Geddy Lee - Off the Record for Signals
Off The Record with Mary Turner, 1982, radio program transcribed by Anonymotron42
Announcer: Rush: Off the Record with Mary Turner, brought to you by Budweiser, the King of Beers. For all you do, this Bud's for you. Schick Super II, for that macho shave, and the U.S. Navy. Navy: It's not just a job, it's an adventure. Rush: Off the Record.
["Chemistry" begins and fades into the background]
Geddy: The big thing about this album, I think, and one of the keys to the way it sounds, and why maybe it sounds so different, is the fact that a lot of writing was done on time off on our own, and pieced together. The actual time that we spent, the three of us putting ideas together, went very smoothly because a lot of the writing had actually been done. We each came with our tapes, and we had backlogs of tapes, and thousands of ideas and we didn't use all of them. We had lots left, so that's a bit why the album, I think, took on a different sound and a different style.
The album is Signals. The members are Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, and Neil Peart. The band is Rush. I'm Mary Turner, and for the next hour, I'll be talking with Geddy Lee about the band's new sound and new plans, Rush: Off the Record.
["The Analog Kid" plays]
Mary: You seem to have expanded your range vocally tremendously on this album.
Geddy: Well, I'm making conscious effort to sing in a more comfortable register, because I just don't enjoy it anymore. You know, and there was a time when our music was more aggressive, in some ways, and more raw, and it required me to be a different type of singer. And now our music is changing and there's a lot more attention to melody, and it's gone in a different direction, and I just don't enjoy singing in those real high registers as much anymore.
And there was almost a vibrato kind of quality of previous albums.
Yeah, I think it's just confidence in singing lower now that's changing, and giving me a richer quality when I sing. Because there's so many little mechanics in singing, and so much has to do with your mental attitude. I'm enjoying it a lot more now and feel more confident with it.
You sound very much more...you sound great. You sound a lot more confident and honestly it sounds like a couple of different guys on the album of that much expanded...
Yeah, it's nice. That's a good point: it's nice to have that range because there isn't anybody else who sings in the band, really. And it's nice to have the flexibility now that I know if I wanna boot it up an octave I can do that. It gives it another fresh approach.
["The Weapon" plays]
Signals has a new vocal sound and a new guitar sound. Geddy says that after ten albums, Rush was ready for a new guitar policy.
Our previous attitude had been to have this big wash of guitars. You know, you get your basic big guitar sound and then you fit everything else into it. You know, which is sort of a power-trio way of working. And this time we said "well, okay, let's hold on a minute. If we do that, we're gonna keep making Moving Pictures." You know, we're gonna make about six Moving Pictures, so let's rethink it now. We have the use of all these other instruments. Let's try to make this sound feel different. Let's try to make it feel more like a four-piece band because it's almost what it is now. It's like a three-and-a-half piece band we have, and we wanted the guitar...basically we wanted a simple approach, but it was very difficult to get a simple approach. We wanted a very large drum sound that was real ambient, not like we've had in the past, and we didn't wanna go through...we didn't hardly do any multi-tracking of guitars. We wanted a real natural ambient guitar sound that just sort of took up its own little space on one side, and we assigned the keyboard to the other side, like a real stereo. You know, like Phil Spector in the old days. And everything else we sort of put in the middle or wherever, so right from the beginning the guitar was gonna play a different role. It was, at times gonna be more rhythmic, and more...at times it almost plays a bass pattern. And then there's times where it really comes forward and shines. I think out of it, Alex has become a very flexible guitarist.
Amazing. I mean, he does stuff that I've never dreamed he had in him, really, honestly.
That's again, because he's totally insane.
He's just become insane in the last year-and-a-half or so? [Laughs]
No, he's always been crazy, but he's just getting better at it.
["The Digital Man" plays]
"New World Man" was originally called "Project 3:57."
Yeah.
You had to come up with a sort of short song.
Well, we didn't have to; we wanted to. You know, we wanted to have one more song on the album because we believe...I hate these fifteen minute albums. This is our personal crusade against these people getting cheated. Our albums cost the same, so why not put some more music on them for Chrissakes? You can just spend a couple more days, and write a couple more songs, and give somebody some little more money's worth. I know, you can come back with the argument "it's quality, not quantity," but why can't you have both? We just felt that we wanted to have more music on the album. We felt the album needed another song, but we didn't wanna do it...we couldn't do it past four minutes because we were already stretching it as far as to how hot we could cut the record, and all these technical things.
Now, this is because you can only put so many minutes on each side of an album and still have it sound good.
Right. Especially when you're doing it digitally, which is a whole other complex thing. But we do our albums digitally and, I mean, this can get real technical. Suffice it to say that we'd set ourselves, like, a twenty-one minute a side limit as to, at what point we could accept a loss in quality up to that point, right? And that was as far as we could go, and that only allowed us four minutes, so we had a real casual attitude. The album was really written, and recorded, and finished in basic forms, anyway. We said "okay, let's write another song. If we can write it, and we like it, and it's under four minutes, we'll use it. If it's over four minutes we'll save it for next time." And we got it under four minutes.
["New World Man" plays]
Rush has never devoted an album to unrequited love, fast cars, or beautiful girls. Lee, Lifeson, and Peart are more comfortable writing songs about modern day warriors, witch hunts, hyperspace, or the spirit of radio. When we come back, Geddy Lee talks about the group's latest interests, from suburbia to space shuttles, off the record. I'm Mary Turner.
[Commercial break]
Rush takes on the "Borough of Schmeng," coming up next off the record. I'm Mary Turner.
["Countdown" plays in the background]
If there is a theme throughout this album, is there a conscious theme?
Well, there are themes that pop up, and they have a connection. Like most songs that are written during one period, the way we write our albums, it's hard not to have themes that are continuous, because it's sort of reflecting a point in time and a state of mind. And sure, there are themes that pop up, but...
And they would be...?
It's not a concept album.
[Both laugh] It's a semi-thematic album.
It's only a concept album if you call it one.
That's what I thought. Now the themes would be...here's me, an outsider, taking a guess. The main theme to me is individuality; is don't follow the flock.
Well, I don't know. That's, maybe, one sort of subsidiary theme.
What's the main theme?
Well, I'm not gonna say what the main theme is.
Oh, come on!
I'm just gonna give out some of my thoughts about it. It's an album about technology and humans, and the fact that you have all this technology rapidly, rapidly moving. It's like what Thomas Edison once said that what man's mind can create, man's character must control, you know, and I think that in a way says a lot of things that this album says. Not that I wanna relate myself to Thomas Edison or anything, but there's humans, and there's human contact, and there's human communication, and there's telecommunication and there's...We're living in the eighties, you know, and it's a real fast moving, real weird time we're living in, and it's nice to have all these conveniences, and use all this wonderful so-called magic that's around us, but let's not forget about human things and human contact. You know, we have these suburbs that spread all around these cities, and they're just these concrete things and that's supposed to represent progress, but is it progress, and what's happening to the human in these suburbs? They're just becoming like camps, you know? I grew up in a suburb, so it's not like I'm not talking from experience, and most people...I know a lot of people that did grow up in suburbs. And they're just these vast miles of McDonald's, and franchises, and shopping plazas, and trees that are only two inches tall because they haven't grown up yet. I think I'm off on a tangent here. The album relates in the different experiences of the different people involved, and the different songs on the album. That theme seems to pop up to me: the fact that there's technology and there's progress, and there's human beings. They're both great, so let's not have one without the other.
["Subdivisions" plays]
I read that for the song "Subdivisions," he had come up with a lyrical idea first and presented it to you and Alex, and you guys drove up one day. He was working on his car in the driveway, and you presented him with a cassette of what you had come up thematically.
Yeah, and it was great, it worked. It's sometimes like that, which is real neat. One of the nicest things about being in this band is because it's real fun to write with each other, and sometimes wonderful accidents happen. Where Neil will be away working, hammering away at some lyric, and Alex and I will be flailing away writing some music. And we'll come together, and it'll be like...it's like we're all in the same room, but we weren't. It's real weird and it's real nice. That happened with "Losing It" as well. He had written these lyrics, and Alex had some music that he had written on his time off, and we just started fooling around, and all of a sudden these lyrics just fell into this piece of music. I mean, it was just like it dropped right into it. It was like "I can't believe this." It's always so nice, because it's so easy. It just works, you know? It's like "was I inspired or was it just an accident?"
["Losing It" plays]
There is a bond, though, that comes between people for as long as you three have worked as closely as you have. A bond that's really probably stronger than nine out of ten marriages.
Sure, I mean, hatred is a real strong bond.
[Laughs]
It's like a void. No, just joking, kids. No, I think we're held together by total insanity, and a total loss of reality. Because of that, we are so far out of touch with reality that we've been able to stay good friends.
["Tom Sawyer" plays]
Drummer Neil Peart once described a typical year in the life of Rush as tour, tour, and tour, then write, rehearse, and record, followed by domestic therapy: a two-week period devoted to gluing yourself back together. After nine years on the road that schedule tends to lose its appeal, so Rush devised a new one. When we come back, Geddy Lee talks about the new itinerary, and the new Rush bus, off the record. I'm Mary Turner.
[Commercial break]
The first international rock 'n' roll tennis tournament coming up next, off the record. I'm Mary Turner.
[Echoing sounds of tennis being played]
I'm, first of all, sort of surprised to see that you are an athlete.
Yes, I'm, well, not really an athlete. I'm an amateur athlete, I guess. I like playing tennis on the road. It keeps my brain and my body alive. It keeps me out of the usual places where rock 'n' roll people go. [Chuckles]
That's what I was gonna say. It is really unusual because most people, you know, out on the road, if you pulled in at three o'clock as it is now, you'd be asleep, and I'd have to wake you up.
Well, we pulled in at six o'clock, and I got up at 11:30 because I really wanted to play. Because I knew the weather was gonna be nice here, and Alex and I try to play as often as we can on the road, because it really...to be in good shape physically, and helps you mentally, and that helps take the grind of the road a lot easier. Even though, you know, you may end up one night only sleeping for six hours and still getting up early just to play tennis. I feel so much better by the time...[buzzing in the background] You get a lot of frustration out, and then the buzzer goes, [moves away from the microphone] and I gotta get the car...
It must be our coffee to get more frustration out.
Talk about a sports life...
So, it's you and Alex that are the sportsmen in the band?
Alex isn't really a sports fan; he likes tennis. I like all sports. Tennis is a good way to stay in shape on the road, basically, and to keep us in some halfway decent shape to survive for a rock 'n' roll tour, I guess.
["Limelight" plays]
You're traveling on a bus from city to city. You've always done that, haven't you?
Yeah.
You prefer that to flying?
Yeah, much, much, because flying is sort of anti-life, you know? I mean, I don't mind...I'm not afraid of flying or anything, and I like going up in airplanes and stuff like that. Flying on tour is...I think the way they design tours, and then the way they design flights just don't coincide. By the time you end up at the show, you're just this mess of a human being, who's been pushed and shoved, and lined up and X-rayed, and flown to this point and got off here, and go to that point and get to this point. This is all before you're supposed to arrive for sound check. So, how can you arrive in a good mood? It's impossible. We've always felt that it's a lot easier on us, in our state of mind, if we finish the gig, get into a bus. Listen to some music or watch TV or read or party 'til dawn or whatever, and arrive at the next place, and go to sleep and wake up fresh.
["Fly by Night" live version plays]
So how long is this tour gonna last?
This is gonna be on-and-off tour. It's gonna probably go right through 'til the spring. We're gonna take a lot of breaks in between. We don't work more than three weeks in a row now.
Good for you.
Without taking a week off.
That's a luxury, though, isn't it?
Yeah, it is a luxury.
It takes a long time to get to that point to be able to do that.
Yeah, but we have to now, because after three weeks, that's enough. Time to go home. So we won't work more than three weeks in a row without at least taking a week or ten days off, and we just demand time around Christmas off, and time in the summer. So there's enough time for everything. Nobody's in a hurry. We just wanna enjoy our lives. At this stage of our life, we don't wanna spend so much time in the band that there's nothing else, you know? It's not fair; it's not living.
["Closer to the Heart" live version plays]
[Commercial break]
Lifeson's on first, Peart's on third, and Lee's on the pitcher's mound when we continue with Rush: Off the Record. I'm Mary Turner.
[A clip of "Take Off," from the 1981 comedy album Great White North starring Rick Moranis as Bob McKenzie and Dave Thomas as Doug McKenzie, is played]
Bob: This is, uh, the hit single section of our album.
Doug: Good day.
Bob: Good day. Uh, Geddy Lee is here from Rush. Hi, Geddy, I'm Bob McKenzie, this is my brother Doug.
Doug: How's it going, Geddy?
Geddy: Oh, it's going pretty good. Good day, eh?
Doug: Good day.
Bob: Good day. Thanks for coming down to do our hit.
Geddy: Well, it's my pleasure, eh?
Bob: Did, did our lawyer call you?
Geddy: Yeah, um, I, you know, ten bucks is ten bucks.
Bob: Uh, we were, uh, I hope you don't mind but there's a photographer that's...
[Great White North dialogue fades to the background]
Now, just when we weren't expecting to hear from anybody in Rush last winter, we get this thing called the Great White North. [Laughs]
Oh, yeah.
How did you meet up with those guys?
I went to school with Rick Moranis, and been an avid fan of his work and the SCTV people's work. I just think they're doing great work in comedy, and they make me laugh a lot. And Rick called me up, and they were doing this record for our record company in Canada, and he said "we're doing this song; do you wanna come down and sing on it?" I went down, and I had a real nice time, and it took about an hour. It was all real casual and I went in, did it. I mean, they made up the lyrics as I walked in, kinda deal, you know? It was just thrown together, and I did it. You know, I don't think anyone thought it would be that popular.
["Take Off" plays]
You mentioned earlier some songs that you originally intended to keep for your project. Are you working on a solo album?
No, I am sort of always working on a solo album. There's a lot of people I'd like to eventually play with on another project, and there's all kinds of little bits and pieces of songs that I keep storing up, but I never seem to find the time to do it. I guess I'm gonna have to make the time some point. But it's not a real priority for me, because I get most of my rocks off in Rush, and writing for Rush. Whenever there's time I'll do it, and I'm not gonna make a big deal about it. It would just be nice to play with some of these people I know, because there's a lot of real talented musicians that I know. And the one thing about being in a band for four thousand years [chuckles] is that you're always playing with the same people. It's nice to play with other people.
["The Spirit of Radio" plays]
Are there any other particular burning passion, kind of, interests? You mentioned you like to play tennis a lot and you seem to love baseball. What would you do if somebody said "here's three months off, go home, do whatever you want?"
Well, I guess first thing I'd do is I'd probably watch a lot of sports. I'm interested in film too. I've worked pretty closely with a lot of little individual projects that have been associated with the band, and I think it's something I have an aptitude for. I'd also like to have a baseball team. I'd probably like to have a baseball team more than I'd like to do soundtracks.
[Laughs]
And more than I'd like to do a solo album. I'd really like to be a pitcher, but as I've said before I can't pitch.
I don't see this beyond the realm of possibility, though, Geddy. Who would've dreamed a year or two ago that Los Angeles would have two professional football teams. You just never know.
You just never know, it's true, but I know one thing: I will never be a baseball player, but I can certainly admire what they do.
An owner would be okay.
Yeah, if you had to be an owner, I mean everybody hates owners.
Of course.
Guys on the team hate the owner, you know?
Paying the cost to be boss.
That's true.
["Freewill" plays]
Announcer: Rush: Off the Record with Mary Turner has been brought to you by Budweiser, the King of Beers. For all you do, this Bud's for you. Schick Super II, for that macho shave, and the U.S. Navy. Navy. It's not just a job, It's an adventure. This special program was written and produced by Marsha Richardson. Production and engineering by Ron Harris. Off the Record with Mary Tuner is a presentation of Westwood One. Executive producer: Norm Pattiz.