Date: Tue, May 9, 1995 8:46 PM CST
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
The National Midnight Star, Number 1093
Tuesday, 9 May 1995
Today's Topics:
Makes me sick
RUSH heading in the wrong direction?
A Show of Hands Video
Alex Van Halen solo/Neil
The Chinese Police of Fish Island
lifeson goes solo!
King's X and Alex
Re: Guitars and Female fans
NMS Stats! Finally!
SYRINX.UMD.EDU
you know you're...
NMSer's gathering in Toronto
Help on necroman.zip
the trees
YKYARFW
Re: Gold Discs
a little help please
Re: 05/02/95 - The National Midnight Star #1091
Re: Geddy and a little help from thier e-friends
Re: #2(2) 04/24/95 - The National Midnight Star #1089
Re:Female Rush Fans...
easy alex guitar
Neil/Paul Simon's words
Picking on Geddy
bands doing Rush covers
The Book, New material, Barchettas, King Crimson.
Obscure Rush Sound Byte
Neil's Rig
guy with keyboards on stage
Cars
Alex Interview Reveals All !!!
Summing up rush...
----------------------------------------------------------
Subject: Makes me sick
Date: Mon, 01 May 1995 04:57:55 -0400
From: "daniel.modell" <ddmodell@mailbox.syr.edu>
This makes me sick:
>From: Brigge@aol.com
>Subject: Roll the Swastika
>
>"Why did Hitler kill Jews? B/c he did. Roll the Bones!!!!"
I don't care what anyone's "valid interpretations" are, this is Rush
blasphemy for one, anti-Semitic for another, and overall, disgusting.
Nice to see in this day and age there is still people as completely
screwed up as this wallowing around in their own filth.
Gee, thans for unleashing such pathetic garbage on us, America Online.
dM
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 1 May 1995 14:14:50 -0500
From: Brian Michalowski <xanadu@camelot.bradley.edu>
Subject: RUSH heading in the wrong direction?
Greetings!
This is my first post so please pay attention!!! :)
I've been a RUSH fan since half of me had a flagellum, but I
question the direction that Alex, Geedy, and Neal are heading.
I think everything from 2121 through Moving Pitchers is great.
Jacob's Bladder and Yzz are a couple of my favorites. However, I
believe that with Singles and Grace Under Fire things really
started to fall apart. Songs like Distant Early Morning
Red Gloves, Kid Lenses, and The Enema Within were BIG flops.
Things weren't any better with Role the Bones either; the song
Hershey was a disappointment. But then there's Counterparts!
What can I say? This album was great. This album instilled
a lot of hope in me. Then all this joy is torn apart when I
hear that the new album is going to be Country Western!
This is going to be the biggest mistake of their careers!
Now, to all of you who are actively participating in the
thread about the trees. I think everyone is missing the point
on this one. Obviously it's about Lumberjacks who can't decide
which kind of wood is best for making log cabins. I'll admit
that the first time I read the lyrics they went right over my
head. If you read really closely, however, the TRUE message jumps
right out at you...especially if you are an English major like me!:)
Hopefully this will put an end to this whole debate!
I'd like to thank rush-mgr for a job well done. Also,
thanks to all the RUSH fans with a sense of humor.
-Everybody got to levetate from the floor!
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 01 May 95 15:36:29 EDT
From: CHW94001@UConnVM.UConn.Edu
Subject: A Show of Hands Video
I was just wondering if someone could help me out with this one. I was watchin
g the Show of Hands video yesterday and during La Villa Alex says something, bu
t it is bleeped out. A disclaimer is also posted on the screen saying somethin
g to the effect that what he said was too sensitive to be broadcast. Waht's th
e deal?
[ Check the FAQ, the answer's in there. : rush-mgr ]
Chris W.
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Date: Mon, 1 May 1995 15:54:44 -0400
From: p_norwoo@oz.plymouth.edu (Peter C. Norwood)
Subject: Alex Van Halen solo/Neil
Someone in a recent issue sais Alex's drum solo on this tour was a
"blatant" rip off of Neil's. I wouldn't go *that* far. I just saw
the show and the solo. The last 20% (and the only interesting part)
of Alex's solo did seem *quite* similar to Neil's. There was the
ostinato, the triggered horn blasts, and that whole African feel.
I wonder what some of the drummers think?
Oh yea, the overall concert was good...
Pete
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 1 May 1995 22:09:19 -0400 (EDT)
From: Partha Mukhopadhyay <ahtrap@umich.edu>
Subject: The Chinese Police of Fish Island
While catching up with about a month of unread TMNS's, I noticed that the
misheard lyric thread kept popping up, so I thought I'd add my best (or
is it worst?) cases......
LAKESIDE PARK
ME: "Midway hawkers, calling China police.....
REAL: midway hawkers, calling "try your luck with me"
This one is still plauging me, even after seeing the lyric sheet....the
worst part is that I never stopped to think about what I thought I heard...
LIMELIGHT: there's a line in there talking about "Living in a fish-eye
lens", which I always heard as "Living in a fish island"
As for my best non-Rush mistake: I got "Soup-and-Salad Bar" out of the INXS'
line "Suicide Blonde, go figure
OTHER STUFF: As a "Congrats, another school year in the books" present, I
got myself the first three albums ($15, new...good deal, says I).....I
wasn't sure what to expect, because of some comments on this forum....
I enjoyed them immensely, especially COS....(I think I like it better
than "2112"...sacrilege, I know)
I have to put in a good word for "I Think I'm Going Bald", which has been
savaged in previous TMNS....once you get past the inane 1st verse, and
the repeated title/chorus, I think it's a great message...."even when I'm
grey, I'll still be grey my way"
and one more word for "Didacts and Narpets"....listen to this song as a
Neil Peart drum solo, and it gets a hell of a lot better (ignore the
accessory noises/crap in the background)
Sorry about the length of this one, but thanks for the chance to ramble,
Partha Mukhopadhyay
----------------------------------------------------------
From: "D.C.B.Brenchley" <D.C.Brenchley@sheffield.ac.uk>
Date: Tue, 2 May 1995 13:09:57 +0100
Subject: lifeson goes solo!
"Attention all planets of the Solar Federation...... ...... Alex
Lifeson has assumed control!"
So begins a very interesting interview in the new May issue of the
British 'Guitarist' magazine. I snatched it down off the shelf on
noticing Alex's name and lo and behold we have Mr. Lifeson in
conversation about all things Rush and solo.
So folks, listening up?
Concerning the solo project, Alex says he has been working on new
material since last autumn (sorry, Fall!) and currently has about
eight songs.
"Most of it's written and arranged, we'll probably start laying
down tracks in the next couple of weeks."
Referring to collaborations with other artists Alex says that there
is a possibility of working with Les Claypool on a couple of tracks
although he is considering playing everything himself.
The interview moves on to talk about musical direction without
actually giving too much away and Alex says he hasn't given much
thought to the possibility of including vocals.
I don't know when the interview was actually conducted but Alex does
say he's hoping to get the album done by June.
Sounds good so far eh?
They then move on to talk about Rush. According to Alex the original
plan was to get back together around now, but instead they've put it
back to september.
"We are starting to get really,really excited about it . We wanted to
take a long break, because we haven't ever done that. It's been
really important and good for our collective souls to do this,
because we are a lot more enthusiastic about getting back to work. "
"I'd like to see a change of direction next time. Personally I'd like
to hear it much heavier and maybe a little darker. I think there is
room for the guitars to be up front even more. I listened to
Counterparts the other night for the first time in almost a year and
there a lot of holes in it for me. There wre many places where I
thought the songwriting could have been stronger. I wasn't very happy
with that record, but I was glad to hear the guitar up front, rather
than have that mix of keyboard and guitar. I just want to stand out a
bit more, not only in the mix and the overall feel of the record, but
in my playing as well. I think I need to work harder................
I just think there's room for me to make the guitar sound more
interesting."
It then goes on to talk about playing live and Alex's return to
Marshall Amps. He also says he'd like to record the next album live
in the studio, as a band ,rather than everybody doing their tracks
seperately.
The final topic is the bands choice of material to play live.
"We all have different opinions; I'd like to do a little more of the
older material, Neil tends to lean towards doing the more current
stuff and Ged is somewhere in the middle."
He goes on to particularly mention Cygnus X1 and AFarewell to Kings.
"Theyre the kind of songs that I'd like to bring back in, songs that
we haven't played since 1980. I think with a 1995 approach to them
they would be really quite powerful, certainly more powerful than
they were back then."
Finally to prove that we Brits are justified in complaining,
"I know that there are some really die-hard Rush fans in Britain
especially. To be honest with you, I feel very guilty about not
coming over and playing more often"
Thats a quick blast of the main points. I hope most of you find it
interesting. It's certainly a worthwhile interview to get hold of. I
don't know if the magazine is available in North America though.
I think we can assume the Rush machine is coming back to life!
Cheers for now,
Dave.
----------------------------------------------------------
From: JWALKER.ENG-MAIL@SMTP.INTECOM.COM (Walker, John)
Date: Fri, 28 Apr 1995 10:37 CDT
Subject: King's X and Alex
Hi all!
Sometime back, I said:
>> Obligatory RUSH: King's X is very RUSH influenced, especially the bass
>> sound
>> and the guitar work.
And James from Toronto replied:
>Apparently the band resent being constantly compared to Rush. They are not
>"very RUSH influenced" although their music has many of the same sort of
>qualities, which makes them appealing to many Rush fans. I doubt they will
>ever open for Rush, although Neil has said (can't remember where) that he
>did think they were a good band and they are managed by Ray Daniels at SRO
>here in Toronto.
In the spirit of debate, and not intending to flame, I will attempt to
back up my assertion:
8-)
(BTW, I envy you very much living in Toronto. Great city - go Leafs!)
I am still convinced that at least Ty (guitar) has been influenced by
Alex in a lot
of ways, along with Indian music. I'll concede on the bass, though.
Why do I say this? Because, as a guitarist who greatly admires both
guys, their chord structures and approach are so much alike. Alex was
the first guy I
heard use a lot of chorus and open strings to fill out his sound and make
things
bigger. It's difficult to explain, but easy to show someone on the
guitar. Alex a lot
of times will pick one or two open strings (usually G and B) and use a
sequence
of chords that leaves those strings open; he then arppegiates (sp?) the
chords and makes
sure to hit those strings. It gives kind of a drone effect - the middle
of Trees, chorus
on Tom Sawyer, and chorus on Subdivisions are all examples of this
technique. It's actually
pretty simple once you know how it's done. This was the key to Alex's
rhythm style for
me. Once I figured this out I could play 90% of PW, Hemispheres, and MP.
(Yes, I was
a hardcore Alex freak - even played Tom Sawyer at the high school talent
show).
Ty from King's X uses a variation of this: he tunes his low E to D and
uses the D and G strings
as the pedal points. Other than that, it's virtually the same trick. It
pops up a lot on
Gretchen goes to Nebraska (verse section of Mission, for example) and
here and there
throughout their work. Same technique, same effect: it fills out the
band and makes
the guitar sound bigger.
This is a proof by induction, but the only way IMO Ty could have copped
something so
close without studying Alex is if there is a common ancestor that they
both were influenced by.
If such a Missing Link exists, I am unaware of it (but always looking to
expand my horizons).
Speaking of missing links, anybody ever hear the King Crimson album Red?
I believe it was recorded in 1974 (I have a tape of it, so I'm not sure).
Bill Bruford
plays drums like a 16 tentacled octopus, and executes several drum fills
that show up
in Rush tunes almost verbatim years later! There's also some very
Neil-like playing on
King Crimson's Discipline (around 1981?). I can heartily recommend both
of these to Rush
fans. Red has John Wetton (later of Asia) on bass and vocals, and the
bass on the album is actually
quite good. Discipline features the AWESOME Tony Levin (Peter Gabriel)
on Chapman
stick and bass, and Adrian Belew on guitar and vocals. The
Discipline-era incarnation of
Crimson was Les Claypool's blueprint for Primus (although I think Crimson
does it much better).
Sorry for the length, and as I stated in the opening, this is not a flame
but an exchange of opinions
and information. Let's keep it civilized, folks!
L8R,
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
| John Walker |
| Email: jwalker@intecom.com |
| Voice: (214) 447-8321 |
| Fax: (214) 447-8071 |
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From: JWALKER.ENG-MAIL@SMTP.INTECOM.COM (Walker, John)
Date: Fri, 28 Apr 1995 10:50 CDT
Subject: Re: Guitars and Female fans
Hi again:
Scott said an issue or so back:
>There's been a lot of talk about who's the best guitarist or whatever. I
>don't think it's childish to debate this, in fact I enjoy it. If you
Cool! Me too......
>were to ask me straight up, I think that at the present time, Eric
>Johnson is putting out the best work of any rock guitarist I've heard.
>If any of you heard him opening for Rush for the RTB tour you can at
>least relate to what I'm saying. His work is nothing less than
We got stuck with Primus. Liked 'em, but Eric's better. Steve Morse or
Gary Moore would have to be my choices for opening bands I wish I'd seen.
>pheonominal. Ah Via Musicom is perfect from start to finish, and he
>doesn't dub in extra guitar parts. Everything is done on one take with one
>guitar! He has about 10 more years to go though before he can be held at
This isn't entirely correct. What you hear as one guitar part is
actually a series
of takes comped together to sound like one part. From what I remember,
Eric
wanted to get it all in one take live but wasn't happy with it, so he
ended up
overdubbing a bunch of stuff anyway. On High Landrons, right at the end
when the
guitar is soloing, you can hear the guitar tone change drastically right
in the
middle of a line. This is where a "punch" was done to edit two different
parts
together. Eric is such a perfectionist in the studio it's a wonder he
gets anything
recorded........
Anyone know when a new album from Eric will be released? You can Email
me
if you'd prefer.
L8R-
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
| John Walker |
| Email: jwalker@intecom.com |
| Voice: (214) 447-8321 |
| Fax: (214) 447-8071 |
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Date: Tue, 2 May 1995 13:14:30 -0400
From: rich1@east.isx.com (Richard Armstrong)
Subject: NMS Stats! Finally!
Well folks, here it is!! The results of the First Annual Unofficial
NMS Stats list!
Sorry it has taken so looooonnnnngggg, but work has been REAL crazy lately.
I'm proud to say that I have gathered data from all over the world to
include within this list. I would like to take this opportunity to thank
all those who were kind enough to send in their data so that we could
get as accurate account of the readers of the NMS as possible.
I realize that this list will be biased somewhat due to the fact that
the request only appeared in one NMS and most of the people on this
list have access to a computer. (Duuuhh) This still should have
some interesting information for those of you out there who are
interested.
I had 73 responses that made it into the spreadsheet with only 4 people
forgetting to put the word Jobs in the subject of the message. Since the
time that I stopped taking info, I have received an additional 5 entries.
All of these were Computer type people so the list didn't change. I have
updated the age info, though it changed only marginally.
Finally, a disclaimer... Now, I am not a statistician, nor do I play one
on TV. I do realize that 73 person sample does not make an extensive
cross-section of the fans of Rush. Furthermore, since the list goes out to
3500 people, it doesn't really make a good cross section of this list.
But, you have to work with the info you get, so I did.
Also, since I agreed that these messages would not be used for any reason
other than for the stats, I will post here that if any of you software
engineering types are good C/C++ people who want to live in Atlanta,
Washington DC, St. Louis, or LA, feel free to send me some E-mail.
(Sorry for the non-Rush content but I'm hurting for good people)
Here it is!!!
Age Info:
Youngest : 15. From the great state of Texas
Oldest : 40. Some old guys from Colorado and Wisconsin.
(Sorry Anchorage Alaska, you came close)
Mean: 26.94
Median: 27
Mode: 30
Career Info:
Most Common Career : Computers!!! 26%
That 26% was made up as follows : Software Engineers 21%
Computer Technicians 3%
Tech Support 1%
Comp Training 1%
Next Best Career : College Students!!! 23%
That 23% was made up as follows: Under grads 14%
Grad Students 8%
High School 1%
To round out the top three we have : Teachers!! 7%
College 3%
High School 1%
Middle 1%
Unknown 1%
Here's the rest of the career info:
Acoustic Engineers: 1%
Administrative Staff: 3%
Business Owner?? 1%
Cartographer 1% (Really 3%. Someone was late)
Chemist 1%
Civil Engineer 1%
Customer Service 1%
Electrical Engineers: 4%
Electrician: 1%
Furniture Manufacturing: 1%
Gaffer (Film?) 1%
Geologist: 3%
Graphic Artists 1%
Lawyers 3%
Librarian 1%
Mental Health Counselor 1%
Meteorologist 1%
Minister 1%
Music Industry 4% (3% Musicians, 1% Music Critics /
Journalists)
Sales Reps 1%
Supervisors ?? 1%
Technical Writers 3%
Telemarketing 1%
Thermal Analysts 1%
Demographics:
USA 83%
England 6%
Canada 3%
Netherlands 3%
Norway 3%
Japan 1%
Sweden 1%
Within the US :
This was tough. I'm not overly smart and did not know how to break up
the US. I did the best I could so don't hit me. The East includes places
like Maryland and Pennsylvania. The Northeast covers areas like New York,
Mass. and New Hampshire. The Mid West covers Arkansas and others, while
the North handles Michigan and Wisconsin. The Northwest covers Alaska and
Washington state, while the South West covers places like Arizona and New
Mexico. California takes up most of what I termed the West, while Texas
makes up most of the south. Sorry if this bothers anyone, but its the best
I can do for now.
North East : 20%
North : 18%
North West : 7%
Mid West : 13%
East : 10%
West : 11%
South West : 5%
South East : 7%
South : 10%
State Stats :
The most popular state was California, with 11.5 % of respondents.
Texas followed a close second with roughly 10% of the entries. Most other
states were singles or doubles with the exception of New York with four
entries, New Jersey, Ohio, and Colorado each with three.
I was the only entry from Georgia! :-(
Well, that's all I can think of. If anyone wants any other stats, with
the info that I have available, let me know and I will try to comply.
This has been an interesting experiment. I wish we could have had a
little more coverage, but that's life.
I want to thank everyone who responded once again, and thanks to all of
you who tolerated this long post.
Later,
Rich
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- Richard Armstrong ISX Corporation
- Marietta, Georgia (404)-612-1722 Voice
- rich1@isx.com (404)-612-1822 Fax
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"I find no absolution, In my rational point of view
Maybe some things are instinctive, But there's on thing you could do
You could try to understand me, I could try to understand you"
-Neil Peart '87
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 2 May 95 18:17 BST-1
From: spirit_of_rush@cix.compulink.co.uk (Stewart Gilray)
Subject: SYRINX.UMD.EDU
The SYRINX FTP site has been mentioned and quoted in this months uk
Subj: #2(3) 05/09/95 - The National Midnight Star #1093
Date: Tue, May 9, 1995 8:46 PM CST
From: rush@syrinx.umd.edu
Sender: rush@syrinx.umd.edu
Reply-to: rush@syrinx.umd.edu
To: rush_mailing_list@syrinx.umd.edu
Mail Split By Gateway
------- cut here --------
guitar magazine "GUITARIST", along with an interview with Alex.
Bye!!
Stewart...
Official Spirit of Rush, Alex Lifeson interviewer.
(It's an ego thang.)
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 02 May 95 15:00:34 EDT
From: Steven Horwitz <SHOR@MUSIC.STLAWU.EDU>
Subject: you know you're...
You know you're an OLD Rush fan when you can remember getting a high
score on an old arcade game like Space Invaders and signing your
initials as YYZ.
You know you're a REAL Rush fan when you think it's very cool that the
United Airlines in-flight magazine is called *Hemispheres*.
You know you're a PROFESSOR Rush fan when you find yourself responding
to student papers that only make assertions and don't present
evidence by writing in the margin "Show me, don't tell me."
The Professor
So much poison in power / the principles get left out
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 2 May 1995 15:30:12 -0400 (EDT)
From: MATES PAUL I <94matesp@wave.scar.utoronto.ca>
Subject: NMSer's gathering in Toronto
Hey All!
Guess what? Puanani will be coming down to Toronto on May 24-June 2 to
present the NMS gift to Anthem and to donate the money. We will be
getting together to go to the Orbit Room (Lerxst's bar!!) We welcome any
NMSers that want to get together on one of those days. If you want to
join in, please e-mail me and I'll give you a number where you can reach
me. Please excuse me if I don't get back to you right away, but my only
access to the net now is here at school, and I won't be
here that often! So come on and join in on the fun! Hope to hear from ya!
Paul Mates
"Rotate the pod please, Hal"-2001
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 02 May 1995 14:58:59 -0500
From: s851001@umslvma.umsl.edu (Ed Blonski)
Subject: Help on necroman.zip
Real quick...
Anyone successfully d/l'ed the necroman.zip file from the syrnix ftp site?
I've tried and when I unzip it I get a corrupted .wav file. I'm looking for
any help at all in this matter. The file was contributed by Kevin Wayte of
Nova Scotia, anyone got an email address for him, or if he's reading, please
contact me!
Thanks,
------------------------------------------------------------------------
*Ed Blonski (s851001@umslvma.umsl.edu) "One likes to believe in the *
*Rush fan (the band and the man!) Freedom of Email!" TNMS *
*Titus 1:5-9 "But I'm young enough to remember*
*Soon to be Alumni of Concordia the future and the way things *
*Seminary, St. Louis, 1995 ought to be!" NP *
------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 2 May 1995 17:34:21 -0500 (CDT)
From: "R. Durbin" <durbin@blue.weeg.uiowa.edu>
Subject: the trees
Well, you know, I've been reading for a few months now and never
submitted my opinion on any thing, so here goes. I know everyone's sick
of reading about the trees, so I'll try to make a point that will allow
most of the readers to still be able to get a good nights sleep. It is
obvious that there are some basic principles involved with this groovy
metaphorical statement we've come to love called "The Trees". There is no
arguement that at some level it is about one group of people's oppression
over another. No argument that the oppression eventually resulted in a
tradgedy for both parties involved. Now, one basic and very notable point
that this song makes is that oppression is bad and therefore people
should not oppress eachother. I think that it is a point that stands on
its own, whether you agree with it or not. You can go off into a lot more
specific theories on what the song is about, but, the fact is it can be
interpreted many different ways. I say, no matter what the song means to
you, Neil has satisfactorally made another brilliant point in life, and
now it's time to stop arguing about it fruitlessly (is that a word?) and
just sit back and enjoy this great song.
Sorry for spouting off, I just wanted to get my two cents in. Please,
just enjoy The Trees and let it affect you as it does.
Thanx- Durb from the University of Iowa
I like this quote- "Science, like nature, must aslo be tamed with a view
towards it's preservation. Given the same state of integrity, it will
surely help us along." -NP
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 2 May 1995 22:46:53 -0400 (CST)
From: "David Sissman (Rice University) Houston" <dsissman@dcc.uchile.cl>
Subject: YKYARFW
You know you're a Rush fan when:
You go to type the name "Ruth", and you instinctively type "Rush".
David Sissman
*************************************************************************
* dsissman@dcc.uchile.cl <-- Address at Universidad de Chile, Santiago *
* siss@owlnet.rice.edu <-- Address at Rice University, Houston, Texas *
* z900427a@bcfreenet.seflin.lib.fl.us <-- Address in Florida *
*************************************************************************
* ALL LETTERS WILL ARRIVE AT dsissman@dcc.uchile.cl *
* In Santiago de Chile until July 20, 1995 *
*************************************************************************
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 02 May 95 22:16:38 EDT
From: krphelps@umr.edu (Chelios for the Norris)
Subject: Re: Gold Discs
>I was considering getting Moving Pictures next...I'd expect some sonic
>improvements, especially in the bass area. MP was digitally mixed though, so
>perhaps the improvements aren't that great. Anyone care to comment??
I have all three, and I think Signals offers the most improvement. I
found the Mercury release to be "muddy". The MoFi edition cleans it
up. You can e-mail them about your question at mofi@mofi.com. I
e-mailed them about the "missing" vocal on the disc, and they took the
time to give me a response.
Keith R. Phelps
krphelps@umr.edu
" They shout about love. But when push comes to shove. They live for things
they're afraid of."
==Neil Peart
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 2 May 1995 23:13:55 -0500 (EST)
From: "david brinton" <dlb155@email.psu.edu>
Subject: a little help please
This is my first post but i've been reading this newsletter for some time
now. I haven't had anything to discuss on this newsletter until recently.
A few days ago I got into a arguement with a fraternity brother of mine
about drummers and of course i said that Neil was one of the best i've ever
heard and by far one of the best around. His view was that i was dead wrong
and that Neil was a horrible drummer and way too flashy. Needless to say I
almost flipped, unfortunately i lost the argument hands down because he was
a drummer and i have no musical talent whatsoever. He used drumming
terminology and facts that i couldn't dispute because i had no clue what he
was talking about. What i'm asking for is some facts that i can use to show
him the light, so to speak. I _know_ Neil is good but i have no way to prove
it to him. so please someone help me out here. you can post it here on NMS
or to me personally: dlb155@email.psu.edu
To speak and write later...
Dave Brinton
Theta Xi fraternity
_9/8\2_
The point of the journey is not to arrive...
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 2 May 95 23:07 CDT
From: jrider@winternet.com (John Rider)
Subject: Re: 05/02/95 - The National Midnight Star #1091
I thought that I heard somewhere that RUSH was going to do a 20th
album - 20th year tour or something?
"Is there any plutonium nyborg left?"
"Yeah, I think its in the transmitter compartment"
John Rider (o) "Go for broke man"
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 02 May 95 23:36:33 EDT
From: alann@roanoke.infi.net (Alan Novitsky)
Subject: Re: Geddy and a little help from thier e-friends
My 2 cents worth about the post on 5/2/95.. Rush uses sequencers as
everyone knows.. OK.. Big deal.. This isn't like rap where they sample
someones stuff ( like EVH's Jamies crying, and loop it over and over and
make millions$$)... Rush uses technology as a lets say a virtual fourth
member.. They still got to program it.. Still got to learn it, still got to
learn to play *exactly* with it, cause computers ( in most cases ) don't
screw up, they just do what you tell them to do.. I play guitar and keyboards
myself, and sequence myself, just due to that is the only "band" I have
time to play with anymore.. It amazes me that they have so many ways of
triggering the sequnces live.. One Geddy might do, Alex with his feet the
next... I would LOVE to see the MIDI interconnections to see how they do
this.. I find it simply amazing!
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Wed, 3 May 1995 00:35:27 -0400
From: BKJedi@aol.com
Subject: Re: #2(2) 04/24/95 - The National Midnight Star #1089
This is my first submission to the Midnight Star. (I don't know why I told
you all that, but everyone else seems to say it.)
Anyway, I just wanted to let everyone know that I'm a musician in the
Springfield, MA area. I want to be in a band NOW!!! If you're looking for a
lead vocalist and/or guitarist to play Rush tunes, e-mail me! I assure you,
I've got tons of musical experience (I've sung everywhere from Notre Dame to
Carnegie Hall). And, I can hit Geddy-level notes. Really, I can!
Rob4Drums, if you're looking for a singer and are in New England, I'm you're
man!
Ben (BKJedi@aol.com)
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Wed, 3 May 1995 00:41:41 -0500 (CDT)
From: "Patrick M. McMillin" <patmc@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu>
Subject: Re:Female Rush Fans...
It is funny that someone brought that up. Today I was
reading austin.music, and someone made a reference to this
tenedency. Now, before the flames start billowing into
my inbox I just want to make an observation that I feel is
the general reason(does not apply to all.) Many females I
know consider Rush's music too tedious and methodical to be
a source of frequent enjoyment; many will say, "he sounds
like a really great drummer, or lyricist etc...," but this
is often insufficient reasoning to throw a Rush CD in. Also,
it is of note that much of the music that 'generally' appeals
to female listeners is more spontaneous sounding or emotion
laden. True, one could make a case that Neil's lyrics are
very emotion driven, but they are definitely delivered in a
scientific fashion.
|) Patrick M. McMillin
/ The University of Texas at Austin
/| patrick-mc@mail.utexas.edu
/ |__
( (|_ ) Save the bandwidth...
\_|_/ Cut text!!!
J
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Date: Wed, 3 May 1995 02:06:34 -0400
From: tjh143@psu.edu (Tim Hyland)
Subject: easy alex guitar
Fellow rushheads,
I am a very novice guitar player, and I know only a few songs. The
only Rush songs I know are Dreamline and Rivendell. If there are any
guitarists out there, I would appreciate it if someone would inform me of
some basic Rush songs. I would really appreciate it.
Also, I am debating whether to buy Hemispheres or A Show of Hands
to add to my current collection. Which one? Any feedback would be
helpful.
j.w.Cleveland
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: 3 May 1995 09:14:31 -0400
From: "Jeff Punch" <Jeff_Punch.TRANSPLANT@mailgw.surg.med.umich.edu>
Subject: Neil/Paul Simon's words
I've been lurking awhile but following along.
aaron wrote:
>Anyone know why Neil chose Paul Simon to refer to here?
Well, Neil discusses the reason in a Cream interview kindly available on the
wwweb (http://syrinx.umd.edu/rush/HTML/articles/creem82.html) His answer is
that it takes a sense of humor to understand the parody. Don't read the
article if you don't want to have high blood pressure though since the article
is written by a loser that didn't like RUSH at all. Anyway, Neil doesn't
explain it much better than that but the connection as I see it is clear: The
"Sound of Silence" was played in the movie "The Graduate" about coming of age
and selling out one's ideals for profit. This is what SoR is all about, only
with respect to musicians and bands. In the interview Neil notes that Paul
McCartney doesn't have artistic integrity since in the later 70's he began to
write and play songs that play well on the radio and make a lot of money but
didn't advance the state of the art like the Beetles did in the 60's. "But
glittering prizes and endless compromises shatter the illusion of integrity" .
Radio promises a wonderful gift of art since the airwaves are free and you
can choose to listen to what ever you want to. But, the fact that salesmen
get involved with selling music leads to artistic compromise if the artist
listens to the salesman's advice about how the music should sound, instead of
making the music sound as he the artist wants it to sound. Neil is pleading
for the Music world to live up to the natural and free spirit of radio by
playing music that is free from commercial intent. This is the essence of
SoR.
Jeff Punch
jeff.punch@med.umich.edu
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Wed, 03 May 95 10:23:39 +0000
From: jwernli@ibm.net
Subject: Picking on Geddy
There seems to be some ongoing confusion about Geddy's
use of picks. To clear all speculation...up until
Counterparts, it is true that Gedd avoided picks except
during double-neck situations where he was playing
guitar. On CP, however, he DOES use a pick for bass
on a number of songs (Animate being perhaps the most
obvious...just listen to the attack and tone of the
notes; though it must be noted that he does use his
fingernails to simulate that quality in his playing
at times, this time it really is a pick). To support
this theory, all one needs do is track down a CP video
boot and watch. I have two such boots, and except for
Obi Wan telling Luke that his eyes can deceive him, there
can be no question. Now to add some additional
speculatory material here...does anyone have any ideas
as to the validity of the rumor that there is a CP video
due out around August (a legitimate video...not a boot).
A local freebie paper in the area lists upcoming music
and music video releases. There was no mention of any
live or studio albums, but they listed a live video
from Rush tentatively titled "The Other Parts". It kinda
sounds Counterpart-ish, but I'm hoping that the other
parts might be some OLDER live stuff that we've not
heard or seen commercially released.
Computer, Arch.
----------------------------------------------------------
We draw our own designs but fortune has to make that frame.
** N. Peart, From "Roll The Bones"
Joel Weisman * jwernli@ibm.net * CIS: 76520,370 * Dallas TX
----------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Wed, 3 May 1995 11:03:35 -0500
From: mer@sol.iii.net (Marc Respass)
Subject: bands doing Rush covers
BRENT J. DUERSCH" <DUERSCH@jake.dorms.udayton.edu> wrote:
>As far as bands doing Rush covers, here are some I'd like to see and some
>I'd rather not see...
>
> SONG SHOULD DO IT SHOULD NOT TRY IT
> Spirit of Radio Living Colour Devo
Hmmm. Maybe. But Devo could do a cool version :)
> Finding My Way/Working Man Metallica Garth Brooks
> Closer to the Heart Yes Debbie Gibson
> Cinderella Man Triumph Wilson Philips
> Cygnus/Hemispheres Dream Theater Funkadelic
Yeah! Esp. DT doing Cygnus/Hemispheres.
> 2112 Iron Maiden Vanilla Ice
Huh? I can't see that
> Analog Kid Queensryche INXS
Doesn't seem their style
> YYZ Megadeth UD Marching Band
Megadeth?! Do you think they could pull it off? At least we wouldn't have
to listen to Mustane sing.
> Double Agent Fates Warning Beastie Boys
Maybe if they did RTB and the B-Boys did the rap!
> Stick it Out Van Halen LL Cool J
I just don't like Hagar so I'd hit the next song button
> La Villa Strangiato Steve Vai Weezer
Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes! (not the band)
Marc Respass
mer@sol.iii.net
http://www.iii.net/users/mer.html
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Wed, 3 May 1995 14:23:19 -0500 (EST)
From: "Kevin E. Mort" <kemort@indiana.edu>
Subject: The Book, New material, Barchettas, King Crimson.
A big greetings to all. Since I haven't posted in awhile, I thought this
would be a good time for a few reflections.
First - to all of you who are working on the book I can't say much else
but thank you. This will be a great gift to them - expressing
how we as fans feel about their work.
Second - New material. I should say that I was certainly hoping to see a
new album this year. But - if they are choosing to lay off for
bit - then that is fine too. After all I do have a bit of their
music to tide me over. One other thing to remember is that Neil
was working on the BR project during this time.
As someone noted here a bit ago - if you think this is hard - try
being a YES fan. Besides _Union_ the last album before _Talk_ was
done in 1987 or so.
Subject: Red Barchettas, TNMS 1087.
<snip>
>Yep, the new Fiat Barchetta is definitely available in RED
Of course, remember that Ferarri also made a "Barchetta" - means Little
Boat I think. There is a review of them in an issue of Cavalino (a purely
Ferarri mag) from a couple of years ago. Anyone know what the _actual_ make
was that is described - Ferarri, Aston, Fiat?
Finally - King Crimson. I have listened to them "In the Court of the
Crimson King." They are old Brit art rock - like Floyd, YES,
and Genesis were/are. Good stuff if you like that sort of thing.
-Kevin
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
%%%%%% Kevin E. Mort % "Welcome to the information age." %%%%%%
%%%%%% UCS-PCC Consultant% kemort@copper.ucs.indiana.edu %%%%%%
%%%%%% Web Publisher % http://nickel.ucs.indiana.edu/~kemort/ %%%%%%
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Wed, 3 May 1995 16:23:35 -0400
From: JMacLean1@aol.com
Subject: Obscure Rush Sound Byte
Well I guess this post is a little late, but for any of you older folk out
there,you might remember this one. Dino? Are you listening, buddy?
CBS had a TV news magazine, back in '86. It was called of all things, "1986".
It was hosted by Connie Chung. During the opening credits, Connie would walk
out and sit on a diamond shaped diaz and the background music was none other
than the musical intro to "Mystic Rythms". They played the whole musical
part, stopping before Ged's vocals started. It was very cool. The show
grabbed my attention immediately. (for obvious reasons.) I used to watch the
show every week. It went off the air in a few months. It was funny though,
they never listed the song in the closing credits. Also during the last few
shows, they switched from playing Rush during the opening, to a different
tune. Maybe they didn't get the proper legal permission to play "Mystic
Rythms" in the first place.
So...does anyone else remember this, or did I just dream it all?
Rush on....
John Mac Lean
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Wed, 3 May 1995 15:22:17 -0500
From: greenpd0@seraph1.sewanee.edu (Paul Greene)
Subject: Neil's Rig
SLiCKd00d@aol.com wrote:
>I was wanting to know if anyone could tell me what type of stuff Peart uses,
>such as Hat sizes and toms, etc.
he uses ludwig super classics and zildjian cymbals. when i got the info
last, he was using regular A cymbals. now, they've got the A customs, so he
probably uses those. I bought a 22" ping ride based on an old MD article on
neil. The splash out front is a 10". i'm pretty sure he uses 13" hats, just
based on the tone. crashes are probably standard, though i think he puts a
15" just to his left.
snare tightness depends on lots of things. for the ultimate crisp
sound, a 13" piccolo is your best bet. I use a 14"/5.5", which can
certainly be tuned "tightly." To avoid buying a new snare, try different
heads, a different strainer, or just fiddling with tensions. Deeper bass
sounds can be achieved either with deeper drums or muffling. Again, I use a
standard 16/22 bass, but use a pinstripe batter and ebony front side with a
fair amount of muffling to get a great low thump.
by the way, the toms are pretty much standard, ranging from 6" down
to the tymp/bass which i believe is 20".
The key to a neil sound is not the drums. it's the tuning. using
the right heads (remo clear ambassador batters w/ ebony ambassadors on the
bottom work really well) at well-spaced pitches is the secret. hope this
helps a little.
Paul
"no, you must be thinking of someone else."
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Wed, 3 May 95 20:40 EDT
From: "Mark Shulman" <MLS154@PSUVM.PSU.EDU>
Subject: guy with keyboards on stage
In response to the question about a guy on the sound wing with a
"keyboard"... The only person who would be on the sound wing would be
the monitor engineer or drum/guitar techs. All lighting, house sound,
and pyrotechnics are controlled from front of house because that is
where the effects are centered. I suppose from a certain angle the
sound board could appear to be a keyboard, but the dimensions would be
totally off. Rush typically uses Yamaha PM-4000's customized for their
shows. In the front of house, one set would be used to record for live
albums and one for the actual house sound. Im not sure what they were
using as a monitor console, but judging from the number of inputs that
they need to do house, they would need at least as many to for monitor
mixing and I'd guess around 50 or 60 inputs. Neil's drum set must use
at least 35. Im not sure who or what you saw, but to mistake the
monitor engineer for an offstage keyboardist is kinda wacked. Unless he
was playing a 6 foot long keyboard...
Mark Shulman -- Chairman, Penn State University Concert Committee
----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Wed, 3 May 1995 21:07:11 -0700
From: gravy@ix.netcom.com (Grady Grissom)
Subject: Cars
I'm interested in knowing what kinds of cars Alex, Geddy and Neil
own/drive.
Thanks,
gravy@ix.netcom.com (Grady M. Grissom)
----------------------------------------------------------
From: D Stothard <D.Stothard@lut.ac.uk>
Subject: Alex Interview Reveals All !!!
Date: Thu, 4 May 95 9:20:52 BST
May's issue of Guitarist magazine has got an interview with Alex
Lifeson in it. Here's some of the highlites.....
There are about 10 songs ready for his solo album, he wants about 12
or 13 to choose from before it's released. It's going to encompass a range of
styles but the guitars should be a bit heavier than on recent Rush material.
The boyz are still writing new material individually and hope to have
about half an album worth of ideas by the time they get together in the
summer. Possible release in September.
Alex also mentioned a lot about digging out some old tapes of the
Hammersmith Odeon shows from the early 80's with live perfomances of Cygnus X1
and AFTK on them. Possible live album ? He seems very eager to tour on the
old material again.
Although he couldn't speak for the rest of the group, Alex says he
Subj: #3(3) 05/09/95 - The National Midnight Star #1093
Date: Tue, May 9, 1995 8:46 PM CST
From: rush@syrinx.umd.edu
Sender: rush@syrinx.umd.edu
Reply-to: rush@syrinx.umd.edu
To: rush_mailing_list@syrinx.umd.edu
Mail Split By Gateway
------- cut here --------
wants to do a major tour on the back of the next album, however they STILL
might not reach England !!! ( Bastards !!!!!).
Thats about it from what I can remember. If anyone's actually got a
copy with them, feel free to correct me or add anything to this; I'm writing
it from memory.
'Til next time....
Dave.............
----------------------------------------------------------
Subject: Summing up rush...
Date: Thu, 04 May 95 12:29:02 +0100
From: lc@dcs.st-and.ac.uk
Interesting little aside in the british magazine Q. In the section called
'Labatt's guide to canadian rockers', Rush were described as
'Ambassadorial right wingers'. Maybe they were referring to 'Red Tide' :-)
Anyway - right wingers...to explain, anyone with politics slightly more
right wing than karl marx is described as right wing here, so I shouldn't worry
too much about it.
In response to Art Blevins in #1091 :
>IF the boys want to take some time off, fine. I understand the need for
>down time. BUT, the boys should also recognize the musical appetites of
>their fans. IMHO - this would be the perfect time for Rush to release
>a live BOX along the lines of Metallica's Live Binge and Purge box
Yeah! cool idea...I've seen a few bootlegs of the last tour kicking
around, but never bought them for two reasons :
(1) I didn't have enough money
(2) I wasn't overly sure of the quality..
So, A new live set of all of the classics plus the new songs IMHO would
be ace!
enough of my mad ramblings!
catch y'all later!
Luke
_____________________________________________________________________
| lec@st-andrews.ac.uk| lc@cs.st-andrews.ac.uk |
|-------------------------------------------------------------------|
| "life is a case mind over matter-if you don't mind, |
| then it doesn't matter!!" - Anon. |
|-------------------------------------------------------------------|
----------------------------------------------------------
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For administrative matters (subscription, unsubscription, changes, and
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There is now anonymous ftp access available on Syrinx. The network
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When you've connected, userid is "anonymous", password is <your userid>.
Once you've successfully logged on, change directory (cd) to 'rush'.
There is also a mail server available (for those unable or unwilling to
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These requests are processed nightly. Use a subject line of MESSAGE to
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Gopher access is now available on syrinx!
Use this command to access the gopher:
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For those of you on the World Wide Web, there is now a Rush home page at:
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The contents of The National Midnight Star are solely the opinions and
comments of the individual authors, and do not necessarily reflect the
opinions of the authors' management, or the mailing list management.
Copyright (C) 1995 by The Rush Fans Mailing List
Editor, The National Midnight Star
(Rush Fans Mailing List)
*********************************************
End of The National Midnight Star Number 1093
*********************************************