Transcript: "Rush: Carrying The Prog Rock Torch" - Faces, July 1986

Rush's Power Windows was released 29 years ago today!  My latest transcript addition is an interview with Geddy Lee given the day after the release of Power Windows, although "Rush: Carrying The Prog Rock Torch" didn't appear in print until the following summer, in the July 1986 issue of Faces magazine. Geddy discusses the dark days during the Grace Under Pressure tour when he wasn't sure the band would continue, and how the positive recording experience of Power Windows with Peter Collins had revitalized the band.

Transcript: "A Rush Of Sound!" - Music Canada Quarterly, March 1975

Here's another fresh transcript to celebrate R40!  While the general early history of the band Rush is fairly widely known, many of the specifics have lost focus over time. Here then is an article which contains many of those early details. "A Rush Of Sound!" from the March 1975 issue of Music Canada Quarterly tells us Geddy's favorite courses in high school, that while Geddy and Neil dropped out of high school, Alex was a Grade 12 honor grad (one of his lavish jokes!), and that as has been suspected over time, "there are a number of small rather unsuccessful bar bands playing the U.S. who are also named Rush" (which might explain the ticketstub showing a Rush opening for Genesis in '73!). The writer prophetically states "'Not Fade Away'...for Rush fans this original single will become a collector's item in the years ahead", but does given the false impression that Terry Brown first came into the picture when mixing the debut single (he actually first met them during the production of the debut album).

Transcript: "Rush Release" - Melody Maker, May 5, 1984

My latest transcript is from the May 5, 1984 issue of UK's Melody Maker magazine.  "Rush Release" is an interview with Geddy Lee which opens with "Rush are in London to shoot videos for a selection of cuts from their new album, 'Grace Under Pressure'." Yeah, this was during MTV's peak. The writer goes on to describe p/g as "Simple Minds meets Led Zeppelin merging into a techno-rock U2," a description which Geddy seems to like.

Transcript: "Spirit Of Rush Reborn" - Toronto Sun, May 6, 2007

The week Snakes & Arrows was released, Geddy Lee appeared on the cover of the Toronto Sun's "ENT" Entertainment supplement. In the feature story "Spirit Of Rush Reborn: Fresh, Back-To-Basics Approach Breathes New Life Into Band", Geddy talks about the keys to making Rush sound "fresh", meeting with Nick Raskulinecz for the first time, and later finding out what a "stealth" Rush fan he really was. - Thanks to John Patuto for the transcript!

Transcript: 'Rush - Heavy Metal Makes For Platinum' - RPM Weekly, March 14, 1981

Rush appeared on the cover of the March 14, 1981 issue of Canada's RPM magazine (Canada's equivalent to Billboard). In the cover story 'Rush - Heavy Metal Makes For Platinum', the author copiously uses material supplied from Neil Peart via the Moving Pictures tourbook, but unfortunately misinterprets the content at the same time.

Transcript: "Burning For Buddy" - Downbeat, November 1994

This past Saturday marked the 20th Anniversary of the release of Burning For Buddy, Vol. I.  My latest transcript is "Burning For Buddy: Seventeen Drummers Tackle Big-Band Charts In Tribute To Buddy Rich" from the November 1994 issue of the drummer's magazine, Downbeat. The article includes comments from Neil Peart and his co-producer Cathy Rich, as well as a few comments from some of the other drummers regarding the project and Buddy Rich. - Thanks to Joe Pesch for the original article!

Transcript: "Geddy Lee on Rockline for Hold Your Fire" - October 5, 1987

The latest and greatest addition to the Transcript Archive is a transcript of Geddy Lee's appearance on Rockline with Bob Coburn which took place 27 years ago tonight, on October 5th, 1987. I remember listening to this one live, and in fact I still have my live cassette recording of this broadcast somewhere.

Transcript: "Alex Lifeson - 10 Questions We Ask Everyone" - Guitarist, Summer 2012

Here's a great new addition to the Transcript Archive, a short Q&A with Alex Lifeson from the Summer 2012 Acoustic issue of Guitarist magazine. Alex answers their "10 Questions We Ask Everyone".

Transcript: "Rush Drummer Peart Chronicles Life On The 'Road'" - Billboard.com, September 14, 2006

Eight years ago today, Neil Peart's book Roadshow: Landscape With Drums - A Concert Tour by Motorcycle was released.  In advance of the release, the September 14, 2006 issue of Billboard magazine included an interview with Neil Peart titled "Rush Drummer Peart Chronicles Life On The 'Road'" where Neil talks about the book, the people he writes about, progress on Rush's upcoming album (Snakes & Arrows), and what is left in "the vault".

Transcript: "'Rush' Makes Name" - Las Cruces Sun, December 20, 1974

As Rush continues to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the debut album, here's a new transcript to mark the occasion.  By December 1974, Rush had begun making headway on their first United Stages tour, here's a newspaper report from the Las Cruces Sun (about as far from Toronto as they could get), confirming "'Rush' Makes Name" for themselves, and how besides another new trio, ZZ Top, Rush was "a band to keep an eye on", and added "Rush's second album will be out after the first of the year and the band promises a more diverse and original collection."

Transcript: "A Conversation With Geddy Lee" - The Music Paper, May 1986

Here's an interesting comment from Geddy Lee, considering it was made 28 years ago: "I'd be real surprised if we're together in ten years, but you never know; stranger things have happened." That is from my latest transcript addition, "A Conversation With Geddy Lee" from the May 1986 issue of The Music Paper. Geddy discusses Power Windows, and how the band had shifted their focus from songwriting first, musicianship second, versus the other way around as in the past. "It's still important to us to be musicians and to play real well - those values are always there - but we're more challenged now by the songwriting thing because it's not as simple to figure out."

Transcript: 'Geddy Lee On The Music Of The '70s, The Order Of Canada, And The Full-Time Job Of Rush' - Georgia Straight, May 15, 1997

Test For Echo was released 18 years ago today, and today's transcript is from the May 15, 1997 issue of Vancouver's Georgia Straight, published the day before Rush's performance there on the Test for Echo tour.  Interviewed to promote their new album, the interview includes 'Geddy Lee On The Music Of The '70s, The Order Of Canada, And The Full-Time Job Of Rush'.

Transcript: "Prolific Rush Surprises Lee" - Billboard, October 3, 1987

Hold Your Fire was released 27 years ago today, and to celebrate I've transcribed an article from the October 3, 1987 issue of Billboard magazine.  This is a long lost interview with Geddy Lee by Steve Gett, who published the Rush biography Success Under Pressure just two years before. In "Prolific Rush Surprises Lee", Geddy attributes the band's longevity to the loyalty of the Rush fans, the band's practice of staying away from each other when not recording or touring, and making the recording processing more interesting.

Transcript: 'Alex Lifeson Says Rush's No-Compromise Approach Is Key To Its Staying Power' - Georgia Straight, January 30, 1992

Roll The Bones was released 23 years ago today, and today's transcript addition is 'Alex Lifeson Says Rush's No-Compromise Approach Is Key To Its Staying Power' which appeared in the January 30, 1992 issue of Vancouver's Georgia Straight, three days before Rush's performance there on the Roll The Bones tour  Alex talks about the keys to Rush's longevity, the process of writing Roll The Bones, and thoughts on doing his own solo album.

Transcript: "Caress Of Steel (review)" - Record Mirror, February 12, 1977

Happy September!  Although the exact date of its release is unknown, Caress of Steel was released 39 years ago this month (1975).  And while it is strange that my next transcript was published nearly a year and a half after the album's release, the "Caress Of Steel (review)" from the February 12, 1977 issue of Record Mirror is at least a positive one.

Transcript: "Rush Melds Showmanship, Great Music" - St. Louis Post-Dispatch, November 8, 1991

The latest addition to the Transcript Archive is "Rush Melds Showmanship, Great Music", a concert review from the Roll The Bones tour from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on November 8, 1991. Includes nice comments on the show and the show opener, Eric Johnson.

Transcript: "Interview: Ray Danniels" - Hot Wax Quarterly, Spring 1980

My latest transcript addition, "Interview: Ray Danniels", is from the spring 1980 issue of the *bootleg* fanzine Hot Wax Quarterly.  Ray doesn't seem comfortable in this interview, but is very clear regarding his and the band's stand on bootleg recordings at that time. 

Transcript: "Sending New Signals, Rush On The Defense" - Boston Globe, December 6, 1982

I've just transcribed "Sending New Signals, Rush On The Defense", an interview with Neil Peart which appeared in the December 6, 1982 issue of the Boston Globe, before Rush's concert at the Boston Garden that same night. Neil talks about the ongoing misunderstanding of Rush by many so called music critics who never bother to listen to them.

'Time Rewards Rock Underdog' - Now, March 3, 1988

My latest transcript is an extensive interview with Geddy Lee in Toronto's "Now" weekly, before Rush's performance at Maple Leaf Gardens on the Hold Your Fire tour. In 'Time Rewards Rock Underdog', Geddy talks about the recording of Hold Your Fire, scaling down their tours, the band's hesitancy in the world of music videos, and their current extra-curricular activities (Alex was then producing a Toronto band named "Tabula Rasa", who later changed their name to "Clean Slate"). - Thanks to Heiko Klages for the original clipping!

Transcript: "Alex Lifeson On TSN's 'Off The Record' With Michael Landsberg", January 6, 2000

And now for something completely different...a transcript of Alex Lifeson On TSN's 'Off The Record' With Michael Landsberg, from January 6, 2000. As the transcriber Matt S. noted, "This is only barely Rush-related as it is a talk show where the panel discusses sports issues, but Alex was one of the guests. The other guests were NHL Hall of Famer (and friend of Rush) Steve Shutt and Sacramento King Scot Pollard." This aired in the middle of the dark years between the release of Different Stages and Vapor Trails.