I enjoyed this:
http://drummagazine.com/magnetic-mem...dio-with-rush/
I enjoyed this:
http://drummagazine.com/magnetic-mem...dio-with-rush/
Great article; thanks for sharing. I learned a lot about Neil's work with Rush over the years (and especially his early years with JR Flood).
Thanks so much!
Because I really admire Neil's writing, most of this was not new but some of it was. But I never tire of re-reading his prose. He is such a thoughtful player and writer.
I certainly noticed his use of the the past tense in the second part of this parenthetical statement:
(We often relied on visual cues for solo endings and such, just as Alex, Geddy, and I sometimes did onstage.)
In case anyone wonders if he is done touring, I think this is a strong indicator. Neil never writes anything casually. Every word, construction, and yes, tense, is quite deliberate.
Agreed. Having just finished Far and Wide, I think Neil could not have made it more clear that he is forever finished with touring and probably drumming as well. He clearly wants folks to understand that he is retired. It would seem that his further involvement in Rush will be more along the lines of curating, coming up with creative ways to repackage their output with additional media, storytelling, etc., but he's clearly done playing. So far in his life he's been involved in the creation of a huge body of work through an immense amount of sweat, toil, and tears, and the vast majority of it is top-shelf. Now the man wants to stay home and raise his daughter Olivia and not be beholden to the rigors of life on the road. I say more power to him!
Indeed.
In my estimate, he'd be brilliant and an asset to the world simply for his writing.
The amazing drumming and the lyrics are bonuses.
^ I agree with this, but I doubt he will NEVER play drums in public again.
yep
Wow, that was a great read. I think with him being retired now he will write a lot more like this, opening up about all the details of drumming, recording, touring, behind-the-scenes, etc. now that he doesn't have to deal with the stresses of touring and fan worship that bother him so much.
You say Mega Ultra Deluxe Special Limited Edition Extended Autographed 5-LP, 3-CD, 4-DVD, 2-BlueRay, 4-Cassette, five 8-Track, MP4 Download plus Demos, Outtakes, Booklet, T-Shirt and Guitar Pick Gold-Leafed Box Set Version like it's a bad thing...
Very interesting, thanks. One thing that surprised me was his comment that Rush used click tracks live only sparingly.
Possible Worlds http://www.possibleworldsband.com
That was a great article! He could retire from every other occupation but writing and still be someone whose work thrills with every new blog post.
Reading that article made me interested in J.R. Flood. Here's that whole demo he talked about:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mCUVe-VrVE
And because of his passion for automobiles I think he would be great as a co-host on any car show too. I wonder if Jay Leno or the Top Gear folks have tried to get him involved.
Not sure I would go as far as that, but I too read his travelogues, and came away feeling less enamoured of the man. Not someone I would choose to spend time with.
Outstanding drummer and erudite lyricist, but I was left with the impression that he's quite a selfish guy, and his writings rarely acknowledged the hard work of his support team that allowed him his indulgent lifestyle on his bike.
To be fair to him, he never missed a gig, but I often wondered what kind of stress he was putting Alex and Ged (not to mention the tour crew) through, wondering if he would make each show on time.
I recall seeing by the mixing console on the R30 tour, there was a separate monitor screen streaming SMTP data from 2 sources, and the guy at the operation console would occasionally adjust the smtp to get back into sync with, what I assume, was the band, so in essence, they (I assume) had the click track conform to Neil, rather than having Neil attempt to stay in sync with a click. I do not know much about their tech, but I assume (because i didnt ask anyone) thats what they did to keep light sequencing in sync with the band.
I got nothin' :
...avoiding any implication that I have ever entertained a cognizant thought.
live samples:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwbCFGbAtFc
https://youtu.be/AEE5OZXJioE
https://soundcloud.com/yodelgoat/yod...om-a-live-show
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUe3YhCjy6g
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VOCJokzL_s
Way harsh dude. I have read 4 books about his travels and keep a close eye on his webpage/blog because I enjoy his writings. As far as the man himself goes, he seems to be opinionated, snide, a little arrogant, judgmental and somewhat aloof. In others words, pretty much a normal person and I totally understand his thing about being around people that recognize him as a rock star. Me personally? I have no idea what I would say to him and not one question I would want to ask. He has given me just about the best (THE BEST during the 70's) music of my life and I have given him money. We're even.
I honestly hope that Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson don't retire musically, though. A third of "Victor" was decent and "My Favorite Headache" was fairly decent.
"Arf." -- Frank Zappa, "Beauty Knows No Pain" (live version)
Errr...possibly. Some tabloid story a few years back that a famous groupie visited the Rush dressing room way back when and Geddy and Alex partook but Neil said, "no thanks".
I also don't like the way he comes across in his travelogue books, but don't let that stop you from reading this article about drumming. It's interesting and informative if you're a fan of the band or drumming, and I don't detect any "douchebaggery"...
You say Mega Ultra Deluxe Special Limited Edition Extended Autographed 5-LP, 3-CD, 4-DVD, 2-BlueRay, 4-Cassette, five 8-Track, MP4 Download plus Demos, Outtakes, Booklet, T-Shirt and Guitar Pick Gold-Leafed Box Set Version like it's a bad thing...
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