If you were a nerdy, prog-rock loving, teenage amateur musician trying to learn the bass guitar in the late 1970s and early 1980s, it's more than likely you gravitated towards the iconic Canadian rockers in RUSH.
Those of us desperately trying to become Rushsters, bled our fingers down to the bone on our humble instruments at home while trying to emulate the insane bass lines, guitar riffs and drum beats laid down by Geddy Lee (bass guru and Jewish to boot!), Alex Lifeson (innovative guitar wizrd) and Neil Peart (aka the Lord of the Drums). All the while, we fending off our parents who couldn't abide by the emotive shrieking of the early incarnation of Geddy's vocals (listen to By-tor and the Snow Dog) and the biting guitar wail of Alex's fretboard work (take a listen to Xanadu), to say nothing of Neil's beyond comprehension syncopation on, well... everything.
I've since laid down my bass, but my love for the band remains intact. Which is why, when I saw this movie trailer for the upcoming RUSH documentary Beyond the Lighted Stage, drool oozed from my mouth, my fingers twitched looking for my air bass and then my brain reverted to that of my 17-year-old inner teen and the grin would not fade from my face. I'm looking forward to this film. Behold!
I can't wait.
1 comment:
It's a terrific film about a terrific band. Cracked me up to find out that when they toured with Kiss, every night Gene Simmons and the gang went out to party, while the boys from Rush went to sleep early.
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