Geddy Lee Answers Twitter Questions

[The Analog Cub]

Lots of good info about what he thinks of certain songs, etc. Fun little read.

 

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/rushs-geddy-lee-answers-your-twitter-questions-20141114

[Rushman14]

I want to run down some songs you haven't played in a while and get your reaction to them. Let's start with "Fly By Night." That was a hit, but you haven't played it since 1978.

I don't know, man. That song scares me.

 

Because the vocals are so high?

It's a high song. It's also a time and a place. I wouldn't say no, but it wouldn't be my first choice.

 

How about the two books of "Cygnus"?

Ah, well, that would be cool. Yeah, that would be super cool.

 

:)

Edited November 14, 2014 by Rushman14

[Freeze]

Wow ... Geddy is up for playing Cygnus X-1/Hemispheres it seems ... Now THAT would really be something! :drool:

[Lorraine]

Oh Geddy, do it! And don't forget Xanadu and The Weapon!! :wub:

[Geddyleegenes]

Shocked the interviewer asked about "Cut to the Chase". My favorite Rush song overall and one I've been talking up for years. Still can't believe the guys have never played this one live. It's a fantastic song and that guitar solo is good, bad and ugly. Brilliant!

[Rushman14]

Wow ... Geddy is up for playing Cygnus X-1/Hemispheres it seems ... Now THAT would really be something! :drool:

 

Yeah but he's worried about Fly By Night being too high? That's nothing compared to Hemispheres.

[Cyclonus X-1]

So Geddy likes Cut to the Chase. And Alex said in an interview once that he wanted to play it during the Counterparts tour in the first place.

 

Time to make this happen, guys.

[Lorraine]

He says he doesn't sing when he is "off duty." Shouldn't vocal chords be exercised so they don't tighten up?

[Del_Duio]

Wow ... Geddy is up for playing Cygnus X-1/Hemispheres it seems ... Now THAT would really be something! :drool:

 

Yeah but he's worried about Fly By Night being too high? That's nothing compared to Hemispheres.

 

Maybe because Fly By Night wouldn't sound as good in drop D (or C) tuning like Hemispheres might.

[EagleMoon]

Cute interview but its too bad so many of the questions were pointless.

[toymaker]

He says he doesn't sing when he is "off duty." Shouldn't vocal chords be exercised so they don't tighten up?

 

That's a good question, and I think the answer may have to do with whether you sing "properly" in the first place - with the correct breathing, singing from the "right place," and so on. I myself don't sing properly. I try to sing loudly, but I don't sing from my gut, so my voice gets tired very quickly. If I'm at a gig and I have to do high harmonies, I try to focus on the correct way, but inevitably it's all coming out of my throat. The next day I'm just all croaky. If I sing at home just for fun, along to Rush or whatever, it doesn't take long before my voice gets tired. I may have developed nodes (nodules?) in my throat.

 

I wonder about Lee. Lots of people suggest that he killed his voice because of the way he sang; he might have been able to "save" his voice if he had vocal training. Maybe the reason he sounds so different to people now, apart from the fact that he's in his 60s, is that he is finally trying to sing from his gut. He seems to "wind" himself up (pronounce that in both ways), and sometimes the notes come out sounding a bit bigger than people are used to. And there's that little yodel as his throat tries to modulate the sound coming out so that it's the correct note. I'm not an expert, but I do wonder if that's what's happening? If he tried to sing the way he did in the 70s and 80s, his voicebox would probably just conk out.

 

All just a theory, of course.

Edited November 14, 2014 by toymaker

[Lorraine]

I really have the sneaking suspicion that this next tour, if they tour at all, is it. Just by the way he worded some answers.

 

You have to hand it to Geddy. He knows just how to answer a question. He would have made a good politician.

[Lorraine]

He says he doesn't sing when he is "off duty." Shouldn't vocal chords be exercised so they don't tighten up?

 

That's a good question, and I think the answer may have to do with whether you sing "properly" in the first place - with the correct breathing, singing from the "right place," and so on. I myself don't sing properly. I try to sing loudly, but I don't sing from my gut, so my voice gets tired very quickly. If I'm at a gig and I have to do high harmonies, I try to focus on the correct way, but inevitably it's all coming out of my throat. The next day I'm just all croaky. If I sing at home just for fun, along to Rush or whatever, it doesn't take long before my voice gets tired. I may have developed nodes (nodules?) in my throat.

 

I wonder about Lee. Lots of people suggest that he killed his voice because of the way he sang; he might have been able to "save" his voice if he had vocal training. Maybe the reason he sounds so different to people now, apart from the fact that he's in his 60s, is that he is finally trying to sing from his gut. He seems to "wind" himself up (pronounce that in both ways), and sometimes the notes come out sounding a bit bigger than people are used to. And there's that little yodel as his throat tries to modulate the sound coming out so that it's the correct note. I'm not an expert, but I do wonder if that's what's happening? If he tried to sing the way he did in the 70s and 80s, his voicebox would probably just conk out.

 

All just a theory, of course.

I have a cousin that is, among other things, a trained singer. When I was about eight or nine years old (she is seven or eight years older than me), I remember asking her to teach me how to sing. That's the first thing she told me - sing from the diaphragm and not the throat.

[toymaker]

 

I have a cousin that is, among other things, a trained singer. When I was about eight or nine years old (she is seven or eight years older than me), I remember asking her to teach me how to sing. That's the first thing she told me - sing from the diaphragm and not the throat.

 

I've often been told the same thing, but I haven't really been able to figure it out. When I try to deep breathe, I get a bit woozy, so I must be doing something wrong. I can't visualize or "feel" the notion of sound coming from that low in the body. When performing, it's obvious that the breaths I am taking are too shallow. Ironically, that's probably what should make me feel "out of breath." I think I get it right only sometimes. Of course, I occasionally still get nervous on stage, too. The stupid-ass thing is that if we're playing a pub and it's a dead night, I feel more self conscious and sing terribly. When the place is packed and we're competing with crowd noise and no one is really paying attention, I feel more comfortable and probably sing much better...but probably off key because I can't hear myself. Oh well.

[Lorraine]

Lots of good info about what he thinks of certain songs, etc. Fun little read.

 

http://www.rollingst...stions-20141114

Thanks, BC, for posting this link. I found it interesting. Always loves to read and/or hear what Geddy has to say.

[toymaker]

Lots of good info about what he thinks of certain songs, etc. Fun little read.

 

http://www.rollingst...stions-20141114

Thanks, BC, for posting this link. I found it interesting. Always loves to read and/or hear what Geddy has to say.

Ditto!

 

I found out Lee likes Chemistry.

[toymaker]

Lorraine, can you check out the Chemistry thread? I'm interested to know what you think about that tune.

 

Never mind!

Edited November 14, 2014 by toymaker

[bathory]

I am shocked by his positivity.

[toymaker]

I am shocked by his positivity.

It's a good kind of shock, though?

[bathory]

I am shocked by his positivity.

It's a good kind of shock, though?

 

yeah.

[The Analog Cub]

I was pretty excited about Cut To The Chase and the Cygnus pieces :D

[LedRush]

What kind of a sick bastard likes Cut to the Chase and Chemistry, but shits on Fly By Night and The Necromancer?

 

GOOD DAY SIR!!!

[The Analog Cub]

What kind of a sick bastard likes Cut to the Chase and Chemistry, but shits on Fly By Night and The Necromancer?

 

GOOD DAY SIR!!!

 

:LMAO:

 

I WAS WAITING FOR LED'S RESPONSE TO THE NECROMANCER :laughing guy:

[toymaker]

What kind of a sick bastard likes Cut to the Chase and Chemistry, but shits on Fly By Night and The Necromancer?

 

GOOD DAY SIR!!!

 

I don't think he really "shits on" those songs. At most, a tiny bit of gas might have been passed.

[lifeson90]

"I have been playing more this break than I've ever played in the off time, both bass and a lot of guitar. I'm really into collecting some of these old instruments and they're firing me up. I've spent a lot of time in my studio or in front of a ballgame playing a bass."

 

c'mon Al, c'mon Neil, this guy is raring to go, great time to knock a quick album out get it out the way and outa your systems for another 3 or 4 years :)

Edited November 14, 2014 by lifeson90