United States, along with
two shows each in Canada and England, and by it's end we and the songs were
certainly ready for the Main Event: Le Studio.
Le Studio is a wonderful place, nestled in a valley of the Laurentian
Mountains about sixty miles north of Montreal. It is situated on 250 acres
of hilly, wooded land, surrounding a private lake. At one end of the lake
is the studio, with the luxurious and comfortable guest house situated at
the other, about a mile away. We commuted by bicycle, rowboat, on foot, or
in laziness or bad weather, by car. We arrived in the full, ripe glory of
autumn, and were there through a genuine Indian Summer, and we heralded
the coming of snow and winter, all in our four week stay! The recording
facilities are, of course, nothing les than excellent in every way. The
room itself features one whole wall of glass, overlooking a spectacular
view of the lake and the mountains. This is in direct contrast to most
studios, which are more in the way of being isolated, timeless vaults,
which in that respect of course, are not necessarily bad. Here, though,
we worked in the light of the sun, and one could watch the changing seasons
in idle moments, rather than a dimly lit, smoky view of musical and
electronic hardware. Our engineer, Paul Northfield, soon proved himself to
be a helpful, capable, and congenial member of the project, as did all of
the excellent people who were employed there. I don't think we have ever
been so well treated anywhere. Alex's place in the kitchen was taken over
by the wondrous Andre, who would bring the most amazing French food to the
house, or we could alternate by going on an "outing" to his restaurant, "La
Barratte", which was in a nearby town. Suffice to say that we were well fed
as well!
The great contributions put forth by Daisy, Mr. Broon's little cocker
spaniel must also be acknowledged. She was with us for the whole session,
and her state-of-the-art sleeping and running around were an inspiration to
us all!
We began our great labours by working on the individual sounds of the
instruments. This consists of the musician banging away at his particular
object, while the engineering types experiment with different microphones,
mic positionings, and their own arcane world of knob-twiddling, faders,
echoes, equalization, etc., refining the sound to a true and/or pleasing
reproduction of the original. Once this has been accomplished, the three
of us will play together, probably going over the song we plan to record
first, and considerably more work is put into the sounds, to make them sit
together properly.
By about the second day these complexities have been resolved to
everyone's satisfaction, and work begins on the "basic track", or "bed
track", or "rhythm track", take your pick! This is accomplished by the
three of us performing the song, pretty much as we usually would, except
that things such as vocals, acoustic guitars, lead guitar, synthesizers,
and percussion are omitted. The reason for this is that better separation,
and more control over the eventual balance and quality of sound, is possible
when these lead parts, or embellishments, are recorded separately, once a
good rhythm track has been captured. Now we will be playing the song again
and again until the best performance, both in it's execution and it's
overall "feel", has been put onto the master tape. Here is where our
preparation really proved it's value, as we were able to record basic tracks
for "The Spirit of Radio", "Freewill", "Jacob's Ladder", and "Entre Nous"
in an amazingly short time, as well as arrange and record the previously
unrehearsed "Different Strings", which we had been saving for the studio
as a sort of production number.
There was still a gaping hole in our plans, however, for with the
departure of "Gawain" we had left ourselves nothing with which to replace
him! So..., at this juncture we parted ways, Alex, Geddy, Terry, and Paul
to begin work on some of the overdubs, while I would be imprisoned in my
room until I could emerge glowing triumphantly, clutching some wonder of
spontaneous genious to my knotted and sweated brow!! - mere fantasy I fear.
Did I perhaps have a title? Ah, no. Did I have a few strong ideas lying
around? Well, no. Did I have any ideas at all? Well, maybe, but not exactly.
And for two days I stared in frustration and growing unease at blank sheets
of paper, and questioning eyes. There is no doubt that working under
pressure can be very rewarding, as we have found many times in the studio.
It seems as if the creative mind slips into a burst of overdrive, allowing
a brief, exhausting, but productive surge in the creative process. On the
third day of my confinement this phenomenon arrived at last, and something
new began to take shape. It was the product of a whole host of unconnected
experiences, books, images, thoughts, feelings, observations, and confirmed
principles, that somehow took the form of "Natural Science". At any rate,
there it was, I liked it, and the others liked it too, so we began another
brainstorming session to set the monster to music.
It was at this point in out story when the visitors arrived, in the
person of Fin Costello, our effervescent and ever-ready Irish photographer,
and our equally manic art director, Hugh Syme. This would be the first time
that we had ever been photographed while working in the studio, but we have
maintained such a long and amicable relationship with these two characters,
that there was little self-consciousness on our part. We just carried on
working, while Fin went to work at capturing the moments you will see on the
cover of the record. There was, of course, much silliness, as when Hugh led
the band in an insane and endless version of "Ruff and Reddy", (!), but we
somehow found time to utilize Hugh's piano artistry, on "Different Strings",
which sounds very good indeed, doesn't it? (You're welcome, Hugh)
To digress for a moment on the subject of the cover, planning and
organizing had been going on in the background for the last couple of weeks.
The album still had not received a title right up to the time when we were
ready to record, every time we came up with something it seemed to be
already taken. Even when we did settle on the one, it immediately popped
up all over the place too, but by now it was too late, as the artwork was
already in progress, and we knew it to have been an original idea, if not
the only one. Hugh is the main person involved in putting the cover together,
but we also contribute to the general layout, compiling the credits, choosing
the photos, correcting and submitting the lyrics, and arguing about all of
the things that we want and the record companies don't. There are always the
inevitable last minute crises, such as the Chicago Daily Tribune being still
so embarrassed about their "Dewey defeats Truman" error of more than thirty
years ago, that they actually refused to let us use it on the cover! These
things are sent to try us!
Meanwhile, back in Le Studio, "Natural Science" was becoming a song,
forged from some bits from "Gawain", some instrumental ideas that were still
unused, and some parts newly-written. This is where we used up some of the
time that we had gained earlier, as we had to work a lot on refining and
rehearsing something as new and complex as this had grown to be. We were
about halfway through our time there, and ready to move into the "Overdub
Mode".
Mention must now be made of the great game of volleyball. At dinnertime,
and after the sessions at night, it was our great pleasure to play intensely
athletic and competitive volleyball. One of a few games played in the pouring
rain starred the members of Max Webster and their crew, while other games
would continue despite mud-mires or blinding snow. One particularly warm
night kept us playing until six o'clock in the morning! The studio's video
camera also proved to be an interesting source of entertainment, one notable
evening when created the "The Jack Secret Show", a half hour talk show
starring Jack, Punjabi, and many other famous and interesting guests!
Frivolities aside, the work continued as we plowed through a mountain
of overdubs. Alex and I splashed oars in the lake with shivering hands to
record the "Tide Pool" effects, voices and guitar sounds were sent out over
the lake to make use of it's natural echo, the tympani was recorded outdoors,
guitar amps were strung all over the building to take advantage of as many
different sounds as possible. The parade of guitars, synthesizers, vocals,
percussion, and experiments went on, and the days wore away. But... we
finished early! We had about three days at the end to spare, in which we
could make some rough mixes of the songs to take home and listen to before
the real mixing began. As straightforward and logical as this again must
sound, it was the first time that such a thing had ever happened. In the
past we had always had to begin mixing the day after the recording was
finished, giving no opportunity to get away from the material, and return
to it with a fresh, objective ear.
One week later, the four of us flew across to England to begin the two
weeks of our sojourn at Trident, which is buried in the small streets and
lurid night-life of the Soho district of London. This would be the final
stage in the album's history, the mixdown. I think that it is quite an
obscure thing to many people, just what is done here, so I'll take a moment
to try and clarify it. The album is actually complete at this point, at
least in terms of content, but there are a myriad of small adjustments,
individual sounds can be shaped slightly differently, relative balances can
be altered, echoes or other effects can be added to certain sounds to make
them more interesting or to punctuate them, and the overall sound is made
adaptable to different listening conditions or equipment.
Here once again, Alex moves into the kitchen, as Trident is so
completely equipped as to possess one, and proceeds to regale us yet
again with a series of delicious meals.
This is also the point at which Mr. Broon really comes into his own.
Taking over the engineering himself, the console becomes an instrument, as
he and his capable assistants orchestrate the faders and switches. The gods
once again rule in our favour, and we work ahead of schedule, our two weeks
at Trident speeding pleasantly by. Soon it is time for that most satisfying
and enjoyable of ceremonies, the Final Playback. This is the climax of the
whole project for us, the time when we stop working on the album, and just
listen to it. A few friends are invited, a goodly amount of Champagne is
consumed, and a relaxed and twisted time is had by all.
This is the moment for which all that has gone before becomes fair
value; all has been worth it. The moment when you sit back and think to
yourself: "It is good".
We hope you agree.
Neil Peart
I recently became the proud owner of a new set of Tama drums, once again
with the inner side of the wooden shells coated with the Vibra-Fibing
treatment. Along with the custom finish and the brass-plated metal hardware,
this operation was performed by the Percussion centre of Fort Wayne, Indiana.
The sizes of the drums remain unchanged, consisting of two 24" bass drums, 6",
8", 10" and 12" concert toms, 12", 13" 15" and 18" closed toms, and a
5 1/2 x 14" wooden snare drum. I probably need hardly add that both on the
road, and most especially on this newest record, I am very pleased with the
combination of the thick, wooden shells, and the dependable, modern hardware.
All my cymbals are still by Avedis Zildjian, with the exception of one 18"
chinese cymbal. They are a 6" and 8" splash, two 16", one 18", and one 20"
crash cymbals, a 22" ride, a pair of 13" high-hats, an 18" pang, and a 20"
China type.
Digging into the toy box we find the usual assortment of effects, including
timbales, melodic cowbells, orchestra bells, wind chimes, tubular bells, bell
tree, tympani, temple blocks, triangle, gong, and crotales.
On my snare and bass drums I use Remo black-dot heads, Ludwig silver-dots
on the concert toms, and Evans Looking Glass (top) and Blue Hydraulic (bottom)
on the other toms. Ludwig Speed King Pedals and Tama hardware complete the set-
up. My drumsticks are still Pro-Mark 747's with the varnish removed from the
gripping area.
Geddy Lee
My guitars are: two Rickenbacker 4001 basses, one Rickenbacker 4002 bass,
one custom-modified Fender Precision, one Fender Jazz Bass, and one
Rickenbacker custom double-neck, which incorporates a 4001 bass with a twelve-
string guitar. All basses are equipped with Badass bridges and Roto-Sound
strings, and a Roland chorus is used on the guitar.
My amps are two BGW 750-B's, running through two Ashley pre-amps, into two
Thiele-design 2 x 15 cabinets, and two Ampeg V4B 2 x 15 cabinets. All cabinets
are fitted with JBL K140 speakers, and I also use a Fender Twin Reverb amp for
guitar.
My synthesizer set-up has grown to: Mini-Moog, Oberheim polyphonic, OB-1,
an Oberheim digital sequencer, a Roland Space Echo, and Moog Taurus Pedals,
which are also interfaced with the Oberheim polyphonic.
Alex Lifeson
My guitars are one each Gibson ES335, Gibson ES355, Gibson Les Paul
Standard, Gibson Custom Double-Neck, custom built Pyramid, Fender Stratocaster,
Roland Guitar Synthesizer, Gibson Dove, Gibson J-55, Gibson B-45-12, Gibson
C-60 classical, and a Ramirez Classical. I also play a set of Moog Taurus
Pedals.
My amplifiers are three Hiwatt 100's spread over four 4 x 12 cabinets and
one Leslie cabinet, with one spare amplifier and two spare cabinets. A Fender
Twin Reverb with JBL's is also used.
My effects are: three Roland 301 Space Echo's, one Roland Chorus, an
Electric Mistress, a Morley volume pedal, a Cry Baby wah-wah, a Maestro
parametric filter, Ashley pre-amps and parametrics for the acoustic guitars,
and a custom built effects board designed by L.B., and built by Steele-Power
Supply.
---------------------------
<< Adrian Ogden _ . _ _ _ . _ _ _ _ . . ano@uk.ac.rdg.cs.csres >>
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