chemistry1973 Posted May 6, 2019 Share Posted May 6, 2019 (edited) What do you think was most formative in making Rush a successful prog rock power trio? What were the economic and social conditions of Canada, St. Catherines and Toronto at the time. I remember reading 70's era reviews that Rush appealed to the "zonked out set". They were a party band - much like Van Halen was in their early days... Was Rush- in their 70s heyday - an escape for a particular group? Of course later, their appeal was big amongst the loners and nerds of the 80s (like me). But what was that spark - what grabbed people in 74 and 75? But what brought the band together? We've the official line from the band - but what was it really? My feeling is that the upbringings for all three - especially through the lens of a suburban teenager - were possibly pretty oppressive. Al and Ged's immigrant families pushed them to be successful and responsible with the results being rebellion and then unpredictable and unbelievable success. But those traumatic events in their families past must've put a a great deal of pressure on those 2. We know the Weinrib story. But Al's family were immigrants from Serbia (AKA the Soviet satellite known as Yugoslavia) - another land of brutal oppression. Neil Peart's family grew up in quiet middle class comfort, comparatively - as everyone knows, much of that darkness traveled through Geddy and Alex and seeped into Peart's writing. At least it did for a time. This probably resulted in Rush's best work. Eventually Peart's own experiences started affecting the writing, and there were different results. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrDj5XvZXX4 Edited May 6, 2019 by chemistry1973 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chemistry1973 Posted May 6, 2019 Author Share Posted May 6, 2019 https://music.avclub.com/an-introduction-to-rush-the-biggest-cult-band-in-the-w-1798239702 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Planet X-1 Posted May 6, 2019 Share Posted May 6, 2019 ...er....budding big egos combined with the love of playing an instrument? I'm also guessing Gary and Alex didn`t want 'real' jobs (like being a plumber). It's a good thing the two realized it was a pipe dream to succeed. Hence they played their collective tails off, forcing their will upon the cosmos, bending musical time and space... :D 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Planet X-1 Posted May 6, 2019 Share Posted May 6, 2019 oh yeah, Neil...meh... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Principled Man Posted May 6, 2019 Share Posted May 6, 2019 Dumping Jeff Jones in favor of some kid with a big nose.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chemistry1973 Posted May 6, 2019 Author Share Posted May 6, 2019 ...er....budding big egos combined with the love of playing an instrument? Then every band would be monstrous. But then why play an instrument? What contributed to those egos? You're not wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chemistry1973 Posted May 6, 2019 Author Share Posted May 6, 2019 Dumping Jeff Jones in favor of some kid with a big nose.... How many people told the band that Geddy was toxic and an obstacle to their success. I would wager: Everybody Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lorraine Posted May 6, 2019 Share Posted May 6, 2019 Donna Halper 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnRogers Posted May 6, 2019 Share Posted May 6, 2019 Donna HalperZelix. After all...all good things flow through Zelix. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chemistry1973 Posted May 6, 2019 Author Share Posted May 6, 2019 (edited) Donna Halper Apropos right? Working Man - a blue collar call-to-arms, but also a cry for help: I get up at seven, yeahAnd I go to work at nineI got no time for livin'Yes, I'm workin' all the time It seems to meI could live my lifeA lot better than I think I amI guess that's why they call meThey call me the workin' man They call me the workin' manI guess that's what I am 'Cause I get home at five o'clockAnd I take myself out a ice, cold beerAlways seem to be wond'rin'Why there's nothin' goin' down here It seems to meI could live my lifeA lot better than I think I amI guess that's why they call meThe workin' man They call me the workin' manI guess that's what I am Well they call me the workin' manI guess that's what I am I get up at seven, yeahAnd I go to work at nineI got no time for livin'Yes, I'm workin' all the time It seems to meI could live my lifeA lot better than I think I amI guess that's why they call meThey call me the workin' man Well they call me the workin' manI guess that's what I am They call me the workin' manI guess that's what I am - The band knew that they were at a dead end already. f**k THAT life - working, then dying. Anything is better than that. Edited May 6, 2019 by chemistry1973 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lorraine Posted May 6, 2019 Share Posted May 6, 2019 Donna Halper Apropos right? Working Man - a blue collar call-to-arms, but also a cry for help: I get up at seven, yeahAnd I go to work at nineI got no time for livin'Yes, I'm workin' all the time It seems to meI could live my lifeA lot better than I think I amI guess that's why they call meThey call me the workin' man They call me the workin' manI guess that's what I am 'Cause I get home at five o'clockAnd I take myself out a ice, cold beerAlways seem to be wond'rin'Why there's nothin' goin' down here It seems to meI could live my lifeA lot better than I think I amI guess that's why they call meThe workin' man They call me the workin' manI guess that's what I am Well they call me the workin' manI guess that's what I am I get up at seven, yeahAnd I go to work at nineI got no time for livin'Yes, I'm workin' all the time It seems to meI could live my lifeA lot better than I think I amI guess that's why they call meThey call me the workin' man Well they call me the workin' manI guess that's what I am They call me the workin' manI guess that's what I am - The band new that they were at a dead end already. f**k THAT life - working, then dying. Anything is better than that.Donna gave them their break. That's all any band needs - their big break - being in the right place at the right time. The rest is history! :) 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Planet X-1 Posted May 6, 2019 Share Posted May 6, 2019 ...er....budding big egos combined with the love of playing an instrument? Then every band would be monstrous. But then why play an instrument? What contributed to those egos? You're not wrong. Well, to me Alex was immensely talented and a naturally gifted guitarist who loved the spotlight (Geddy mentioned something that he loved to show off). Ultimately Alex and Geddy's desire to succeed over came obstacles that sideline most wannabees. Alex was driven because he had a family to support, Geddy seems to have been driven by his parents experience during the Holocaust. But let's face it, luck played a major role...If Donna Halper called in sick and Rush was delivered to an unsympathetic DJ, Rush would be a big zero. Dumping Jeff Jones in favor of some kid with a big nose.... How many people told the band that Geddy was toxic and an obstacle to their success. I would wager: Everybody Didn`t Ray Daniels want to demote/fire Geddy and hire a new singer? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taurus Posted May 6, 2019 Share Posted May 6, 2019 Canada's live birth totals were at their highest from the years between 1954-1964, peaking in 1959-60. So like most/all seventies rock bands - it was timing. They had the most amount of young teenagers to play to year after year. I believe America's age demographics closely resemble Canada's. Obviously it's not the only thing but it's foundational to the popularity and endurance of classic rock.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Canada#Age_characteristics 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chemistry1973 Posted May 6, 2019 Author Share Posted May 6, 2019 Canada's live birth totals were at their highest from the years between 1954-1964, peaking in 1959-60. So like most/all seventies rock bands - it was timing. They had the most amount of young teenagers to play to year after year. I believe America's age demographics closely resemble Canada's. Obviously it's not the only thing but it's foundational to the popularity and endurance of classic rock.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Canada#Age_characteristics “Here we are now, entertain us...” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Cat 3 Posted May 6, 2019 Share Posted May 6, 2019 Why does it happen, because it happens 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueschica Posted May 6, 2019 Share Posted May 6, 2019 What do you think was most formative in making Rush a successful prog rock power trio? What were the economic and social conditions of Canada, St. Catherines and Toronto at the time. I remember reading 70's era reviews that Rush appealed to the "zonked out set". They were a party band - much like Van Halen was in their early days... Was Rush- in their 70s heyday - an escape for a particular group? Of course later, their appeal was big amongst the loners and nerds of the 80s (like me). But what was that spark - what grabbed people in 74 and 75? But what brought the band together? We've the official line from the band - but what was it really? My feeling is that the upbringings for all three - especially through the lens of a suburban teenager - were possibly pretty oppressive. Al and Ged's immigrant families pushed them to be successful and responsible with the results being rebellion and then unpredictable and unbelievable success. But those traumatic events in their families past must've put a a great deal of pressure on those 2. Me know the Weinrib story. But Al's family were immigrants from Serbia (AKA the Soviet satellite known as Yugoslavia) - another land of brutal oppression. Neil Peart's family grew up in quiet middle class comfort, comparatively - as everyone knows, much of that darkness traveled through Geddy and Alex and seeped into Peart's writing. At least it did for a time. This probably resulted in Rush's best work. Eventually Peart's own experiences started affecting the writing, and there were different results. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrDj5XvZXX4 Who can say all of the factors that combine for success? There were recessions in the mid 70's in the US and Canada but I'm not sure how much that contributed. I think what it comes down to is that you had 3 guys who wanted to make music more than anything else. They had that solid of a focus and the youth and energy to work on it. You know how close Alex and Geddy are to their moms and yet the pull of music was so strong that they chose to leave high school with only 1 year left to go; at the time their moms strongly wanted them to stay. They got lucky with Donna Halper and Mercury but they had already put in the work of playing in bars for years and working on their songs. Geddy did mention in Beyond The Lighted Stage that growing up in his house was very heavy because of all the Holocaust memories; but I think there is an inborn reaction in most late teens to want to move out and onward from their family. He later said in a different interview, and I love him for this, that he realized his mom didn't talk about the Holocaust so often on purpose; those were just the only memories she had of childhood and her early romance with Ged's father. Where other parents might talk about a prom or high school sport or something, memories of life in the concentration camps were all she had. Amazing guys, all of them, and amazing families. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Entre_Perpetuo Posted May 6, 2019 Share Posted May 6, 2019 They appealed to working class teens and young adults who wanted a little more out of life than what was being offered. They probably also wanted more out of music. A little more heaviness, a little more complexity, a little more thoughtfulness, a little more technical ability, a little more highly pitched vocals. Overall though, what’s always gotten Rush their fans is their uniqueness. There is no other band from their time that could really claim to be quite like them, especially by the time 2112 hit. No other group played such loud, heavy, catchy, complex, extreme, thought-provoking music at such a high caliber technically, and few other bands worked as hard at it either. Those of us who are drawn to the abnormal and the extreme find both in spades in Rush, but never at the sacrifice of good songwriting or powerful hooks and oddly catchy anthems. Rush are a band that embody not just good values, but good ideals, just as much in their attitude and approach as in their lyrics. People may have loved The Stones and The Who for being outrageous rock stars in every sense, but they loved Rush for proving you didn’t have to throw tv’s out windows or sleep with 5 different women every night to be in a great rock band. I think those are just a few reasons, but more or less I think Rush’s appeal in 1974 was really much the same as it was in 76, 81, 87, 93, 02, 12, and on through today. They stand up for the outcasts, and bring us all together. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tangy Posted May 6, 2019 Share Posted May 6, 2019 Well, you can stake that claim -Good work is the key to good fortune 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lurkst Posted May 7, 2019 Share Posted May 7, 2019 Didn`t Ray Daniels want to demote/fire Geddy and hire a new singer? He actually did fire him. Didn't take long before he was reinstated though. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edhunter Posted May 7, 2019 Share Posted May 7, 2019 People screwed. Babies were born. Years later they formed a band a caught a few breaks. Then the drummer quit on them. They replaced him with a dweeb. Then the dweeb quit on them. Time for the next one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tks95747 Posted May 7, 2019 Share Posted May 7, 2019 ...er....budding big egos combined with the love of playing an instrument? Then every band would be monstrous. But then why play an instrument? What contributed to those egos? You're not wrong.I can name a few bands that are monstrous..... er... or would that more appropriately be "monstrosities"... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowdogged Posted May 7, 2019 Share Posted May 7, 2019 I read all the posts in this thread and they just have me questioning my own existence. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lorraine Posted May 7, 2019 Share Posted May 7, 2019 I read all the posts in this thread and they just have me questioning my own existence.Chin up, buckaroo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Planet X-1 Posted May 7, 2019 Share Posted May 7, 2019 ...er....budding big egos combined with the love of playing an instrument? Then every band would be monstrous. But then why play an instrument? What contributed to those egos? You're not wrong.I can name a few bands that are monstrous..... er... or would that more appropriately be "monstrosities"... :laughing guy: I can name an entire decade... :P 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Planet X-1 Posted May 7, 2019 Share Posted May 7, 2019 People screwed. Babies were born. Years later they formed a band a caught a few breaks. Then the drummer quit on them. They replaced him with a dweeb. Then the dweeb quit on them. Time for the next one. Unfortunately the dweeb has psychic powers and brainwashed Geddy, Alex and the horrid fans into believing no one can fill his shoes.... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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