Show Don't Tell Posted February 26, 2008 Share Posted February 26, 2008 I played the keyboard/piano extensively until I started to get into Rush. When I did, I was extremely enticed by the intricate work of Alex on the guitar. I just knew I had to learn how to play. So, I bought an ol' Tradition Acoustic guitar, and the first real riff I learned to play was the opening riff from Working Man. I was so impressed on how I could play it! So, then came the tabs from the inter-web. Even if I couldn't play one bar of the song, I just figured out what it was like. Just to play one chord of Mission, or Marathon, or La Villa, etc. Now, well, I've gotten better. Alex has been a huge influence on me to play the guitar. I even copy his style a little (e.g. - In La Villa at the A-F transition, the "arm-around-the-head" move ). And lastly, he's inspired me to just play. And my love for music and Rush has kept me happy and still learning guitar to this day. Now, as good as this may seem as far as work ethics and effort, I am no where near even amateur! I mean, most of the songs I can only play a section -- I can play the chorus of The Pass, the little ending part of A Farewell To Kings, almost all of Bravado, and a fragment of Afterimage, and some more, too. I mean most of it is not up-to-speed, or sounds perfectly correct (I need to work on my barre chording). But, I will get good, and I believe that, because "a spirit with a vision is a dream with a mission". "A spirit with a vision is a dream..." wow, wow, wow-wow, wow wooooow; wow wow wow woooooooow wow wow wow, wow, wooow, wow wo woooooow wow wow woooow wowowow wow wow-wow wow wow wow wow wow wow wow wow wow... wowow wowow wowow wowowowowowowow... ( Sorry! That Missions solo is amazing, though! ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maestro Posted February 26, 2008 Share Posted February 26, 2008 QUOTE (Show Don't Tell @ Feb 25 2008, 08:33 PM) Now, well, I've gotten better. Alex has been a huge influence on me to play the guitar. I even copy his style a little (e.g. - In La Villa at the A-F transition, the "arm-around-the-head" move ). And lastly, he's inspired me to just play. And my love for music and Rush has kept me happy and still learning guitar to this day. I may be wrong, but Alex may have picked that move up from Pete Townsend... ...(?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rushbass Posted February 26, 2008 Share Posted February 26, 2008 Why yes, Geddy inspired me to take up the bass (one of my first and main influences)... bass is my main instrument... BTW, I also play some guitar, inspired by Alex... and know more Rush songs on guitar, than from any other group! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ya_Big_Tree Posted February 26, 2008 Share Posted February 26, 2008 This was actually a very tangled web about how all this happened. When I was young and I first heard Rush I was captivated by Alex. I had never heard anyone play guitar like that before. But it didn't inspire me to learn how to play. In highschool I was kinda inspired by Geddy to try out the bass. So I played bass for my highschool years. Then just last year, I tried to learn guitar... because I was keeping on listening to Alex and I kept going "Oh Man I wanna be like ALex!" So I learned how to play a couple Rush songs on the guitar. A little while ago I had a dream. I had dream I was at this music workshop and Neil was there. It was a workshop for children and everyone there got to play along to the music. So Neil was handing out instruments to the kids and of course Im there going "OMG I wanna play!! ME ME ME ME!!" And Neil was holding a miniture guitar and I kept screaming "I want it I want it!" And he goes to me "No you can't be Alex" and then he hands me a metal pot and a whisk and tells me to drum. Now I'm drumming and I've never been happier. I know it's kinda weird...but I guess Rush kinda put me on the path that I am musically. It's been a long road ever since I was 9 years old but I've loved every minute of it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YYZ Working Man Posted February 26, 2008 Share Posted February 26, 2008 drums= NP = inspiration =me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wordsmith Posted February 26, 2008 Share Posted February 26, 2008 I was playing drums in the high school band when I discovered Rush. Of course it influenced me, but I am purely an amateur who plays for recreation. I have never applied the time, dedication, or focus it takes to progress beyond that. I don't suck, but I also know I'm not great, it is endlessly challenging and gratifying, and I continue to get better and better. The members of Rush have inspired me by demonstrating that talent is great, but not enough; that excellence is achieved when talent meets dedication, focus, determination, and lots and lots of practice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Del_Duio Posted February 26, 2008 Share Posted February 26, 2008 Les Claypool inspired me to play bass back in '91 when I saw the video for "Jerry was a Racecar Driver" on Headbanger's Ball (MTV used to play videos!). Geddy inspires me to get GOOD at it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Del_Duio Posted February 26, 2008 Share Posted February 26, 2008 QUOTE (rushbass @ Feb 26 2008, 01:07 AM) Why yes, Geddy inspired me to take up the bass (one of my first and main influences)... bass is my main instrument... BTW, I also play some guitar, inspired by Alex... and know more Rush songs on guitar, than from any other group! You know it's funny but although I have played some guitar on the side for years I can play almost zero Rush songs on it still. Alex is so underrated, well maybe not here but everyplace else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rushringleader Posted February 26, 2008 Share Posted February 26, 2008 I play bass now because of Geddy Lee. Until I heard how he played the bass, I never acknowledged the bass. Now its what I listen for. People always say, ah the bass is disposable. Then I say listen to this, *puts on a Rush tune*, ok maybe the bass can be good. By the way, my axe, Geddy Lee Jazz Bass Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thezakyoung Posted February 26, 2008 Share Posted February 26, 2008 Geddy inspired me to play bass Pretty much all I've learned to play is Rush. Which is good because since it's so hard, you learn to play a lot quicker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thezakyoung Posted February 26, 2008 Share Posted February 26, 2008 Geddy inspired me to play bass Pretty much all I've learned to play is Rush. Which is good because since it's so hard, you learn to play a lot quicker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psionic11 Posted February 27, 2008 Share Posted February 27, 2008 Being raised by a military dad overseas who didn't even like Elvis, I have this huge musical void for the pre-teen years. First time I even KNEW about this concept called "radio" was when I got a clock radio in 8th grade. But I did have musician friends from middle school band (I played trombone), two in particular, that played guitar, you guessed it, they were really into Rush (Alex Lifeson was a god). I would hang out at their houses and watch them play. I even did the intro to Subdivisions on the piano at Albert's house when I could. When I moved away to Orlando for high school, I got my first acoustic guitar in 11th grade, got my first record player (some old used unit that had "Quadrasound" speakers and 8-track built-in), and that always had ESL, Hemispheres, and Pyromania on it. I also had the thick black Rush bible with sheet music all the way up to Signals. So, all my guitar playing is Alex on the acoustic. The first song I ever wrote is an instrumental with Alex chords and chord progressions all over the place. Then I bought a synth (Roland Juno 106) in 12th grade, and the first songs I learned were Subdivisions, The Weapon, Countdown, 1984, Jump, I'll Wait, Big Money... I joined my first rock band, a 5-piece, with me doing the backup rhythm guitar on keys, but unfortunately we didn't do any Rush at all -- the guitar player and his brother drummer were Van Halen fans. Can you imagine it? A synth with that Jump/Subdivision sound doing Iron Maiden, Dio, Twisted Sister, Dokken, Van Halen... Later, myself now in the Air Force in New Hampshire, after years of listening to Rush, the urge to play Geddy's bass lines, more than just listen to them, finally overcame me. I went to the local music store, bought a bass guitar (and another synth, the Korg DW-8000) with the sole purpose to learn as many Rush songs as I could. In the many bands I was in later over the years, some of the best jamming times were when we did Rush covers. Especially Subdivisions playing both keys and bass (and sometimes even doing lead vocals) just like Geddy So, um yeah, you could say that Rush inpsired me to pick up the guitar, keys, and bass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slambozzio Posted February 27, 2008 Share Posted February 27, 2008 I got into playing drums in year 10 at school .... this was also the time that Moving Pictures came out. I saw a pic of Neils kit in a Modern Drummer magazine and i was hooked right away. Although my chops were nowhere near Neils (who's are) i was inspired to play a lot more and try things that weren't in my ability range Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xredsectorx Posted February 27, 2008 Share Posted February 27, 2008 they are the reason i started playing guitar and they are the reason i'm still playing 3 years later. thanks guys Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RushAubie Posted February 27, 2008 Share Posted February 27, 2008 Geddy inspired me to take up the bass. That was over 20 years ago and I have loved every minute of it. Know lots of Rush stuff but have also enjoyed learning many other artists such as Yes, Van Halen, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ofsalesmen Posted February 27, 2008 Share Posted February 27, 2008 Right when I started playing bass, I got this instructional book and the first picture on it was Geddy playing his doubleneck. http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a181/vapordynamyx/MVC-007X.jpg I had never seen such a glorious picture. And I remember the first time I saw video footage of that beast in the music video for Limelight when I got the Chronicles DVD. It's inspired me to this day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Choose/the/light Posted February 27, 2008 Share Posted February 27, 2008 that thing is a beast, the Xanadu video on R30 special features is awesome with it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iloverush2112 Posted February 27, 2008 Share Posted February 27, 2008 QUOTE (hope70 @ Feb 25 2008, 03:39 PM) Just curious how many musicians are on the board and if you were inspired by one of the members to play an instrument. I've been sucking at acoustic guitar for a while now. I mean really suck. I guess because I'm not 100% driven and don't practice, but I was influenced by Al. Also been taking a shot at the drums, but living in a quiet 3 family house on the middle floor, well it's just not realistic for practicing. This Guy's seriously influenced ... you gotta Check it out !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metaldad Posted February 27, 2008 Share Posted February 27, 2008 neil was not the first guy to make me want to play drum's but he made me want to play drum's better Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grapes_under_pressure Posted February 27, 2008 Share Posted February 27, 2008 QUOTE (hope70 @ Feb 26 2008, 01:17 AM) QUOTE (AstroTama @ Feb 25 2008, 06:52 PM) I started playing the drums a few years before I found out about Rush. But, listening to "Moving Pictures" changed everything and inspired me to improve up to this day. Neil has been and still is a major influence, even while playing music nowhere close in style and sound as Rush music. Using your imagination, not being afraid of experimenting while serving the music, put lots of heart into the performance... all of that I learned from The Professor. I'm just an amateur drummer but there is never a time when I sit behind the drums and not apply something I learned from Rush. To see where I am at the moment, for those interested in this kind of things, go: http://www.youtube.com/user/Astrotama Enjoy! Dude, before I read this post I was watching you perform Available light. Awesome. You are no way an amateur. ITS YOU!!!!! i have watched alot of ur vids!!!! you are SO AWESOME dude!! but also. i was inspired to pick up guitar from Alex. neil just makes me want drums, i feel i would be better at drumming than guitar but i am happy with what i have. guitars make me happy. And geddy has inspired me to make full use of my fingers, so i play with a pick and fingers, and i have learnt very simple bass parts from rush on guitar... if that makes sence... like scars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grapes_under_pressure Posted February 27, 2008 Share Posted February 27, 2008 QUOTE (iloverush2112 @ Feb 27 2008, 09:36 PM) QUOTE (hope70 @ Feb 25 2008, 03:39 PM) Just curious how many musicians are on the board and if you were inspired by one of the members to play an instrument. I've been sucking at acoustic guitar for a while now. I mean really suck. I guess because I'm not 100% driven and don't practice, but I was influenced by Al. Also been taking a shot at the drums, but living in a quiet 3 family house on the middle floor, well it's just not realistic for practicing. This Guy's seriously influenced ... you gotta Check it out !! not to sound repetitive... but wow!!! its you! some an for you! that peformance kicked arse. will you do more clone songs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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