Rush Guitarist Arrested on New Year's Eve

AP via Fox News ^ | January 2, 2004

[MarkL]

Alex Lifeson has a 33 year-old son?

Man, with another birthday coming up tomorrow, I really didn't need to know that.

Well, Happy Birthday!

I guess I shouldn't be suprised... I've been listening to Rush since 1975 or so... Around the time "Fly by Night" came out.

Damn, I'm OLD!

Mark

[radiohead]

LOL!! You went to school with some interesting people.

[Pro-Bush]

Here is Exit Stage Left with the Owl

[MarkL]

Clean cut all-American guys, eh ?

Take off, you hoser!

Mark

For those of you who are "Great White North" challenged, they're Canadian, eh? "Koo-Loo-Koo-Koo-Koo-Loo-Koo-Koo!

[MarkL]

Those hands played IMO the most incredible guitar riff ever on the song Xanadu. More strokes in one minute duration than any other guitarist ever performed.

One of the best (and underrated) albums of all time... "Hemispheres"

Mark

[MarkL]

Sounds like you are reacting to a statement from someone who may or may not know what they are talking about with regard to Collier County Sheriff's Dept. But I can tell you this: by calling Alex Lifeson a maggot infested drunk, I can tell that you know nothing of what you are talking about with regard to him.

I am fairly certain you're correct. First off, staying together as a band for 30 years (OK, 28 years, with Neil) requires that the band be clean, at least now... Secondly, as someone who's tried to play Geddy's bass lines in the past, I can say that there's NO WAY that he was stoned while playing and singing.

As far as Alex goes, I doubt that he was "a maggot-infested drunk." IIRC, he was a pilot in the Canadian Air Force reserves. You don't stay a military pilot if you're a drunk.

Mark

[MarkL]

Bacon (my best friend of 20 years or so) has repeatedly told me the same thing. I've given Rush chance after chance after chance . . . I just can't find a way to differentiate between songs.

You just haven't met the "right" Rush fan yet... :-)

Mark

[MarkL]

Anyway, what's up with the Owl on every Rush album cover? Any idea what yyz stands for? I forgot the original drummer's name, before Peart. You know?

Well, the owl first appeared on the cover of "Fly by Night," but it hasn't been on every album cover. It may have been on "Moving Pictures," but then they had a number of different album cover art pictures there. The original drummer was John Rutsey. A good, solid rock drummer. But few are in Neil Peart's league.

Mark

[MarkL]

Any idea what yyz stands for?

Oops, YYZ is the code for Toronto's airport. And the beginning of the song is the moris code.

Mark

[Tuxedo]

Exit Stage Left is not a studio album, but a live album consisting of tunes from the previous albums, and the cover has aspects from all the previous albums. I did not see the owl in the FTK album cover, but I did see the guy from Hemispheres in the rocks. Quite cool!

[MarkL]

A modern-day warrior
Mean mean stride,
Today's tom sawyer
Mean mean pride.

Don't try to think too hard about Pye Dubois' lyrics. You'll only hurt yourself. He's the mastermind behind such Max Webster classics like "Hangover," Research at Beach Resorts," and "April in Toledo."

Mark

[MarkL]

Well, the owl first appeared on the cover of "Fly by Night," but it hasn't been on every album cover. It may have been on "Moving Pictures," but then they had a number of different album cover art pictures there.

Damn... It's been too many years. I meant "Exit, Stage Left," not Moving Pictures, although it does have the 2112 art work.

Mark

[Pro-Bush]

You're right, I couldn't find the Owl in all the covers, but I was told by a Rush fanatic, that its supposed to be on every album (CD) somewhere. Oh well.

Isn't Rush's every 5th album a live one?

[ovrtaxt]

See my posts 88 and 89. Any thoughts?

[Pro-Bush]

I did some researching and found this out about the 2112 album cover; similar to what you posted.

"All it means is the abstract man against the masses. The red star symbolizes any collectivist mentality." - Neil Peart, Creem, 1982

"The man is the hero of the story. That he is nude is just a classic tradition ... the pureness of his person and creativity without the trappings of other elements such as clothing. The red star is the evil red star of the Federation, which was one of Neil's symbols. We basically based that cover around the red star and that hero." - Hugh Syme, "From Brainwaves to Tidal Waves: The Story Behind Rush's Album Covers", Creem, 1983

[MarkL]

To be honest with you, I've always been more enthrawled by the musicianship and the way these three guys play together than the lyrics. I've never really analyzed the lyrics, other than at a cursory level.

I just really love the music and the musicianship.

I find it interesting that Rush is as strong as ever, selling out every concert they play. Without having much, as far as "commercial success" goes. The original article in the post makes Rush sound like this "little band" who isn't very popular.

They've got a live DVD where they played in Brazil for the first time, and played before more than 60,000 people!

Mark

[ovrtaxt]

Agreed. La Villa Strangiato is a song that I've listened to fairly consistently for over 20 years, and I'm still not bored with it. No lyrics.

The fact that they aren't your typical leftist moron musicians is just icing on the cake. For example, U2 was much more enjoyable when they had something useful to say. Nowadays they're just annoying. But Rush never sold out to stupidity. That's rare in entertainment.

[NYC GOP Chick]

Methinks there is more to this story than the Naples police would like us to hear.

Really! I mean, the only context the AP gives is this:

The scuffle began when Justin Zivojinovich refused to leave a stage, according to the arrest report.

Not the usual details that we've come to expect from celeb arrests... What stage? Where? And so on...

[NYC GOP Chick]

I *thot* you should see this -- if you haven't already heard...

[NYC GOP Chick]

Yes, very bad. ;)