Rush (band)

Rush in concert in Milan (September 21, 2004)
from left:Lifeson, Lee and Peart.

Rush is an award-winning Canadian rock band comprised of bassist/keyboardist/vocalist Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson, and drummer Neil Peart (pronounced: 'Peert') that has been consistently recording since 1973. The band was formed in the summer of 1968 by Lifeson, Lee, and John Rutsey (who played drums for Rush on the first album but resigned for health concerns shortly thereafter). Since Peart joined in 1974, they have remained intact. Lee and Lifeson usually write the music and Peart writes the lyrics, although every once in a while they will collaborate on lyrics or music.

Rush have been awarded the Juno Award (Canada's equivalent of the Grammy Award) on numerous occasions, and all three individuals are Members of the Order of Canada.

History

Rush's musical style has changed greatly over the lifetime of the group. Albums prior to 1980's Permanent Waves are a mix of heavy metal and progressive rock similar to Yes or Genesis. Demonstrating their birth within the short-lived era of glitter rock bands, such as Alice Cooper or Ziggy Stardust, Rush were known to have flashy costumes and stage shows. The lyrics of that time were heavily influenced by science fiction and, in a few cases, the writings and philosophy of Ayn Rand, as exhibited most prominently by 1976's 2112 and 1978's Hemispheres. Many of their early songs received limited airplay because of their extended length (in some cases exceeding ten minutes) which were deemed unprofitable by station managers.

Permanent Waves changed things dramatically. Although the music was still based on heavy-metal style, more and more keyboards were introduced. The themes of the songs changed dramatically, and became far more in common with alternative rock than prog-rock. One song in particular, Spirit of Radio (named for the Toronto-local groundbreaking radio station, CFNY), went on to become a huge hit on the alternative circuit. Another favourite on American classic rock stations to this day is Tom Sawyer from 1981's Moving Pictures. From that point on, their albums of the 1980s tended to follow this lead, although recordings in the later 1980s and 1990s have sometimes been derided as being too mainstream.

Each of the three individual artists has produced and released work independent of the band's structure, to varying degrees of commercial and critical success.

After 1996's Test for Echo, the band entered a six-year hiatus due mainly to personal tragedies in Peart's life. Peart's daughter Selena died in a car accident in August 1997, followed by his wife Jacqueline's death from cancer in June 1998. Peart embarked on a self-described "healing journey" by motorcycle in which he travelled thousands of miles across North America. He subsequently wrote about his travels in his book Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road. Rush later said that they came very close to disbanding during this period.

The band returned in 2002 with a surprisingly heavy and modern Vapor Trails album, their first without keyboards in over twenty years. The album contains the song "Ghost Rider", describing Peart's motorcycle journey. It debuted to moderate praise and was supported by the band's first tour in six years, including first-ever concerts in Mexico City and Brazil.

The band was one of a number of hometown favourites to play the SARS relief concert (dubbed SARStock) at Downsview Park in Toronto in August 2003, with an attendance of over half a million people. Also in 2003, Alex Lifeson appeared in the highy successful Canadian mockumentary Trailer Park Boys.

A live album, Rush in Rio, was released in late October 2003. The companion DVD won the 2004 Juno for best music DVD. June 2004 saw the release of Feedback, a studio EP featuring eight covers by such artists as Cream and The Who.

Discography

Studio albums

• Not Fade Away (1973)
• Rush (March 1974)
• Fly by Night (February 1975)
• Caress of Steel (September 1975)
• 2112 (February 1976)
• A Farewell to Kings (September 1977)
• Hemispheres (October 1978)
• Permanent Waves (January 1980)
• Moving Pictures (January 1981)
• Signals (September 1982)
• Grace Under Pressure (April 1984)
• Power Windows (October 1985)
• Hold Your Fire (September 1987)
• Presto (November 1989)
• Roll the Bones (September 1991)
• Counterparts (October 1993)
• Test for Echo (September 1996)
• Vapor Trails (May 2002)
• Feedback (June 29, 2004)

Official live albums

• All The World's a Stage (September 1976)
• Exit...Stage Left (October 1981)
• A Show of Hands (December 1988)
• Different Stages (November 1998)
• Rush in Rio (October 2003)

Compilations/interviews

• Archives (April 1978) – Repackage of the first three albums (Rush, Fly by Night and Caress of Steel)
• Chronicles (September 1990) – Essentially a "Greatest Hits" release
• The Story of Kings - Interview (1992) – Interview with Alex Lifeson
• The Interviews - Vol 2 (October 1995) – Interview with Geddy Lee
• Retrospective I 1974-1980 (1997) – Repackaging of best songs from their first decade.
• Retrospective II 1981-1987 (1997) – Repackaging of best songs from their second decade.
• The Spirit of Radio: Greatest Hits 1974-1987 (February 2003 (Repackaging of Mercury/Polygram-held songs up to Hold Your Fire (1987), not endorsed by band)

Solo efforts of band members:

• Burning for Buddy, Volume 1 (Buddy Rich tribute album) – (Solo), Peart, et al (1994)
• Burning for Buddy, Volume 2 (Buddy Rich tribute album) – (Solo), Peart, et al (1994/-5?)
• Victor – (Solo), Lifeson, et al (1996)
• My Favorite Headache – (Solo), Lee, et al (November 2000)

Books

• Drum Techniques of Rush – Peart (1985) – ISBN 0769250556
• More Drum Techniques of Rush – Peart, Wheeler (1989) – ISBN 0769250513
• Mystic Rhythms: The Philosophical Vision of Rush – Price, et al. (1999) – ISBN 1587151022
• The Masked Rider: Cycling in West Africa – Peart (1999) – ISBN 1895900026
• Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road – Peart (2002) – ISBN 1550225464 (hardcover), ISBN 1550225480 (paperback)
• Rush: Merely Players – Telleria (2002) – ISBN 1550822713
• Rush: Success Under Pressure – Steve Gett (1984) – ISBN 0895242303
• Traveling Music: Playing Back the Soundtrack to My Life and Times – Peart (2004) – ISBN 1550226649

Awards list

Rush has received many awards during their career.

Juno awards

Rush has been awarded the following Juno awards:

• 1974 Most promising group of the year
• 1977 Group of the year
• 1978 Group of the year
• 1991 Best Heavy Metal Album
• 1991 Best album cover - Presto
• 1992 Best Hard Rock Album
• 1992 Best album cover - Roll the Bones
• 2004 Music DVD of the year - "Rush in Rio"

Grammys

• 1982 Runner-up in Best Rock Instrumental
  • "YYZ" - beat by The Police's "Behind My Camel"
• 1992 Runner-up in Best Rock Instrumental
  • "Where's My Thing" - beat by Eric Johnson's "Cliffs of Dover"

Magazine awards

- Geddy Lee is in the Bass Hall of Fame for Guitar Player Magazine

(he has won Best Rock Bass more than 5 times).

- Geddy Lee won "best Rock Bass player" in the 1993 "Bass Player" readers' poll.

- Alex Lifeson won Best Rock Talent in 1983 (I assume that it's on the same mag), and he was inducted into the Guitar for the Practicing Musician Hall of Fame in May of 1991.

Neil Peart has received the following awards in the Modern Drummer magazine reader's poll:

• Hall of Fame: 1983
• Best Rock Drummer: 1980,1981,1982,1983,1984,1985
• Best Multi-Percussionist: 1983,1984,1985,1986
• Best Percussion Instrumentalist: 1982
• Most Promising New Drummer: 1980
• Best All Around: 1986
• Best Recorded Performance: 1981: Moving Pictures
• 1982: Exit... Stage Left
• 1983: Signals
• 1985: Grace Under Pressure
• 1986: Power Windows
• 1988: Hold Your Fire
• 1989: A Show of Hands
• 1990: Presto
• 1992: Roll The Bones
• 1986 Honor Roll: Rock Drummer, Multi-Percussion

External Links

• www.rush.com
• Power Windows (http://www.2112.net/powerwindows/) - a Rush tribute site
• Counterparts Rush Fan Website (http://www.rushweb.net)
• www.rushmessageboard.com (requires registration)
• By-Tor.com (http://www.by-tor.com)
• The Rush Forum (http://www.therushforum.com)
• Rush Tablature Project (http://www.cygnusproductions.com/rtp/)
• Rush @ (http://www.music-wiki.org/Rush)MusicWiki
• The Reverse Engineers - progressive rock trio influenced by Rush (http://www.thereverseengineers.com)
• RushRadio.org (http://www.rushradio.org/) - a 24/7 Rush Internet radio station

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