Rush v. Dirk, Pratt, & Lerxst

[Stadler]

Because I haven't seen the last couple tours, and I usually listen to the live CDs (as opposed to watching the DVDs), I had no idea of the association between Jerry Stiller and Rush.  75% of my love for Stiller comes from King Of Queens, the rest from Seinfeld (not that he wasn't great in Seinfeld, he just sticks out more in KoQ). 

I say this seriously, I guess this is my "The Office" moment. 

[pg1067]

So, Charlie from Anthrax has been doing various videos during the quarantine. Some of which are cover songs with other musicians. He dropped a ridiculously good cover of Red Barchetta recently. I was blown away at how good it is. Especially, the vocalist. Man, he just nailed it. Never heard of him, but I could listen to him cover Rush all day.

Charlie Benante (Anthrax) - Drums and Keys
Alex Skolnick (Testament) - Guitar
Ra Diaz (Suicidal Tendencies) - Bass
Brandon Yeagley (Crobot) - Vocals

https://youtu.be/amBejFYEOfE

I heard that, and the only thing I didn't like was the vocalist.

Maybe the Time Machine tour was made to correct "the" mistake, and instead caused a rift in time

 

Do you guys think Alex and Geddy are done making music?  I know Rush is over but I wonder if they will, alone or separately, ever decide to create again.

I don't think Alex is, but I'm really starting to question whether Geddy will do anything more.  He made a bunch of comments when he was doing his book signings about how he hadn't played in a while because he'd been busy with other things, "but I'm sure I'll get back down to the playing room eventually."  Maybe that's what he's been doing the last couple months, but I'm really starting to wonder now.

Part of me thinks it would be a shame if Alex and Geddy never made music together again, but another part would be totally ok with it.

[Orbert]

Because I haven't seen the last couple tours, and I usually listen to the live CDs (as opposed to watching the DVDs), I had no idea of the association between Jerry Stiller and Rush.  75% of my love for Stiller comes from King Of Queens, the rest from Seinfeld (not that he wasn't great in Seinfeld, he just sticks out more in KoQ). 

I say this seriously, I guess this is my "The Office" moment. 

I've never watched King of Queens or Seinfeld, so I wasn't aware that Jerry Stiller was still working.  I shouldn't be surprised, though.  He was a funny guy.  I don't go to concerts anymore, so concert videos are where it's at for me, and I was happily surprised to see Stiller in them.  I figured most Rush fans would at least recognize him.

Or maybe I just needed an excuse to post something with Anne Meara, because she's a babe.

[TheSilentHam]

https://torontolife.com/city/the-list-ten-things-geddy-lee-cant-live-without/

Hmm.. at least Geddy has most of his list available
1 My Leica binoculars - No exotic sightseeing travel right now (from the article)
2 My Norwich terriers
3 My pickled herring 
4 My perfect rib-eyes - stay away meat shortage
5 My 1972 Fender Jazz Bass - Not playing currently
6 My granny glasses
7 My favourite wine
8 My travel books
9 My New York Times crosswords
10 My fantasy baseball team - No baseball

[The Letter M]

"This is called 'The Spirit Of Radio'..."


-Marc.

[jammindude]

"This is called 'The Spirit Of Radio'..."


-Marc.

He gets it right on that one.

[The Letter M]

"This is called 'The Spirit Of Radio'..."


-Marc.

He gets it right on that one.

Just like on Exit... Stage Left! 

-Marc.

[Architeuthis]

"This is called 'The Spirit Of Radio'..."


-Marc.

He gets it right on that one.

Just like on Exit... Stage Left! 

-Marc.

 

[ytserush]

I haven't seen this mentioned yet, but Jerry Stiller died the other day.  I grew up knowing Jerry Stiller and his hot wife Anne Meara as the comedy duo of Stiller and Meara.

Most people know them today as Ben Stiller's parents.  I would guess that most people in this thread know Jerry Stiller as that old guy in Rush's tour videos.


Gerald Isaac Stiller (June 8, 1927 – May 11, 2020)

First thought of R30, then the comedy duo.

Only Seinfeld episode I've ever seen is the one that was written around a Devils game (which I was told I would like, but honestly I don't remember much about it.)

[ytserush]

[

I don't think Alex is, but I'm really starting to question whether Geddy will do anything more.  He made a bunch of comments when he was doing his book signings about how he hadn't played in a while because he'd been busy with other things, "but I'm sure I'll get back down to the playing room eventually."  Maybe that's what he's been doing the last couple months, but I'm really starting to wonder now.

Part of me thinks it would be a shame if Alex and Geddy never made music together again, but another part would be totally ok with it.

Alex has been doing guest work on other albums for years. I'm sure Geddy goes down to his room whenever he feels like it.  Wouldn't surprise me if they have played together already but it may not ever be for public consumption again.

Of course, Geddy has always said that they will go away "quietly" when it was time so maybe it has gotten to that point. Or maybe he's still Working at Perfekt.

[KevShmev]

It's been almost five years since the end of the last tour and there has been nada. I have to think that if Alex and Geddy doing something together musically for public consumption were gonna happen, it would have by now, given their ages.  Maybe they will find a way to do something small for the Neil Peart memorial concert, which I remember reading is being rescheduled, but that is probably it. 

[RodrigoAltaf]

It's been almost five years since the end of the last tour and there has been nada. I have to think that if Alex and Geddy doing something together musically for public consumption were gonna happen, it would have by now, given their ages.  Maybe they will find a way to do something small for the Neil Peart memorial concert, which I remember reading is being rescheduled, but that is probably it.

I interviewed 90% of the acts that will be a part of the event, and we'll bundle all the interviews and publish them all at once. Geddy and Alex aren't on the list.

[WildRanger]

I think the guitar tone in "Red Barchetta" could be better. Do you agree?

[King Postwhore]

Nope. He was going for a Andy Summers sound for that and for Vital Signs.

[Architeuthis]

I think the guitar tone in "Red Barchetta" could be better. Do you agree?

Nope 

[jammindude]

I think the guitar tone in "Red Barchetta" could be better. Do you agree?

Nope 

No way

[pg1067]

"This is called 'The Spirit Of Radio'..."


-Marc.

He gets it right on that one.

Just like on Exit... Stage Left! 

-Marc.

 

I think the guitar tone in "Red Barchetta" could be better. Do you agree?

Could be, in the completely hypothetical world of all that is abstract?  Maybe.  I suppose if you were able to create mixes of the song with everything exactly the same but dozens of different guitar tones, you might find one that I'd like better.  However, I do not now find and never have found anything deficient in the guitar tone on that song.

What is it that you don't like about it and what would you have done differently?

[Stadler]

Compared to the Police's Grace Under Pressure, "Red Barchetta" sounds like Black Sabbath to me.      

[RodrigoAltaf]

I wrote a review of Martin Popoff's incredibly detailed new book called "Anthem: Rush in the 70's". Check it out: https://www.sonicperspectives.com/features/book-review-anthem-rush-in-the-1970s/

[Setlist Scotty]

I wrote a review of Martin Popoff's incredibly detailed new book called "Anthem: Rush in the 70's". Check it out: https://www.sonicperspectives.com/features/book-review-anthem-rush-in-the-1970s/

Thanks for that Rodrigo. I've been thinking about picking up a copy of that book. Would you say that it's just a much more detailed biography than say Popoff's 'Contents Under Pressure'? And any idea why he's doing separate books for the 80s and 90s, but nothing for the 2000s? Kind of expected that the last book would be a "90s and beyond" type of book, but judging by your review, that's not gonna be the case.

[RodrigoAltaf]

I wrote a review of Martin Popoff's incredibly detailed new book called "Anthem: Rush in the 70's". Check it out: https://www.sonicperspectives.com/features/book-review-anthem-rush-in-the-1970s/

Thanks for that Rodrigo. I've been thinking about picking up a copy of that book. Would you say that it's just a much more detailed biography than say Popoff's 'Contents Under Pressure'? And any idea why he's doing separate books for the 80s and 90s, but nothing for the 2000s? Kind of expected that the last book would be a "90s and beyond" type of book, but judging by your review, that's not gonna be the case.

I haven't read "Contents Under Pressure", but this one is VERY detailed. Almost every songs is addressed, and It's like the book was made of interviews with people close to the band AND the band members, and Martin just connected the dots. And I also found strange that there's nothing about Rush after 2000. Maybe he already has that planned, but just hasn't written it yet. The books from the 80's and 90's are already written and have gone through proofreading, so they'll be released in the upcoming months.

[red barchetta]

It's been almost five years since the end of the last tour and there has been nada. I have to think that if Alex and Geddy doing something together musically for public consumption were gonna happen, it would have by now, given their ages.  Maybe they will find a way to do something small for the Neil Peart memorial concert, which I remember reading is being rescheduled, but that is probably it.

In respect for Neil's health and condition, I don't think there was any idea of coming out with something new.  But I really believe that they are not done and that they will do something together.  They are best friends since the age of 12 I think and they see each others frequently.  So, I believe there is more.

[ytserush]

I think the guitar tone in "Red Barchetta" could be better. Do you agree?

Nope 

<<sniff>> <<sniff>>  I smell a poll.

[DTA]

Started reading Martin Popoff's new book Anthem. I really hope it goes in depth in the creation of the albums and doesn't just hit the same points that have been discussed in other books. He just did an interview with Sea of Tranquility and addressed that exact concern - that he also disliked books that gloss over certain albums with only a page, so I'm hoping he avoids that and we get some fresh info about the creation of albums like Caress of Steel/A Farewell To Kings. Maybe we'll finally get a definitive answer about Lamneth ever being played live. So far, the pre-Rush section is almost overwhelmingly over-detailed but I appreciate the depth and hope it stays that way until the end. I'm also glad to hear that similar books are being created about the 80's/90's/00's. These periods are always ignored except for the token "Alex hated keyboards after awhile/Neil hates meeting fans/touring" stuff.

[Setlist Scotty]

I'm also glad to hear that similar books are being created about the 80's/90's/00's.

I think you missed Rodrigo's response to my question. As of the moment, doesn't look like there's a book for the 2000s. I'd imagine if he was working on one, comments would've been made about it, as they were for the books on the 80s and 90s. Happy to be wrong, but doesn't look good for the moment. 

[DTA]

I'm also glad to hear that similar books are being created about the 80's/90's/00's.

I think you missed Rodrigo's response to my question. As of the moment, doesn't look like there's a book for the 2000s. I'd imagine if he was working on one, comments would've been made about it, as they were for the books on the 80s and 90s. Happy to be wrong, but doesn't look good for the moment. 

Ahhh...yeah, I should've looked up a few posts. I had the Sea Of Tranquility interview in the background so maybe I just misheard about the 2000's. I feel like 2000-onward has been documented pretty heavily just through internet articles/social media anyway so I'm not too disappointed about that. I'm really interested in hearing more about obscure albums like Caress of Steel, Grace Under Pressure, Hold Your Fire, and Presto that only get a brief mention before they move on to the more popular stuff. The detail given to pre-Rush and the debut album in this book is unreal, so I'm hoping that continues through its entirety.

[RodrigoAltaf]

I'm also glad to hear that similar books are being created about the 80's/90's/00's.

I think you missed Rodrigo's response to my question. As of the moment, doesn't look like there's a book for the 2000s. I'd imagine if he was working on one, comments would've been made about it, as they were for the books on the 80s and 90s. Happy to be wrong, but doesn't look good for the moment. 

Ahhh...yeah, I should've looked up a few posts. I had the Sea Of Tranquility interview in the background so maybe I just misheard about the 2000's. I feel like 2000-onward has been documented pretty heavily just through internet articles/social media anyway so I'm not too disappointed about that. I'm really interested in hearing more about obscure albums like Caress of Steel, Grace Under Pressure, Hold Your Fire, and Presto that only get a brief mention before they move on to the more popular stuff. The detail given to pre-Rush and the debut album in this book is unreal, so I'm hoping that continues through its entirety.

I felt that there is progressively LESS information about each album/song as the book advances, but still lots of great insights. The band's frustration with Hemispheres is really well detailed in the book. And the fact that Martin devotes one chapter for a LIVE album says something about the level of care and dedication to telling the story properly. At least early on, the live albums were as pivotal for the band's history as the studio ones. I felt that after R30, with the way the industry changed, they started to release live albums after each and every tour, and this kind of release had less of an impact.

[ytserush]

I'm also glad to hear that similar books are being created about the 80's/90's/00's.

I think you missed Rodrigo's response to my question. As of the moment, doesn't look like there's a book for the 2000s. I'd imagine if he was working on one, comments would've been made about it, as they were for the books on the 80s and 90s. Happy to be wrong, but doesn't look good for the moment. 

Ahhh...yeah, I should've looked up a few posts. I had the Sea Of Tranquility interview in the background so maybe I just misheard about the 2000's. I feel like 2000-onward has been documented pretty heavily just through internet articles/social media anyway so I'm not too disappointed about that. I'm really interested in hearing more about obscure albums like Caress of Steel, Grace Under Pressure, Hold Your Fire, and Presto that only get a brief mention before they move on to the more popular stuff. The detail given to pre-Rush and the debut album in this book is unreal, so I'm hoping that continues through its entirety.

I felt that there is progressively LESS information about each album/song as the book advances, but still lots of great insights. The band's frustration with Hemispheres is really well detailed in the book. And the fact that Martin devotes one chapter for a LIVE album says something about the level of care and dedication to telling the story properly. At least early on, the live albums were as pivotal for the band's history as the studio ones. I felt that after R30, with the way the industry changed, they started to release live albums after each and every tour, and this kind of release had less of an impact.

I was afraid of that.  Definitely not picking this up right away. Might wait a few years.

[DTA]

I'm also glad to hear that similar books are being created about the 80's/90's/00's.

I think you missed Rodrigo's response to my question. As of the moment, doesn't look like there's a book for the 2000s. I'd imagine if he was working on one, comments would've been made about it, as they were for the books on the 80s and 90s. Happy to be wrong, but doesn't look good for the moment. 

Ahhh...yeah, I should've looked up a few posts. I had the Sea Of Tranquility interview in the background so maybe I just misheard about the 2000's. I feel like 2000-onward has been documented pretty heavily just through internet articles/social media anyway so I'm not too disappointed about that. I'm really interested in hearing more about obscure albums like Caress of Steel, Grace Under Pressure, Hold Your Fire, and Presto that only get a brief mention before they move on to the more popular stuff. The detail given to pre-Rush and the debut album in this book is unreal, so I'm hoping that continues through its entirety.

I felt that there is progressively LESS information about each album/song as the book advances, but still lots of great insights. The band's frustration with Hemispheres is really well detailed in the book. And the fact that Martin devotes one chapter for a LIVE album says something about the level of care and dedication to telling the story properly. At least early on, the live albums were as pivotal for the band's history as the studio ones. I felt that after R30, with the way the industry changed, they started to release live albums after each and every tour, and this kind of release had less of an impact.

I was afraid of that.  Definitely not picking this up right away. Might wait a few years.

I'm up to 2112 chapter right now and it's definitely been an insightful book with lots of cool stories, though there is an unusual amount of sidetracking I could do without. There's like 5 pages just talking about the band's relationship with Kiss. Plus, I'm noticing certain anecdotes that I've seen online for years make their way into this, most notably, the fact that Fountain of Lamneth was played at the January 1976 Massey Hall show which is a rumor that nobody has really ever corroborated being presented as fact. I'm guessing it's just too much to ask for people to remember this far back accurately, but minor things like that bug me. I'd say it's worth it...I've never read another Rush biography (aside from Neil's books and the recent Tour History book), but this one seems comprehensive enough to be enjoyable.

[pg1067]

All this talk of Rush bios got me wondering...

I own and have read the following:

Rush Visions by Bill Banasiewicz
The Unofficial Illustrated History by Martin Popoff

And a couple others, both of which are at least 25 years old, and one of which, I think, only goes through Moving Pictures or thereabouts.

I've seen Beyond the Lighted Stage and own most of the tour programs going back to Moving Pictures (and also AFTK).  And, of course, I've read tons of stuff online.

I have, over the past 15 years, put a bunch of other Rush books on my Amazon list:

Anthem and Limelight by Martin Popoff
Merely Players by Robert Telleria
Rush: Album by Album by Martin Popoff
Contents under Pressure by Martin Popoff (how many Rush bios has this guy written?!)
Rush FAQ by Max Mobley
Rush: Chemistry by Jon Collins
Wandering the Face of the Earth by Skip Daly and Eric Hansen

Are any of these not worth buying?  Are there others I should look at?  To the extent possible, I'd like to avoid a bunch of repetition and commonly-known stuff.

[King Postwhore]

The B man  Bill Banasiewicz.  I remember him interviewing Alex Lifeson while Alex was flying a plane. 

[Setlist Scotty]

All this talk of Rush bios got me wondering...

I own and have read the following:

Rush Visions by Bill Banasiewicz
The Unofficial Illustrated History by Martin Popoff

And a couple others, both of which are at least 25 years old, and one of which, I think, only goes through Moving Pictures or thereabouts.

I've seen Beyond the Lighted Stage and own most of the tour programs going back to Moving Pictures (and also AFTK).  And, of course, I've read tons of stuff online.

I have, over the past 15 years, put a bunch of other Rush books on my Amazon list:

Anthem and Limelight by Martin Popoff
Merely Players by Robert Telleria
Rush: Album by Album by Martin Popoff
Contents under Pressure by Martin Popoff (how many Rush bios has this guy written?!)
Rush FAQ by Max Mobley
Rush: Chemistry by Jon Collins
Wandering the Face of the Earth by Skip Daly and Eric Hansen

Are any of these not worth buying?  Are there others I should look at?  To the extent possible, I'd like to avoid a bunch of repetition and commonly-known stuff.

Definitely avoid Merely Players - from what I've read, all Robert Telleria did was just copy and paste a bunch of stuff off the internet and made a book. I had a copy, but it's not impressive at all. Even the title itself was misspelled Mereley Players, which should tell you a lot about the quality control of the book. I have Chemistry and Contents Under Pressure, which came out at roughly the same time, and they are different enough that they're both worth having. I have the original Illustrated History from Popoff, but don't know how it compares to Contents Under Pressure, since I never got around to reading it!  :-p

I would be curious to hear other people's thoughts on Album by Album, because that's one book on your list that I don't have, and at the moment, don't see any need to get.

[KevShmev]

The Visions book by Banasiewicz was like the Bible for Rush fans for many years.  The writer was a bit too "look at me!" with the writing, but there was a ton of great stuff in there, and that was back when we knew very little about the band outside of the music. 

[pg1067]

The Visions book by Banasiewicz was like the Bible for Rush fans for many years.  The writer was a bit too "look at me!" with the writing, but there was a ton of great stuff in there, and that was back when we knew very little about the band outside of the music.

It's been a while since I read it, but I remember that (I recall he made a joke about his name rhyming with Manischewitz wine).

I also just recalled that one of the other books I have is Success under Pressure by Steve Gett.

Definitely avoid Merely Players - from what I've read, all Robert Telleria did was just copy and paste a bunch of stuff off the internet and made a book. I had a copy, but it's not impressive at all. Even the title itself was misspelled Mereley Players, which should tell you a lot about the quality control of the book.

LOL!  I never noticed that about the misspelling.  Sounds like the best thing about the book might be that it resulted in an Amazon review that might be longer than the book itself!

[ytserush]

Books
Books: Biographies, Criticism, Analyses

Rush, Brian Harrigan (Cherry Lane Music: 1984)

Success Under Pressure, Steve Gett (Cherry Lane Books: 1984)

 Visions, Bill Banasiewicz (Omnibus Press: 1988)

 Mystic Rhythms, Carol Selby Price and Robert M. Price (Wildside Press: 1999)

 Merely Players, Robert Telleria (Quarry Music Books: 2002)

 A Simple Kind Mirror, Leonard Roberto, Jr. (iUniverse (vanity press), 2002)

 Contents Under Pressure, Martin Popoff (ECW Press: 2004)

 Chemistry, Jon Collins (Helter Skelter Publishing: 2005)

 Rush, Rock Music, and the Middle Class, Chris McDonald (Indiana University Press: 2009)

 Rush and Philosophy, Jim Burti and Durrell Bowman, editors (Open Court: 2011)

 Rush: The Illustrated History, Martin Popoff (Voyageur: 2013)

 Rush FAQ, Max Mobley (Backbeat: 2014)

 Rush: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Excellence, Robert Freedman (Algora: 2014)

 Experiencing Rush, Durrell Bowman (Rowman & Littlefield, 2014)

Rush -- Chronology  (Patrick Lemieux Across The Board Books 2015)

Rush -- Album By Album (Voyageur Press: 2017)


 Books: Neil Peart

 The Masked Rider, ECW Press: 1996

 Ghost Rider, ECW Press: 2002

 Traveling Music, ECW Press: 2004

 Roadshow, ECW Press: 2007

 Far and Away, ECW Press: 2011

Far and Near ECW Press 2016

Far and Wide ECW Press 2018


Additionally, there is The Art Of Rush (Hugh Syme) and Wandering The Face Of The Earth.

It really depends on what aspect of the band you want to know about.  There's your straight bio's that cover  up to the book's publication, songs interpretations, construction of the music, lyrical and music criticism, philosophy, inspirational stories, reference material.

Don't have the Rush FAQ Book or the most recent Popoff but still have the rest.

If I were to do a top 5 in no order (discounting the Neil books which are their own different thing.) it would probably look like this.

Chemistry

Wandering The Face Of The Earth.

Rush -- Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Excellence

Chronology

Rush, Rock Music and The Middle Class

Experiencing Rush

Well, OK that's 6.