Stage Equipment Question

[g under p]

http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/gg293/goose_trf/AlexPedals_zpsejh6xstm.jpg

 

These are pedals like you'd see on a church organ.

 

What do they do?

A church organist plays with his hands and feet. The foot oedals are like backing vocals. You know all the "doo-doo-doo" Ged does with his voice these days? Foot pedals do that...better in my opinion. So, these pedals allow Alex & Geddy to play keyboard backing. Big...yummy...deep warm sounds.

 

Lorraine, you have the Philadelphia show. Check out Jacob's Ladder, at around 1 hour and 40 minutes in. You can see Alex hit those pedals to trigger the background keyboard sounds (doooooo doo-doo-doo) - four note patterns that underlie the guitar chords he's playing.

 

In Xanadu, at 2 hours and two minutes in, you get a quick shot of Alex rocking the volume pedal, then it pans over to Geddy and you can see him holding down one of the foot pedals (probably triggering that low bass note or background tweetybirds and whatever else); then it goes back to Alex doing the volume pedal things. Basically, you rock the pedal back (0 volume), sound the note on the guitar and rock the pedal forward quickly to increase the volume. A wah pedal is similar, except that instead of affecting volume, it affects tone - from "all bass no treble" to "all treble no bass". It was designed to mimic the "bell" that trumpet players use in jazz bands to alter the sound coming out of the trumpet horn. It's used to great effect on Steely Dan's East St. Louis Toodle-OO.

 

See also Xanadu at 2:05:50 to see Geddy playing the keyboard bits with his feet; then check out 2:07:00.

Well done. +1 for referencing the Dan.

 

Thanks, Lorraine, goose, toymaker and greyfriar! I have the 'Contents Under Pressure' book that talks a lot about how Alex and Geddy use pedals to trigger so much while on stage, but I never really though about the mechanics. Unbelievable how much they have going on up there!

Yes it is. How do three guys make so much music together? This is how. And Geddy sings to boot. How anyone cannot appreciate what these guys are doing is beyond me.

 

http://www.polarityrecords.com/uploads/7/9/7/0/7970819/1155192_orig.jpg

 

I can remember during one show I think it was the Power Windows tour I turned to someone and said...."it's amazing how much noise these THREE guys play on this stage". The guy fired back...."it is AMAZING".