I've been seeing <acronym> used in TNMS. What does it
mean?
FBN Fly By Night
COS Caress Of Steel
ATWAS All The World's A Stage
AFTK A Farewell To Kings
PeW Permanent Waves {PLEASE! NOT just PW!}
MP Moving Pictures
ESL Exit...Stage Left
GUP Grace Under Pressure
p/g Grace Under Pressure
PoW Power Windows {PLEASE! NOT just PW!}
HYF Hold Your Fire
ASOH A Show Of Hands
TTCE Through The Camera Eye {rare, but it shows up}
RTB Roll The Bones
IMHO In My Humble/Honest Opinion
WRT With Respect To
ORQ Obligatory Rush Quote
I've heard about the "Rush Backstage Club." What is it, and how do I
join?
It's an outfit that sells Rush souvenirs (T-shirts, posters, etc)
and
occasionally releases a newsletter. (I'm not a member, so I don't
really know. Could a member send me some details?) To join the
Backstage Club, just send $12.95 ($10 to join plus $2.95 shipping
and
handling) to:
Rush Backstage Club
2250 E. Tropicana Ave. #228
Las Vegas, NV 89119
(I got that address from FLETCHYYZ@delphi.com)
Membership obligation is to purchase 1 item of merchandise each year
to
stay on the mailing list. Also, they will answer any inquiries if
you
include a self-addressed stamped envelope. For those
international
people, pay in US money (NO CASH!!!) and include postage coupons
with
information requests.
What other Rush newsletters are there?
_The Spirit Of Rush_
Published 4 times a year. Subscription for the next 4 issues:
UK: #6.80, Europe: #10.00, Australia/NZ: #12.00
US/Canada: $20.00
(# = Pounds Sterling. All prices include postage.)
Back issues:
UK: #1.50 each, Europe: #2.00, Australia/NZ: #3.00
US/Canada: $4.00 (all prices include postage)
Address for back issues, and UK/Europe/Australia/NZ subscriptions:
23, Garden Close,
Chinbrook Road,
Grove Park,
London, SE12 9TG
England
Address for US/Canada subscriptions:
A Show of Fans
c/o Steve Streeter
PO Box 292
Canton, CT 06019
UK readers should pay by crossed cheque or postal order, NOT CASH.
Overseas readers should pay by bank draft or International Money
Order,
in STERLING ONLY please. If these are unavailable, cash sterling or
cash
dollars only. Personal cheques in foreign currency cannot be
accepted.
Cheques/postal orders/I.M.O/B.D. payable to _The Spirit Of Rush_
US readers should pay by personal cheque payable to Ray
Wawryzniak.
_A Show of Fans_
"A Rush Fanzine For and By Rush Fans"
Steve Streeter: Publisher/Editor
Send $3 for the most current issue.
PO Box 292
Canton, CT 06019
(203) 693-0506
Who says <phrase> in <song>?
- Geddy says "One, two, buckle my shoe" in "In The End" on ATWAS.
- Neil does the narrative during "The Necromancer."
- I've never seen anything definitive saying who whispers in
"The Twilight Zone."
- Neil does the "Attention all planets of the Solar Federation - we
have
assumed control" bit at the end of "2112."
- The deep voice at the beginning of "Cygnus X-1" is none other
than
Terry Brown.
- Neil says "Subdivisions" in the song of the same name,
even though Alex is shown saying it in the video and does it
live.
- Alex says "That's nice" at the end of "Chain Lightning."
- We don't know who says "I will be the judge" and "Give the jury
direction." Yoav Gershon <ygershon@ucdavis.edu> has
digitized those
phrases and adjusted the pitch, and says that Neil Peart says
those
phrases.
- According to Neil on the December 2, 1991 "Rockline," Geddy does the
RTB
"chat" section.
What is the marital status of the band members?
In _Visions_, there is a group picture of all 3 band members and
their wives.
Do any of the band members have kids?
Geddy has a son: Julian.
Alex has 2 sons: Justin and Adrian.
Neil has a daughter.
I've heard <rumor> about <band member>. Does anybody know
anything about
the truth of it?
These rumors have been popping up for quite some time now. Here
are some of the ones that have been shown to be wrong over the
years by the activities of the band:
- Alex is dying of cancer
- Neil is dying of cancer
- Geddy is dying of cancer
- Geddy has throat cancer; he's not dying, but can never sing
again
- Geddy is going blind from stage lights.
As of March 4 1993, the "Neil has cancer" and "Neil has AIDS"
rumors
have been "officially" stated to be just that: rumors with no
basis
in fact. In the February 1994 issue of _Modern Drummer_ magazine,
Neil states that he does not have cancer.
I've seen <nickname> being used. Who does it refer
to?
Lerxst is the nickname of Alex Lifeson.
Ged and Neil also have nicknames, Dirk and Pratt. Hence "Lerxtwood
Mall,"
"Olde Dirk Road" and "B.J. Pratt & Assoc." on the map on the back
cover
of _Signals_.
Also, Neil is mentioned as "The Professor (on the drum kit)" in _All
the
World's a Stage_.
What is the educational background of <band member>?
The rumor about Neil having a PhD in something is false. In
_Visions_,
Neil is quoted (on page 65) as saying that he is a high school dropout.
I don't
see how he would have had time to go to school and get a degree, what
with being in Rush and all.
According to the COS press kit, Alex and Geddy "turned pro" after
graduating from high school.
What are the birthdays of the band members?
Geddy Lee July 29, 1953 {according to _Visions_}
{No, Geddy Lee's birthday is NOT June
29!}
Neil Peart September 12, 1952
Alex Lifeson August 27, 1953
But in "Thrice Told Tales," it says that Geddy's birthday is June
29!
Well, every article written on the subject agrees that Neil Peart
joined Rush on Geddy's birthday. In _Visions_, Alex Lifeson says
that Neil came down "on the second day of auditions." It has also
been documented in several places (_Visions_ and "Thrice Told
Tales,"
to name a few) that when Neil joined the band, he had about 2 weeks
to
learn the show before his first gig with Rush, which took place in
Pittsburgh, opening for Uriah Heep.
On June 28, 1974, Rush opened for ZZ Top in Cleveland.
On July 1, 1974, Rush opened for Nazareth in Toronto, Ontario.
On July 20, 1974, Rush played an "MZ Bennett summer dance."
On August 14, Rush opened for Uriah Heep in Pittsburgh. This was
Neil's first show with Rush.
Based on this information, I believe that the day that Neil joined
the band, and therefore Geddy's birthday, is July 29, not June 29,
and that the June 29 date is a typo.
Geddy Lee said that July 29th was his birthday in an interview
taped before the May 31, 1992 show in Mountain View,
California.
What are the real names of the band members?
Geddy Lee: Gary Lee Weinrib
{ The book "Heart of Gold", a history of Canadian
rock,
provides this as Geddy Lee's real name.
In 1971, Gary Lee Weinrib, Alex Zivojinovich,
and
John Rutsey all joined CAPAC, the Canadian
writers/publishers/composers guild. }
Neil Peart: Neil Peart
Alex Lifeson: Alex Zivojinovic
What equipment does <band member> use/endorse?
Geddy Lee:
Rotosound Funkmaster strings
Wal basses
In the past, he has used:
Rickenbacker (sp?) basses
Steinberger basses
Alex Lifeson:
Paul Reed Smith guitars
Dean Markley strings
GK amps
Neil Peart:
Ludwig drums
Zildjian cymbals
Pro-Mark sticks
KAT triggers
Akai samplers
How is "Peart" pronounced?
It rhymes with "near," according to Neil on the "Rush - Profiled!"
CD,
so I assume that's the correct pronunciation. I don't remember
the
exact wording off the top of my head, but the "Profiled!" CD
contains
a recording of Neil saying "Hi, this is Neil Peart of Rush." That
also agrees with the way Geddy pronounced "Peart" when introducing
Neil's solo during RTB shows. The "t" at the end is not
silent.
Does anybody have an address I can use to write to the
band?
This address was posted to TNMS, but I can't vouch for the
correctness of it.
Rush
41 Britan St. (#200)
Toronto, ON
M5C 1R7, CANADA
The Backstage Club will probably forward mail as well.
_Modern Drummer_ magazine will forward mail to Neil. (Or other
drummers,
for that matter!)
Modern Drummer
870 Pompton Avenue
Cedar Grove, NJ 07009
What's the story behind Alex's "Hentor Sportscaster"
guitar?
"'Hentor' was the name that we had for Peter Henderson, the
producer
of 'Grace Under Pressure.' When he wrote his name out to leave us
his
number, it looked like Peter Hentor instead of Peter Henderson, so
we nicknamed him Hentor The Barbarian. I got some Letraset and
put
it on this white Strat that I had. It has a Shark neck - these
are
unlabeled replacement necks - so I threw 'Hentor Sportscaster' on
there.
Amazing all the mail we used to get over that [laughs]: 'Where can
I
buy a Hentor? How much does a Hentor cost?'"
- Alex Lifeson, in the April 1986 _Guitar Player_
magazine
What is The Omega Concern?
As Alex realized that he had to play acoustic guitar for some Rush
tunes
and then quickly switch to his electric ("Closer to the Heart," etc.),
he
crafted a stand (actually an attachment to a Tama Titan cymbal
stand)
that holds his acoustic in an adjustable playing position.
He soon began to sell this as a product (1st to Music Emporium) under
the
company label "The Omega Concern." Apparently, Alex's "company" also
made
Geddy a light-up lyric stand and Neil got a newspaper/book holder so
he
could read while he eats breakfast.
Where did the name "Rush" come from?
Paraphrased Background: In August of 1968 the band's formal lineup
was Alex on guitar, John Rutsey on drums, and Jeff Jones on bass
and
vocals. They got a job to play at the "Coff-In," a coffee house
in the basement of an Anglican Church [great name, eh?] for
$25/night.
"The band was excited, but they had a big problem. While
they had been dreaming of playing, they had neglected to come up
with
a name for their group. So a few days before the gig they sat around
in
John's basement trying to come up with an appropriate monicker.
They
weren't having much luck when John's older brother Bill piped up,
'Why don't you call the band Rush' and Rush it was."
- from _Visions_
Why did John Rutsey leave the band?
He quit because he had different ideas about the band's future
than
Alex and Geddy did, and he just wasn't excited about playing in
Rush
any more. His diabetes were also a strong argument against
extended
tours.
Whatever happened to John Rutsey?
"John's still around. I see John quite often. He gave up playing
shortly after he left the band and went into bodybuilding. He
competed on an amateur level for a while, doing that for a few
years,
and has sort of been in and out of that, but he still works out, and
I
work out with him a few times a week at a local gym - at a Gold's,
here in Toronto." - Alex Lifeson, in the 2/6/89 "Rockline"
interview
Questions about _Fly By Night_
Where did By-Tor's name come from?
Rush's road manager, Howard, came up with the title at a party.
There
were two dogs at the party, one a German shepherd and the other
a tiny white nervous dog. Howard used to call the shepherd By-Tor
because anyone that walked into the house was bitten. The other dog
was
a snow-dog (white ...). So from that night on Howard called the pair
of
dogs "By-Tor and the Snow Dog." - from
scrs_ltd@uhura.cc.rochester.edu
What is The Sign of Eth?
- This is what Muff (smills@umaxc.weeg.uiowa.edu) posted to the
NMS:
I remember looking up "eth" in the dictionary after I found my
brother's FBN album in '74 or '75. In fact, I looked up a LOT of
words
from that album back then. :D From American Heritage:
eth n. Variant of edh.
edh n. 1. A letter appearling in Old English, Old Saxon, Old
Norse,
and
modern Icelandic to represent an interdental fricative. 2. The
symbol in
the International Phonetic Alphabet representing the interdental
voiced
fricative, as in /the/, /with/.
An edh looks like: \_--~\
\
-~~-
/ \
{ }
\ /
~-~
Well, sorta. Like a lower-case "o" with a wavy propellor. What
symbolism
an edh has in By-Tor's tale, I have no idea.
- Also, Josh Beatty (iqm265@uriacc.uri.edu) wrote the
following:
"Eth" is a letter in the Old English alphabet that was dropped
from
the alphabet as it evolved into Middle and Modern English. It
repre-
sented the sound /th/, as in "cloth" for example. It looked like
a
lower-case "o" with a cross on top. Capitalized, it was like a "D" with
a
horizontal line through the straight part. This was also the symbol used
for
a capitalized "Thorn", another Old English letter representing
/th/.
"Thorn" was adapted into the Old English alphabet from a Germanic
rune
of the same name. The rune, in its turn, was associated with the
Gothic
(as in the tribe of the Goths, not cathedrals) word "thurisaz",
which
meant "demon".
So "Eth" itself has some historical background in representing
demons
and hell, obviously appropriate in the context of the song. I
suppose
I see "The sign of Eth is rising in the air..." in two ways: first,
that
it represents simply the demonic power in the Tobes of Hades, and
secondly, that it represents By-Tor himself and that when the sign is,
rising,
By-Tor is coming forth from Hades to do battle with the Snow Dog
(don't
we assume usually that Hades is underground? By-Tor would have to rise
to
get out of there to most anyplace?)
Is Rivendell a real place?
Rivendell was a sage haven for travellers in J.R.R. Tolkien's "Lord
of
the Rings".
Questions about _Caress Of Steel_
In "By-Tor And The Snow Dog" By-Tor is the bad guy, but he's a hero in
"The
Necromancer." What happened?
When asked about this on "Rockline," Geddy said something along the
lines
of, "He saw the light." Neil commented, "I guess he's like
all of us - sometimes good, and sometimes he's bad!" in the
December
1985 Backstage Club newsletter.
Where is Lakeside Park?
It's in St. Catherine's, on Lake Ontario.
Don't email me directions if you went there a long time ago and
think
you remember how to get there.
What is the significance of May 24?
It's Victoria Day, commemorating Queen Victoria's birthday.
Has anybody noticed that "Didacts and Narpets" is an anagram for
"Addicts
and Parents"?
Yes.
Does anybody know the lyrics to "Didacts and Narpets"?
Here's the best version I've seen:
Deep Voice: "Stay!"
Geddy "Go!"
Deep "Work!"
Ged "No!"
Deep "Think!"
Ged "Live!"
Deep "Earn!"
Ged "Give!"
Deep/Ged <Wait or Fight?>/<Right>
Deep/Ged <Laugh?>/<Right or Wait?>
Listen!
In the October 1991 news release from the Rush Backstage Club,
Neil
says:
"Okay, I may have answered this before, but if not, the shouted
words
in that song represent an argument between Our Hero and the
Didacts
and Narpets - teachers and parents. I honestly can't rememer what
the
actual words were, but they took up opposite positions like:
"Work! Live! Earn! Give!" and like that."
In the COS liner notes, a city is mentioned in small print after
each
song. Why is this?
"Ah yes. This goes back to the 'bad old days' when all we did was
tour,
and consequently had to do most of our song writing on the road,
with
acoustic guitars and notebooks in hotel rooms. Not the best method
of
composition, you may imagine, but the only one available to us at
the
time. Those cities represent the places in which those songs were
written."
- Neil Peart, in the December 1985 Backstage Club newsletter
What does "Terminat hora diem, terminat auctor opus" mean?
It means something like: "As the hour ends the day, the author ends
his
work."
Assorted CoS trivia:
"The Necromancer"
- The song is based on J.R.R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings". The
three
travellers are Frodo, Sam and Gollum (more specific references
wanted).
- Ambergris is a waxy substance from the intestines of the sperm
whale,
highly valued for making perfume with.
- Panacea is a supposed cure for everything.
- Bacchus was the Greek & Roman god of wine, earlier called
Dionsysus.
- Lakeside Park is mentioned in _Strange Brew_.
Questions about _2112_ Has anybody noticed that you can hear part of the 1812 Overture in
2112?
Yes.
Where did the story of _2112_ come from?
"The inspiration behind it was ... It's difficult always to trace
those
lines because so many things tend to coalesce, and in fact it ended
up
being quite similar to a book called _Anthem_ by the writer Ayn Rand.
But
I didn't realize that while I was working on it, and then eventually
as
the story came together, the parallels became obvious to me and I
thought, 'Oh
gee, I don't want to be a plagiarist here.' So I did give credit to
her
writings in the liner notes." - Neil Peart, in the December 2,
1991
"Rockline" interview
Has anybody noticed the whispering in the background in "The Twilight
Zone"?
Yes.
Questions about _All The World's A Stage_
What do the voices at the end of the album (vinyl only)
say?
- According to Darryl Coombs (dcoombs@dragger.ifmt.nf.ca), this is
it:
Geddy: Wow
Woah
Waa
What a show
Man oh man, I guess that's it
Allright
I'm going <-- (not sure if Ged)
Yeah, yeah, ok, ok.
Door slam.
Questions about _A Farewell To Kings_
What is "Cinderella Man" about?
The song is loosely based on a movie called "Mr. Deeds Goes to Town",
starring Gary Cooper as a man from a small town who inherits lots
of
money and moves to the big city.
I read that "Xanadu" was based on a famous poem. Does anybody have a
copy?
The poem is "Kubla Khan" by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Your local
library probably has a copy. It appeared in TNMS issue #88.
Where does the name Cygnus X-1 come from?
It is the name given to an X-ray source in the constellation of
Cygnus, believed to be a black hole. For a more detailed
explanation, check issue 567 of TNMS, available via anonymous ftp
from syrinx.umd.edu in the rush/special directory.
Where does the name Rocinante come from?
In Greek mythology, Rocinante is the name of the horse that Zeus
rides.
It was the name of Steinbeck's motor home in _Travels With
Charlie_.
It was also the name of Don Quixote's horse.
Questions about _Hemispheres_
What do the French lyrics in "Circumstances" mean?
"The more that things change, the more they stay the same."
Is there a message in "The Trees"?
"No. It was just a flash. I was working on an entirely different
thing
when I saw a cartoon picture of these trees carrying on like fools.
I
thought, "What if trees acted like people?" So I saw it as a
cartoon
really, and wrote it that way. I think that's the image that it
conjures
up to a listener or a reader. A very simple statement." -- Neil
Peart,
in the April/May 1980 _Modern Drummer_ magazine
What does "La Villa Strangiato" mean?
"Weird City" is a rough translation of the title, according to
_Visions_.
Atthe Tossavainen <d37690r@kaira.hut.fi> has told me that
"La villa, be it Spanish or Italian, doesn't mean a village or a
city, but rather a HOUSE. Strangiato is probably just pidgin Spanish,
a
made-up word."
The song itself is based on several of Alex's nightmares and some
cartoon
themes. Much of this music can be heard on a CD called The Carl
Stalling
Project - "Music From Warner Bros. Cartoons 1936-1958." Warner Bros.
-
26027-2 (approximately 77 minutes on CD). These are the original
soundtracks from Loony Tunes/Merrie Melodies, mostly in the '40s and
'50s. - thanks to
jdinkins@polyslo.calpoly.edu for catalog info
schaaphe@serc.nl (Frank Schaapherder) gave me this information:
The first part of "La Villa Strangiato," "Buenos Nochas, Mein
Froinds!,"
is based on the German song "Gute Nacht, Freunde," written by
A. Yondrascheck. I noted the resemblance between the two songs
immediately when I first heard "La Villa." The notes until the
fast
part are almost identical. Also note the similarities in the titles -
they have the same meaning, and the reference to German in Rush's
title (Mein Froinds).
Where do the different parts of "La Villa Strangiato"
start/end?
This chart was made up by Brad Armstrong
<71161.1313@CompuServe.COM>.
Thanks, Brad!
"La Villa Strangiato (An exercise in Self-Indulgence)"
Studio Live (ESL
CD)
I. "Buenos Nochas, Mein Froinds!" 0.00 0.16
II. "To sleep, perchance to dream ..." 0.27 0.49
III. "Strangiato theme" 2.00 2.18
IV. "A Lerxst in Wonderland" 3.16 3.36
V. "Monsters!" 5.43 6.09
VI. "The Ghost of the Aragon" 6.09 6.30
VII. "Danforth and Pape" 6.45 7.07
VIII. "The Waltz of the Shreves" 7.26 7.48
IX. "Never turn your back on a Monster!" 7.52 8.14
X. "Monsters! (Reprise)" 8.03 8.24
XI. "Strangiato theme (Reprise)" 8.17 8.40
XII. "A Farewell to Things" 9.21 9.14
Danforth and Pape is an intersection in Toronto. Actually, it's
Danforth
Ave. and Pape St. This is a heavily Greek section of Toronto, and
even
the street names are written in English and Greek. The actual
intersection
has a donut place (there are LOTS in Canada) like two banks and a
random
store.