Geddy Lee & Alembic

[hieronymous]

I have been reading Geddy Lee's recent memoir, My Effin' Life - I got to see him speak in San Francisco and the book came with the ticket!



I'm putting it here in miscellaneous, but I was blown away to read the following:

I began listening seriously to a lot of the San Francisco-based bands like the Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane - to Phile Lesh and especially Jack Casey, who tone and inventiveness blew me away: I loved the audacious tendency he had of building his now melodies within a song, with just enough taste to temper that audacity. (page 88)

How do we get him turned on to Alembic?!!

[edwardofhuncote]

With the incredible collection of basses he has, I never could figure out how he managed to not have at least one.


My drummer-buddy who I recorded radio commercial soundtracks with got me an autographed copy of that book a couple years ago. There's some pretty basses in there. No Alembics though. I was surprised. On the other hand, he seems to have done okay with Fenders and Rics.

[pauldo]

Looking forward to reading the book.  I heard his recent live tour was poignant and intimate.   Glad you got to see it.

[hammer]

Not to be a nay sayer but from the looks of the size of that audience, Geddy needs to get a new publicist

[BeenDown139]

audience, Geddy needs to get a new publicist

funny.  i was shopping baked at target yesterday on my way to the pet aisle when i passed xmas clearance table. 30% off.    500+ pages.  quite a tome.  such a deal.  was lookin for a book anyways, so in a moment of rare lucidity i made a snap decistion and now he's next in line behind  stephen king's holly. i gotta say i've read pretty much all of SK's stuff but lately it's like he's phoning it in.  but i digress...as much as a tone maven geddy is i've never heard his name and alembic in the same sentence until now.

[BeenDown139]

oops.  forgot the attachmnet

[BeenDown139]

not my day

[hieronymous]

Not to be a nay sayer but from the looks of the size of that audience, Geddy needs to get a new publicist

Haha, you're funny! Actually, I got there really early and took the opportunity to spread my stuff out - unfortunately those weren't my actual seats, I was a couple of rows behind that and also behind a tall person despite my best efforts spending lots of money for an aisle seat that close. I still enjoyed it though!

funny.  i was shopping baked at target yesterday on my way to the pet aisle when i passed xmas clearance table. 30% off.    500+ pages.  quite a tome.  such a deal.  was lookin for a book anyways, so in a moment of rare lucidity i made a snap decistion and now he's next in line behind  stephen king's holly. i gotta say i've read pretty much all of SK's stuff but lately it's like he's phoning it in.  but i digress...as much as a tone maven geddy is i've never heard his name and alembic in the same sentence until now.

I am enjoying it - to be honest, I skipped the chapter about his parents' experience in the Holocaust for now, and am getting into the early days of the band. I'm also reading Patrick Stewart's autobiography, "Making It So" at the same time and getting kind of confused - whose father died when? Which book am I reading?

With the incredible collection of basses he has, I never could figure out how he managed to not have at least one.

My drummer-buddy who I recorded radio commercial soundtracks with got me an autographed copy of that book a couple years ago. There's some pretty basses in there. No Alembics though. I was surprised. On the other hand, he seems to have done okay with Fenders and Rics.

Right?!! Maybe he knew it was a rabbit hole he didn't want to go down. Especially as a big Entwistle fan, I'd expect him to have a Spyder at least... Like I say, who can get in touch with him and entice him? There's one on Reverb now!

[pauldo]

Oh dear here comes the hi-jack. 

Stephen King, he was my first “adult” read.  Salem’s Lot.  Couldn’t get enough of him.  Then Delores Claiborne came out.   I couldn’t finish it.  Always enjoy his books more than the movies, only actually saw a handful of the film versions and find I prefer the ‘minds eye’ version. 

A favorite quote of his was an answer to the question:
Where do you get your ideas from?

‘I have the heart of a child….  it’s kept in a jar on my desk.’   






Veering back on topic…
I recall in high school a drummer friend of mine and others were really into Rush.  For reasons beyond reasoning (puberty?) I was NOT a Rush fan, can’t explain it, they just didn’t click.   Years went by and finally, I think it was Red Barchetta that really sealed the deal.   It was the lyrics that drew me in, they paint such vivid imagery that led to actually “hearing” the musical mastery and I was hooked.

[cozmik_cowboy]

Veering back on topic…
I recall in high school a drummer friend of mine and others were really into Rush.  For reasons beyond reasoning (puberty?) I was NOT a Rush fan, can’t explain it, they just didn’t click.   Years went by and finally, I think it was Red Barchetta that really sealed the deal.   It was the lyrics that drew me in, they paint such vivid imagery that led to actually “hearing” the musical mastery and I was hooked.

I had a HS friend who was heavily into Rush, Van Halen, and Kansas; every new album from any of them, he always said, "No, this one sounds completely different from the other stuff; you'll love it!"

He was (for me, anyway) always wrong on both parts of his statement......

Peter (who is happy for you if it gives you pleasure, but whose tastes lie in very different directions)

[David Houck]

... I'm also reading Patrick Stewart's autobiography, "Making It So" ...

I would be interested in reviews of both the Geddy Lee and Patrick Stewart books when folks have finished them.

[hdfixer]

Just finished Geddy's book yesterday.  Definitely worth the read.  The Holocaust chapter was rough going, but necessary. Great insights into their writing / recording process.  A lot of focus on "the early days." Time from the death of Neil's first wife and daughter, the R40 tour, and Neil's passing was handled quickly.  Notably missing was much talk of gear - nothing of the 4008, Steinberger or Wal eras (I felt a similar disappointment over His Big Book of Bass for similar omissions).   A small mention of the progress from the Maytag>Chicken Roaster backline was as gear nerd as it gets.  Apparently one of Neil's reasons for retirement was he felt he had nothing more to say after Clockwork Angels. Not a Rush album that gelled with me the first time around, I listened to it once last night and will go through it a few more times with a keener ear.

[hieronymous]

Just finished Geddy's book yesterday.  Definitely worth the read.  The Holocaust chapter was rough going, but necessary. Great insights into their writing / recording process.  A lot of focus on "the early days." Time from the death of Neil's first wife and daughter, the R40 tour, and Neil's passing was handled quickly.  Notably missing was much talk of gear - nothing of the 4008, Steinberger or Wal eras (I felt a similar disappointment over His Big Book of Bass for similar omissions).   A small mention of the progress from the Maytag>Chicken Roaster backline was as gear nerd as it gets.  Apparently one of Neil's reasons for retirement was he felt he had nothing more to say after Clockwork Angels. Not a Rush album that gelled with me the first time around, I listened to it once last night and will go through it a few more times with a keener ear.

I actually haven't been reading Geddy's book much lately because it's an actual physical book and my house is not lit for reading unfortunately - plus, I have been reading the novelization of Clockwork Angels on my iPhone - Clockwork Angels caught my attention when it came out (have it on CD though haven't located it lately) - I think it deserves multiple listens - Clockwork Angels & The Anarchist are great - the book makes the story make more sense and makes me want to listen more - plus Geddy mentions the final track "The Garden" as a song that will always remind him of Neil Peart - this is what got me back into the album and to read the book:

https://www.vulture.com/article/geddy-lee-rush-neil-peart-memoir.html?fbclid=IwAR2Ph-wp2tP9Ldx03RBywsZoPMs6tVOUzXPoFK9ZRwFkn0g7Cmg7Ax3amtQ

[peoplechipper]

I recently finished Geddy's book; a good read. I also wonder why no Alembics...I own mine because of Entwistle and my Ricky because of Geddy, and am so glad I have them...

[gearhed289]

First of all, hello everyone, I've been away for a couple of months. Anyway...

The book is fantastic. I read about half of it in a day. Chapter 3 is indeed rough as Harry said. Mind blowing.

Re:Ged and Alembic. I think his Wal basses probably scratched that itch before he went back to all passive basses. Producer Peter Collins had one that he had Ged try for the album Power Windows, and he apparently really liked it. Wal uses a similar low pass filter(s) setup with push/pull "Q switches". He used Wals from roughly 1985-1992 after a short stint with Steinberger.