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Recent works by Rush’s front man, Geddy Lee, prove that bass players are, indeed, human too!
Beyond The Gilded Cage
With the retirement in the summer of 2015, and later passing on January 7, 2020, of drummer and lyricist Neil Peart, the two remaining members of Rush, guitarist and principal composer Alex Lifeson, and Geddy Lee, lead singer, keyboardist, and bass player, have been moving forward. Among numerous other projects, Lifeson continues to paint. He recently cut an LP, the self-titled Envy of None, with Andy Curran and Maiah Wynne. He has a line of amps and other equipment with Mojotone. Lee released Geddy Lee’s Big Beautiful Book of Bass, which is stunning not only for the historical and technical discussions, but also the absolutely beautiful photography of the instruments. They both played at the September 3, 2022 Taylor Hawkins tribute concert at Wembley Stadium in London.
But I think that Geddy has been the busier of the two, at least of late. Way back on September 21, 2021 he announced that he was writing his memoirs. Sometime last year between finishing the book and heading out on a five-week solo “tour” promoting it, he also found time to star in a four-part series, Are Bass Players Human Too? (Of which, I hijacked the title for this article.)
Each Another’s Audience
Before discussing Geddy’s memoir, let’s take a quick look at the miniseries. He announced this project on October, 25, 2023 and it premiered on December 5, the same day as my check ride in the Embraer 145. So, I waited until I was home where Roxette and I could watch the series together. Each episode is a little over 20 minutes and focuses on the life and passion of a specific player outside of their bands. Featured are Les Claypool of Primus, Robert Trujillo of Metallica, Melissa Auf der Maur of Hole, Smashing Pumpkins, and her own solo career, and finally, Krist Novoselic, who played bass with Nirvana.
For anyone interested in rock culture and history, and legends, the series is well worth the watch. One could easily take in all four episodes in a single sitting. Honestly, I didn’t know much about any of these folk, but I learned that they all have figured out how to stay grounded, something that is exceedingly difficult to do as a rock star. My favorite scene is when Geddy and Les are out on Les’s property and he’s about to have Geddy man the excavator to do some brush clearing. Geddy expresses hesitation, and Les’s reply is perfect!
“I’m a nice urban, Jewish boy; where do I come to this kind of machinery?”
“Well, this is where you expand your horizons. As we move through life, we open new doors, so it keeps us interested in being on the planet.”
Toward the end of the episode, Geddy visits Les’s bar, for a glass of wine, of course. Les shows him a touching tribute to the late Neil Peart, and Geddy is clearly overcome with emotion.
Overall, my favorite episode was that featuring, Melissa Auf der Maur, who I had honestly never heard of until watching this series, although I am at least superficially aware of The Smashing Pumpkins. Melissa has made a remarkable transition from Indie rock star to rural mom, wife, and arts matriarch. Fourteen years ago, she and her husband bought an old foundry in Hudson, NY and converted it into an arts and performance venue, renaming it Basilica Hudson. She and Geddy share a few other common interests, but you’ll have to watch the series to find out what those are.
Each artist profiled has found a way to navigate thru the challenges associated with life in a rock band. Each is grounded in family and community, and that’s something that is profoundly human.
The trailer to the series Are Bass Players Human Too?, available on Paramount streaming.
Far Away from the Hometown
My Effin’ Life was released on November 14 of last year, and arrived at the house the same day. Unfortunately, I was in Dallas for training and had to wait until December to finally break into it. OE (Operating Experience or in laymen’s terms OJT) with Piedmont started promptly after my check ride. Despite over 30 years of professional flying this was my first airline and I was more focused on learning the ins and outs of daily operations than breaking into a new book that I knew would consume my attention.
Finally on December 16 at the beginning of the second week of OE, I felt I was settling into the routines. On the next day, our crew was scheduled for an overnight in Cleveland with an early arrival. I had hoped to go to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but it was miserable weather, rain, gusty winds, and mid 30s temperatures and at least a 20 min Uber ride. What better excuse to stay in and break into Geddy’s book? It was meant to be as earlier in the day, Roxette sent me a screen shot from Flight Aware showing us flying over the town of Rush, NY. Later in the afternoon, I sent her a few photos of passages from chapter 3. In the evening, I headed down to a promising restaurant, Burntwood Tavern that was next to the hotel with book in hand. I found my training captain seated at the bar, so I joined him. However, he finished shortly after and headed back to his room. I remained, slowly working on my appetizer of cauliflower bites, which were topped with sweet and spicy chili sauce, green onions, and sesame seeds, sipping on my MaCallen, and plowed through several more chapters. As expected, once I started the book, I spent every spare minute with my nose in it.
On November 13, Lee set off on a rather uniquely styled book tour, which began in New York City, and concluded the last week in the UK with the last show in London. During each show, he read from selected passages of the book, was joined onstage by special guest hosts, including Donna Halper and Lifeson, then took questions from the audience. Several of the shows, which were extremely well received, have been posted by fans on YouTube. Sadly, due to the training schedule, which had me flying all up and down the east coast, I missed every show.
Some Are Born to Live Their Fantasies
Thus, we come to the heart of the matter, what's in Geddy’s memoirs? Having been a lifelong fan, having read so much about the band, having watched so many interviews and documentaries, there wasn’t much new macro level information for me in his writing. There were, however, an abundance of details, many of which were new. Nonetheless, for any Rush fan, or even those who might be unfamiliar with the band’s history, or even their works, this is a journey through the last seven decades not only of rock culture, but of Rush's evolution as one of the world's premier, if not the premier, progressive rock bands.
(Warning: Spoilers Ahead)
Chapter 3, deals with Geddy's parents’ experiences in Nazi concentration camps, including Auschwitz, during WWII. There is a particularly poignant recounting of his mother standing up to the guards, as well as her sister standing up to Josef Mengele himself! It is a wonder that they weren't shot on the spot! This chapter is important not only for understanding Lee’s early life, and ultimately his contributions to Rush, but also for the historical record. Admitting several times throughout the book that memory can be mercurial, Lee took care to check himself not only against Lifeson’s and others’ recollection of events but also against his notes, photos, and other memorabilia that he collected over the years. Even more care was taken with this chapter. He confidently, and rightly states,
“I strongly believe that the stories I relate to you now are not only true but capture the essence and sprit of what my mother and father lived through as teenagers – the awful and the good.”
Something that Lee discusses across several chapters, which really surprised me, was that the gents in Rush did a LOT more drugs when they were younger than I had realized. Oh, for sure I knew they drank, often to excess, as well as smoked lots of marijuana. But Lee recounts copious amounts of other illicit substances, the toll it took on him, and how he finally, much to his credit, overcame that temptation. Somehow in all my readings and listening to interviews with the three of them, that point escaped my attention, or maybe they just never brought it up before.
Lee discusses the production of nearly every LP but doesn’t comment much on individual songs or lyrics, with one exception. During COVID, Geddy had changed his Instagram (IG) profile photo to that of him wearing a mask, which I will admit irritated me to no end. Apparently, some chastised him directly for this, throwing the last lines of the chorus to Freewill back at him,
I will choose a path that’s clear
I will choose free will.
Although he had a post or two on IG about the “vaccines,” including one that his mother got vaccinated some two months before her death, to the best of my knowledge, he wasn’t pushing the vax or, God forbid, being paid to do so like so many other celebrities. I truly believe that he was genuinely, and naively, misled by the incredibly powerful COVID propaganda machine, which was beyond anything that anyone has ever experienced. He is, after all only human, and any ability to critically think through what was transpiring was also no doubt inhibited by the fact he was still struggling with Neil's death, only two months prior, when the lockdowns were forced upon the world. Perhaps those wanting to make a point to Geddy should have used a phrase from Tom Sawyer,
No, his mind is not for rent
To any god or government.
Admittedly, I struggled for the last month with writing this because of my disappointment concerning Lee’s perspective. I truly pray that at some point he is able to see thru the fog surrounding the scamdemic and come to understand what was truly going on. Okay, I will get off my soapbox now; ‘nuff said.
Throughout the narrative, Lee opens up about his relationship with his wife of nearly 50 years, Nancy, which is rare considering that all three band members routinely kept their personal lives just that, personal. One is left with the impression that even though Nancy went into the relationship full well knowing that Geddy was driven to succeed at his chosen profession, eventually had her own career, and going through marriage counseling twice, he still carries an enormous amount of regret at some of the sacrifices and choices he made over the years. It is a testament to them both that they are still together and best of friends. Alex as Geddy's BFFL aside.
One of my favorite anecdotes in the book, one which I think very touching, is where Lee recounts a random meeting with Robert Plant. Although I consistently rank Led Zeppelin as my second favorite band, more so for the bluesy style of much of the music than the lyrics per se as with Rush, I don’t know much about Plant, Page, Jones, or Bonham. Robert’s simple advice to Geddy, and his graciousness, to him and Alex, after Neil’s wife passed away, speaks volumes about his character. But you’ll have to read the book to find out what he said and did.
Lee’s discussion toward the end of the book, in chapter 27, concerning the closing nights of the R40 tour hit me like a gut punch. His nearly overwhelming grief and sense of loss at the realization that the band was all but finished, stand in stark contrast to what Neil, who was quite finished with touring some years ago, described in the closing pages of Far and Wide, Bring that Horizon to Me! (pictured under Geddy’s in the photo at top). It’s an interesting exercise in "compare and contrast" reading the two perspectives side by side. Whatever angst, impending grief, inner turmoil, or in Neil’s case joy, the three were experiencing those last few nights was kept well compartmentalized. At least that was my perspective from the twelfth row, center stage, during the next to the last show on July 30, 2015 at Irvine, California.
The remaining part of the chapter, on the rekindling of friendship with Neil, his struggles with glioblastoma, and his eventual passing are both touching and gut wrenching at the same time.
In the closing passage of the book, where Lee recounts a moment with his young grandson, who is blissfully unaware of the amazing life his grandfather has lived is particularly endearing; but you’ll have to read the book to find out what his grandson said…
Half the World
Humans are such a bundle of contradictions. The best of us aspire to noble intentions – to, cure, heal, create, compose, sing, perform, paint, and write, or simply to be loving husband and father, wife and mother. The worse of us destroy, kill, maim, steal, lie, and cheat. None of us are completely immune to manipulation by those who would take advantage of us. None of us are perfect, and we all have our vices. Some of us argue needlessly, lose themselves in promiscuity or drugs, or just prefer a wee more Scotch on occasion than is good for ourselves (guilty). We hate the ones who love us, and love the ones who hate us. It seems to me, of late, that at least half of humanity tends to live down to our baser instincts.
However, there are souls among us who, in spite of the swirling chaos of life, in spite of temptations, manipulations, and failings, seemingly attempt to rise above and at least take aim at something more noble. I would argue that the three musicians who for 40 plus years made up the band Rush are among those who took aim at something more noble. In Geddy's case, he lived, loved, faltered, grieved, a lot, he has his faults, but also has an enormous capacity for graciousness and empathy, and with his bandmates he created an enormous body of amazing music. He epitomizes the statement, "Bass players are humans too."
My Effin' Life will be of interest to anyone who is a Rush fan, to those who never heard of the band, to historians, to those who are just curious about the last seven decades, and to those who are inspired by a life well lived.
Endlessly Rocking
I finished the book on New Year’s Day at home, still recovering from some illness that had me in bed for the better part of 48 hours the preceding week. A few days later, this thoughtful interview of Lee by George Stroumboulopoulos premiered; it is a fitting pairing with the book.
Strombo's Lit with Rush's Geddy Lee, Author of 'My Effin' Life'
In the intervening weeks, I’ve spent close to 30 hours in the car driving back and forth between West Virginia and my base at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, listening mostly to Rush. For me, the passion has always been about Neil’s lyrics and the way they work with the music. For every Rush song I listened to over the last month, besides just wanting to crank the stereo up to 11 and rock out, those same resonate chords would arise within as when I first read the lyrics on the jacket of A Farewell to Kings,
"...these words were written by a soul who was pure, honest, spiritual, questioning, adventurous…"
In Rush and Philosophy: Heart and Mind United, Mitch Earleywine, states in his essay Rush’s Revolutionary Philosophy,
“Rush pairs music and words in a way that trains the listeners in some key ideas in modern psychology, leading us to think clearly, responsibly, and happily.”
Now isn’t that just a beautiful legacy?
Bass players are human too, and so are drummers, and guitarists, and pilots, and… all of us.
Except the psychopaths among us; pretty sure they are not human. But that is a the subject for another day.
Thanks for reading folks, keep fighting tyranny, and now go read Geddy’s My Effin’ Life!
Namaste,
😌🙏
Mark
🥃🥃
February 2, 2024
Correction
February 4, 2024
In the original version, I stated that I started reading Geddy’s book on December 16 in Rochester, NY. I had myself convinced that was correct, even though I cross checked text messages, my logbook, and checkbook. Today, our crew is scheduled for an overnight in Rochester, and when I checked the hotel, I realized that while the restaurant next to the Hyatt is, indeed, Drifters, as I originally stated, the setting is all wrong. Double and triple check… It was December 17 in Cleveland, as I describe above. Now what was the about memory being mercurial? 🙄
Update
March 12, 2024
Last Monday, March 4, Ed over at Rush is a Band, posted that Geddy's last book tour show from December 7, with Alex Lifeson, which was held at Toronto's Massey Hall, where Rush played way back on October 24, 1974, opening for Nazareth, had been filmed and would be available for streaming on Friday. We had the pleasure to watch the show on Saturday. It was quite satisfying seeing the two of them together in this setting, and the show is another fine compliment to the book. Enjoy!
Live at Massey Hall: Geddy Lee
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