"Begin the day with a friendly voice, a companion unobtrusive ..."
Just thought I would mention that one of my favourite bands; 'Rush' are touring North America this year, first gig of their 40th anniversary tour was last weekend in Tulsa.
I have been a fan of Rush, since, well, almost as long as I can remember, and first saw them live back in June 1980 on their '79/80 Permanent Waves tour, and have seen them several times since, most notably for me, the Moving Pictures tour '81 the R30 tour, and most recently the Time Machine tour.
Here is my original ticket stub taped to the back of my Permanent Waves programme. I still have it, one of the few possessions I have to survive countless house moves, tucked away for over 30 years. At age 15 I skipped a Maths lesson to catch the train to Brum Odeon and queue up to buy this ticket . I ended in deep trouble on my return to school the next day, but it was worth the grief, the band were amazing. Getting to see 2112 and Xanadu played live, not to mention the brand new Spirit of Radio.
So, what has this amazing 40 year old Rock band got do with Motorcycling eh?
"... off on your way hit the open road, there is magic at your fingers ..."
Rush are a Canadian trio of musical genius, where the drummer of the band is a man I have come to admire greatly over the years..... Mr Neil Peart. Not only is Neil highly regarded as one of the best Rock drummers in the world and has repeatedly been voted top drummer in countless polls over the years (go on look him up on YouTube/Google if you don't believe me), he writes the lyrics for all of their music. The lyrics, often thought provoking, ranging from Sci-if esque, fantasy based to life questioning subjects often find me returning to Rush albums 35 years after discovering them during my school days.Neil, is also a writer, and has penned quite a few books of interest, including Ghost Rider, a biographical account of his own personal loss and tragedies and how he came to live with these by embarking on a road trip through Canada, North and South America aboard his BMW GS Motorcycle. Since the 90's, Neil has covered over 500,000 miles aboard several BMW GS variants, all, as far as I know, red in colour. The riding he covers between shows, where he along with a friend and road crew go looking for some of the most obscure routes between concert venues. Recently, I found a great video interview with Neil on You tube and thought it worthy of a share on here, where Neil discusses Motorcycling:
In the Interview he makes reference to this book by Melissa Holbrook Pierson
(now added to my wish list), looks like a good read - one for next winter !
Part two discusses Rush at 40 years:
... "Invisible airwaves crackle with life
Bright antenna bristle with the energy
Emotional feedback on timeless wavelength
Bearing a gift beyond price, almost free ..."
All the best Alex, Geddy and Neil on 40 years of great music.
Hope you bring R40 to the UK and I get to see you one more time !
Find out more about Rush at their website :
.. and Neil's own site where he regularly posts a 'ride' blog in his news section:
No comments:
Post a Comment