The National Midnight Star #2067

Errors-To: rush-request@syrinx.umd.edu Reply-To: rush@syrinx.umd.edu Sender: rush@syrinx.umd.edu Precedence: bulk From: rush@syrinx.umd.edu To: rush_mailing_list@yyz.com Subject: 07/06/98 - The National Midnight Star #2067
** ____ __ ___ ____ ___ ___ ** ** / /_/ /_ /\ / /__/ / / / / /\ / /__/ / ** ** / / / /__ / \/ / / / / /__/ / \/ / / /___ ** ** ** ** __ ___ ____ ** ** /\ /\ / / \ /\ / / / _ /__/ / ** ** / \/ \ / /___/ / \/ / /___/ / / / ** ** ** ** ____ ____ ___ ___ ** ** /__ / /__/ /__/ ** ** ____/ / / / / \ ** List posting/followup: rush@syrinx.umd.edu Administrative matters: rush-request@syrinx.umd.edu or rush-mgr@syrinx.umd.edu (Administrative postings to the posting address will be ignored!) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The National Midnight Star, Number 2067 Monday, 06 Jul 1998 Today's Topics: Administrivia Old Rush Sighting International House of Rushians Rush 'Test' "objectionable material on rtb RE:The Disgruntled Postal Workers!!! DCK Rush sighting DCK Rush sightin Fav Bands and a farewell to you SKIPPING ALONG. . . TFE Vinyl In Defense of "Dog Years/TFE" Kerns' Oxymoron (Radio Shows) My favorite bands Veganism? Rush @ Metallica Songs in Hell Re: Originality? RUSH sighting Victor promos Fireworks Music Re: Stellar Dynamics/ HEY DJ!!! Sean Robinson - Are you out there? 1985 and MR Thoughts on Live Album/Fav. Jams Attention MARA fans - shameless plug... Dimwit Spazzes PBS/Mystic Rythems Jumping In You're not alone! Fave TV Fave Radio Shows re: PBS Re: Lerxt When Van Halen was a band! Rutsey "interview" and cover re: zzz NNC NZC NRC guitar modes Mystic Rhythms: Is Available, honestly! In Defense of Rush ---------------------------------------------------------- From: rush-mgr@syrinx.umd.edu (The RUSH Fans Digest Manager) Date: Mon Jul 6 09:08:50 PDT 1998 Subject: Administrivia As I'm sure many of you have heard by now, Neil's wife Jackie passed away last week of cancer. I have no more details than that, just the following article in the Toronto Sun (which seems very cold to me...) >July 4, 1998 >RUSH DRUMMER'S WIFE DIES OF CANCER > >By JANE STEVENSON -- Toronto Sun > Tragedy has struck Rush drummer Neil Peart again. > Peart's wife, Jacqueline Tayor, is dead from cancer almost one year after >the couple lost their 19-year-old daughter last August in a single-car crash. > A spokesperson for Rush's Toronto-based management company confirmed that >Peart's wife had died but declined to give details. > Peart's daughter, Serena Taylor, died when the Jeep she was driving left >the westbound lane of Hwy. 401, and crashed near Brighton, Ont. - rush-mgr ps. And I tell you, there are some violent Rush fans out there. I haven't updated the web page yet with this info, and I've already been swore at, called named, & threatened, as if posting it a few days late will change the fact of it... *sigh* ---------------------------------------------------------- From: editor <editor@texasrails.com> Date: Thu, 02 Jul 1998 09:14:57 -0500 Subject: Old Rush Sighting Forgive me Rush fans, but in all the times I have read the different Rush sightings in the TNMS's, I never thought to contribute my one and only real live Rush sighting. BACK THE CLOCK UP ABOUT 14 YEARS June 6, 1984 (or thereabout) I'm 18 yrs old and am driving down I-20 in west Texas early in the morning (9am) to pick up a friend at a ranch to take him to that evenings Rush Concert scheduled in Odessa, Texas. Distances in West Texas are sometimes shocking to outsiders, but locals think very little of three hour drives - mine being twice that amount round trip. Near Monahans Texas (35 miles w of Odessa) I catch up to a four door car with a rental bumper sticker on it. As I pass it I notice the three men inside the vehicle. I'll never forget it now, but at the time I didn't have a clue. Geddy was driving, NP was in the front seat, and Alex was in the backseat with his arm sort of thrown over the front seat talking to the other two. Now having most of my Rush collection on 8-track tapes was a distinct disadvantage here, since the eight track did not have pictures of the band members. For one reason or another I noticed GL's nose (it is rather large) and Alex's distinctive haircut. Well the rental turns off at Monahans Sand Hills State Park and I continue on my mission. It is only later when I plug my new Grace Under Pressure Cassette into my car's new cassette player that I realize I had seen the three of them in the rental. My friend spent most of the return trip to Midland telling me I should have followed them into the park and gotten autographs, that and the fact he kept hitting me!(just kidding) That night I saw Rush in concert for the first time. It was the Pres/Grace tour and I enjoyed it tremendously, even though my whinny girlfriend at the time had the three of us move three seperate times because it was too loud. Since then I have learned/retained what the band members look like and have seen them 4 more times in concert, (HYF/OK CITY, Presto/Dallas, RTB/Lubbock*, TFE/Dallas) but wonder what would have happened if I had only turned right into the State Park. Kyle Vernon Editor Texas Rails Online http://www.texasrails.com/ *RTB in Lubbock was the best of the five since my wife won near front row tickets in a "Roll the Bones" radio station, 94.5 KFMX, give away with a dice roll of 12 (I rolled a seven). My skin tingled with "Roll the Bones" and I got something in my eyes, real men don't cry, during "Time Stand Still" ---------------------------------------------------------- From: "eddy Maxwell" <eddymax@stcl.tamu.edu> Date: Thu, 02 Jul 1998 09:25:52 -0500 Subject: International House of Rushians Hey Hey! Got a question for the non-North American Rushians out there (you know who you are!). How did you get into Rush? Was it as easy as turning on a rock station or seeing them on MTV (back when it was good)? Or did you have to go to extra lengths to learn about this great band? I guess we who can hear some Rush on the radio may take the band for granted, but what about people who have to really seek them out? A little Rush moment: Rush really helped me on my bicycling vacation in Ireland. I'd start up a b.a.h. (big ass hill), and I'd sing to myself, trying to keep a cadence going. Sometimes I'd sing one of my songs or Johnny Horton's Battle of New Orleans, but Rush kept popping into my head, especially Prime Mover and Marathon. I now return you to your regular programming. Valkyrie - "Why don't you beg out of your own disasters?"--the Connells ---------------------------------------------------------- From: Al Willig <aawillig@millcomm.com> Date: Thu, 02 Jul 1998 09:45:59 -0500 Subject: Rush 'Test' I have a Rush 'Test' that was taken by me and 4 friends while waiting for the Chicago show last summer. Any of you like to try your hand at it? Send me a an e-mail and I'll send it to you. Let me know if you want it as a MSWord doc or text. How's it goin' Marty? You finished yet? - |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| Al Willig "Overwhelmed by everything Financial Officer but wanting oh so much." Minnesota Institute of Acupuncture & Herbal Studies Phone: 612 603 0994 Fax: 612 603 0995 ---------------------------------------------------------- From: denimking@juno.com (z z z) Date: Wed, 1 Jul 1998 19:10:24 -0500 Subject: "objectionable material on rtb i think it might be just because the word "erotica" was used in "neurotica." you know how strict some of those things used to be, they probably wouldn't even carry korn back then. adam "If at first you don't succeed, it's probably someone else's fault." ---------------------------------------------------------- From: "Penna, John:" <jpenna@tosco.com> Date: Thu, 2 Jul 1998 11:20:32 -0400 Subject: RE:The Disgruntled Postal Workers!!! Good day, eh.... Joe Russo wrote: >> First and foremost I love Rush!!! They are awesome!!!! Ok...taht = >>aside........ >> Check out my brother-in-laws band the Disgruntled Postal Workers. = They >>are a NJ based original rock band with a lot of Rush influnce. They = don't >>play Rush music but you can hear the influence in their music. >>They are pretty = good I >>think you people here would probably like them. They are curently = working >>on a second cd. >>Thanks >>Joe R. I must concur, on both points. RUSH IS GREAT! and i have seen Disgruntled Postal Workers at the Birchhill. I'm friends with one of the members' cousins and he took a bunch of to see them. in fact, my first comment to him was that they sounded like RUSH. i would definitely recommend checking them out. thanks -JP the mad immortal man.... ---------------------------------------------------------- From: "Joshua Overmiller" <jomichov@hotmail.com> Date: Thu, 02 Jul 1998 08:36:23 PDT Subject: DCK Rush sighting I was using the DCK (a DOOM editor) today when I had a Rush Sighting. If you want to run a level that you're editing, you can do it from the editor. It will ask you for the level of difficulty also. Instead of using the scale that DOOM uses, it picks A random scale scale that has a common theme. One of the themes is Rush. The scale goes (from lowest to highest): Finding My Way Distant Early Warning Red Sector A Manhattan Project Force Ten I thought that was pretty neat. (It was DCK version 3.62 by the way) ---------------------------------------------------------- From: "Lucas Harris" <Somsoc2112@prodigy.net> Date: Thu, 2 Jul 1998 10:43:31 -0000 DCK Rush sighting My dream band... Guitar & Vocals- Jerry Cantrell (My Song is currently my favorite) Guitar - Angus Young (trading lead and rhythym) Bass - Mike Anthony Drums - Lars Ulrich But do you think they'd mesh? Jerry and Lars come from far darker backgrounds than Angus and Mike. Thank you for your time, Lucas Harris Webpage to "someday" exist at pages.prodigy.net/Somsoc2112 "Please pardon my language--it's usually much worse." -Steve Austin ---------------------------------------------------------- From: "Pierre Tessier" <ptessi@lacitec.on.ca> Date: Thu, 2 Jul 1998 11:55:05 EST Subject: Fav Bands and a farewell to you Salut, I am going on vacation 3 weeks so I'll unsubscribe for that period. During my vacation I'll dig up and old rock paper that used to be published in Montreal (Live le journal rock). I have a copy that was devoted to Rush when they came to the Forum in Montreal in 82 (I think). I'll try to find something interresting and tell you about it. Favorite Bands (if you care) No particular order Rush Dream Theater Genesis Saga Yes Marillion (Fish and Hoggart but more Fish) Styx QueensRyche Jean Michel Jarre Pink Floyd U2 Salut Living come much easier once you admit you'r dying...............Dream Theater ---------------------------------------------------------- From: COP42194@aol.com Date: Thu, 2 Jul 1998 11:56:57 EDT Subject: SKIPPING ALONG. . . Songs to skip. . . Any instrumental done after YYZ Everyday Glory (used to like it) Hmm. . . thought I could come up with some more than that! Guess not! BTW, anyone else think that "Different Strings" is an great tune? Sorry for the waste of time. . . ---------------------------------------------------------- From: John Gerard Lupoli <jglupoli@snet.net> Date: Thu, 02 Jul 1998 12:36:12 -0400 Subject: TFE Vinyl Hi fellow Rushians, somebody wrote: I think TFE is the first album not to be released on vinyl. You're way off there. The last album I can remember is for Power Windows. Anyway, TFE was released on vinyl in case you don't know. It is very rare and it was only available for a limited time. It is mentioned during Part 8 of the TFE World Priemere interview, which is available at http://syrinx.umd.edu/rush/RA/tfe8.ra ---------------------------------------------------------- From: BoomerX65@aol.com Date: Thu, 2 Jul 1998 12:38:14 EDT Subject: In Defense of "Dog Years/TFE" Hello Rush Fans, Allow me to defend "Dog Years" and all of Test For Echo for that matter. Ashamed as I may be to admit it, I lost interest in Rush in the mid 80's after the release of GUP. At the age of 18 in 1984, I for one, did not like their change of pace on GUP, so I took my musical interests elsewhere. At the time, I just wanted them to maintain the PW & MP sound a while longer . . . Signals was a more than enough change for me at the time. I have since gone back and caught up with the great sounds of PoW, HYF & Presto, but it was RTB, Counterparts & especially TFE that truly re-ignited my passion to listen to this era of Rush's music again with an open mind and appreciate their creative integrity and changing sounds. Seeing them on tour in Columbus, Ohio last year was the real clincher . . . you could say that I felt like I had died and gone to doggie heaven : ) Anyhoo . . . Dog Years has a very good message to it and I totally agree with "mrfranklin@west.raytheon.com" who wrote that this song has the "most raw energy since Tom Sawyer". For that matter, the whole album has an aggressive, almost angst ridden feel to it that I find more appealing with each spin in the CD player. In closing, let me also partially agree with Michael who wrote: <<You Bet Your Life (Is it just me, or did Billy Joel do this exact song, but it was called 'We Didn't Start the Fire'?)>> I don't think you can listen to this with an open mind and not hear the similarities . . . by the way . . . Billy Joel's "Storm Front" CD containing this song was released in October of '89 while RTB was released in July of '91 >. . . just food for thought. Peace & Health, David "Until he extends the circle of his compassion to all living things, man will not himself find peace" - Albert Schweitzer ---------------------------------------------------------- From: Nick Bruels <nickb@teleport.com> Date: Thu, 2 Jul 1998 09:43:39 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Kerns' Oxymoron (Radio Shows) rush-mgr's gonna love this thread... > From: Mike Kerns <mike.kerns@boeing.com> > Subject: Radio shows > > Hiya! > > We've had a vote on what were our favorite tv shows, but let's put the > thermometer in where the intellect of Rush fans can truly be measured -- > radio shows. Oh yeah, that's a measure of intellect if ever there was one! > [...] I mean the intellectual side of radio, [...] Rush Limbaugh Thanks for the laugh Mike. It was a good one. Nick "I am the truth detector" Bruels ---------------------------------------------------------- From: John Gerard Lupoli <jglupoli@snet.net> Date: Thu, 02 Jul 1998 12:52:49 -0400 Subject: My favorite bands Hi fellow Rushians, Anyway, I'm new to the mailing list. I've only been a member since Monday. I'm a 14-year-old obsessed Rush fan and I'm from Connecticut. I live in North Haven, Connecticut, but I really live on the border of North Haven and Wallingford, Connecticut. Wallingford is the home of Oakdale Theater (for those of you who heard about it.) "Yes" just had a concert there. It's a great theater. Rush never had a concert there though. It used to be a small crummy theater but they recently remodeled it and made it much bigger so now a lot of bands want to go there. I hope that Rush will have a concert there for the new live album (being that I live so damn close to it. I can practically ride my bike over there.) Anyway, I'd like to list my favorite bands in no particular order: Rush (of course) Led Zeppelin (without a doubt) The Beatles The Greatful Dead The Jimi Hendrix Experience Boston Pink Floyd The Rolling Stones Aerosmith Yes I would also like to list my idea of some of the world's greatest musicians: Best Guitarist of all time: Jimi Hendrix 2nd Best Guitarist of all time: Eric Clapton Best Percussionist (Drummer) of all time: Neil Peart (of course) 2nd Best Percussionist of all time: John Bonham Well, that's it. See you later fellow Rushians ---------------------------------------------------------- From: Nick Bruels <nickb@teleport.com> Date: Thu, 2 Jul 1998 09:50:26 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Veganism? > From: BoomerX65@aol.com [...] > This is my first post, so I just wanted to say how much I enjoy reading your > responses about Rush and other related subjects. Welcome, don your asbestos... > > "Veganism is an expression of reverence for all living things As long as said living things happen to belong to the animal kingdom, and not the plant kingdome, right? > . . . ourselves, > our fellow creatures and our Earth." Humans are natural omnivores. We evolved as hunter-gatherers. (Apologies to any superstitous sorts who don't "believe in" evilushun) Nick (who loves Gardenburgers (TM) and eats vegetarian as much as possible because I like to) ---------------------------------------------------------- From: Pete <trigeek@mindspring.com> Date: Thu, 02 Jul 1998 14:05:47 -0400 Subject: Rush @ Metallica >From: "Costello, Bryan" <Bryan.Costello@sea.siemens.com> >Date: Mon, 29 Jun 1998 13:28:12 -0400 >Subject: Rush sighting at Metallica > >Just back from a pair of 'Tallica shows this weekend.... Atlanta & >Charlotte. Both were incredibly good, more on that later, I just had to >get this in. This Rush sighting may be a tad bit removed, but my buddy, >a fellow NMS subscriber will verify this for us. > >Friday night here in Atlanta, I sat right next to a guy wearing a Rush >"Starman" T-shirt. The next night in Charlotte, the guy right directly >behind me was wearing a bootleg "Roll the Bones" T-shirt. Who knew? > >No, I am not 15 years old & I don't smoke pot. >Bring on the Flames! The Undertaker's Brother has nothing on me! > >Bryan C Holy smoke! That was me! No shit! Great 'tallica shows, eh? I did Atlanta on Friday night and then made the trip to Charlotte on Saturday. Awesome shows! ---------------------------------------------------------- From: The King of Norway <joelforeman@usa.net> Date: Thu, 02 Jul 1998 13:54:16 -0400 Subject: Songs in Hell Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Joel. I live a little town named Orlando. You may have heard of it. Have been subscribed this list for quite some time now, but I rarely write. This subject, however, of 1 song to listen to in hell piqued my interest. Well, here goes. The one song I would listen to is NOT a Rush song. Sorry guys. It's my fav and it's probably the cheesiest you've ever heard -- "Sailing" by Christopher Cross. It would be pretty soothing while I am sitting there in hell against my rock. I would just sit back and think of the ocean breeze and it would probably cool me down quite a bit. BUT, if I was going to pick a Rush song, it would have to be La Villa Strangiato or YYZ. Yes, I would miss Geddy singing, but these songs show off their technical prowess more than most. Maybe they'd even let me bring an instrument with me to learn how to play along. Joel http://members.aol.com/joel4man ---------------------------------------------------------- From: DrumSci@aol.com Date: Thu, 2 Jul 1998 14:54:00 EDT Subject: Re: Originality? RUSH sighting OK, I had let the whole Alex Van Halen thing drop until Marskaoto posted in # 2063 about AVH's drum solo - "Instead during his solo he played along to video tracks of himself...I think it was an ingenious, imaginative, interesting, pleasing and ORIGINAL way to do a drum solo." I couldn't let this pass by without replying. As I believe Marie Antoinette said, "There's nothing new except what's been forgotten." I remember seeing the British glam/pop/hard rock band The SWEET on their only U.S. tour back in 1975. Their drummer, whose name I forget, did the exact same thing!!! They had 3 screens above the stage and synchronized 3 movie (film not video!) projectors of him playing drumset, timpani, and I think some percussion. Now that WAS amazing as there were no computers to run the whole thing. It was an act of sheer luck when it worked! The moral of the story: There IS nothing new and everybody copies from everybody else. I don't like Van Halen the band, but admire AVH for being a great drummer. Comparing NP & AVH is like apples and oranges - they're both good. Now leave him alone! >Obligatory RUSH sighting. Back around the same time (mid 70's) I spent my youth playing rock n roll at clubs in northern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula. I can't remember where it is exactly, but on many of my trips the main highway crossed state highway 2112. I always got a bit of a rush when we drove by... Merci, Michael Bettine "We can tolerate our differences..." ---------------------------------------------------------- From: "Brad M. Parmerter" <PARMERTERB@newton.hartwick.edu> Date: Thu, 2 Jul 1998 15:43:28 -0400 Subject: Victor promos Hi folks, If anyone is interested, a local used cd shop has 3 promo cd copies of Victor - they're cases aren't really nice looking but everything inside looks alright. Email me if you want me to pick one up for you. Brad brad@yyz.com ---------------------------------------------------------- From: Ryan Joseph King <kingr@rpi.edu> Date: Thu, 2 Jul 1998 15:46:38 -0400 (EDT) Subject: Fireworks Music Hi, With it being the holiday and all, i was wondering if anyone ever heard Rush music as background for fireworks displays. I was driving around one day listening to one of my favorite station, and they happened to be sponsoring a fireworks display and as the fireworks started, they opened up with 2112 Overture. I was psyched... Thanks, Ryan ---------------------------------------------------------- From: "Darren Platakis" <phuse@niagara.com> Date: Thu, 2 Jul 1998 15:53:02 -0400 Subject: Re: Stellar Dynamics/ HEY DJ!!! This post is in regards to DJ Benjamin's question about "Stellar Dynamics" I too have a copy of Stellar Dynamics, it is an album recorded over 2 nights in Cleveland I believe when Rush opened for either Kiss or Aerosmith I'm not sure. It does have a really cool version of Fancy Dancer on it though. On the album it's called "Mystery Title" That's about all I know. Just oput of curiosity, what number is your Electric Ladyland album. I own that one too and mine is number #057 out of 500 made. By the way DJ I tried to email this to you but it wouldn't go through. I tried your homepage but it doesn't see, to exist. Oh well. Take it easy, Darren Platakis Cornerstone Records & Productions 13 Nello St. St. Catharines, Ontario L2N 1G5 http://www.niagara.com/~wsecord phuse@niagara.com csr_records@hotmail.com Get your copy of the new PHUSE CD "Power . Funk . Pop" NOW!!!! ---------------------------------------------------------- From: Benjamin Leimkuhler <bel3697@griffon.mwsc.edu> Date: Thu, 2 Jul 1998 14:56:37 -0500 (CDT) Subject: Sean Robinson - Are you out there? We haven't heard from Sean Robinson regarding the new album yet. He always has a reliable source of inside information on Rush. If you're out there Sean, let us know when you get some news we don't already know. Ben Leimkuhler ---------------------------------------------------------- From: DAVE WALKER <dwalker@vhsnet.org> Date: Thu, 2 Jul 1998 16:12:48 -0400 Subject: 1985 and MR Steve wrote.... Different subject here. Does anyone remember a show produced by PBS called 1985? If I'm not mistaken the theme song for that was Mystic Rhythms. Maybe someone could confirm that. Steve Yes. Mystic Rhythms was used as a bumper for a show called 1985, but it was a NBC(not PBS ) news show. Only NBC would start a news show in the fall of the season and give it a dated name. Anyway the show never made it past the first break of the year. Also caught Plant and page last night. Great show, but boy have they aged. They had a bit more charisma than our boyz, but RUSH sure does have more class, Later, dwalker@vhsnet.org davew@lm.com http://www.telerama.com/~davew ---------------------------------------------------------- From: rushfan.2112@juno.com (Christopher W Lindsay) Date: Thu, 2 Jul 1998 02:19:06 -0400 Subject: Thoughts on Live Album/Fav. Jams Well, as I ponder my dream setlist for the new live album(s), I can't help but think Presto will be poorly represented because from the CP and T4E tours, only "Show Don't Tell" was played. Also, from RTB, only the first threesongs made the cut (too bad they didn't play "The Big Wheel"--I like it better than "Ghost...") on the two tours. Anyways, among the older stuff they should put on RED BARCHETTA (I like the new middle where they drastically slow down the tempo and I love Geddy's bass at the ending),LIMELIGHT, CLOSER TO THE HEART (because it's tradition?), HEMISPHERES PRELUDE (hey, it has to be represented), NATURAL SCIENCE,2112 and SUBDIVISIONS (only because of it being a personal fav.--I know it's probably not going to make the cut). It's tough making a setlist, when you have so many great songs, you try it! Fav. song intro...CP tour "We've gone country"...intro to "a southern song called Cold Farr." On the album premiere, Peart said that "Dog Years" was written on the morning after a nigt of "celebrating", and because he "'is a professional", wrote the lyrics with humor. Geezm you guys complainig about the lyrics missed their humor again! Do you guys understand about Part 4 of Ganster of Boats Trilogy? I son't mean to be flammatory, but sometimes, they need to write a nonsensical song to lighten the album up, anyone else agree? The Lerxst solo thread made me think of some of my favorite jams in songs, not necessarily just Lifeson by himself. -After the middle part in "Jacob's Ladder" when the bass joins Alex and Neil is matching the music with great percussion work. -The 2 minute-plus part in "The Camera Eye" right before the "Grim faced and forbiding..." and it occurs in other parts just not as long -The end of Prime Mover when the music builds, "the point of surrender." Finally, A Question for drummers: When the drummer hits a type of cymbal, it makes a sound that I always say sounds like rubbing sandpaper, I apologize for my vagueness. To give you an idea, it occurs a lot in songs, but stands out at end of Subdivisions, Prime Mover, Jacob's Ladder (see above), Tai Shan, etc. HOw is that created? What's it called? Sorry again for long post, but I have a lot to say about RUSH. Who doesn't? ---------------------------------------------------------- From: Jim Questa <jamesq@one.net> Date: Thu, 2 Jul 1998 16:51:05 -0400 (EDT) Subject: Attention MARA fans - shameless plug... Hi folks, There were a few folks here who remembered a band called MARA from Cincinnati - a RUSH (among others) influanced original rock band. Our second album has been released in Europe and Japan, receiving VERY good reviews over the last few months. We have been informed that MARA was selected to preform at the Cincinnati leg of VH-1's Rock Across America - opening the show for The Torries and Cheep Trick on July 4th. The show is at the Timberwolf ampltheator at Paramont's Kings Island. The show is FREE with the cost of admition to the park. I just wanted to let the MARA fan's on TNMS know that we're still around, still recording, and being recognized. Your continued support is much appreciated! Thanks! Jim Questa - Keyboardist - MARA - _________________________________ ___ | | | \ Jim Questa - Unix Shell | jamesq@one.net | | \ http://w3.one.net/~jamesq/ |_______________________________|_|_____| Questa Songworks / Bad Habit (_)(_) (_)(_) (_) ---------------------------------------------------------- From: Diana Hoffer <dianax@jps.net> Date: Thu, 02 Jul 1998 13:56:05 -0700 Subject: Dimwit Spazzes I for one think--okay, hope--that the title "Dimlit Stages for All Ages" is just a little practical joke the band is playing on us. What an un-catchy title. At first I was thinking that maybe just "Dimlit Stages" wouldn't be so bad, but then I thought, "When was the last time Rush performed on a dimlit stage? Dimlit compared to what, the surface of the sun?" ---------------------------------------------------------- From: "David Lombardo" <lombardo@culinary.net> Date: Thu, 2 Jul 1998 16:21:27 -0500 Subject: PBS/Mystic Rythems I DO remember a show in the 80's that used MR as their outro music...I thought for sure it was on NBC & it was a news magazine type show (similar to Dateline) on Monday or Tuesday nights...maybe Sunday, but I remember watching that show just to hear MR played. I thought I was the ONLY one who remembers that! ---------------------------------------------------------- From: Alex Gray <bigearl@ARCHES.UGA.EDU> Date: Thu, 2 Jul 1998 17:47:17 -0400 (Eastern Daylight Time) Subject: Jumping In Just writing a bit while waiting for my MD 4-track to finish copying. This thing is an absolute quantum leap over my old Tascam Porta-03 cassette 4-track (anyone else ever used one of those?), but every time you do _any_ digital editing function, even if it's deleting a 1/15th-of-a-second hesitation, you have to copy the _whole_ song before you can do another edit. And copying a song can take over 5 minutes. The song I'm working on is the first in my series of home-recorded Rush covers, which I mentioned a while back. I'm covering one song from each of the studio albums in order and will (hopefully) put them on the Web somewhere. The selection from _Rush_ on which I am currently working is "What You're Doing". I was originally thinking "Working Man", but I went back and listened to it to learn it and darned if that song isn't at least half guitar solo/jam. Fun in a band but a damn pain if you have to go through and lay down a starting rhythm guitar part BY YOURSELF... WYD doesn't have that problem (though it repeats a LOT)... To participate in a couple threads here: People seem to be talking about their least favorite Rush songs. Well, I love all of it, from the blue-collar blues-metal of _Rush_ to the high-prog late-70's stuff to the more radio-friendly '80s and onward, but the one song I _just_ can't get into is <BLASPHEMY ALERT> "Natural Science". I KNOW that NS is considered one of their classics, but when I listen to it, the sections just don't hang together. In my ears, they don't really add up to a song. And some parts of it just embarass me when I hear them, particularly the lyrics to the third section (especially the last line of each stanza) - they just seem very clumsy and adolescent to me compared to Neil's normally tight writing. The only parts of NS I really like are the very beginning (up to the "Wheels within wheels" part - and why is this section _repeated_ later in the song?) and the very end ("Wave upon wave"...). I know what you're saying: "Then don't listen to it". I usually don't - I listen to the beginning and skip the rest. I don't really _hate_ this song, it's not a _bad_ song, it just seems like a real misstep for Rush, something I might expect adolescent Rush-wannabees to come up with, not the Boys themselves... My favorite non-Rush bands (in no order): Queen (first rock band I ever got into; their early stuff is still fun to listen to) Beatles (and some of the members' solo albums, esp. Paul) Pink Floyd (while they still had Roger Waters) The Who Jimi Hendrix Yes (up to and including _Going for the One_) King Crimson (and Adrian Belew's solo stuff) Genesis (especially the two albums made immediately after PG left) David Bowie (esp the "Berlin Trilogy", that period) Weather Report (and Jaco Pastorius' solo stuff) Yellowjackets Pat Metheny (don't laugh, he's a HELL of a guitarist) Dave Weckl's solo albums Smashing Pumpkins REM U2 (_Joshua Tree_ onward) Pixies Veruca Salt Beck Metallica Pantera NIN (when the hell is he going to release another album?! Isn't he working on one with Rick Rubin?) >...and probably many others. I think my CD collection has cracked the 400 mark now. :-9 Well, I'll let you go read something else now... More news on the home-recorded covers when there is any. Alex R. Gray, £¢¥¤§‰¶µßïgÊ bigearl@arches.uga.edu smisrp@www.cba.uga.edu "Son, a woman is a lot like, uh... a refrigerator! They're about six feet tall, 300 pounds, they - make ice..." - Homer Simpson ---------------------------------------------------------- From: "matthew alexander majewski" <majewski@mailcity.com> Date: Thu, 02 Jul 1998 14:46:18 -0700 Subject: You're not alone! Jessica seems to believe she is the only one who loves the song-'The Speed of Love'. Not true!!! That was one of my favorites off of Counterparts from the very first time I heard it. Ok, I'm bored. Other fav bands... Sarah McLachlan Paula Cole Pink Floyd Metallica Live Frank Sinatra Garth Brooks Soundgarden Pearljam Black Sabbath Jimmy Buffett Later, Matt ---------------------------------------------------------- From: Alan Willig <aawillig@midas.millcomm.com> Date: Thu, 2 Jul 1998 16:48:57 -0500 (CDT) Subject: Fave TV Favorite TV shows: (no particular order) Simpsons The Crocodile Hunter (that guys a nut) Wild Discovery Wonders of Weather Raging Planet MASH Star Trek (originals & next gen.) (And here's where you get to laugh) Whatever PGA event that happens to be airing this week. ---------------------------------------------------------- From: Alan Willig <aawillig@midas.millcomm.com> Date: Thu, 2 Jul 1998 16:56:27 -0500 (CDT) Subject: Fave Radio Shows My favorite radio shows are kinda boring Click & Clack Talk of the Nation All things considered I don't really listen to popular radio anymore. It's NPR for me. ---------------------------------------------------------- From: Travis.L.Hayden@ucm.com Date: Thu, 2 Jul 1998 17:12:14 -0500 Subject: re: PBS Actually the news program was called 1984 and it was on NBC (or was it CBS?) >...hosted by connie chung I think. MR was the perfect opening for the program. I wonder if the show contributed to the over platinum sales of the album. Not that I am saying PoW is not good, its rush's best CD IMHO. But I think PoW was rush's last platinum selling album...right? I wouldnt be surprised if T4E went platinum tho... It would be interesting to see if that toy movie that uses Tom Sawyer sample results in more ppl "discovering" rush sgrigsby@mindspring.com wrote: Different subject here. Does anyone remember a show produced by PBS called 1985? If I'm not mistaken the theme song for that was Mystic Rythems. Maybe someone could confirm that. ---------------------------------------------------------- From: Alan Willig <aawillig@midas.millcomm.com> Date: Thu, 2 Jul 1998 17:37:00 -0500 (CDT) Subject: Re: Lerxt Ok folks, you'll now get a full view of just how deep my ignorance (but not prejudice and fear) run. I'm having trouble with the term 'lerxt'. What is the origine of the word. Is it a musical term? Is it some cute play on Alex's name? What? I thought that over time, I would be able to figger it out and spare myself this little embarrassment but it's becoming obvious that I'm not going to get it so flame away but I hadn't heard the term until I joined this little chat digest. If you want to be supportive and tell me that you've shared my little frustration, I'll appreciate that as well, but someone; please help! Al ---------------------------------------------------------- From: Smith Ronald <rjsmith@mby.auracom.com> Date: Thu, 2 Jul 1998 18:52:45 -0400 (EDT) Subject: When Van Halen was a band! Dear TMNS subscribers, I've been reading a lot of posts about Van Halen, lately. I guess I have to say that this band certainly had their heyday and glory, especially from a standpoint of musical integrity, but only on their first four releases. They packaged their gutsy, powerful arena bursting rock around Eddie's talents, and the 1978-1983 era of the band is fondly remembered. Our local radio station has played "Fire in the Hole" a few times, and it's a bit of a throwback to the good old days of VH. Eddie can still play feversishly, but it's a shame we don't have that kind of music from them all the time. Rush and Van Halen are two of the most successful rock bands in history, but both acheived this success in different ways. Fortunately, our Canadian heroes have made it without compromising or giving into the whims of those who think they know more than they do about music. I really can't say the same for Van Halen. I wonder in a few years when they are staring at their 25th anniversary, if they truly can be happy about their musical past. I would say that Geddy, Alex, and Neil have been the only real constant in musical excellence since the mid-70's. And I have no doubt that this will be the case as we head into the new millenium. ---------------------------------------------------------- From: Tom Beaudoin <beaudoit@bc.edu> Date: Thu, 2 Jul 1998 19:02:13 -0900 (PDT) Subject: Rutsey "interview" and cover Folks: the Rutsey interview is a hoot! And that album cover from Maclean's is REAL. I have one of those covers, right here in my apt. It dates from the 70s and was called RUSH REVOLUTION. I was lucky enough to find that issues of the magazine once. (the goods are at: http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Arena/9796/main.htm) Tom Beaudoin beaudoit@bc.edu ---------------------------------------------------------- From: FlatYer5s@aol.com Date: Thu, 2 Jul 1998 19:34:35 EDT Subject: re: zzz NNC NZC NRC guitar modes In response to "Marianne M. Voogt" <mvoogt@interlynx.net> on 6/30/98: >what are the fingerings for the various modes? >locrian >aoelian >dorian >phrygian >lydian >mixolydian >harmonic minor >and also the byzantine and gypsy scales? >oh, and rather, not the fingerings, but rather the intervals (ie minor second, minor third, sharp fifth etc . . .) The way the modes are most commonly taught and almost never understood, is to view them as a major scale starting from a different root note. Meaning- D dorian is the same as C major but starting on the 2nd note of the scale. Viewing the modes of the C major scale gives us: C Ionian (major scale), D dorian, E phrygian, F lydian, G mixolydian, A aeolian, and B locrian. Ok- great... What does that do for me?? The easiest way to way to understand modes and how to actually use them, is to view them as variations of the major scale, the most basic of all scales. All major scales in all keys follow a particular pattern of intervals from note to note. That pattern of intervals being: W W 1/2 W W W 1/2 (W=whole step [2 frets]- 1/2=half step [1 fret]). Following the pattern starting from C, if we go up a whole step, we get D. Up a whole step from D, we get E. Up a 1/2 step from E we get F. Up a whole step from F, we get G. Up a whole step from G, we get A. Up a whole step from A, we get B. And up a 1/2 step from B, we get C. This is the basic way to build the major scale. The major scale is seen by using the following formula: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7. The modes can be seen as variations on that basic formula. Modes of the major scale ("b"=lower note by half step, "#"=raise note by half step) 1. Ionian: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 (major scale) 2. Dorian: 1 2 b3 4 5 6 b7 (major scale with b3 and b7) 3. Phrygian: 1 b2 b3 4 5 b6 b7 (major scale w/ b2, b3, b6, b7) 4. Lydian: 1 2 3 #4 5 6 7 (major scale w/ #4) 5. Mixolydian: 1 2 3 4 5 6 b7 (major scale w/ b7) 6. Aeolian: 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7 (major scale w/ b3, b6, b7) 7. Locrian: 1 b2 b3 4 b5 b6 b7 <major scale w/ b2, b3, b5, b6, b7) With a root note of C, these formulas translate into: 1. C ionian: C D E F G A B 2. C dorian: C D Eb F G A Bb 3. C phrygian: C Db Eb F G Ab Bb 4. C lydian: C D E F# G A B 5. C mixolydian: C D E F G A Bb 6. C aeolian: C D Eb F G Ab Bb 7. C locrian: C Db Eb F Gb Ab Bb The harmonic minor scale can be seen is the same way- 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 7. As a minor scale, it is more easily seen as a variation on the natural minor scale- the aeolian mode. The only difference being the raised 7th scale degree. All the modes of the harmonic minor scale can be mapped out in the same way as I mapped out the modes of the major scale above. I would recommend doing this, as the most common way in which the harmonic minor scale is used, is from it's various modes- the 5th mode being the most common. Listen to the solo in "YYZ"- from a tonal center of E minor, Alex is soloing over B major and C major chords. Rather than doing something rather inane like alternating between a B major scale and a C major scale ( which could work, but would sound shifty and off balance), he realized that in the context of E minor, B and C are the 5th and 6th modes of the E harmonic minor scale. That is why the solo has a fairly exotic tonality while maintaining a strong sense of logic. Alex is damn good, people!! Modes are essential learning for all musicians who would like to expand the range of notes which are available to them at any given time. Any 7 note scale has 7 modes- learn them all! The byzantine and gypsy scales are most likely alternate names for any of the more exotic "eastern" scales which exist. Gypsy minor, in some circles, is an alternate name for the harmonic minor scale. If you're interested in scales, I would highly recommend getting The Guitar Grimoire-scales and modes, by Adam Kadmon. It's an exhaustive compendium of both western and exotic scales and modes. All of the Frank Gambale instructional books and videos are excellent as well. If you have questions about anything related to guitar, theory, Rush, or Prog rock, please feel free to e-mail me! Dan Chernow Guitarist/Instructor Berklee College of Music- class of 1994 FlatYer5s@aol.com ---------------------------------------------------------- From: John Pullman <j.pullman@csu-e.csuohio.edu> Date: Thu, 02 Jul 1998 19:33:08 -0400 Subject: Mystic Rhythms: Is Available, honestly! Good day eh, I hope this is new since I rarely can provide new material. Anyway, Border's Books and Music has (or can get) Mystic Rhythms: The Philosophical Vision of RUSH. I am holding my copy as I type. It has a 1998 copyright date and is not that attractive. The book has no pictures and the cover is a pale green/yellow. Borders should be able to get it since I ordered mine back in January. Hope this is new to some of you! Take Care, John [ I too have heard (directly from the author) that it is available. Last time I checked Amazon.com they still had it listed as out of print, but hopefully that should be changing soon. : rush-mgr ] ---------------------------------------------------------- From: Hanstones@aol.com Date: Thu, 2 Jul 1998 19:59:09 EDT Subject: In Defense of Rush I'd really like to post something positive, but instead I'll just post my 10 LEAST FAVORITE SONGS! Seriously, I must stand on my holier-than-thou pedestal and speak my peace. I know from personal correspondence that many of you out there in Rushia will agree with me, and I apologize for having to subject you to this. I understood the NMS was founded to discuss Rush without negative criticism found in other Internet forums from people who don't fully appreciate Rush or their music. Constructive criticism is one thing, but is posting one's 10 least favorite Rush songs really constructive? Is criticising any Rush song constructive? If not, what's the point? One man's treasure is another man's garbage. I can understand that out of the 129 original songs this band has created, there are actually some songs not everybody likes. But if listening to Rush causes you physical pain, please change the station, turn it off, or pull your head out of wherever the pain is coming from. Perhaps we should ask Rush to write a personal apology to the NMS for the phycial discomfort they induce with their music. Or maybe we should have them get our "ok" before the next studio album is released to make sure there are no "filler" tunes! Although I've seen lots of "what I hate about Rush" posts on the NMS before, never before have I heard a Rush fan compare them to Muzak (i.e. "Everyday Glory"). "I think I'm going bald" is about growing up and losing one's naivety (imo), too bad people can't understand that. "Once we loved the flowers, now we ask the price of the land" is an incredible metaphor for this. We are not forced by the song, however, to decide if losing one's naivety is a bad thing. "Neurotica" has one weakness - an over repetitive chorus. But if you can't stomach Geddy's voice without feeling physical pain, try reading the lyrics. You just don't get it, baby don't you ask yourself why? >From what I've seen, most of the songs people complain about have a similar problem, where the chorus may be too cheezy for them or not "catchy" enough. Instead of immediately classifying them as throw away songs, try "hearing" some of these songs for a change. The only Rush filler song I've ever heard of was New World Man (project 3:56). How come that one didn't make the list? I can easily argue that the members of Rush have dedicated their lives to their music, therefore how can you so casually assume they would release a song they didn't believe worthy to be a "Rush" tune just to fill an album? I'm starting to feel lucky that I can actually spin any Rush disc without feeling the compelling urge to send a post to TNMS bitching about a song I don't think is "worthy" of Rush. Next time, send a post to another band's list telling what you don't like about Rush, ok? You might get someone to chime in. Spare us. I can't wait for the live album to come out, so I can read the flames about how much it sucks. > Just had to get it off my chest- it's therepeutic, you know. Ditto Hanstones "If there's no one in control We're the ones who draw the line" - Everyday Glory "I hate the rain" "It hates you! How would we appreciate the sun without the rain? Without rain, there would be no crops!..." - paraphrase from a Weather Channel commercial ----------------------------------------------------------
To submit material to The National Midnight Star, send mail to: rush@syrinx.umd.edu For administrative matters (subscription, unsubscription, changes, and questions), send mail to: rush-request@syrinx.umd.edu or rush-mgr@syrinx.umd.edu There is now anonymous ftp access available on Syrinx. The network address to ftp to is: syrinx.umd.edu or 129.2.4.213 When you've connected, userid is "anonymous", password is <your userid>. Once you've successfully logged on, change directory (cd) to 'rush'. There is also a mail server available (for those unable or unwilling to ftp). For more info, send email with the subject line of HELP to: rush-srv@yyz.com These requests are processed immediately, and you should have back a response within a few minutes. Any problems please direct to the rush-mgr. For those of you on the World Wide Web, there is now a Rush home page at: http://syrinx.umd.edu/rush.html The contents of The National Midnight Star are solely the opinions and comments of the individual authors, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the authors' management, or the mailing list management. Copyright (C) 1998 by The Rush Fans Mailing List Editor, The National Midnight Star (Rush Fans Mailing List) ********************************************* End of The National Midnight Star Number 2067 *********************************************