Costco Connection - September 2011

WHEN YOU hear a song you grew up with, it can magically whisk you back to the period you associate with the song. Based on their sales figures and decades of heavy rotation on radio stations all over the world, Rush, The Who and The Moody Blues—bands that have been writing songs since the 1960s—are collectively responsible for loads of this sort of time travel. The Connection recently spoke with members of these three iconic bands.

The Costco Connection: You’re Rush’s main vocalist and bass player, but you also play keyboards, control sequencers and work bass pedals with your feet. Given the technical mastery all those duties require and the sheer difficulty of it all, have you ever thought about bringing in other musicians to share some of your workload?

;Rush; Members: Geddy Lee, lead vocals and bass; Alex Lifeson, guitar; Neil Peart, drums and band’s lyricist Place of origin: Toronto, Ontario, 1968 Career sales: 25 million in certified sales; 3 multi-platinum, 11 platinum and 10 gold records Member interviewed: Geddy Lee

Geddy Lee: Oh yeah [laughs], I used to bring
it up at the beginning of every tour because there
were times when it felt quite daunting to have to
deal with all the electronic apparatus when I really
just wanted to sing and play bass. So, yeah, I’ve
had to wrestle with that question quite often. But,
in the end, we’re quite a tight unit, the three of us.
And we just kind of figure that our fans would
rather see us up there with our technology rather
than see us fill up the stage with sidemen. We
opted to go the difficult route. But I did get them
[guitarist Alex Lifeson and drummer Neil Peart]
to share some of the sequencing responsibilities.
So that helps a bit.

CC: Even just singing and playing bass is very difficult for most musicians. Was that a trick for you in the beginning?

GL: Yeah, especially on some of our songs. Sometimes you write a song that has a really cool riff, and then you write the melody later, and record it separately. Then when you go to rehearse it, you go, “How do I do this?” because one part has very little in common with the other part. It’s hard to get your brain synchronized … you kind of split your brain in two, and, if you practice it enough, it starts to come naturally. Sometimes you have to compromise a bass part a tiny bit to let it fit more comfortably into your brain pattern, but generally I’ve found it’s like Malcolm Gladwell’s 10,000-hour rule Just keep playing it, [and you will] eventually get it.