This past month I’ve covered a lot about Rush. To close out this month, and to usher in Christmas Day, I thought it would be a fitting conclusion to share some of my thoughts about Rush to me as a musician and to me as a bass player.
Between the ages of 14 and 16 most of us become ‘musically aware’. It’s a once in a lifetime period were we start to separate, what we think is, good and bad music; music we like from music we don’t like. It’s this period, I believe, is the most definitive and is a good indicator of what kind of music you’ll be drawn to throughout the rest of your life.
I remember that time . It was sophmore/junior year of high school. My dad finished his first book and bought himself a guitar (and later a bass guitar because he complained the guitar was too small to play) as a treat to himself for finishing his first book. Each day for about 5 years, I would hear him turn on his Carvin stack and plug away at Rage Against the Machine songs and Audioslave songs for 1 or 2 hours. At the same time, my friend picked up bass guitar as well and was learning YES and Red Hot Chili Peppers songs. Needless to say, I was hearing bass guitar in both of my ears as I was approaching that critical time in personal development and, sure enough, I took up bass as well.
I remember the first song, the very first song, I tried to learn on bass was ‘Heat of the Moment’ by Asia. In my mind, Asia was a band made up of all these progressive rock legends so, therefore, their music must be that good as well (and it turns out it wasn’t). But that was the firs thing I ever tried to learn on bass. Then, while scouring the names that came up when you search ‘good progressive rock bands’ and ‘bands like YES’, the name Rush kept coming up. I searched their name in iTunes and what came up was this album [Rush Chronology album]. the first track on the album was ‘Tom Sawyer’. I was instantly captivated by the slow, slinky groove and deep synths. While the synths and gloves lured me in, it was trying to figure out who that second guitar player was in the band.
Turns out – there was no second guitar. It was a bass.
That revelation sold me on Rush and the rest was history.
I later got my hands on Moving Pictures and heard ‘YYZ’ and that was it. I was now officially a Rush head.
For the next 4 years, I knew everything about Rush. Their history, their live albums, their gear – everything. They were the first band whose complete discography I owned. They were the second band I ever saw live (Pearl Jam was first) and without a doubt were my first and largest influence on bass guitar. I was obsessed. They were my musical world and became the most established musical identity during that fertile time in ‘musical awareness’. I still own the tour poster from their Snakes and Arrows tour.
I remember vividly listening to Rush songs over and over again trying to decide which one to learn first. ‘YYZ’ was too hard; ‘Tom Sawyer’ I was having trouble hearing the bass line. So the very first song I learned on bass, all the way through by Rush, was ‘Xanadu’. I remember staying up late school nights and weekend nights playing back ‘Xanadu’ and checking back on the tab and trying to figure out what was the best way to tackle this beast of a song. Eventually, I did tackle it and it’s still one of the songs that I remember (mostly) by heart. Every now and then I’ll pop in A Farewell to Kings and get goosebumps listening to ‘Xanadu’ for the very reason that it was such a critical song in my development as a bass player and musician.
Listening to Rush as obsessively as I did opened up other musical doors with time but musical doors that weren’t far off from Rush’s sound. I went through what I call a ‘progressive rock phase’ where if the music wasn’t weird and detailed and in some kind of non-4/4 time signature it wasn’t worth listening to. King Crimson, YES, Soft Machine, Jethro Tull, Emerson, Lake and Palmer, Frank Zappa – these were the gospel when I was in high school and even to this day, when I write songs or compose music they’re multi-part, long and weave different musical ideas together.
The ‘progressive rock phase’ gave way to the ‘jam band phase’ – more really detailed music but with a strong improvisational slant. A stark shift from the scripted nature of progressive rock. that being said, the differences weren’t so dramatic. Phish’s early material was very influenced by Frank Zappa. String Cheese Incident, Umphrey’s McGee, Widespread Panic and many of the other ‘second generation jam bands’ drew extensively from the progressive rock of the 70s and 80s. Had it not been for Rush, I wouldn’t have expanded my listening palette the way that I have and continue to grow as a music listener.
As a bass player, I and many bass players all across the world were touched and inspired when we heard Geddy Lee play. The thunderous clang of the Rickenbacker was always in my head and, I’m sure like many other budding bass players, wanted a Rickenbacker really bad after hearing how Geddy Lee could rock a Rick. I remember training extensively to try to be as fast as Geddy Lee. Lines like those on ‘YYZ’ and ‘The Big Money’ seemed unplayable unless you had some serious finger speed. It’s because of Geddy Lee that I felt inspired to develop speed and good form in my playing as early as I did. Without these two things, how would I ever have the stamina to play Rush lines, I thought?
Geddy’s influence in my playing ran deep. When I joined my first band in high school, it was a chance to have a loud, pronounced bass presence just like Geddy and my other bass influences. As luck would have it, my friends dug the loud in your face bass and having it around was a big deal for a high school band. It just wasn’t something you saw a whole lot of – even from adults who have been playing for years.
Fast forward to today and the 25 Days of Rush marathon. While I’ve always expressed the influence and admiration of this band for years in my playing, this is the first time I’ve expressed my passion and love for this band in writing. 25 Days of Rush was for everyone who loves Rush – bassist or otherwise. It’s a band that has touched countless musicians and non musicians’ lives. their influence can’t be understated. Though the best years and the not so good years, they’re a band whose influence runs deep and those who appreciate the band and love for it all know this same love and admiration for this band.
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