Rock’n Me 26: Talking About Western Music - Artists Who Love Rush Part 1

Hello. This is Joshua and I like to talk about Western music.
In this 26th entry, I would like to introduce you to some of the artists who love Canada's national rock band, Rush.

Rush was a three-member band that pursued originality in their music from the time of their debut in 1974 until their hiatus in 2014. As a result, they have built a one-of-a-kind musical style with superhuman techniques and song development that no one would not expect from only three people.

If I were to classify Rush's musical style into genres, I think it tends to be lumped into hard rock or progressive rock. However, their sound was constantly evolving, incorporating pop, alternative rock, and even reggae into what can only be described as that “Rush” sound. As a result, there is no end to the number of artists who pay tribute to them and express their influence both directly and indirectly. I will introduce such Rush-loving artists in the following sections. For this first entry, we will focus on those artists who have acknowledged both themselves and others as Rush-loving artists.

Foo Fighters

The Foo Fighters, led by former Nirvana member Dave Grohl (Vo / Gt / Dr), is now one of the biggest rock bands of all time. Last year, the band was struck by tragedy when drummer Taylor Hawkins (Dr / Vo) died suddenly, but they have released a new album with session drummer extraordinaire Josh Freese, and they are scheduled to perform at the Fuji Rock Festival.

Now, Dave and Taylor have said that listening to Rush from an early age helped them establish their musicality. There are many moments when you can feel that kind of love for Rush in Foo-Fighter's music.. If I remember correctly, Dave said in an interview that the 7/8 beat intro to Foo-Fighter’s “Times Like Deeds” (2003) (from 0:07) was inspired by the intro to Rush's “Xanadu” (also in 7/8 beat, from 1:50). During a concert at the Fuji Rock Festival in 2000, Dave played the ending phrase of “Xanadu” at the end of one of their songs. Also, the drum part (from video 1:10) in the chorus section of “Rope” (2011) is a phrase (from video 0:38) that (Rush drummer) Neil Peart often uses in “The Spirit Off Radio” and in other songs, and Taylor used it verbatim, “I gotta pay Neil royalties”, Taylor admitted in an interview.

■ Foo Fighters “Times Like Deeds”

■ Rush “Xanadu”

■ Foo Fighters “Rope”

■Rush “The Spirit of Radio”

The two FF members gradually got to know the members of Rush better, and in 2013 Rush was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. On this occasion, Dave and Taylor (and producer Nick Raskulinecz) performed Rush’s “2112” as a prelude. They even recreated Rush's white outfits from the photo on the back of the album. They performed the song halfway through, and then the three members of Rush joined them for the main part of the show, which was a fan favorite. For Taylor's passing, Foo Fighters held two grand tribute concerts (one in London and one in Los Angeles). Geddy Lee (Vo / Ba / Key) and Alex Lifeson (Gt) of Rush performed at both concerts.

■ Dave Grohl, Taylor Hawkins, Nick Raskulinecz (+ Rush), “2112”

Primus

Primus, a three-member band that debuted in 1989, has been relentlessly pursuing its own path with its strange and bizarre sound. Their strange musicality is hard to describe, but one of their best-known songs, “Jerry Was A Race Car Driver” (1991) from the album Sailing the Seas of Cheese (1991), is a perfect example of their metamorphosis. Frontman Les Claypool (vo, b) raps while tapping his six-string fretless bass and gunning and distorting the bass as he slaps it during the buildup.

■ Primus “Jerry Was A Race Car Driver”

As I mentioned earlier, Leslie and his bandmates do not hide their influence from Rush. In the 1990s, they toured together as the opening act for Rush and became close friends with Rush's members. In the 1990s, he toured with Rush as their opening act and became friends with the members of Rush. In the 1990s, he toured with Rush as the opening act and became friends with the band members, and in 2021, he performed Rush's fifth album on their tour, A Farewell To Kings (1977), as a tribute to the band. Geddy's high tone vocals are phenomenal on the original recording, but Les sang an octave lower from the original, which was the only thing I found a bit strange.

■ Primus “John the Fisherman”

■Rush “YYZ”

Dream Theater

Since their debut, Dream Theater has been described as “the second coming of Rush” or “a combination of Rush and Metallica,” and has been compared to Rush in several ways. This is understandable, as the leader of the band at the time, drummer Mike Portnoy (who later left the band), was an unparalleled Rush fanatic. The predecessor band of Drum Theater was called Majesty. The band's name came from Mike's comment while everyone was listening to Rush's “Bastille Day” (1975), "majestic" was what came to mind as I was listening to it. In order to pay homage to Rush, the demo tape from 1985-1986 also included a cover of “YYZ”I introduced earlier. This sound source was later released under the name Dream Theater.

■ Dream Theater (Majesty) “YYZ”

Things changed in 2004. At a drummers' event, Mike organized a spectacular event. Cygnus and the Sea Monsters performed as a complete Rush band, with Mr. Big's Paul Gilbert on guitar. Neil Peart's trademark drum set is a “360-degree drum set” with various percussion instruments surrounding him. Mike faithfully honored the original and even included the drum solo from the live version of “YYZ”.

■ Cygnus & the Sea Monsters “YYZ”

Furthermore, in 2007. When Mike was offered the chance to interview his favorite drummer as an interviewer for a drum magazine, Mike didn't hesitate to pick Neil Peart. In 2010, Mike left Drummer, but the other members did not hide their love of Rush, and the album design for “Dream Theater” (2014) was done by Hugh Syme, who worked on Rush's work. The album design for “Dream Theater” (2014) was done by Hugh Syme, who also worked with Rush. Furthermore, guitarist John Petrucci revealed that the song “The Looking Glass” on the album was inspired by Rush's “Limelight”.

■ Dream Theater- “The Looking Glass”

■ Rush- “Limelight

This is the end of Part 1. In Part 2, which will be published soon, I will be covering more Rush fanatics, so please stay tuned. The “sound & person” column is made possible by your contributions. For more information about submissions, click here.

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