Tombstone Mountain Posted September 11, 2012 Share Posted September 11, 2012 http://www.grammy.com/news/the-spirit-of-rush The Spirit Of Rush Rush frontman Geddy Lee discusses the band's upcoming tour, the challenges of picking a set list and the reason for their longevity Rush's Geddy Lee September 05, 2012 -- 11:27 am By Nick Krewen / GRAMMY.com For nearly 40 years, Toronto-based progressive power trio Rush have been the thinking man's rock band. On the way to refining and defining themselves as peerless musicians, vocalist/bass player Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson and drummer/lyricist Neil Peart have stayed true to their artistic vision across 20 studio albums while thrilling live audiences around the world. The trio's legacy and sphere of influence were the subjects of Rush: Beyond The Lighted Stage, an acclaimed documentary that received a GRAMMY nomination for Best Long Form Music Video in 2010. The newest chapter of Rush is centered upon their latest studio album, Clockwork Angels, a steam punk-inspired tale of searching for personal fulfillment in a world of disillusion. The album resonated with fans, debuting at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 in June. Just prior to the launch of a North American tour to support Clockwork Angels, Lee discussed the challenges of touring today, his creative relationship with Peart the lyricist, the secret to Rush's longevity, and what he feels is the ultimate musical compliment. Your first concert for the upcoming tour is Sept. 7 in Manchester, N.H. Is touring easier these days? Easier? I find it more stressful than when I was younger. I think the physical part of it takes its toll on me, and the other guys I know for sure. Staying healthy becomes a more difficult challenge, and as the tour winds on, nerves fray in a different way than they used to. Although, you have more confidence than when you were younger, and more command of your instrument [and], as a result, more command of your audience's attention, which makes it easier. There is kind of a physical price you pay as the tour winds on, whereas when I was younger I could be in almost any condition, get out there and bang it off. I'm grateful for the audiences that we have, wherever we go. But it's a difficult thing for me to do right now. With a new album and such a vast catalog, how do you choose the set list? Oh man, it's hard. You rehearse it all and then you start whittling it back. It just becomes tougher every year. It's a good problem to have because it's the result of a long career, but it's hard to pick the songs. You don't want to disappoint people by leaving their favorite song out. At the same time, you try to [play] a [new] old song. Trying to keep the balance is tricky. When Neil approached you with the Clockwork Angels concept, how did you personally relate to it? Do you have to identify with it in order to compose the music for it? Yeah, and it's always a different experience. Some of his lyrics I respond to right away, and really don't require a lot of discussion because I can just feel what he's trying to say, and I can instantly see a way of expressing that musically. And sometimes it's very hard for me. Sometimes I just cannot get into the same headspace, and that's when either I just can't make that happen, or it requires a lot of conversation and a lot of editing back and forth until we get on the same page. It's a wonderful relationship because Neil is completely open. When I get into it with him, we can talk quite openly about where it needs to go. What do you think is the reason for Rush's longevity? It's a little mysterious to me. There's a particular obvious chemical reaction we have with each other as players. We all like making the same kind of music, which I think is the one thing that kills a lot of bands: the fact that their tastes start changing, and the thing they want to put in their music is not something the other guys agree with. We don't have that problem here. The other thing that breaks up most bands is interpersonal relationships. We don't have that problem either, because we do get along well and we respect each other. Most of the time the biggest concern we have is, who is going to say something funnier? Where we get into one-upmanship is in the comedy department, not the music department. I think those things combined have really helped keep this band going. Rush have been nominated for seven GRAMMY Awards, including six in the Best Rock Instrumental Performance category. Would it be a career milestone to win a GRAMMY? I think it would be nice to win one. It's nice that we get the nomination, and the rock instrumental category seems to be the only one that really kind of suits us. Of course, winning any award is a huge compliment, but it's not something that you set out to do. It's just kind of a nice bonus that says your work is well-received. When a group like Rush has influenced and inspired so many musicians, I imagine many of them bring it to your attention. We get musicians coming to our shows all the time. They want to come back and say, "Hi," and share their Rush experience growing up. To me, that is just the ultimate compliment as a musician. You cannot get a higher compliment as a musician than from another musician. That is always a treat for me, and it's a great way for me to meet the younger players and hear what they're all about and share some of their experiences. So all around, it's very beneficial. (Nick Krewen is a Toronto-based journalist who has written for The Toronto Star, TV Guide, Billboard, Country Music and was a consultant for the National Film Board's music industry documentary Dream Machine.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tombstone Mountain Posted September 11, 2012 Author Share Posted September 11, 2012 More exposure for Clockwork Angels from Grammy.com...most people responded in the negative with a poll that I did, heck BU2B2 got 7 votes out of 77 What song will be nominated for a Grammy? Caravan [ 1 ] [1.28%] BU2B [ 0 ] [0.00%] Clockwork Angels [ 5 ] [6.41%] The Anarchist [ 2 ] [2.56%] Carnies [ 0 ] [0.00%] Halo Effect [ 0 ] [0.00%] Seven Cities of Gold [ 1 ] [1.28%] The Wreckers [ 4 ] [5.13%] Headlong Flight [ 18 ] [23.08%] BU2B2 [ 7 ] [8.97%] Wish Them Well [ 1 ] [1.28%] The Garden [ 12 ] [15.38%] No Way, No How, No Grammy! [ 26 ] [33.33%] Total Votes: 77 This could happen...how cool would that be? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rushgoober Posted September 11, 2012 Share Posted September 11, 2012 I started skimming through the post before noticing who the OP was, then I stopped when I saw who the OP was... but it actually seemed it could be legit, so feeling like a fool, I clicked on the link. FFS, it's legit. Whowouldathunkit? Clockwork Angels deserves a grammy. Of course it won't win one, but it does. The last Rush album I could say that deserved one would have been Counterparts, and before that you have to go to HYF, although every Rush album from 2112-HYF deserved one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tombstone Mountain Posted September 11, 2012 Author Share Posted September 11, 2012 (edited) QUOTE (rushgoober @ Sep 11 2012, 09:10 AM) I started skimming through the post before noticing who the OP was, then I stopped when I saw who the OP was... but it actually seemed it could be legit, so feeling like a fool, I clicked on the link. FFS, it's legit. Whowouldathunkit? Clockwork Angels deserves a grammy. Of course it won't win one, but it does. The last Rush album I could say that deserved one would have been Counterparts, and before that you have to go to HYF, although every Rush album from 2112-HYF deserved one. Thanks Goobs....you know I'm good for some breaking news in the past. Dwarves are in the show this year--did you know that Goob man? However, Geddy, Alex, and Neil, are the little ones instead of you, Treeduck, and Metaldad. Goobs go vote on the setlist and give us your two cents...after all, you are the philosophical demi-god of TRF A grammy nod is all but certain for best METAL performance Edited September 11, 2012 by Tombstone Mountain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gompers Posted September 11, 2012 Share Posted September 11, 2012 QUOTE (rushgoober @ Sep 11 2012, 10:10 AM) I started skimming through the post before noticing who the OP was, then I stopped when I saw who the OP was... but it actually seemed it could be legit, so feeling like a fool, I clicked on the link. FFS, it's legit. Whowouldathunkit? Clockwork Angels deserves a grammy. Of course it won't win one, but it does. The last Rush album I could say that deserved one would have been Counterparts, and before that you have to go to HYF, although every Rush album from 2112-HYF deserved one. All the hype/popularity is what would push Rush to a win with something CA related. That traditionally is what gets awards for artists and not the quality of the music. This being said, Rush has deserved a Grammy a few times before and didn't get one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rushgoober Posted September 11, 2012 Share Posted September 11, 2012 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tombstone Mountain Posted September 11, 2012 Author Share Posted September 11, 2012 QUOTE (rushgoober @ Sep 11 2012, 10:17 AM) the album IS top notch. Yet not in your top 100 albums...hmmmmmmm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rushgoober Posted September 11, 2012 Share Posted September 11, 2012 QUOTE (Tombstone Mountain @ Sep 11 2012, 08:20 AM) QUOTE (rushgoober @ Sep 11 2012, 10:17 AM) the album IS top notch. Yet not in your top 100 albums...hmmmmmmm You can thank Halo Effect and BU2B2 for that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tombstone Mountain Posted September 11, 2012 Author Share Posted September 11, 2012 (edited) QUOTE (rushgoober @ Sep 11 2012, 10:38 AM) QUOTE (Tombstone Mountain @ Sep 11 2012, 08:20 AM) QUOTE (rushgoober @ Sep 11 2012, 10:17 AM) the album IS top notch. Yet not in your top 100 albums...hmmmmmmm You can thank Halo Effect and BU2B2 for that. What's wrong with that great material? Halo Effect is a fine song, in fact its better in concert, but on the record still really good. And BU2B2? c'mon Goobs...it's ethereal bro! Edited September 11, 2012 by Tombstone Mountain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bangster of Goats Posted September 11, 2012 Share Posted September 11, 2012 YYZ should have won a Grammy, but it lost to Behind My Camel by the Police. No disrespect to Andy Summers (probably my 2nd favorite guitarist after Alex) who wrote Behind My Camel, but it just sucks. Repetitive, meh, bleh. Sting hated the tune and refused to play on it and in fact he went and took the tapes of it and buried it somewhere so he wouldn't have to play on it (until Andy found it and then added the bass part himself.) The Police won that Grammy simply because they were becoming hot stuff at the time. (Again, no disrespect intended because they're one of my favorite bands still... but Rush really deserved that Grammy.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rushgoober Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 QUOTE (Tombstone Mountain @ Sep 11 2012, 08:45 AM) QUOTE (rushgoober @ Sep 11 2012, 10:38 AM) QUOTE (Tombstone Mountain @ Sep 11 2012, 08:20 AM) QUOTE (rushgoober @ Sep 11 2012, 10:17 AM) the album IS top notch. Yet not in your top 100 albums...hmmmmmmm You can thank Halo Effect and BU2B2 for that. What's wrong with that great material? Halo Effect is a fine song, in fact its better in concert, but on the record still really good. And BU2B2? c'mon Goobs...it's ethereal bro! Halo Effect is ok, but it pales next to every other song on the album save for BU2B2 which is godawful depressing and unnecessary. Other than that, however, a top notch album! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gompers Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 QUOTE (rushgoober @ Sep 12 2012, 01:26 AM) QUOTE (Tombstone Mountain @ Sep 11 2012, 08:45 AM) QUOTE (rushgoober @ Sep 11 2012, 10:38 AM) QUOTE (Tombstone Mountain @ Sep 11 2012, 08:20 AM) QUOTE (rushgoober @ Sep 11 2012, 10:17 AM) the album IS top notch. Yet not in your top 100 albums...hmmmmmmm You can thank Halo Effect and BU2B2 for that. What's wrong with that great material? Halo Effect is a fine song, in fact its better in concert, but on the record still really good. And BU2B2? c'mon Goobs...it's ethereal bro! Halo Effect is ok, but it pales next to every other song on the album save for BU2B2 which is godawful depressing and unnecessary. Other than that, however, a top notch album! BU2B2 is a classic type of interlude which can be found on many Prog releases. I actually think it is pretty cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tombstone Mountain Posted September 12, 2012 Author Share Posted September 12, 2012 It's exciting to see that anything associated with the Grammy's is doing an article on Rush. Most people don't believe they will get nominated much less win...this article I believe opens a door for a strong possibility to get another Grammy nom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tombstone Mountain Posted September 12, 2012 Author Share Posted September 12, 2012 QUOTE (rushgoober @ Sep 12 2012, 12:26 AM) QUOTE (Tombstone Mountain @ Sep 11 2012, 08:45 AM) QUOTE (rushgoober @ Sep 11 2012, 10:38 AM) QUOTE (Tombstone Mountain @ Sep 11 2012, 08:20 AM) QUOTE (rushgoober @ Sep 11 2012, 10:17 AM) the album IS top notch. Yet not in your top 100 albums...hmmmmmmm You can thank Halo Effect and BU2B2 for that. What's wrong with that great material? Halo Effect is a fine song, in fact its better in concert, but on the record still really good. And BU2B2? c'mon Goobs...it's ethereal bro! Halo Effect is ok, but it pales next to every other song on the album save for BU2B2 which is godawful depressing and unnecessary. Other than that, however, a top notch album! Looked at your top 100 lps goobs. It's your personal preference of course, but you mentioned how BU2B2 ane Halo Effect negatively impact the albums greatness...so I started to take an inventory of your favs. Plenty to debate of course. When I think of the top 100 albums ever, Yes Tormato doesn't enter into the equation. Tormato?!? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rushgoober Posted September 13, 2012 Share Posted September 13, 2012 QUOTE (Tombstone Mountain @ Sep 12 2012, 10:11 AM) QUOTE (rushgoober @ Sep 12 2012, 12:26 AM) QUOTE (Tombstone Mountain @ Sep 11 2012, 08:45 AM) QUOTE (rushgoober @ Sep 11 2012, 10:38 AM) QUOTE (Tombstone Mountain @ Sep 11 2012, 08:20 AM) QUOTE (rushgoober @ Sep 11 2012, 10:17 AM) the album IS top notch. Yet not in your top 100 albums...hmmmmmmm You can thank Halo Effect and BU2B2 for that. What's wrong with that great material? Halo Effect is a fine song, in fact its better in concert, but on the record still really good. And BU2B2? c'mon Goobs...it's ethereal bro! Halo Effect is ok, but it pales next to every other song on the album save for BU2B2 which is godawful depressing and unnecessary. Other than that, however, a top notch album! Looked at your top 100 lps goobs. It's your personal preference of course, but you mentioned how BU2B2 ane Halo Effect negatively impact the albums greatness...so I started to take an inventory of your favs. Plenty to debate of course. When I think of the top 100 albums ever, Yes Tormato doesn't enter into the equation. Tormato?!? Great underrated Yes album. That one and Time and a Word. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy Sawyer Posted September 13, 2012 Share Posted September 13, 2012 QUOTE (rushgoober @ Sep 12 2012, 09:05 PM) QUOTE (Tombstone Mountain @ Sep 12 2012, 10:11 AM) QUOTE (rushgoober @ Sep 12 2012, 12:26 AM) QUOTE (Tombstone Mountain @ Sep 11 2012, 08:45 AM) QUOTE (rushgoober @ Sep 11 2012, 10:38 AM) QUOTE (Tombstone Mountain @ Sep 11 2012, 08:20 AM) QUOTE (rushgoober @ Sep 11 2012, 10:17 AM) the album IS top notch. Yet not in your top 100 albums...hmmmmmmm You can thank Halo Effect and BU2B2 for that. What's wrong with that great material? Halo Effect is a fine song, in fact its better in concert, but on the record still really good. And BU2B2? c'mon Goobs...it's ethereal bro! Halo Effect is ok, but it pales next to every other song on the album save for BU2B2 which is godawful depressing and unnecessary. Other than that, however, a top notch album! Looked at your top 100 lps goobs. It's your personal preference of course, but you mentioned how BU2B2 ane Halo Effect negatively impact the albums greatness...so I started to take an inventory of your favs. Plenty to debate of course. When I think of the top 100 albums ever, Yes Tormato doesn't enter into the equation. Tormato?!? Great underrated Yes album. That one and Time and a Word. With you totally on this one. Time and a Word and Tormato are tremendous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-D-RocK- Posted September 14, 2012 Share Posted September 14, 2012 Pfffft, grammys, who gives a f*ck? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thizzellewashington Posted September 14, 2012 Share Posted September 14, 2012 The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has more relevance than the Grammys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowdogged Posted September 14, 2012 Share Posted September 14, 2012 QUOTE (thizzellewashington @ Sep 13 2012, 10:50 PM) The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has more relevance than the Grammys. If anyone is a true rock fan then they know that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has no relevance whatsoever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thizzellewashington Posted September 14, 2012 Share Posted September 14, 2012 QUOTE (snowdogged @ Sep 13 2012, 07:59 PM) QUOTE (thizzellewashington @ Sep 13 2012, 10:50 PM) The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has more relevance than the Grammys. If anyone is a true rock fan then they know that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has no relevance whatsoever. That was my point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Digitallware Posted September 14, 2012 Share Posted September 14, 2012 Whats that Rush song that goes "Anything can happen?" yeah. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tombstone Mountain Posted September 14, 2012 Author Share Posted September 14, 2012 QUOTE (Tommy Sawyer @ Sep 13 2012, 04:40 PM) QUOTE (rushgoober @ Sep 12 2012, 09:05 PM) QUOTE (Tombstone Mountain @ Sep 12 2012, 10:11 AM) QUOTE (rushgoober @ Sep 12 2012, 12:26 AM) QUOTE (Tombstone Mountain @ Sep 11 2012, 08:45 AM) QUOTE (rushgoober @ Sep 11 2012, 10:38 AM) QUOTE (Tombstone Mountain @ Sep 11 2012, 08:20 AM) QUOTE (rushgoober @ Sep 11 2012, 10:17 AM) the album IS top notch. Yet not in your top 100 albums...hmmmmmmm You can thank Halo Effect and BU2B2 for that. What's wrong with that great material? Halo Effect is a fine song, in fact its better in concert, but on the record still really good. And BU2B2? c'mon Goobs...it's ethereal bro! Halo Effect is ok, but it pales next to every other song on the album save for BU2B2 which is godawful depressing and unnecessary. Other than that, however, a top notch album! Looked at your top 100 lps goobs. It's your personal preference of course, but you mentioned how BU2B2 ane Halo Effect negatively impact the albums greatness...so I started to take an inventory of your favs. Plenty to debate of course. When I think of the top 100 albums ever, Yes Tormato doesn't enter into the equation. Tormato?!? Great underrated Yes album. That one and Time and a Word. With you totally on this one. Time and a Word and Tormato are tremendous. I enjoy the album. I guess my thought is that you include Tormato, but can't find room for CA...Tormato is not a world beater album IMO. However Goobs, Tommy, I respect your opinions...CA should not be slighted for Halo Effect (a great song) and BU2B2 (an ethereal interlude that is not substandard for the record--it's part of the story). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick N. Backer Posted September 14, 2012 Share Posted September 14, 2012 QUOTE (Bangster of Goats @ Sep 11 2012, 05:35 PM)YYZ should have won a Grammy, but it lost to Behind My Camel by the Police. No disrespect to Andy Summers (probably my 2nd favorite guitarist after Alex) who wrote Behind My Camel, but it just sucks. Repetitive, meh, bleh. Sting hated the tune and refused to play on it and in fact he went and took the tapes of it and buried it somewhere so he wouldn't have to play on it (until Andy found it and then added the bass part himself.) The Police won that Grammy simply because they were becoming hot stuff at the time. (Again, no disrespect intended because they're one of my favorite bands still... but Rush really deserved that Grammy.) Did they really? I love the Police, but Camel is horrible. YYZ, on the other hand is Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tombstone Mountain Posted September 14, 2012 Author Share Posted September 14, 2012 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vital signz Posted September 15, 2012 Share Posted September 15, 2012 Time to revisit this thread I started long ago. Some funny and great comments in here: http://www.therushforum.com/index.php?show...74399&hl=grammy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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