Rock’n Me 27: Talking About Western Music - Artists Who Love Rush Part 2

Hello. This is Joshua and I like to talk about Western music.
In this 27th installment of “Let's Talk About Western Music: Rush,” we will continue from the previous installment (Part 1) and focus on artists who love Rush.

◆ Rock’n Me 1: Talking About Western Music - Rush

In the last issue, I discussed artists whose influence on Rush is obvious in their music. This time, I will discuss two unexpected bands. We will focus on two artists who will carry on Rush's legacy for the next generation.

Smashing Pumpkins

The Smashing Pumpkins ran through the heyday of alternative rock in the 1990s and, after a hiatus, have remained active to the present day. At first glance, it may seem difficult to connect Smashing Pumpkins and Rush. However, Billy Corgan, the main member of Smashing Pumpkins, has always spoken of his love for Rush. At one of his concerts, he even covered Rush's hit song "Limelight”. Billy has even performed with members of Rush at events. In Hollywood, a suburb of Los Angeles, there is a tourist attraction called the Walk of Fame. It has more than 2,000 star-shaped plaques on the street, each engraved with the name of one of the entertainment world's biggest names. Rush's star was engraved in 2010, and Billy appeared with its members at that event.

And, that's not all. In a recent interview, Billy confessed to borrowing a phrase from Rush. Smashing Pumpkins' most successful album was his sophomore effort, Siamese Dream. The opening number on this album, “Cherub Rock,” shocked the music scene at the time with its clean-toned guitar riff that was strongly distorted. In fact, this riff was inspired by a phrase from Rush's “Rocky Mountain Dervishes (By-Tor and the Snow Dog)” (video 3:53~).

■ Smashing Pumpkins “Cherub Rock”

■ Rush ”By-Tor and the Snow Dog”

Manic Street Preachers

Manic Street Preachers (“Manics”) is a band from Wales, England that debuted in 1986 and broke out in the 1990s. Overcoming the tragedy of guitarist Richie Edwards' disappearance (later declared dead), the band is still going strong and is scheduled to perform in Japan in November as a double headliner with Suede.

Mannix's musical style is difficult to describe in words, but I would say it is a mixer of punk, glam rock, alternative rock, and Brit pop (just my opinion). To be honest, I had a hard time connecting them musically with Rush. However, when the title track of “Journal for Plague Lovers” (2009) hits the ears of Rush fans, their Rush radar goes off and they say, "This is it!” The intro, the guitar in the A melody, and the phrase using the first and second open strings (from 0:29 in the movie) sound like Rush's “The Spirit of Radio” (from 0:39 in the movie). Upon further research, bassist Nicky Wyer said in an interview about the song, "It was inspired by Rush. The idea was to write a song inspired by Rush and pretend that Magazine (a British punk band) was playing it.”

■ Manic Street Preachers “Journal for Plague Lovers”

■ Rush “The Spirit of Radio”

Further investigation revealed a surprising past. （Patrick Jones, Nicky's brother and poet (who is often involved with the Manics), put up a surprising tweet. When Rush drummer Neil Peart died of illness in 2020, Patrick sent a tweet in remembrance. He wrote, "I received a handwritten letter from Neil Peart, which I treasure. When Patrick and Nicky were teenagers, they were able to go to a Rush concert, of which they were big fans, but they had a row with their mother when they went. Amazingly, Patrick’s mother wrote a letter to Neil Peart describing the incident. It is amazing what a mother can do with talented children, but it is equally amazing that Neil wrote back to her.

YYNOT

YYNOT is a band formed in the United States in 2015 and they are largely unknown in Japan. However, the band is gaining a growing reputation in the U.S. as a Rush tribute band and original progressive band. They frequently tour on a small scale to pass on Rush's songs to the next generation (the reason for the small scale is discussed below).

The band was originally a project of session guitarist Billy Alexander. The inspiration for this project came from seeing Rush in concert and rekindling his old love of Rush. Billy started a project to create original music to pay tribute to Rush. The bassist he found on the Internet was Tim Stalaci, who had uploaded a video of him playing a Rush song. As a result, they created a song called “YYNOT,” which was inspired by Rush's "YYZ”. The name of the song has two meanings: (1) “YYZ” is the letter ‘N’ if it’s rotated 90 degrees, and (2) “YYZ” is also “Not”.

All of their albums are originals, but they all make Rush fans grin from ear to ear when they hear them. For example, “Kingdom Come” is full of phrases and developments that could be mistaken for previously unreleased Rush songs.

■ YYNOT “YYNOT“

■ YYNOT “Kingdom Come”

Although somewhat off topic, Tim's background is quite interesting. Tim wanted to be a musician when he was young, but gave it up and worked as a machinist for many years. During that time, he never touched the bass guitar. One day, however, his bass fever was rekindled and he uploaded the aforementioned “cover attempt” video. This activity not only led him to join YYNOT, but also to a new job at Tech 21. Yes, Tech 21 is the maker of the “Sands Amplifier,” a preamp that both guitarists and bassists rely on. Rush bassist Geddy Lee is also known for his longtime use of Sands Amplifiers, which led to the release of several preamp models of his own. Tim works at Tech 21 during the week and continues to play YYNOT live on the weekends. You can also check out Tim (once you see his unforgettable bearded face) playing “YYZ” in the sample videos of the two preamp products on the Sound House product page.

TECH21 / YYZ Geddy Lee Signature Bass PreampTECH21

TECH21 / DI-2112 Geddy Lee Signature Bass PreampCrown Lands

Crown Lands

The next band I will feature is Crown Lands, a duo from Canada like Rush. Crown Lands is a fresh band that debuted in 2020, and they are also a very strong band. Their music is progressive hard rock. The band is based on Rush, spiced up with Genesis and Dream Theater, and compressed for a two-piece band. The producers and production team also have Rush connections. It may not make a lot of sense, but I hope you get the idea that they are amazing.

What's even more amazing is that they recreate the super difficult songs with just two people. Cody Bowles handles vocals + drums + percussion, and Kevin Comeau handles guitar + bass + keyboards + bass pedals, using a double-neck guitar. In other words, they create the Rush World created with 3 people, but with just the two! Well, rather than write any more text, it is better to watch the video, which is an 18-minute suite, but you will reach the end of it in no time if you’re watching out for the juggling act. I am just looking forward to seeing how these two young artists will evolve in the future.

■ Crown Lands “Starlifter: Fearless, Part II”

Now that I am about to close this article, I would like to say that I am a big fan of Rush, and I even wrote about them in the first entry of this column. If you are interested in Rush after reading this article, I hope this will spark your interest in their music.

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