Thunder Bay Rush

If Metallica, Megadeath and Iron Maiden are "metal," then Rush is not. Like Gene Simmons said in the BTLS doc, "What kind of music is Rush? It's Rush."

When in doubt... revert back to Xanada! One question ... where was Geddy's black Ricky double? I never saw that red one before.

I saw the TM Tour at the Molson Amphitheatre in Toronto... sold out, packed and the boys played SO well. I was in the back with a couple buddies, but my brother was in the fifth row, centre. He said they "didn't miss a beat." When they played caravan I knew it would be a wicked album.... and it was!

Okay, I admit it... I hate practical jokes.

These lists are always ridiculous. So many great drummers left off the list and too many "popular" ones on the list.

I still say that Thomas Lang is THE best drummer alive today.

I played the original version of Tears for my wife. I asked her if she knew who it was (she is a very casual Rush fan, only because of me)... she didn't know, but she LOVED the song. When I told her it was Rush, she couldn't believe it. "Are you sure that's not a woman singing that?" I told her that when Geddy was 23, he sounded like a woman... on occasion.

A bag of Miss Vicki's potato chips (Black Pepper & Lime, please) costs more than my education...

Yes, I have seen kRush on the Youtubes... they are also excellent. I am amazed at just how good some of these guys are... and the money they must spend to be able to properly play Rush material... what's the cost of a Ricky bass / guitar double? Or, the Gibson, six and twelve string double-neck that Lifeson plays? I don't know but these guitars must be in the $5,000 - $7,000 range? Then, the synths... pedals, effects... oh... and the drums. The FRIGGIN' DRUMS! Just having enough mics to cover all those goddam drums and cymbals would be pricey enough!

I remember once back in the late 70s, I listening to a radio interview with Steve Hackett, who had just left Genesis. They got on the topic of other great musicians and Steve mentioned Geddy... his comment went something like: "There's this new guy from Canada, in a band called Rush. I'm not a fan of his voice, but he plays a great bass, synthesizers, Taurus pedals... plus, sings all at the same time. I don't know how he does it, really." This, coming from Steve Hackett... huge.

I wonder what would the Rush road would have looked like had Terry stayed on and produced all the albums. I think it would have been even more prolific. I always liked those earlier albums, the way they sounded, the way they were engineered, produced... Would Terry have swayed the boys away from the so-called, "synth period" and kept them as a kick-ass power trio, minus the one million guitar and keys tracks per song?

did you post this before, it seems familiar No... not that I remember. You may have read it somewhere else because people do take things from my site and repost it elsewhere. No... not that I remember. You may have read it somewhere else because people do take things from my site and repost it elsewhere.

Here's one of my rants that I recently wrote for my website - http://ruggeddude.com/rugged-rant/valentines-day/ Not afraid to speak my mind, eh?

I thought (okay, I was hoping) this was gonna be a blowjob thread...

If this is supposed to be a joke, I missed it. Why do people say this type of thing on a RUSH FAN SITE? No wonder Neil avoids fans when he can. I would too.

IMO, this band, Lotus Land, is the best tribute band in the world... at some points, they actually sound better than Rush. No, I am not drunk...

We could put a wig on this guy... he'd be sort of girl then...

If you're talking about YYZ, it's one of the easiest Rush songs to play, drum wise.

Poor little bugger has his tenor toms set up backwards... brings back memories though. Holy SHIT I'm gettin' old!!!

This comment sums it up exactly. Thomas Lang is a MONSTER drummer, but in a band, he'd have a hard time showing us HOW good he is. Tony Royster Jr., same thing. He did a tour with Kanye West... poor man must have been bored out of his skull. Must have been good pay...

Neil is and will always be my favourite drummer... has been since 1976. But, (and this is coming from me, a drummer,) he really is over-rated. Not by miles, but he is. He is a great rock drummer, one of the best, for sure and perfect for Rush. But, if you put him up against people like Mike Mangini, Mike Portnoy, Tony Royster Jr., Dave Weckl and especially, Thomas Lang... look out. No comparison. Google "Thomas Lang drum solo" on the Youtubes... you will be in shock. He is WAY better than even Buddy Rich was at his peak. Try this one -

I hope I don't sound like a peckerhead, but The Camera Eye is easy to play on the drums... and, it's one of my favourite Rush songs of all time. I'm glad they made it the length they did... it would not work as a 4 minute song.

Caress of Steel has a great drum sound. I loved those Slingerland drums. They used to be one of the most popular brands...

Yes, to all the comments about coolness and all that, but one more consideration, is that back in the AFTK Tour days, they played on stages that were a lot smaller than those of future tours. Maybe setting up a guitar on a stand wasn't practical... not enough room? Okay, never mind... it just looks friggin' COOL!

I've never noticed that tuner box thing, but I gotta say, this picture - http://media.gettyim...ure-id109327955 - is a great one. Kind of surprised though, that during this timeframe, they would play such a small venue. I think it was somewhere in England... Birmingham or something??? I've heard that place described as an "old cattle barn" in the middle of a field. Anyone know?