I remember someone asking him once if he thought he was the greatest bassist alive...his response...hey man I'm just a musician who continues to learn as I go..Such a humble man
Au contraire, mon frere. I ran into Geddy Lee at the Rivercenter Mall the day after seeing Rush perform in San Antonio. I'd just gotten off the phone with my sister, telling her how amazing the concert was. As I hung up, I saw a tall, thin man with long hair that was pulled into a ponytail getting off the escalator not 20 feet away from me. I walked a little closer and asked, "Geddy Lee?" He and his friend came over to me, though he never once spoke. Though I was excited, I wasn't loud and I wasn't drawing attention to him or to his friend. I explained to him how I'd traveled 450 miles to Dallas earlier in the week to see them, then to San Anotio, again to see them, and that I was flying to Houston the next day, again to see them. He never once thanked me. He never once acknowledged how difficult it may have been for me to save my money to follow them for three dates. He never once said that he appreciated my dedication. After about ten seconds, I noticed that I was the only one doing the talking, so I apologized to him for taking up his time and thanked him for such an amazing show. As I walked away, I heard him shoo shooing with his friend, laughing (probably at me). This from the man whose band I'd idolized for most of my life. Yeah, I realize that he and other celebrities have the right to privacy, but they also need to remember that for us ordinary folks, we don't get to see our idols on a daily basis, if ever. This was huge dose of reality for me. I've always heard folks say how nice Geddy Lee. I wish I could say the same thing about him. To me, he was an aloof prick. I didn't deserve that.
I doubt he was laughing at you. Think of how many people he encounters like you every day. And IF he was laughing at you, you probably deserved it.,He doesn't want anyone Idolizing him. With all do respect, you expected something of him and he didn't say anything, and now your fragile world view is shaken to the core? And he is now a prick? You have no clue what he was thinking?, you just assume he was being a "Prick" to you. How about being grateful he came over to you when you called his name? Or thankful for all the unbelievably great music he has made? Some times things don't go the way you expect in life, that doesn't mean he is an asshole, does it really? Putt on 2112, smoke a bowl and be grateful. That's my advice.
One other thing friend. Did you ever think that the reason he never said a word { which is out of character for Geddy } was because he had just played a gig the day before and may have been avoiding using his vocal cords/voice considering he had a gig the next day as well ? I think he appreciated your words and you can rest easy that Geddy is the great guy we all know and love. P.S. Throw some counterparts on.
2 weeks solo practice, 5 weeks band practice, then 2 weeks stage show practice. And he is a card-carrying bass god. This is why most of us will never be in bands as good as Rush. That is a ton of work and they don't blow it by showing up late or being wasted all the time. Real pros. I've been to several Rush shows and every one of them was fantastic, and now I know why.
mark white I know how you feel. I got in on a TVGUIDE online interview thing with Geddy after My Favorite Headache. He answered 24 fan questions. 6 of them were mine.
i was there,i was 15 at my second concert (1st one seeing Van Halen "support" Black Sabbath) they previewed spirit of radio and freewill,i was knocked out!.took a while to realise that not all concerts were this good!
Steve Roberts I went one better last year, I was lucky to have a business meeting Glasgow on the same day as Geddy was doing a book signing, so got to meet the man himself, the queue was huge and took severak hours, even with the military precision of the signing, so only got a few seconds to chat and grab photots
He is so down to earth and goes about his craft with such a workmanlike yet professional attitude. In the interviews I've seen of him, you never even get a hint of "The Star". Hard not to be impressed.
such a fine gentleman, a great person i see here, i like when he talked about the keyboard and the practice of the songs, things that make me admire him more
The whole band is so square and Canadian and polite and well-functioning, I love them dearly. Aside from that one time when Alex got into that drunken fight with the security guard they've all been tremendously healthy individuals, and staggeringly healthy minded as rock stars go.
As I recall, that was in a club somewhere in Florida on a New Year's eve. He was guilty of a father trying to protect his son from an over zealous rookie cop.
This is an enjoyable, if short, interview, but that last question is a real pearl that all musicians should take notice of. He takes 2-weeks practising alone LEARNING HIS OWN FRIGGIN PART, 5 weeks practising with the band, and two weeks full tech rehearsals. If you're a musician in a band/ensemble, go learn your bloody parts before ensemble rehearsal! Even if it's likely to change, that work will still pay-off big-time.
I don't remember who said this, but someone once said that if you put 10,000 hours into something, you will be an expert at it. If this is true, then not only did the band put that kind of time into their performances and albums, but they never stopped even after they would be considered "experts." They always seemed like they were humble enough to recognize that they could get better. Neil especially had this mindset, but I'm certain all of them did. And it shows. It would be interesting to sit down and have a beer or two with them. Take care!
1st, I want to thank Planet Rock for not only sharing this for free, but for posting it in such an incredibly professional and unobtrusive/unannoying way!! This was a complete pleasure to watch guys, no lame interupptions, no redirects, no annoying annotations popping up, no wading thru minutes of unedited crap to get to what you came to watch, all in perfect HD, man, if only all the other commercial sites could learn to be so considerate and generous. Triple thumbs up to you PR!! 2nd, as a lifelong musician of 53, and also lifelong fan of Rush (decades b4 they were cool!), I'm completely surprised to learn today about their incredible sacrifice and commitment to us fans made by that grueling pre tour practice regimen. FIVE months??!! Thats a truly amazing commitment. Its so cool they are in a $$$$ position to be able to take that much time just to rehearse, would LOVE to buy a dvd set of those if filmed!! I know you'll never read it, but sincerely, THANK YOU for all that hard work you did to give us your best. Every hour spent, every aching muscle, every missed engagement, every endurance of playing a song you couldn't be more sick of cuz you know we really like it, THANKS. 3 of the bestest of friends I've ever had, and will likely never meet.
Geddy has the purest and most awesome personality, I’d live to meet him someday. It kinda makes me want to carry my Power Windows CD around everywhere in case I run into him.
All three of them are humble, polite and down to earth. Alex doesn't even like to talk about how good he is and refuses to toot his own horn. Long live Rush.
Anybody who put a thumbs down on this is just being a jerk. Mr. Lee is one of the top musicians in the world as well as being an all-around great person.
The internet is such an amazing invention. I remember as a kid getting to go to a Rush concert and that was the human connection to these incredible musicians. It's so cool to be able to hear them speak and share their thoughts and answer questions. They are every bit as cool as I knew them to be from their music and then some!
Every band needs to follow Rush's example. No other bands have this much respect for the music and their fans as they do. The way the band retired was an example for all bands, they had to respect Neal and his health, and they did. Also the fact that how positive they are is amazing, why can't other bands/ musicians do that.
Geddy has done the impossible, turned a geeky Guy into a super cool Guy loved by millions, that in itself tells you about humans, he deserves more than what he has
Mine too. In fact, it was my first gig of any kind at all. I lied to my mother, who would not let me go - I was only 13, that I was staying over at a friends house. In fact, him, me and 6 others were in a transit van driving up to Bingley Hall. Great show, crap venue.
And to think i thought i was dumb for not remembering the lyrics, Jokes aside but i'm so sorry that i know every lyric to every song from every album from word to word! Just some hardcore rush fan that is 51 years old
That last question/answer (along with the the colored disc question) are true, "behind the scene" eye openers. The casual fan (self included) would think they simply show up and play. Hardly....
Seems like a lot to me as a musician. But considering the complexity of the songs and the length of Rush's concerts, it makes sense that they'd all rehearse for so long before a tour.
general admission venues are the norm. every major music festival, and even franchise venues like house of blues are general admission. he's such a stadium rock guy hahalol
I'm a fan, but not a hardcore RUSH fan. I say that to say this: If there is a more down-to-earth and classy group of guys, I've never seen them interviewed. I like these guys as people. Mind you, the talent/success they have would seem to allow for some degree of cockiness/arrogance. Nope. Makes me celebrate their success even more. RIP Neil PS: They're Canadian, and I've always thought that is a large part of who they became.
Glad to hear I’m not the only one ♥️ He was my crush since I was first introduced to Rush when my dad obsessively played the Test for Echo album over and over again... when I was 6 years old. He was my first crush ever!
I love this man. What an incredible class act and brilliant musician.
Indeed he is!
Nice man. Not rude, arrogant or foul mouthed. A pleasure to listen to
Well, he is Canadian. 🇨🇦
I remember someone asking him once if he thought he was the greatest bassist alive...his response...hey man I'm just a musician who continues to learn as I go..Such a humble man
Rush for life.
+Ｒｕｓｈｎｅｒｄ rush for eternity.
Ｒｕｓｈｎｅｒｄ Zero dislikes!
Such an amazing human being.
Chris L Such an amazing picture as well. Gore is a great album.
Caleb Willis I've been listening to deftones for 20 years and in my opinion Gore is the best so far.
Geddy Lee - proof that rock stars don't have to be jerks. Also see Brian May and David Gilmour.
I'll bet Jimmy Page is cool to party with to.
exactly im sure that he is better than all the jerks combined
Au contraire, mon frere. I ran into Geddy Lee at the Rivercenter Mall the day after seeing Rush perform in San Antonio. I'd just gotten off the phone with my sister, telling her how amazing the concert was. As I hung up, I saw a tall, thin man with long hair that was pulled into a ponytail getting off the escalator not 20 feet away from me. I walked a little closer and asked, "Geddy Lee?" He and his friend came over to me, though he never once spoke. Though I was excited, I wasn't loud and I wasn't drawing attention to him or to his friend. I explained to him how I'd traveled 450 miles to Dallas earlier in the week to see them, then to San Anotio, again to see them, and that I was flying to Houston the next day, again to see them. He never once thanked me. He never once acknowledged how difficult it may have been for me to save my money to follow them for three dates. He never once said that he appreciated my dedication. After about ten seconds, I noticed that I was the only one doing the talking, so I apologized to him for taking up his time and thanked him for such an amazing show. As I walked away, I heard him shoo shooing with his friend, laughing (probably at me). This from the man whose band I'd idolized for most of my life. Yeah, I realize that he and other celebrities have the right to privacy, but they also need to remember that for us ordinary folks, we don't get to see our idols on a daily basis, if ever. This was huge dose of reality for me. I've always heard folks say how nice Geddy Lee. I wish I could say the same thing about him. To me, he was an aloof prick. I didn't deserve that.
I doubt he was laughing at you. Think of how many people he encounters like you every day. And IF he was laughing at you, you probably deserved it.,He doesn't want anyone Idolizing him. With all do respect, you expected something of him and he didn't say anything, and now your fragile world view is shaken to the core? And he is now a prick? You have no clue what he was thinking?, you just assume he was being a "Prick" to you. How about being grateful he came over to you when you called his name? Or thankful for all the unbelievably great music he has made? Some times things don't go the way you expect in life, that doesn't mean he is an asshole, does it really? Putt on 2112, smoke a bowl and be grateful. That's my advice.
One other thing friend. Did you ever think that the reason he never said a word { which is out of character for Geddy } was because he had just played a gig the day before and may have been avoiding using his vocal cords/voice considering he had a gig the next day as well ? I think he appreciated your words and you can rest easy that Geddy is the great guy we all know and love. P.S. Throw some counterparts on.
2 weeks solo practice, 5 weeks band practice, then 2 weeks stage show practice. And he is a card-carrying bass god. This is why most of us will never be in bands as good as Rush. That is a ton of work and they don't blow it by showing up late or being wasted all the time. Real pros. I've been to several Rush shows and every one of them was fantastic, and now I know why.
Woohoo, great to see Geddy read out my question
+alanboro Thanks alan. ... I needed a good laugh tonight!
mark white I know how you feel. I got in on a TVGUIDE online interview thing with Geddy after My Favorite Headache. He answered 24 fan questions. 6 of them were mine.
alanboro Lololol!!!...
i was there,i was 15 at my second concert (1st one seeing Van Halen "support" Black Sabbath) they previewed spirit of radio and freewill,i was knocked out!.took a while to realise that not all concerts were this good!
Steve Roberts I went one better last year, I was lucky to have a business meeting Glasgow on the same day as Geddy was doing a book signing, so got to meet the man himself, the queue was huge and took severak hours, even with the military precision of the signing, so only got a few seconds to chat and grab photots
Love you, Geddy Lee! You're a class act!
He is so down to earth and goes about his craft with such a workmanlike yet professional attitude. In the interviews I've seen of him, you never even get a hint of "The Star". Hard not to be impressed.
Jesus 2 months rehearsal... and here i thought i couldn't get any more respect for my favriote band of all time
So says Geddy. A most humble musician. Forever lives RUSH......
such a fine gentleman, a great person i see here, i like when he talked about the keyboard and the practice of the songs, things that make me admire him more
What a great bass player and person.
That was cool. I have about 2 million questions for Geddy.
The whole band is so square and Canadian and polite and well-functioning, I love them dearly. Aside from that one time when Alex got into that drunken fight with the security guard they've all been tremendously healthy individuals, and staggeringly healthy minded as rock stars go.
You make it sound like Alex was in the wrong in that incident. Shame on you.
@@40horsejohnson he was attacked and his nose broken and as he said he was a guy in his 50s not a fighter ever.
As I recall, that was in a club somewhere in Florida on a New Year's eve. He was guilty of a father trying to protect his son from an over zealous rookie cop.
I wish I could have asked him how was able to memorize the lyric sheet so fast.
Of course, he would answer- "I'm a professional, eh?"
This is an enjoyable, if short, interview, but that last question is a real pearl that all musicians should take notice of. He takes 2-weeks practising alone LEARNING HIS OWN FRIGGIN PART, 5 weeks practising with the band, and two weeks full tech rehearsals. If you're a musician in a band/ensemble, go learn your bloody parts before ensemble rehearsal! Even if it's likely to change, that work will still pay-off big-time.
I don't remember who said this, but someone once said that if you put 10,000 hours into something, you will be an expert at it.
If this is true, then not only did the band put that kind of time into their performances and albums, but they never stopped even after they would be considered "experts." They always seemed like they were humble enough to recognize that they could get better. Neil especially had this mindset, but I'm certain all of them did. And it shows.
It would be interesting to sit down and have a beer or two with them.
Take care!
awesome! he is such a great person to listen to. and I'm happy that he gave a fantastic safety tip at the beginning. remember kids...safety first :)
1st, I want to thank Planet Rock for not only sharing this for free, but for posting it in such an incredibly professional and unobtrusive/unannoying way!! This was a complete pleasure to watch guys, no lame interupptions, no redirects, no annoying annotations popping up, no wading thru minutes of unedited crap to get to what you came to watch, all in perfect HD, man, if only all the other commercial sites could learn to be so considerate and generous. Triple thumbs up to you PR!!
2nd, as a lifelong musician of 53, and also lifelong fan of Rush (decades b4 they were cool!), I'm completely surprised to learn today about their incredible sacrifice and commitment to us fans made by that grueling pre tour practice regimen. FIVE months??!! Thats a truly amazing commitment. Its so cool they are in a $$$$ position to be able to take that much time just to rehearse, would LOVE to buy a dvd set of those if filmed!!
I know you'll never read it, but sincerely, THANK YOU for all that hard work you did to give us your best.
Every hour spent, every aching muscle, every missed engagement, every endurance of playing a song you couldn't be more sick of cuz you know we really like it, THANKS. 3 of the bestest of friends I've ever had, and will likely never meet.
Geddy has the purest and most awesome personality, I’d live to meet him someday. It kinda makes me want to carry my Power Windows CD around everywhere in case I run into him.
Always a pleasure to see any member of RUSH respond to their fanbase - no ego, no jerking people around; flawless & self-effacing - Thanks guys !!
All three of them are humble, polite and down to earth. Alex doesn't even like to talk about how good he is and refuses to toot his own horn. Long live Rush.
Anybody who put a thumbs down on this is just being a jerk. Mr. Lee is one of the top musicians in the world as well as being an all-around great person.
The internet is such an amazing invention. I remember as a kid getting to go to a Rush concert and that was the human connection to these incredible musicians. It's so cool to be able to hear them speak and share their thoughts and answer questions. They are every bit as cool as I knew them to be from their music and then some!
Always nice to hear from the genius that is Geddy Lee! \o/
awesome, i only wish it was longer!
Agreed
great! I could listen to him all day!
Such a talent. I appreciate the years of hard work too. Thanks for all the great music Geddy and Rush!
i love this dudes voice, singing or not !
What an amazing down to earth and caring person Geddy is, seen Rush Live a few times, thank you for making a difference to my life
i think many rockers as they age and can relax having 'made it' start to chill and become just more 'human'...esp as older age / maturity kicks in.
So glad to see him and hear him answer questions that I’ve wondered about myself.
The king... Thanks for everything Geddy.....
He is Canadian, of course he is polite
Dylan Thomas hahahahahahahahahahaha ahahahahahahHHahahaha You sir have a huge future in Comedy!
Wilde Beast sarcasm?
I've lived in Canada for over 37 years now and I've never met a rude Canadian....:D:D:D:D:D:D
John McGahern Chad Kroeger is.
Go to Montreal.
Geddy is THE MAN! Such a great inspiration ..... RUSH4EVER!!!!
Informative, and straight to the point…love you, Geddy!
geddy needs to make a youtube channel
2 months of rehearsal before a tour...that's insane....and here i thought Rush made it look so simple.
Every band needs to follow Rush's example. No other bands have this much respect for the music and their fans as they do. The way the band retired was an example for all bands, they had to respect Neal and his health, and they did. Also the fact that how positive they are is amazing, why can't other bands/ musicians do that.
Good stuff. Thanks for sharing. No info about the possibility of a new album, but we take what we can get, eh?
Funny and brilliant. Always a winning combination.
Rush, uds en esencia son lo mejor del rock. Nunca habrá una constelación de genios musicales juntas de nuevo
Geddy has done the impossible, turned a geeky Guy into a super cool Guy loved by millions, that in itself tells you about humans, he deserves more than what he has
Bingley Hall with straw on the floor, freezing railway station afterwards,BUT my first Rush gig.
Mine too. In fact, it was my first gig of any kind at all. I lied to my mother, who would not let me go - I was only 13, that I was staying over at a friends house. In fact, him, me and 6 others were in a transit van driving up to Bingley Hall. Great show, crap venue.
Geddy is so cool and real about life and the limelight!
LO MAXIMO GEDDY LEE
2 months of practice for a tour. great artists who work hard at it.
Great answers.
i would watch this kind of videos all the timeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
And to think i thought i was dumb for not remembering the lyrics, Jokes aside but i'm so sorry that i know every lyric to every song from every album from word to word! Just some hardcore rush fan that is 51 years old
Geddy is such a class act. And Geddy's got jokes!
Watching this is the only thing keeping from reading 'The Towers of Toron' by Samuel R. Delany. Thanks, Geddy.
I remember general admission concerts. A Lot of people.
great man great bass player
That last question/answer (along with the the colored disc question) are true, "behind the scene" eye openers. The casual fan (self included) would think they simply show up and play. Hardly....
Seems like a lot to me as a musician. But considering the complexity of the songs and the length of Rush's concerts, it makes sense that they'd all rehearse for so long before a tour.
Thank you.🙏🌹🕊😎😊💪
He read's !!! Questions !!!!
Oh how I miss those guys......
"Make sure you remove the vodka from your back pocket..."
Hulloo Mr. Geddy! Which is your most favourite string on your ukulele, the E, A, D or H?
Cool. He speaks like an ordinary guy.
general admission venues are the norm. every major music festival, and even franchise venues like house of blues are general admission. he's such a stadium rock guy hahalol
RUSH FOREVER
I'm a fan, but not a hardcore RUSH fan. I say that to say this: If there is a more down-to-earth and classy group of guys, I've never seen them interviewed. I like these guys as people. Mind you, the talent/success they have would seem to allow for some degree of cockiness/arrogance. Nope. Makes me celebrate their success even more. RIP Neil
PS: They're Canadian, and I've always thought that is a large part of who they became.
3:55 aaa :D
I wonder if stopping the general admittance thing happened after the Who concert in Cinncinati.
Another great Canadian.
this dude is cool
Genuine nice guy
Reading questions. I don't drink vodka anymore. 2 yrs sober. Amen. 😎🙏💛🎸💝🕊🍁
Legend 🤘
Those three were 100% .............REAL!
Geddy- What is your favorite type of synthesizer?
I like his speaking voice; tbh I expected it to be much higher.
Why say an f word every other word when you can be so classy without cussing..... Those rockers are much more rare. And appreciated I would say
My crush, since I was 12 years old, and believes I'd grow up and become Mrs. Geddy Lee, and we'd have many children together ❤
Glad to hear I’m not the only one ♥️ He was my crush since I was first introduced to Rush when my dad obsessively played the Test for Echo album over and over again... when I was 6 years old. He was my first crush ever!
Now that is a well adjusted human being : )
Kansas any views on them?
Ged's final question answer should have been "Cause I'm a professional eh?"
Color code, cool.
I know Mark Slater in UK... It may not be the same Mark Slater, but it would be cool if it was.
I Do Not want to re-visit, any of my past.
Vodka about killed me. I'm 58
Correction Geddy, practice makes improvement because as humans we are never perfect.
I don't need booze to function anymore. Got rid of the problems.
He's so very HOF
35
All that rehearsal practice... I worry that the songs will get stuck in his head
mith
The 1 person who disliked this, go back to your classical violin garbage
United Coaster Hey, violinist can be prog fans! Ever heard of Kansas?