Share Your Stories Of Meeting The Band Or Close Encounters...

[MMCXII]

Ive never met any of them but at the Regina show in 08 I showed up at the venue in the morning to check it out and was surprised to find the place wide open! I was able to walk right in and sit down in one of the higher seats and started watching them set up the stage. Then I see a couple motorcycles pull right into the concourse area on the other side. They rode around the bowl a ways then disappeared somewhere so that was kind of my Neil sighting.

During the show I was second row in front of Ged. Two days later I was in Edmonton row 5 center. Two days after then I was in Vancouver second row in front of Geddy again and I at one point I got a look front him like he remembered me.

 

Kinda cool I guess but thats all I got :/

[HalfwayToGone]

I must've posted this 5 or 6 times by now, so I'll try to keep it short and hit the highlights. I was lucky enough to get an invite to an after show party at Madison Square Garden on the first of 2 or 3 nights they were playing there during the counterparts tour. (My buddies who got me in told me that the next night, Sebastian Bach from skid row got into a fight with someone at the party after that 2nd show). So we get comped seats off to the side in the lower bowl, and after the show we head upstairs to the VIP bar/banquet room and wait. I'm hanging out with my best friends and the manager of electric lady studios with her husband, who are friends with my friends--we all geek out for a while about what huge fans we are and what is about to go down. My friend introduces us to her former boss--Atlantic Records big shot (he may have been company president, I forget, but I vividly remember what he looks like/his very spiffy tailored suit). After all this excited chit chat, we were approached and told to go into the VIP area, which we do. A sizeable group of people are just mingling and Alex and Geddy are both chatting, signing things, taking photos with people, etc. a few guests have digital cameras, which were a brand spanking new thing back then, but most people still used film, and we had no camera. Neil was way deep in the area sandwiched in the middle of four other people in a circular booth, and chatting with them. We run into Alex first as he's closet to where we enter the VIP area--we shake hands and thank him. He fails to recognize my friend who worked with them a tiny bit during presto, but he's gracious and sweet and amused/amusing. So we venture over to Geddy's crowd and wait--Neil's booth is just over Geddy's right shoulder, and as the people directly in front of us chat and get a photo, autograph, etc. Neil shimmies out of the booth and ducks into an elevator--I watch and a "oh no way!" pops out of my mouth as I just watch him bail. Truth be told he might have just ran out to the bathroom--I was so star struck, I didn't even think to watch whether he ever came back. At that point my best friend and I are face-to-face with Geddy and I manage to deliver a very brief speech thanking him and his bandmates and letting him know how much they changed my life--at the time I was flirting with a career as a drummer. My friend gave a much more brief but enthusiastic little thank-you, and the vibe was exactly how Geddy described in BTLS--way heavy! I was intense as hell. I think I had started off with "I'm not going to trouble you for a photo or an autograph, I just want to shake your hand and thank you and let you know, blah blah blah..." Geddy replied, "wow, you guys are really laying some heavy shit on me!" My buddy started to excitedly talk some more and gestured with his rum and coke, at which point the little stirrer flipped out of the drink and landed directly on Geddy's left toe of his perfectly shined black leather dress shoe. My buddy literally choked on his sentence, and Geddy gently pat him on the shoulder, saying "it's ok, it's ok!" We all bust out laughing, thank him once again and start circling back,running into Alex again. Later we both agree that the stirrer straw seemed to us to be tumbling in super slow-mo in as it somersaulted downward to bounce off Geddy's foot. Anyway, we were much looser by this time after Geddy broke the serious trance we had been in, and we started chatting with Alex, who was also talking with our other two buddies who brought us. He suddenly stops in the middle of everything and says "WAIT!!! YOU CHANGED YOUR HAIR!" And then he gives my friend a huge hug, realizing that he does remember her. My buddy, says, "I'll never forget the first time I saw you play! It was 2112 tour in Detroit Michigan, I was 16, and wasted!" And without hesitating, Alex added "...and I was, let's see...23 and wasted!" More hilarity ensued, and we all got on our way. My best friend was so excited he forgot about his tour shirt and left it there.

 

Ok that wasn't "keeping it short," at all.

Edited July 20, 2017 by HalfwayToGone

[RUSHHEAD666]

I must've posted this 5 or 6 times by now, so I'll try to keep it short and hit the highlights. I was lucky enough to get an invite to an after show party at Madison Square Garden on the first of 2 or 3 nights they were playing there during the counterparts tour. (My buddies who got me in told me that the next night, Sebastian Bach from skid row got into a fight with someone at the party after that 2nd show). So we get comped seats off to the side in the lower bowl, and after the show we head upstairs to the VIP bar/banquet room and wait. I'm hanging out with my best friends and the manager of electric lady studios with her husband, who are friends with my friends--we all geek out for a while about what huge fans we are and what is about to go down. My friend introduces us to her former boss--Atlantic Records big shot (he may have been company president, I forget, but I vividly remember what he looks like/his very spiffy tailored suit). After all this excited chit chat, we were approached and told to go into the VIP area, which we do. A sizeable group of people are just mingling and Alex and Geddy are both chatting, signing things, taking photos with people, etc. a few guests have digital cameras, which were a brand spanking new thing back then, but most people still used film, and we had no camera. Neil was way deep in the area sandwiched in the middle of four other people in a circular booth, and chatting with them. We run into Alex first as he's closet to where we enter the VIP area--we shake hands and thank him. He fails to recognize my friend who worked with them a tiny bit during presto, but he's gracious and sweet and amused/amusing. So we venture over to Geddy's crowd and wait--Neil's booth is just over Geddy's right shoulder, and as the people directly in front of us chat and get a photo, autograph, etc. Neil shimmies out of the booth and ducks into an elevator--I watch and a "oh no way!" pops out of my mouth as I just watch him bail. Truth be told he might have just ran out to the bathroom--I was so star struck, I didn't even think to watch whether he ever came back. At that point my best friend and I are face-to-face with Geddy and I manage to deliver a very brief speech thanking him and his bandmates and letting him know how much they changed my life--at the time I was flirting with a career as a drummer. My friend gave a much more brief but enthusiastic little thank-you, and the vibe was exactly how Geddy described in BTLS--way heavy! I was intense as hell. I think I had started off with "I'm not going to trouble you for a photo or an autograph, I just want to shake your hand and thank you and let you know, blah blah blah..." Geddy replied, "wow, you guys are really laying some heavy shit on me!" My buddy started to excitedly talk some more and gestured with his rum and coke, at which point the little stirrer flipped out of the drink and landed directly on Geddy's left toe of his perfectly shined black leather dress shoe. My buddy literally choked on his sentence, and Geddy gently pat him on the shoulder, saying "it's ok, it's ok!" We all bust out laughing, thank him once again and start circling back,running into Alex again. Later we both agree that the stirrer straw seemed to us to be tumbling in super slow-mo in as it somersaulted downward to bounce off Geddy's foot. Anyway, we were much looser by this time after Geddy broke the serious trance we had been in, and we started chatting with Alex, who was also talking with our other two buddies who brought us. He suddenly stops in the middle of everything and says "WAIT!!! YOU CHANGED YOUR HAIR!" And then he gives my friend a huge hug, realizing that he does remember her. My buddy, says, "I'll never forget the first time I saw you play! It was 2112 tour in Detroit Michigan, I was 16, and wasted!" And without hesitating, Alex added "...and I was, let's see...23 and wasted!" More hilarity ensued, and we all got on our way. My best friend was so excited he forgot about his tour shirt and left it there.

 

Ok that wasn't "keeping it short," at all.

 

That my friend is a great story! Missed it! I was born in San Francisco in 1968 but all of my relatives are from New Jersey! Us Jersey drummers need to stick together! LOL!

 

Cheers!

[grasbo]

I had a dream thar i saw Neil in a diner eating fried chicken.I approached him cautiously knowing that he is not to keen on that idea.Turns out that it was this guy called Forrest Gump and he was going to get himself a prawn boat.Anyway i woke up and realised that it was all a dream.Some great stories here.This is not one of them.

[Fridge]

Never met them, but I did have a dream about it a while ago...

 

My previous house was very large, and we would occasionally take in travelers on a Bed and Breakfast basis if they stopped while passing and saw the sign.

 

I dreamed that the doorbell went and when I answered, Geddy and his family were standing there asking if we had any rooms available.

 

I stood there for several seconds with my mouth opening and closing like a guppy, until for some reason my Brother (who lived 200 miles away) came round the corner and said "ffs man, get a grip...can't you see the man wants a room!"

 

then I woke up....hardly spectacular, but it was unusually vivid and felt real at the time lol.

[The Analog Grownup]

One time at bandcamp ...

 

 

 

 

No, not really. I was once in the same arena as they were playing.

[RushFanForever]

I saw RUSH for the first time in Vancouver, BC at Roger's Arena (June 30th, 2011) on the Time Machine Tour. I attended with new friends who're fellow fans of the band that I got to know as Facebook connections.

 

I connected one of the new friends with one I've known for a few years, who both saw the band individually 30 years ago (June 23, 1981 on the Moving Pictures Tour) in Vancouver, BC at Pacific Coliseum (opening act Goddo), but never met one another before.

 

The one lady friend had two tickets for each of us (with our seats in the stands) on Geddy's side of the stage. Then she was gifted front row tickets by her husband. Her husband declined initially to attend but then changed his mind. So she had this extra ticket that couldn't be used. I suggested to my guy friend to buy the ticket from her so he could attend.

 

The guy friend attended the pre-concert celebration with myself and the new friends from the above mentioned Facebook connections. He gave my new lady friend his ticket stub (from the June 23, 1981 concert they both attended) as a gift. She never kept her copy and was grateful.

 

A few minutes after my guy friend and I were sitting down in our seats, I turned to my left and in walks Ben Mink. I shook his hand and said 'thank you' for his contributions to RUSH and other music acts like FM, k.d. lang, and Heart that he's collaborated with. Ben was sitting a row behind me two seats down and his wife and two daughters were in front of me two rows down.

 

I avoided asking Ben for a photo out of politeness, as I didn't want to bother him from enjoying the concert with his family.

 

Fast forward, I had the opportunity to meet Geddy and Alex on the R40 Tour (July 17, 2015) in Vancouver, BC (courtesy of an individual who performed with one of the opening acts that I became a fan of because of Alex) that I know online. Ben was late attending the 'meet and greet', but bumped into him as I left the area walking down the hall a couple of minutes later. I finally got my photo opportunity with Ben and talked with him for five minutes. I knew Ben was going to perform 'Losing It' later that night with Geddy, Alex, and Neil onstage. What made it obvious was Ben's 'in-ear monitors' dangling from his neck from rehearsing the song with the guys at soundcheck.

 

I've also met Jacob Moon and saw him a few times live. He'd tell the story of meeting Geddy, Alex, and Neil and performing 'Subdivisions' at the 2010 Canadian Songwriters Hall Of Fame for the guys live and then meeting them afterwards.

Edited August 6, 2017 by RushFanForever

[RushFanForever]

My friend introduces us to her former boss--Atlantic Records big shot (he may have been company president, I forget, but I vividly remember what he looks like/his very spiffy tailored suit).

 

It's either former Atlantic Records CEO Ahmet Ertegun or former Atlantic Records Co-CEO Val Azzoli.

 

From the May 15, 2004 Billboard magazine 'Spotlight On Rush - Trio Celebrates 30 Years Of Innovation And Success' article.

 

Friends, Fans On What Rush Means To Them

 

"There are only a handful of artists who have been able to create their own musical universe-combining a signature sound and vision with career longevity and the grass-roots support of truly passionate fans. Rush stands tall among this elite group. Rush came to Atlantic 15 years after they released their first album-already far more than a lifetime for most bands. And yet they have now spent 15 years, half of their career, with us-an era during which they have made some of the most impressive, and I would predict long-lasting, music of their many years together. Three decades on, Geddy, Alex and Neil continue to evolve as musicians and composers, remaining a trio of undiminished musicality and boundless creativity. Atlantic Records is honored and proud to be associated with one of the most exceptional musical outfits in the history of rock." - Ahmet Ertegun, founding chairman, the Atlantic Group

 

"Of all the bands I've worked with, not only have all four of us become very close friends, I've never had the privilege of working with three better individuals in my life. One of the reasons why I stayed in the music business throughout those hard times at the beginning is because of them, and they made life very pleasurable for both me and my family; we're all still friends. You can't say that about very many people after all these years." - Val Azzoli, former Atlantic Group Co-CEO

 

I also remember reading an interview with Neil Peart when the band were just signed to Atlantic Records and that Neil mentioned Ahmet Ertegun was a fan of his drumming and made a positive comment of "we've got to get you playing jazz".

Edited August 6, 2017 by RushFanForever

[Lurkst]

Tim Commerford has gone into more detail of his meeting with Neil he talked about in the documentary. Certainly seems to have been an awkward situation!...

 

https://www.alternativenation.net/rage-against-the-machine-bassist-rush-drummer-real-mean-kind-of-a-dick/

 

[Laurabw]

Well, as some of know I was one of the lucky people to win entry to the Sirius town hall meeting November 13, 2015 after R40 was over. I was also lucky enough to sit in the front row with Alex a mere 5 feet away and Geddy right next to him. (and Michael Moore next to Geddy but who cares.)

 

As part of winning I got to ask them one of the questions that I had submitted in the contest. There is audio, no video unfortunately. When it was my turn to ask my question, Michael Moore introduced me to them and one of them, I forget which one, said hi Laura, which was a thrill in and of itself, LOL. And of course having them sitting so close right in front of me for the entire interview was out of this world.

 

Anyway after the show we got to meet them and get a picture but it was all very fast. Geddy was kind of cool, but Alex was very warm and friendly. After the picture I remember shaking Alex's hand a second time and saying thank you.

 

And that was it, the whole meet and greet photo was a minute, maybe. But of course never to be forgotten.

 

I don't know how to post just my little part, but here's the link to a YouTube someone else posted, if anyone is so inclined to walk down memory lane and hear it again. My question comes around 20:00 minutes in.

Edited August 19, 2017 by Laurabw

[BenjaminW]

I was living in Austin during the Counterparts tour, and Rush did a Rockline interview the day before their Austin show. We (my ex-wife and I) figured they would be broadcasting from the local rock station, KLBJ, so we drove over to the station about 15 minutes before the interview was to air. The parking lot was almost completely empty. There were a couple of guys parked in the lot who had the same thought. They said they'd been there for about an hour and hadn't seen any activity, so we headed home and turned on the radio to listen to the interview.

 

At some point the interviewer let out that Rush was at the UT radio studio -- KUT -- so we grabbed my guitar and raced down to the Communications building on campus, where the radio station was located. We circled the building looking for a place to park when we noticed an idling Lincoln Towncar, complete with a driver, waiting in the alley behind the building. We also noticed a small knot of people, maybe 30 or 40, waiting by the back door to the studio. We quickly parked the car and joined the group of waiting fans.

 

Over time that group roughly tripled in size, and at some point near the end of the interview someone came out the back door and told the group that we'd have to clear a path to allow Geddy and Alex access to the car, which had pulled up closer to the door.. We complied and shortly thereafter, Geddy and Alex appeared. That nice path wasn't so nice after that! Geddy seemed more motivated to get to the car than Alex, who was hanging back near the door joking with fans.

 

Eventually Geddy moved closer to where we were standing, hastily signing autographs along the way. Some guy introduced himself as "Paul" and shook Geddy's hand. Apparently that was all he wanted to do because he didn't say anything else. A Neo-Max-Zoom-Dweebie of a Rush fan (you all know the type) squeezed in next to me and handed Geddy a HFY tour book for him to autograph. I took that opportunity to thank Geddy for all the good music they've produced over the years and to tell him that they were an inspiration to me and many others. He nodded at me and said "you're welcome" and handed the autograph to the Rush geek, who took it from him and said to Geddy, "but Neil was supposed to sign it". Geddy and I exchanged a "WTF" look and then he moved on to sign more autographs as he made his way to the car.

 

By this time Alex was also headed to the car and also by this time there was no path to speak of. The flow of the crowd was such that it was clear Alex would not be passing close enough to me for him to autograph my guitar, so I summoned my own Neo-Maxi-Zoom-Dweebie and yelled "King Lerxst!" and for a moment everyone went quiet (they probably thought I was gonna' shoot the guy or something). That got Alex's attention and he looked over at me. I took advantage of the hush in the crowd and said, "Would you please sign my guitar". He smiled a big smile and said, "Of course, my loyal subject".

 

He made his way over to me and I handed him my guitar and then offered him the brand new Sharpee I had brought with me. He instead grabbed someone else's Sharpee, which wasn't new at all. He turned my guitar over in his hands a couple of times and asked, "where should I sign it?" I said, "anywhere is fine, as long as it's visible". He then chose a spot, signed it, and handed it back to me. "Thanks man", I said. He said "you're welcome" and then proceeded on to the car which now was only a few yards away.

 

The next day I took my guitar to Guitar Resurrection and asked what I could do to preserve the autograph, which, because it was signed with an old Sharpee, wasn't particularly bold. They suggested I cover it with some clear pick guard material which I promptly did. Over the years the autograph has faded even more, but the memory of that day is still as sharp as ever.

You got any pictures of the guitar with the autograph?

[Lorraine]

Tim Commerford has gone into more detail of his meeting with Neil he talked about in the documentary. Certainly seems to have been an awkward situation!...

 

https://www.alternat...kind-of-a-dick/

 

Oh. How interesting.

Edited August 19, 2017 by Lorraine

[JARG]

I was living in Austin during the Counterparts tour, and Rush did a Rockline interview the day before their Austin show. We (my ex-wife and I) figured they would be broadcasting from the local rock station, KLBJ, so we drove over to the station about 15 minutes before the interview was to air. The parking lot was almost completely empty. There were a couple of guys parked in the lot who had the same thought. They said they'd been there for about an hour and hadn't seen any activity, so we headed home and turned on the radio to listen to the interview.

 

At some point the interviewer let out that Rush was at the UT radio studio -- KUT -- so we grabbed my guitar and raced down to the Communications building on campus, where the radio station was located. We circled the building looking for a place to park when we noticed an idling Lincoln Towncar, complete with a driver, waiting in the alley behind the building. We also noticed a small knot of people, maybe 30 or 40, waiting by the back door to the studio. We quickly parked the car and joined the group of waiting fans.

 

Over time that group roughly tripled in size, and at some point near the end of the interview someone came out the back door and told the group that we'd have to clear a path to allow Geddy and Alex access to the car, which had pulled up closer to the door.. We complied and shortly thereafter, Geddy and Alex appeared. That nice path wasn't so nice after that! Geddy seemed more motivated to get to the car than Alex, who was hanging back near the door joking with fans.

 

Eventually Geddy moved closer to where we were standing, hastily signing autographs along the way. Some guy introduced himself as "Paul" and shook Geddy's hand. Apparently that was all he wanted to do because he didn't say anything else. A Neo-Max-Zoom-Dweebie of a Rush fan (you all know the type) squeezed in next to me and handed Geddy a HFY tour book for him to autograph. I took that opportunity to thank Geddy for all the good music they've produced over the years and to tell him that they were an inspiration to me and many others. He nodded at me and said "you're welcome" and handed the autograph to the Rush geek, who took it from him and said to Geddy, "but Neil was supposed to sign it". Geddy and I exchanged a "WTF" look and then he moved on to sign more autographs as he made his way to the car.

 

By this time Alex was also headed to the car and also by this time there was no path to speak of. The flow of the crowd was such that it was clear Alex would not be passing close enough to me for him to autograph my guitar, so I summoned my own Neo-Maxi-Zoom-Dweebie and yelled "King Lerxst!" and for a moment everyone went quiet (they probably thought I was gonna' shoot the guy or something). That got Alex's attention and he looked over at me. I took advantage of the hush in the crowd and said, "Would you please sign my guitar". He smiled a big smile and said, "Of course, my loyal subject".

 

He made his way over to me and I handed him my guitar and then offered him the brand new Sharpee I had brought with me. He instead grabbed someone else's Sharpee, which wasn't new at all. He turned my guitar over in his hands a couple of times and asked, "where should I sign it?" I said, "anywhere is fine, as long as it's visible". He then chose a spot, signed it, and handed it back to me. "Thanks man", I said. He said "you're welcome" and then proceeded on to the car which now was only a few yards away.

 

The next day I took my guitar to Guitar Resurrection and asked what I could do to preserve the autograph, which, because it was signed with an old Sharpee, wasn't particularly bold. They suggested I cover it with some clear pick guard material which I promptly did. Over the years the autograph has faded even more, but the memory of that day is still as sharp as ever.

You got any pictures of the guitar with the autograph?

 

Plenty of pictures of the guitar (and a few videos of it in action at various gigs), but unfortunately no good pics of the autograph (not from a lack of trying). Here's a pic of me holding the guitar, and our bassist pointing at the autograph (while I point at his concert shirt). This was so soon after having had the guitar signed I hadn't even covered it with the pick guard stuff yet. It might have been a couple of days later that I did that, rather than the next day.

 

Edited August 19, 2017 by JARG

[Union 5-3992]

Never met them but Geddy waved at me (and the other 5 people standing behind the arena) as his limo drove by

[djflex]

I once got coffee at a tim hortons that the band had visited 3 years prior

[Lorraine]

Never met them but Geddy waved at me (and the other 5 people standing behind the arena) as his limo drove by

How do you know it was you he was waving at?

[Union 5-3992]

Never met them but Geddy waved at me (and the other 5 people standing behind the arena) as his limo drove by

How do you know it was you he was waving at?

Because I was standing closest of course

[Lorraine]

Never met them but Geddy waved at me (and the other 5 people standing behind the arena) as his limo drove by

How do you know it was you he was waving at?

Because I was standing closest of course

Oh.

[lerxt1990]

I took that opportunity to thank Geddy for all the good music they've produced over the years and to tell him that they were an inspiration to me and many others. He nodded at me and said "you're welcome" and handed the autograph to the Rush geek, who took it from him and said to Geddy, "but Neil was supposed to sign it". Geddy and I exchanged a "WTF" look and then he moved on to sign more autographs as he made his way to the car.

 

 

Buahahahahaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[driventotheedge]

See my sig. Had front row in '11 on the TM tour. We (wife and I) were basically directly in front of Al even though our seats were pretty much center. Just the way they set up their stage. Made eye contact with him numerous times and got several smiles while rockin' the fukk out! Also made eye contact and got a smile from Ged on the R30 tour when in the 3rd row right in front of him singing along with him on Subdivisions, same venue. Edited August 21, 2017 by driventotheedge