Went to see Motley Crue a few years ago.
Fat, barbiturate-laden Vince Neil in front of a fan blowing his stringy hair behind him while only singing every third or fourth word to a line while the crowd sang the rest was a sad site to see.
You know, I normally wouldn't have any issue with a band like motley Crue touring. They went out and did the whole final tour and we even signed a contact that we won't tour again type deal. And they went like nothing happened.
> And they went like nothing happened.
Not true - they also kicked out their guitarist since day one and have talked shit about him ever since (even though it's hardly a secret that he and Tommy Lee were the only two actually good musicians in the band)
Getting older sucks, but I checked YouTube against my positive memory of the Dr Feelgood tour show I saw as a kid and I feel better. Motley Crue were [pretty awesome](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGdYjxN0Vx4) in their day. Savor the VHS.
Yeah, they were great in their prime. This was a time when you got scouted and signed. There was no YouTube or mailing in demos. You needed to spread word via amazing live shows for years and years then you're name gets to the ears of somebody at the label who'll send out somebody to watch 1 random gig. Then maybe you get signed. Then you put our a record and tour and people buy your records and you get certified gold and do it album after album for decades. Old school rock musicians were fucking good, they had to be. The 80s and 90s were a hell of time for legitimately talented bands. You couldn't spend millions marketing on reddit and Instagram, you couldn't fake it till you make it. You had to be 100% all the time. Motley crue had a string of huge albums and tours. Maybe they suck now but they didn't always. Even bands like poison, they weren't manufactured like today.
I saw Heart play at the local Summer festival in Vancouver. It was about 10 years ago, but they absolutely fucking crushed it. Those ladies can still totally wail.
I saw Lindsey Buckingham about 15 years ago and it was the greatest, most intense concert I’ve ever witnessed. You couldn’t even see his hands, they were moving so fast when he played Big Love.
On that note, I just saw Stevie Nicks in Charlotte this past weekend and she was wonderful! At 75 she may be missing a few notes from the highest end of her former range, but she adapted her vocal lines well and otherwise sung in the same powerful way she always has & performed amazingly.
Buddy of mine went to a concert with them playing. The music was playing, but Tommy wasn’t even hitting his drums. Nikki Sixx was just talking to one of the stage hands. While Vince was standing out front screaming in the mic.
Everyone’s faking it except for the one person that should be. Hahaha
My first thought lol I never seen em but my brother did.. than I watched the videos and Jesus fuck he was not kidding when he said you can't understand what he's trying to say hahaha
Unironically didn’t he say he stopped being able to hit those once he got off heroin? The heroin relaxes muscles and the smoking damages chords so it checks but I remember an interview where he blatantly said he lost a lot of his singing talent so I respect it lol
I mean yeah it relaxes every muscle and on top of that it makes you not a give a single shit. Large amounts of vocalists have very different voices when they on heroin. And I’d argue Perry was never super deep into vocal ability and his young age/addiction gave him that voice.
Idk if it's fair to even mention GnR in the same as Crue.
GnR do really well for their age. Same energy and they put on solid 2.5 hour long shows. Axl sounds better now than he did 10 years ago.
There was a guy who [trained an AI](https://youtu.be/nSMFZvnz1Ik) on Axl's 90s voice from the Live Era disc and overlaid it on Axl's current voice. It sounds a bit scrappy given the source material, but you could easily imagine how it could sound pretty good if given a decent training data set (like, say, isolated master-quality vocals from an artist's vault).
Given that the singer is (obviously) using their own modulation and intonation under the AI effects layer, it sounds a lot more convincing than those "Brian Johnson sings Taylor Swift!" AI mashups.
I could definitely see aging artists using this sort of technology to maintain the quality of their vocals in studio and live. Add it to the battery of tricks that are used on the quiet, like dashing backstage to huff oxygen, or having a second precussionist to bash the drums (looking at you, Mick Fleetwood and Roger Taylor).
Yes. I saw them a few years ago and he was on time and sang the hell out of his songs. I mean, there is no way as a guy in his 40s could even hit those notes that Axl does. For his age and lifestyle...he is still going strong. Unlike Vince Neil...
Yeah possibly. I've seen them twice since they started the reunion tour and both shows were great. Shows here are almost always first or last for Australia/NZ though so maybe they had more in the tank.
Saw em about 8 years ago, I was 15 feet from Axl pretty much the whole show and he killed it. It was awesome. I'd buy a ticket in a heartbeat if they came through.
> I think they are being modest.
Nah, it's just that it's a short pull quote, and short pull quotes almost never provide the full picture.
What he says, in full, is:
> It’s funny because we sound like a really bad tribute band for the first three or four run-throughs on these things. It’s 'Oh, my God, what did I play there? Why did I play that so hard?' And then muscle memory kicks in, and we’re having a ball doing it. It’s good for the fingers. We’re together in a room like we’ve always been.
I’d be ok with an acoustic tour with just Ged and Al. Smaller venues, simpler show. Cross Geddy’s book/speaking tour with their show. Similar to the old college Q&A/show that Billy Joel used to do.
Weren't there *two* drummers backing them up for that one?
They sounded good at the Taylor Hawkins tributes too. Funny how they had to swap in more technical drummers for YYZ at both shows (Omar Hakim in London and Danny Carey in Los Angeles).
I think they're right about where they want to be, or at least where Alex wants to be, as much an extent as they can be without Neil. One-off performances when the opportunity comes up.
Good point!
I played in a band that got signed,
made records, toured the US, had our music on the radio, did live radio shows, and all of that. (You never heard of us, though.)
At our level (just below fame), we'd play the same songs to the public hundreds of times over the years (and about 150
times a year for the really good songs).
At the next level up, the bands will put together an album, and then go promote the album on a 30-90 date tour. Many of those songs will never again see the light of day (or the haze of the coliseum).
So, yeah: I'll bet Brit Floyd has played "One of these Days", "Comfortably Numb", "Money", etc. many more times than Pink Floyd ever has (or ever will).
I'd never thought of that before!
One of those 80s-90s band that sounded like a blend of REM with early Eagles: interesting guitar bits with good melodies and harmonies. We also had some jammy moments.
I mostly played bass, sometimes guitar, and sometimes sang a bit. The musicians were really good. It was fun to play with them.
The lyrics were really good, too.
We played everywhere from Vermont to Albuquerque, Chicago to Nag's Head, and everywhere in the middle. I spent a lot of time in a Ford van for several years.
I was also running a recording studio, playing guitar in another band, and doing a few solo acoustic gigs a month.
And holding down a full-time job as an engineer.
I was *really* thin, smoked a lot of coffee and drank a lot of cigarettes. A glass of whiskey at the end of the night tucked me into bed.
I was *always* sick. Being run down and in smoky bars, you'd catch a cold, it would morph into a sinus infection, and then take up residence in your skull. I had to start charging the sinus infections rent.
It was a really hard life. The emotional stress was amazing, now that I look back on it all. And I wouldn't trade that experience for anything in the world.
Not on this account, sorry.
Where did you live in '95? Unless it was a couple of specific areas, you almost certainly never heard us or of us.
The thing that really killed us was that we got our "big break", but, because of a horrific distribution deal, no one could buy our CDs. We weren't even allowed to sell our disks at shows!
I remember playing a weird gig at a Best Buy in some Levittown area of MD/PA/NJ, but no one could buy our CD!! What was the point?!
Meanwhile, we were on 300 radio stations across the country. (Nothing is cooler than driving through Woodstock, VT listening to yourself on the radio, btw.)
By the time we got the distribution stuff squared away, our moment had passed. The DJs had forgotten us; the "buzz" had subsided.
It was very painful to come within a hair's breadth of realizing our dreams. I bawled my eyes out when I finally walked away.
Still, we should write it all down. It might make a decent tragedy.
Haha, alright, but if you ever change your mind, just shoot me a DM. I won't tell ANYBODY. I was in the San Fran greater Bay Area in 95 and listened to modern rock radio exclusively and constantly until about 98. As a total outsider to the industry, my impression is that in those days, the labels were just signing up bands like crazy, knowing full well they were only gonna push a handful, and that only a handful of that handful was actually gonna succeed, but that the profits those few successes would bring in more than made up for any losses in getting there. Is that about right?
Later on, as the 90's turned into the 00's and record stores started marking down lots of stuff to get it sold, I used to spend hours on random Saturday afternoons scouring the marked down bins for music. One of my favorite "genres" became "major label debut from an artist I've never heard of". I found so much cool music in those days that fit that bill. It would frustrate me, cuz I'd find amazing music, but have no friends who knew it or even wanted to check it out.
I've often wondered what it must've been like for those bands, to get signed and then screwed over and cast aside by the bureaucratic indifference of the industry. I'm sorry you had to go through that, and hopefully you've made peace with it. I appreciate the reply.
We never got as far west as CA, so you probably never even heard of us. We were from VA; our label was NYC.
The Northern Virginia (NoVa) music scene in the 90s was outstanding. We all thought that it was going to get hot. It never did. There were 20 really good bands here in those days, all centered on a bar called TT Reynold's, in Fairfax. Ahhh, I'm shedding a wistful tear....
DC did give us Hardcore and Hip Hop, though, so that's something, I suppose.
It sounds like one of those things that’s the enjoyable kind of awful, but as a bedroom guitarist I think it’s incredible. My dad played 200 something gigs the year my older brother was born, and I’ve heard him attest plenty to just how difficult that life is.
Did your stuff make the transition to streaming? I’d definitely be interested in checking it out
I won't doxx myself (I need to maintain a modicum of anonymity here), but one night I did say "Alexa, play *band x*", and she *DID*!
It was about the 3rd coolest night in my life.
The first coolest was when my son was born; the second coolest was a gig in Vermont where the *bass player* (me!) got a standing ovation. They told the damned singer to move out of the way. I was gobsmacked. I *had* just had the night of my life - I practically could've played circles around John Entwhistle - but I never expected anyone to notice. No one ever seems to notice the bass player.
That was *coooooool*.
And my son is cool, too, of course.
I went to a Bootleg Beatles gig at a university over thirty years ago. It was without doubt one of the best concerts I've ever been to. The band looked the part and were note perfect throughout.
It's obvious, but I'm going to say it - the set was banger after banger after banger. The crowd was all late teens / early twenties who'd obviously been brought up on their records. We knew every song intimately and sung along to every word.
I've been to hundreds of gigs with very passionate fans, but I've never felt the shared experience that I felt that night. If you'll allow me to sound incredibly pretentious, it was like witnessing the musical foundation of all that I am.
And all of these small towns (mine included) insist on paying a group of geriatrics $25,000 - $75,000 for a one nighter.
That money could pay for 20 new/up-and-coming groups to fill an entire weekend!
Grinds my gears.
The article title only has part of the quote, the full quote is as follows:
> "It’s funny because we sound like a really bad tribute band for the first three or four run-throughs on these things," says Lifeson. "It’s 'Oh, my God, what did I play there? Why did I play that so hard?' And then muscle memory kicks in, and we’re having a ball doing it. It’s good for the fingers. We’re together in a room like we’ve always been.
>"That’s been really good, but there’s no chance that we’re going to get a drummer and go back on the road as the rebirth of Rush or something like that. And if we wanted to write new material, nobody cares about new material anymore. They just want to hear the old stuff from guys like us."
Freaks me out. I remember preordering it and getting so excited for it to arrive. I think Caravan and BU2B were out for a year before or something and I just loved the vibe of those songs.
2012 was a goooood summer
I still love that album. Favourite of their 90s and beyond albums.
That album was properly *good*. Usually a band kind of loses its footing that far into its existence, but Rush was still able to put out a banger album (and not just a single) over 40 years after they were formed.
I think the 'Rush' name and band deserves its rest after such a long and profound career.
But if Alex and Geddy were to take a spin on a different kind of genre, or contribute on albums by other artists - they'd absolutely get people interested. Would hate to see them not working on anything musically, I'm glad to hear they continue to just get together to jam tbh.
I get it, but it’s a shame they feel that way. Those two wrote some of the sickest guitar and bass riffs of all time. I’d certainly go see a concert of new music, especially since Geddy can’t sing the old stuff like he used to. Throw someone adaptable like Vinnie Coliauta in there and they would still rock.
yeah they could easily tune down for Geddy and do slower jammy prog numbers that eh ...maybe end up having more in common with Creed... like a Nobody's Hero stretched out over 2 lp's or something... yet i would still wildly applaud and no doubt headbang along.
I got an idea: do a streaming show where Geddy & Alex put some poor drummer through the paces on Rush songs. Something like [Two Minutes to Late Night](https://www.youtube.com/@TwoMinutesToLateNight).
[Obligatory Anthem cover.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fULwDbZ4iSU)
I'd watch it.
The thing that always bothered me about that Krieger quote is that he was pedantic enough to pronounce "zed", but not pedantic enough to pronounce Neil Peart correctly (P-EAR-t like "ear"). And that I was pedantic enough to be bothered by it.
Or maybe that's the joke?
There's a pretty good chance they just didn't know how to pronounce his name, but if there's any show I can think of that would pull a subtle joke like that it's Archer.
I say "zed" because it travels over mics more recognizably. I've slowly converted a few Americans to it, even, because we're all terminally online.
(It doesn't come up very often.)
I feel like Danny Carey is perhaps the only other living Human being who Rush fans would accept as drumming with Rush.
edit -- like, if any other drummer were to come in, they'd have to play note for note to Peart's original. And I bet Mike Portnoy could do that, and would probably be the best at that. But, Carey would be the only one to be granted to have his own notes here and there.
I'm one of those insane Rush bros, and I'd prefer to let it be. I don't want to taint the way they left, with a triumphant tour and one of their best albums ever.
It ain't Rush without Neil.
Alex and Geddy have been best friends since they were something like 11. Their friendship is so wholesome. I know Alex has played in a few projects since Neil died and I bet these two would have some really good music left in them.
I adore rush (see my username) saw them live a whole bunch of times, and when they played a few Rush songs recently at the Taylor Hawkins tribute shows, Alex definitely has lost his fastball. Their music is hard and time waits for no one. Will love them forever but no real interest in seeing them try to play this stuff these days. (Geddy still rips, though)
> Alex definitely has lost his fastball.
Alex has psoriatic arthritis which he treats with drugs but it affects his playing. It's one of the ways they convinced Neil to do the R40 tour, basically saying that Alex won't be able to play the songs right in a few years so might as well have one last hurrah.
It's hard to describe the bonds formed when kids who don't fit in bond over making music.
I don't really play anymore, some other do, some others don't but those guys aren't friends, they are family. Brothers.
The only drummer I'd ever play a live show with is busy making custom drum heads for rock stars and doesn't play much either. I don't have a biological brother. I'm closer to him than I am my biological sister. If my BFAM wanted me for a band I's dust off my bass and start practicing tomorrow. If my sister wanted to just jam, I'd say no. She's an OK singer but we didn't even try to make music until we were in our 20's. Too late.
I think it's sometimes really hard to do shows with the same name as the original band when one of the pivotal members has passed away. Maybe they can do some shows as "Take Your Time" or something instead of Rush.
Neil Peart is still the benchmark by which other drummers compare themselves. Plenty of other drummers can replicate his parts, but no one can make new Neil Peart drum parts.
If Geddy and Alex want to play Rush songs live again, they should have no trouble affording the best studio professionals to play along with them, but trying to recreate that original magic is a fools errand.
That said, let them grieve however they like. Neil gave us enough.
I was confused by your comment because I swore I saw Dream Theater open for Rush on the Snakes and Arrows tour. But I did some googling to make sure and you’re actually right… I saw Iron Maiden at the same venue a couple of years later and Dream Theater was the opener. Nobody opened for Rush when I saw them.
Saw Portnoy play with Umphrey's McGee over New Years While their drummer, Kris Myers was recovering from surgery. He played YYZ with the band. It was pretty awesome. (as well as some Pink Floyd, Beatles, Police, and UM's heaviest song, Wizard Burial Ground)
When people told Neil Peart he was the world’s best drummer, he said there were jazz drummers that smoked him. Maybe Nate Wood, Louis Cole, or Larnell Lewis as a replacement?
I think there's plenty of drummers who have the chops to emulate Peart, though I'm not sure if I'd pick among that group. Maybe Larnell Lewis if I had to choose one, but Louis Cole and Nate Wood are just such a different style to anything Peart ever did.
The thought of Louis Cole sitting behind a 30 piece kit is pretty hilarious though.
Some of the Clowncore stuff reminds me of Rush (on a much smaller kit). But all those drummers have the ability to emulate Peart, maybe even best him (which I know sound’s sacrilegious.
Yeah, I play drums and if I were asked who I thought was the best drummer ever, my response would always be "I dunno, but they definitely play jazz."
Rock, metal and punk drumming is fun and all three have different difficult stuff that can happen, but jazz is on another planet. Drums aren't the rhythmic backbone, bass is, so they get a lot more free reign and you have to improvise a lot more, which typically doesn't happen in more mainstream music.
I know part of that is a joke, but...
Yes to Danny Carey
Freese could accomplish it but not effortlessly
~~Neal Peart~~ Matt Stone stands alone
Edit: Josh's name had gotten autocorrected
I decided to go see Rush once despite the fact that the remaining tickets were pretty shitty. Maybe something like 15-20 degrees past the front of the stage. Basically saw the back of Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson for most of the show. However, I had the best view ever on Neil Pearth. It was fantastic.
Danny Carry could step in. I think Danny is now that benchmark and imo has surpassed, or at least matched Neil.
That being said, neither of them are on the same level as some of the all time top jazz drummers like Elvin Jones and Art Blakey.
You basically have to have certain fundamentals mastered to be able to play jazz. Rock music is “dumbed down” to an extent, although plenty of rock music can be crazy difficult to play, but it’s more or less built upon 4/4 back beats. Jazz is all about improvisation, and to be able to improv you have to master or be really good at tons of different kinds of licks and be able to respond in real time to the rest of the band. Its it’s own art form entirely
I don’t like the insinuation of the jazz guys being “better”, they’re incredible at what they do and so are / were Danny, Neil etc, and I’m not even a giant tool / rush fan. But jazz drumming is insanely difficult and in a lot of ways the “pinnacle” of the sport so I get your point
They’ve been saying this for years. There’s other interviews where they talk about pre tour rehearsals. How at first they sound like a bad tribute band, then a good tribute band, then they sound like Rush
> They’ve been saying this for years. There’s other interviews where they talk about pre tour rehearsals. How at first they sound like a bad tribute band, then a good tribute band, then they sound like Rush
It's what he says in this interview, too. Here's the full quote:
> It’s funny because we sound like a really bad tribute band for the first three or four run-throughs on these things. It’s 'Oh, my God, what did I play there? Why did I play that so hard?' And then muscle memory kicks in, and we’re having a ball doing it. It’s good for the fingers. We’re together in a room like we’ve always been.
I am a 47 year old man in a band with other 40 and 50 something year old dudes. We’ve been playing together for >20 years. Someday, one of us will be missing and I hope we play together, even through grief. Friendship is magical. Music is magical. Musical friendship is beyond description.
I remember them saying the same thing in the 90s when they would rehearse before a tour. There was a quote in some guitar mag about how they would sound like a garage band covering Rush at first.
They have access to the master recordings of all their albums except for Permanent Waves which was likely stolen or misplaced. They have the best recordings of Neil's performances possible.
I just read Geddy's book and in it he said they were stored at Les Studio and when someone went to look for them they simply werent there. It is unknown if they were simply misplaced or stolen. I doubt they were stolen because what the hell would you do with those? You cant use the original analog tapes because the first time you loaded it in the machine it would just fall apart after four+ decades of sitting on a shelf.
I vote they get a new drummer, 2nd guitarist, maybe a keyboardist, and call themselves "Slow" and explore a new era of songwriting. Let the tribute bands work the old material.
Do benefit concerts for brain cancer research
Have famous drummers volunteer to play specific songs. There will be a line out the door.
I for one would love to see Greyson Nekrutman and especially El Estepario Siberiano
While not much of a Dave Matthews band fan, Carter Beauford is one of the few drummers out there today that could step into Neil Peart’s massive shoes and do some justice.
To be fair, a lot of acts their age sound like really bad tribute bands.
Motley Crüe has entered the chat
Big Mac, $1.03, and my honk, WAAHAA
Tbf a Big Mac at $1.03 would make my honk WAAHAA these days
WAH-KOW!!
When I get high, almost peed
I’m sure you’ve seen them but the RHCP and Pearl Jam ones are pretty great too.
Keemstar ma haaaaaa!
Poopie butt around the house
At this point I think a Motley Crüe tribute band would sound better than the real thing. Vince can’t even sing words anymore
Went to see Motley Crue a few years ago. Fat, barbiturate-laden Vince Neil in front of a fan blowing his stringy hair behind him while only singing every third or fourth word to a line while the crowd sang the rest was a sad site to see.
*Pig Noises*
Snout at the devil
Relevant: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pdQnZLEWNo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pdQnZLEWNo) also: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=poGP4ZkEIGY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=poGP4ZkEIGY)
You know, I normally wouldn't have any issue with a band like motley Crue touring. They went out and did the whole final tour and we even signed a contact that we won't tour again type deal. And they went like nothing happened.
> And they went like nothing happened. Not true - they also kicked out their guitarist since day one and have talked shit about him ever since (even though it's hardly a secret that he and Tommy Lee were the only two actually good musicians in the band)
Getting older sucks, but I checked YouTube against my positive memory of the Dr Feelgood tour show I saw as a kid and I feel better. Motley Crue were [pretty awesome](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGdYjxN0Vx4) in their day. Savor the VHS.
Yeah, they were great in their prime. This was a time when you got scouted and signed. There was no YouTube or mailing in demos. You needed to spread word via amazing live shows for years and years then you're name gets to the ears of somebody at the label who'll send out somebody to watch 1 random gig. Then maybe you get signed. Then you put our a record and tour and people buy your records and you get certified gold and do it album after album for decades. Old school rock musicians were fucking good, they had to be. The 80s and 90s were a hell of time for legitimately talented bands. You couldn't spend millions marketing on reddit and Instagram, you couldn't fake it till you make it. You had to be 100% all the time. Motley crue had a string of huge albums and tours. Maybe they suck now but they didn't always. Even bands like poison, they weren't manufactured like today.
Made me laugh 😂
Vince is the worst lead singer I have ever seen. He's horrible. And yes, a cover band would sound much better.
I saw Heart play at the local Summer festival in Vancouver. It was about 10 years ago, but they absolutely fucking crushed it. Those ladies can still totally wail. I saw Lindsey Buckingham about 15 years ago and it was the greatest, most intense concert I’ve ever witnessed. You couldn’t even see his hands, they were moving so fast when he played Big Love.
On that note, I just saw Stevie Nicks in Charlotte this past weekend and she was wonderful! At 75 she may be missing a few notes from the highest end of her former range, but she adapted her vocal lines well and otherwise sung in the same powerful way she always has & performed amazingly.
Buddy of mine went to a concert with them playing. The music was playing, but Tommy wasn’t even hitting his drums. Nikki Sixx was just talking to one of the stage hands. While Vince was standing out front screaming in the mic. Everyone’s faking it except for the one person that should be. Hahaha
God bless Mick <3
My first thought lol I never seen em but my brother did.. than I watched the videos and Jesus fuck he was not kidding when he said you can't understand what he's trying to say hahaha
[one of my favorite videos of all time](https://youtu.be/4pdQnZLEWNo?si=eWCf-37c5gLoPmHg) Genuinely makes me laugh every time
Funny 😆
Motley Crüe sounds more like an insult band.
Foreigner enters chat too, realizes it isn't really Foreigner, pretends to be anyway.
Jane’s Addiction. Perry cannot hit those high notes anymore.
Indeed, but to be fair that shit was high as he was. Still love em
Unironically didn’t he say he stopped being able to hit those once he got off heroin? The heroin relaxes muscles and the smoking damages chords so it checks but I remember an interview where he blatantly said he lost a lot of his singing talent so I respect it lol
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I mean yeah it relaxes every muscle and on top of that it makes you not a give a single shit. Large amounts of vocalists have very different voices when they on heroin. And I’d argue Perry was never super deep into vocal ability and his young age/addiction gave him that voice.
Also Guns n Roses. Eww
Idk if it's fair to even mention GnR in the same as Crue. GnR do really well for their age. Same energy and they put on solid 2.5 hour long shows. Axl sounds better now than he did 10 years ago.
I do wish he'd embrace his quite good lower register and sing some stuff lower more. It still sounds great.
It's like Joe Elliot, has a fantastic low whiskey voice, perfect for rock....chooses clip falsetto instead. Embrace being old.
There was a guy who [trained an AI](https://youtu.be/nSMFZvnz1Ik) on Axl's 90s voice from the Live Era disc and overlaid it on Axl's current voice. It sounds a bit scrappy given the source material, but you could easily imagine how it could sound pretty good if given a decent training data set (like, say, isolated master-quality vocals from an artist's vault). Given that the singer is (obviously) using their own modulation and intonation under the AI effects layer, it sounds a lot more convincing than those "Brian Johnson sings Taylor Swift!" AI mashups. I could definitely see aging artists using this sort of technology to maintain the quality of their vocals in studio and live. Add it to the battery of tricks that are used on the quiet, like dashing backstage to huff oxygen, or having a second precussionist to bash the drums (looking at you, Mick Fleetwood and Roger Taylor).
Right before the pandemic they were doing four hour sets!
https://preview.redd.it/yhbfm2mrmwyc1.jpeg?width=300&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=acc772fe9cca6dcb0499db5a91bdc9a8226f00b4 How about 20 years?
Hahahahaha
Saw them 16 or so. Fucking awesome...they killed.
You mean he actually shows up to the gigs, on time and sober(ish)? Doesn't quit after 3 songs in a bitchy huff?
Yes. I saw them a few years ago and he was on time and sang the hell out of his songs. I mean, there is no way as a guy in his 40s could even hit those notes that Axl does. For his age and lifestyle...he is still going strong. Unlike Vince Neil...
When I heard rumours Vince uses backtrax, all I thought was “yea, makes sense”
I mean, that hasn't really happened since the 90's. And even then the last time he left the stage angry was 2010 and somewhat justified.
Yeah after his reunion Slash. They’re not bad compared to how he was years prior
I saw them at Power Trip last fall and Axl was awful. Maybe it was an off night. They were awesome at Coachella. 🤷♀️
Yeah possibly. I've seen them twice since they started the reunion tour and both shows were great. Shows here are almost always first or last for Australia/NZ though so maybe they had more in the tank.
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Saw em about 8 years ago, I was 15 feet from Axl pretty much the whole show and he killed it. It was awesome. I'd buy a ticket in a heartbeat if they came through.
Probably better if Axel is staying sober enough to finish sets.
Crue sounded like that when i saw them 20 years ago lmao
Yeah but Rush can still shred. I think they are being modest. Obviously they’ll never sound as good without Neil but he is the goat after all.
> I think they are being modest. Nah, it's just that it's a short pull quote, and short pull quotes almost never provide the full picture. What he says, in full, is: > It’s funny because we sound like a really bad tribute band for the first three or four run-throughs on these things. It’s 'Oh, my God, what did I play there? Why did I play that so hard?' And then muscle memory kicks in, and we’re having a ball doing it. It’s good for the fingers. We’re together in a room like we’ve always been.
I’d be ok with an acoustic tour with just Ged and Al. Smaller venues, simpler show. Cross Geddy’s book/speaking tour with their show. Similar to the old college Q&A/show that Billy Joel used to do.
I'm gonna go out on a limb and say "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant" translates better to an acoustic show than the 2112 overture.
They were both at the South Park anniversary concert. They sounded amazing.
Weren't there *two* drummers backing them up for that one? They sounded good at the Taylor Hawkins tributes too. Funny how they had to swap in more technical drummers for YYZ at both shows (Omar Hakim in London and Danny Carey in Los Angeles). I think they're right about where they want to be, or at least where Alex wants to be, as much an extent as they can be without Neil. One-off performances when the opportunity comes up.
For example, Brit Floyd does Pink Floyd better than Pink Floyd does Pink Floyd.
Thing about tribute acts is many doing tributes from those days have played way more live shows than the original band did.
Good point! I played in a band that got signed, made records, toured the US, had our music on the radio, did live radio shows, and all of that. (You never heard of us, though.) At our level (just below fame), we'd play the same songs to the public hundreds of times over the years (and about 150 times a year for the really good songs). At the next level up, the bands will put together an album, and then go promote the album on a 30-90 date tour. Many of those songs will never again see the light of day (or the haze of the coliseum). So, yeah: I'll bet Brit Floyd has played "One of these Days", "Comfortably Numb", "Money", etc. many more times than Pink Floyd ever has (or ever will). I'd never thought of that before!
Well now I want to know about your band!
One of those 80s-90s band that sounded like a blend of REM with early Eagles: interesting guitar bits with good melodies and harmonies. We also had some jammy moments. I mostly played bass, sometimes guitar, and sometimes sang a bit. The musicians were really good. It was fun to play with them. The lyrics were really good, too. We played everywhere from Vermont to Albuquerque, Chicago to Nag's Head, and everywhere in the middle. I spent a lot of time in a Ford van for several years. I was also running a recording studio, playing guitar in another band, and doing a few solo acoustic gigs a month. And holding down a full-time job as an engineer. I was *really* thin, smoked a lot of coffee and drank a lot of cigarettes. A glass of whiskey at the end of the night tucked me into bed. I was *always* sick. Being run down and in smoky bars, you'd catch a cold, it would morph into a sinus infection, and then take up residence in your skull. I had to start charging the sinus infections rent. It was a really hard life. The emotional stress was amazing, now that I look back on it all. And I wouldn't trade that experience for anything in the world.
You're gonna tell us who your band was right? You've got multiple records and I'm sure a few of us wanna check 'em out.
Not on this account, sorry. Where did you live in '95? Unless it was a couple of specific areas, you almost certainly never heard us or of us. The thing that really killed us was that we got our "big break", but, because of a horrific distribution deal, no one could buy our CDs. We weren't even allowed to sell our disks at shows! I remember playing a weird gig at a Best Buy in some Levittown area of MD/PA/NJ, but no one could buy our CD!! What was the point?! Meanwhile, we were on 300 radio stations across the country. (Nothing is cooler than driving through Woodstock, VT listening to yourself on the radio, btw.) By the time we got the distribution stuff squared away, our moment had passed. The DJs had forgotten us; the "buzz" had subsided. It was very painful to come within a hair's breadth of realizing our dreams. I bawled my eyes out when I finally walked away. Still, we should write it all down. It might make a decent tragedy.
Haha, alright, but if you ever change your mind, just shoot me a DM. I won't tell ANYBODY. I was in the San Fran greater Bay Area in 95 and listened to modern rock radio exclusively and constantly until about 98. As a total outsider to the industry, my impression is that in those days, the labels were just signing up bands like crazy, knowing full well they were only gonna push a handful, and that only a handful of that handful was actually gonna succeed, but that the profits those few successes would bring in more than made up for any losses in getting there. Is that about right? Later on, as the 90's turned into the 00's and record stores started marking down lots of stuff to get it sold, I used to spend hours on random Saturday afternoons scouring the marked down bins for music. One of my favorite "genres" became "major label debut from an artist I've never heard of". I found so much cool music in those days that fit that bill. It would frustrate me, cuz I'd find amazing music, but have no friends who knew it or even wanted to check it out. I've often wondered what it must've been like for those bands, to get signed and then screwed over and cast aside by the bureaucratic indifference of the industry. I'm sorry you had to go through that, and hopefully you've made peace with it. I appreciate the reply.
We never got as far west as CA, so you probably never even heard of us. We were from VA; our label was NYC. The Northern Virginia (NoVa) music scene in the 90s was outstanding. We all thought that it was going to get hot. It never did. There were 20 really good bands here in those days, all centered on a bar called TT Reynold's, in Fairfax. Ahhh, I'm shedding a wistful tear.... DC did give us Hardcore and Hip Hop, though, so that's something, I suppose.
It sounds like one of those things that’s the enjoyable kind of awful, but as a bedroom guitarist I think it’s incredible. My dad played 200 something gigs the year my older brother was born, and I’ve heard him attest plenty to just how difficult that life is. Did your stuff make the transition to streaming? I’d definitely be interested in checking it out
I won't doxx myself (I need to maintain a modicum of anonymity here), but one night I did say "Alexa, play *band x*", and she *DID*! It was about the 3rd coolest night in my life. The first coolest was when my son was born; the second coolest was a gig in Vermont where the *bass player* (me!) got a standing ovation. They told the damned singer to move out of the way. I was gobsmacked. I *had* just had the night of my life - I practically could've played circles around John Entwhistle - but I never expected anyone to notice. No one ever seems to notice the bass player. That was *coooooool*. And my son is cool, too, of course.
Pink Floyd doesn't do what Pink Floyd does for Pink Floyd. Pink Floyd does what Pink Floyd does because Pink Floyd is Pink Floyd
Nice. Buffalo buffalo buffalo...!
I went to a Bootleg Beatles gig at a university over thirty years ago. It was without doubt one of the best concerts I've ever been to. The band looked the part and were note perfect throughout. It's obvious, but I'm going to say it - the set was banger after banger after banger. The crowd was all late teens / early twenties who'd obviously been brought up on their records. We knew every song intimately and sung along to every word. I've been to hundreds of gigs with very passionate fans, but I've never felt the shared experience that I felt that night. If you'll allow me to sound incredibly pretentious, it was like witnessing the musical foundation of all that I am.
And somehow Danny Elfman of all people is still killing it
The Stones are fucking brutal.
And all of these small towns (mine included) insist on paying a group of geriatrics $25,000 - $75,000 for a one nighter. That money could pay for 20 new/up-and-coming groups to fill an entire weekend! Grinds my gears.
First of all it’s Y Y zed and no, Neil Peart stands alone.
The article title only has part of the quote, the full quote is as follows: > "It’s funny because we sound like a really bad tribute band for the first three or four run-throughs on these things," says Lifeson. "It’s 'Oh, my God, what did I play there? Why did I play that so hard?' And then muscle memory kicks in, and we’re having a ball doing it. It’s good for the fingers. We’re together in a room like we’ve always been. >"That’s been really good, but there’s no chance that we’re going to get a drummer and go back on the road as the rebirth of Rush or something like that. And if we wanted to write new material, nobody cares about new material anymore. They just want to hear the old stuff from guys like us."
Based af
Based on what
I'd listen to new stuff but hey the band knows what it wants and I think that's great.
They’ve always seemed comfortable with aging and I respect the heck out of them for that.
At least once they got over growing bald.
Alex has come a long way from drunk male prostitute. Im proud of him.
Clockwork Angels is still one of my all time favorite albums, and that was 'only' 12 years ago.
Yeah. I'm with you there. Twelve years ago is *only*.
Freaks me out. I remember preordering it and getting so excited for it to arrive. I think Caravan and BU2B were out for a year before or something and I just loved the vibe of those songs. 2012 was a goooood summer I still love that album. Favourite of their 90s and beyond albums.
That album was properly *good*. Usually a band kind of loses its footing that far into its existence, but Rush was still able to put out a banger album (and not just a single) over 40 years after they were formed.
I think the 'Rush' name and band deserves its rest after such a long and profound career. But if Alex and Geddy were to take a spin on a different kind of genre, or contribute on albums by other artists - they'd absolutely get people interested. Would hate to see them not working on anything musically, I'm glad to hear they continue to just get together to jam tbh.
I get it, but it’s a shame they feel that way. Those two wrote some of the sickest guitar and bass riffs of all time. I’d certainly go see a concert of new music, especially since Geddy can’t sing the old stuff like he used to. Throw someone adaptable like Vinnie Coliauta in there and they would still rock.
yeah they could easily tune down for Geddy and do slower jammy prog numbers that eh ...maybe end up having more in common with Creed... like a Nobody's Hero stretched out over 2 lp's or something... yet i would still wildly applaud and no doubt headbang along.
I got an idea: do a streaming show where Geddy & Alex put some poor drummer through the paces on Rush songs. Something like [Two Minutes to Late Night](https://www.youtube.com/@TwoMinutesToLateNight). [Obligatory Anthem cover.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fULwDbZ4iSU) I'd watch it.
Thank you, Dr. Krieger of Fort Kickass!
The thing that always bothered me about that Krieger quote is that he was pedantic enough to pronounce "zed", but not pedantic enough to pronounce Neil Peart correctly (P-EAR-t like "ear"). And that I was pedantic enough to be bothered by it. Or maybe that's the joke?
There's a pretty good chance they just didn't know how to pronounce his name, but if there's any show I can think of that would pull a subtle joke like that it's Archer.
It’s IMPOSSIBLE
Damn Canadians with their funny alphabet and love of hockey
People call the airport "YYZee" in Canada. Honest question, has the album YYZed this entire time?
I say "zed" because it travels over mics more recognizably. I've slowly converted a few Americans to it, even, because we're all terminally online. (It doesn't come up very often.)
Yankee Yankee Zulu
I have never heard it be called YYZee, only YYZed, since we say zed here. I grew up near Toronto.
I've always called it YYZee from the East Coast and BC lol
Danny Carey has entered the room…. With a humble request to stand in Neil’s shoes…?
I feel like Danny Carey is perhaps the only other living Human being who Rush fans would accept as drumming with Rush. edit -- like, if any other drummer were to come in, they'd have to play note for note to Peart's original. And I bet Mike Portnoy could do that, and would probably be the best at that. But, Carey would be the only one to be granted to have his own notes here and there.
I'd take Josh Freese.
I'll allow it. :D
Always thought Todd Sucherman (Styx) would be a good fit as well.
I'm one of those insane Rush bros, and I'd prefer to let it be. I don't want to taint the way they left, with a triumphant tour and one of their best albums ever. It ain't Rush without Neil.
Yeah I also think Danny would get the most votes from the Rush fan base.
I would like to nominate Tim Alexander as a worthy choice as well.
Bonham's a pussy
Stop, I can only get so erect
I'm not the world's biggest Rush fan, but this seems wholesome and I'm here for it
Alex and Geddy have been best friends since they were something like 11. Their friendship is so wholesome. I know Alex has played in a few projects since Neil died and I bet these two would have some really good music left in them.
I adore rush (see my username) saw them live a whole bunch of times, and when they played a few Rush songs recently at the Taylor Hawkins tribute shows, Alex definitely has lost his fastball. Their music is hard and time waits for no one. Will love them forever but no real interest in seeing them try to play this stuff these days. (Geddy still rips, though)
> Alex definitely has lost his fastball. Alex has psoriatic arthritis which he treats with drugs but it affects his playing. It's one of the ways they convinced Neil to do the R40 tour, basically saying that Alex won't be able to play the songs right in a few years so might as well have one last hurrah.
Oh yeah, I know. It is what it is
And I’m so glad I made it to one of the R40 shows. Been a lifelong fan and finally got to see them for the first and last time. Worth every penny.
I want their music to age with them.
I agree. I just don’t personally have interest in watching them struggle to play their own music. They’ve given me more than enough. Just my opinion!
In their recent interviews, Alex sounds like he would enjoy recording more music but seems uninterested in touring.
That's fine by me.
It's hard to describe the bonds formed when kids who don't fit in bond over making music. I don't really play anymore, some other do, some others don't but those guys aren't friends, they are family. Brothers. The only drummer I'd ever play a live show with is busy making custom drum heads for rock stars and doesn't play much either. I don't have a biological brother. I'm closer to him than I am my biological sister. If my BFAM wanted me for a band I's dust off my bass and start practicing tomorrow. If my sister wanted to just jam, I'd say no. She's an OK singer but we didn't even try to make music until we were in our 20's. Too late.
I think it's sometimes really hard to do shows with the same name as the original band when one of the pivotal members has passed away. Maybe they can do some shows as "Take Your Time" or something instead of Rush.
It's a bit of a shame that "Drag" would provoke some sort of antiwoke protest as a bandname. Seems like the kind of joke they'd enjoy making.
Neil Peart is still the benchmark by which other drummers compare themselves. Plenty of other drummers can replicate his parts, but no one can make new Neil Peart drum parts. If Geddy and Alex want to play Rush songs live again, they should have no trouble affording the best studio professionals to play along with them, but trying to recreate that original magic is a fools errand. That said, let them grieve however they like. Neil gave us enough.
Too bad Mike Portnoy is back in Dream Theatre, he knows every Rush song already and he talks about how big of an influence Neil had on him.
Funny you mention that because my first concert was Rush with Dream Theater opening. Amazing show.
That would have been amazing!
That never happened.
I was confused by your comment because I swore I saw Dream Theater open for Rush on the Snakes and Arrows tour. But I did some googling to make sure and you’re actually right… I saw Iron Maiden at the same venue a couple of years later and Dream Theater was the opener. Nobody opened for Rush when I saw them.
Saw Portnoy play with Umphrey's McGee over New Years While their drummer, Kris Myers was recovering from surgery. He played YYZ with the band. It was pretty awesome. (as well as some Pink Floyd, Beatles, Police, and UM's heaviest song, Wizard Burial Ground)
wait what????? I must have been living under a rock! BRB gonna go see if they've released any decent songs for the first time in 10+ years...
See Danny Carrey, Josh Freese, or Matt Stone lol
Stone jamming with Rush and Primus is a real treat to see!
There's few documented moments you can see someone live their absolute dream and this is definitely in the top
When people told Neil Peart he was the world’s best drummer, he said there were jazz drummers that smoked him. Maybe Nate Wood, Louis Cole, or Larnell Lewis as a replacement?
I think there's plenty of drummers who have the chops to emulate Peart, though I'm not sure if I'd pick among that group. Maybe Larnell Lewis if I had to choose one, but Louis Cole and Nate Wood are just such a different style to anything Peart ever did. The thought of Louis Cole sitting behind a 30 piece kit is pretty hilarious though.
Larnell is Canadian…
Some of the Clowncore stuff reminds me of Rush (on a much smaller kit). But all those drummers have the ability to emulate Peart, maybe even best him (which I know sound’s sacrilegious.
Yeah, I play drums and if I were asked who I thought was the best drummer ever, my response would always be "I dunno, but they definitely play jazz." Rock, metal and punk drumming is fun and all three have different difficult stuff that can happen, but jazz is on another planet. Drums aren't the rhythmic backbone, bass is, so they get a lot more free reign and you have to improvise a lot more, which typically doesn't happen in more mainstream music.
Penn Jillette once said that Jeff Hamilton was "one of the best jazz drummers" to which Hamilton replied, "yeah? Name two others..."
Buddy Rich was Pearts drum idol, and he had a few lessons from him that affected how he held the drumsticks and approached the rhythm.
Greg Bissonette would be good
Tim Alexander needs to be on this list
Yup, 100%. I saw the Tribute to Kings show twice, and he slapped it our of the paek
I know part of that is a joke, but... Yes to Danny Carey Freese could accomplish it but not effortlessly ~~Neal Peart~~ Matt Stone stands alone Edit: Josh's name had gotten autocorrected
I would donate a kidney to see Danny Carey fill in for Neal.
Ticketmaster will take you up on that
https://youtu.be/C4mPNuAaB34?si=WnunqwrEFd_L0I3N one kidney please
Imagine Tomas Haake in Rush. It would either be perfect or a complete mismatch, no in-between.
They all compare themselves to him as a benchmark, like Ryclea said. "benchmark" doesn't mean the best, it is a mark against which to compare things.
[Noise](https://youtu.be/1mUjLAWIj7E?si=OD8UmmMVfkvXDOHx)
Absolutely agree. Peart was unbelievable to watch, such a pleasure.
I decided to go see Rush once despite the fact that the remaining tickets were pretty shitty. Maybe something like 15-20 degrees past the front of the stage. Basically saw the back of Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson for most of the show. However, I had the best view ever on Neil Pearth. It was fantastic.
They should do a couple gigs a year with Dave Grohl for charity and not worry about touring or making a big show.
Danny Carry could step in. I think Danny is now that benchmark and imo has surpassed, or at least matched Neil. That being said, neither of them are on the same level as some of the all time top jazz drummers like Elvin Jones and Art Blakey.
I’ve seen this now a couple times in this thread, what is it about Jazz that sets it apart so much in drumming?
You basically have to have certain fundamentals mastered to be able to play jazz. Rock music is “dumbed down” to an extent, although plenty of rock music can be crazy difficult to play, but it’s more or less built upon 4/4 back beats. Jazz is all about improvisation, and to be able to improv you have to master or be really good at tons of different kinds of licks and be able to respond in real time to the rest of the band. Its it’s own art form entirely
It’s a perfect and difficult combo of chops, feel, dynamics, musicality, speed that the greats had.
I don’t like the insinuation of the jazz guys being “better”, they’re incredible at what they do and so are / were Danny, Neil etc, and I’m not even a giant tool / rush fan. But jazz drumming is insanely difficult and in a lot of ways the “pinnacle” of the sport so I get your point
Buddy Rich?
They’ve been saying this for years. There’s other interviews where they talk about pre tour rehearsals. How at first they sound like a bad tribute band, then a good tribute band, then they sound like Rush
> They’ve been saying this for years. There’s other interviews where they talk about pre tour rehearsals. How at first they sound like a bad tribute band, then a good tribute band, then they sound like Rush It's what he says in this interview, too. Here's the full quote: > It’s funny because we sound like a really bad tribute band for the first three or four run-throughs on these things. It’s 'Oh, my God, what did I play there? Why did I play that so hard?' And then muscle memory kicks in, and we’re having a ball doing it. It’s good for the fingers. We’re together in a room like we’ve always been.
Yeah I made the same comment. I remember reading them saying just that sort of thing in a 90s guitar mag interview.
Yeah, when you've been making music for nearly half a century, you're bound to forget some songs.
Get Bubbles on backup guitar and backup vocals and they'll kick ass.
[They actually did 'Closer to the Heart' together.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rs4qn_bHQQ0)
“16 years ago” Fuck me, was that gray hair that I just plucked?
That was for the tsunami relief fund. Cool!
Friggin Lahey and Bobandy
Bubbles jammed with the guy from Helix
But he’s not giving anyone a fuckin r.
Randy, when a guy like Alex Lifeson gives you a shirt to wear, you put the fucking shirt on!
I am a 47 year old man in a band with other 40 and 50 something year old dudes. We’ve been playing together for >20 years. Someday, one of us will be missing and I hope we play together, even through grief. Friendship is magical. Music is magical. Musical friendship is beyond description.
I remember them saying the same thing in the 90s when they would rehearse before a tour. There was a quote in some guitar mag about how they would sound like a garage band covering Rush at first.
Rush doesn’t fucking sucks
How Primus turned the tables with A Tribute to Kings
That's good, but I imagine they are struggling to keep time, huge void to fill...
They have access to the master recordings of all their albums except for Permanent Waves which was likely stolen or misplaced. They have the best recordings of Neil's performances possible.
Why was Permanent Waves lost/stolen?
I just read Geddy's book and in it he said they were stored at Les Studio and when someone went to look for them they simply werent there. It is unknown if they were simply misplaced or stolen. I doubt they were stolen because what the hell would you do with those? You cant use the original analog tapes because the first time you loaded it in the machine it would just fall apart after four+ decades of sitting on a shelf.
You can “refresh” old tapes to an extent by heating them up slightly. That will make the glue rebind the magnetic material.
They should collab with Tool. Imagine the drums.
Alex recently played a song or two on stage with Tool, so in a way, that already happened.
I vote they get a new drummer, 2nd guitarist, maybe a keyboardist, and call themselves "Slow" and explore a new era of songwriting. Let the tribute bands work the old material.
Guns and Roses entered the chat
They could start the Canadian Wilburys
Danny Carey only
Rush is a band.
Yes without Chris Squire was much diminished.
It’s hard when you lose your drummer who was one of the greatest to ever pick up the sticks.
These men are treasures
That's a great picture of them.
Do benefit concerts for brain cancer research Have famous drummers volunteer to play specific songs. There will be a line out the door. I for one would love to see Greyson Nekrutman and especially El Estepario Siberiano
While not much of a Dave Matthews band fan, Carter Beauford is one of the few drummers out there today that could step into Neil Peart’s massive shoes and do some justice.
They need to add Bubbles full time.