dream & vapour

Firstly: Is it acceptable to play an F#11 chord (aka, the Hemispheres intro chord) during the outro of Tom Sawyer? Absolutely! Do your own thang. Did Alex typically play an F#11 chord (2,4,4,3,0,0) during the outro? No. He typically played a simple F# power chord (2,4,4,x,x,x). But, finger your fretboard to play a F#sus4 (2,4,4,4,0,x), and let that whole thing ring out occasionally. Heck, you could even ring out an F#7sus4 (2,4,4,4,0,0). Maybe you won't like the aural taste of that open E when you're supposed to be stepping out of E into F#. Maybe you'll savor it. Another possible fretboard excursion would be playing--as a substitute for the E power chord--an E6sus4 (0,2,2,4,2,5). Or follow me into the realm of the exotic and esoteric and throw in an E5add14 (0,7,9,9,0,11). P.S. I should qualify my assertion about Alex typically not playing the F#11 during the outro (before I catch flak). When I was but a wee lad, this was true. But later, he seemed to use it by default. One need only watch the Snakes & Arrows or Time Machine performances, and there's The Alex Lifeson Chord®.

Neil's grievous error is easy enough (like a sore thumb!) to detect. It occurs immediately prior to his break into this section:

John at Cygnus-X1.net offers an indexed archive of Neil's blog at: https://www.cygnus-x1.net/links/rush/peart-news-weather-and-sports.php

. . . which, in this case could overlap with that old joke 'how can you spot a happy cyclist?'. Anyhow, here's a sign--set amidst beautiful countryside--seemingly made to bring a grin to a drummer's face: https://www.google.c...!7i13312!8i6656

The 'whip cracking noise' is a 1/4" piece of plywood being enthusiastically smacked upon a wooden stool (with a flavourful dash of reverb). The assertion of wind chimes being attached to said plywood is a case of somebody misremembering a wee bit.

Upon mention of Rush group photos, the first image which comes to mind is the great group portrait by the legendary Yousuf Karsh, which graced the back of, er, Grace Under Pressure. It was cleverly composed, showing the guys as they would appear to audience members during live performances: left to right, Alex, Neil and Geddy. They sat for the Yousuf Karsh session on February 16, 1984, while they were still recording p/g at Le Studio (wrapping recording in March '84). If you are not familiar with the work of Yousuf Karsh, it's worthwhile to peruse his catalogue. To say it is comprised of a Who's Who of 20th century figures would be an understatement. Included amongst these figures is Ernest Hemingway, whose line 'guts [courage] are grace under pressure' inspired the album title.

When recording Signals, Neil was using Tama wood timbales, with Remo Ambassador Clear heads. I doubt you will disappointed by the snappy sound of your new LPs.

A most appropriate day for Countdown, as on this date in 1981, our three protagonists found themselves at the Kennedy Space Center, watching Columbia's maiden flight launch. Bright and early--well before 7 a.m.--after playing San Antonio the night before. They were at KSC for the originally scheduled launch of April 10th, which was scrubbed. They were zipping from Texas to Florida and back a couple times via chartered jet in order to experience the event.

Mike Clark's response:

Have you tried applying a lubricant, such as Big Bends Nut Sauce, to the nut slots? You could apply a bit to the bridge saddles as well. It's possible your tuning machine heads have too much 'play', and an upgrade may be in order. But trying a bit of lubricant first may be a very economical (and effective!) solution.

No, this is not from the Signals tour book. Rather, it is from the murky depths of the NASA archives--the communications logs of STS-1. Yours is a great question. Like you, for years I wondered, "What music? Perhaps Bob was playing Red Barchetta as Columbia burned proverbial rubber 'round the globe.(?)". Now the truth is known. If one were to draw a Venn diagram, with one set representing Rush fans, and the other set representing space program scientists and technicians, a rather significant overlap of these two sets would be indicated.

The music referenced in this interaction between CAPCOM and STS-1 is--believe it or not--Waltzing Matilda performed by Slim Dusty. Bob Crippen played it on a cassette player, as Columbia passed over Australia (nighttime in Australia). This occurred just prior to a communications blackout period (LOS--loss of signal). Thus, CAPCOM was thanking Bob before they entered LOS. The 'see you in Madrid' is snipped from another portion of the spaceflight. In reality, Columbia would have next linked to CAPCOM via Tula Peak, New Mexico.