Subject: 06/21/94 - The National Midnight Star #984 ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 17 Jun 94 01:07:43 -0500 From: junoks@sage.cc.purdue.edu (Julie Oneida) Subject: possible interview with Ged and Alex OK, here's the deal: I wrote to Geddy explaining NMS and asking if they'd like to do an interview for us. I promised no stupid questions, and no mob. I have not gotten the reply yet however if I do get the interview, it will probably be the weekend of July 1. I am mentioning this now because I need some ideas of what you guys want to know (that isn't stupid :^) ). Rush-mgr has some great questions but hasn't told me what they are yet :^), and I have a few based on things y'all have wondered. Of course rush-mgr, being the most respectful fan I know, will have the final say as to what questions are ok to ask (providing of course that this goes through). Here are my ideas so far: what albums they are most/least proud of what songs are hardest to play live what kind of lessons they have had and of course the plans for the near future. These may probably sound a bit lame, but those seem to be stuff that's been speculated on here. Thye're not all I had either but the list is a 20min walk away and it's past midnight :^). Please post your ideas, k? Thanks... Juno ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 22 Jun 1994 08:14:47 -0600 From: Mike Whitmore Subject: Answering several issues...# To: Juno - Interview questions - Favorite places to travel? Is there a fan mail address? Are they still friends with the B-Man (Visions-the book) ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 22 Jun 94 10:42:05 EDT From: joe@lilith.ndhm.gtegsc.com (Joe Musmanno) Subject: Re: possible interview Juno wrote: > [...] asking if they'd like to do an interview for us. I > promised no stupid questions, and no mob.[...] I am mentioning > this now because I need some ideas of what you guys want > to know (that isn't stupid :^) ). [...] > > Here are my ideas so far: > what albums they are most/least proud of > what songs are hardest to play live > what kind of lessons they have had > and of course the plans for the near future. Sorry, these are stupid questions. I sincerely hope that if these are the sorts of things you plan to ask, you are not granted the interview. A quick reading of _Visions_ and keeping up to date on the other interviews that are so kindly posted here will answer these questions as satisfactorially as they would be if you asked the guys directly. I admit that the questions may not be the sort of dial-in crud that radio talk-show listeners ask (ie, "what does YYZ mean?"), but really, what *difference* does it make which songs are the hardest for them to play live? Why not show some real respect and leave the poor fellows alone? Or, if you truly *must* interview them because of some infantile need, why not ask things that would be as interesting for them to talk about as it would be for you to hear? -joe ---------------------------------------------------------- Subject: A QUESTION FOR YOU TO ASK GEDDY AND ALEX From: paul.goodall@dt-can.com (Paul Goodall) Date: Thu, 23 Jun 1994 20:24:00 -0400 Rush-Mgr: I hope this is an original question to ask Geddy for the interview around July 1st. My question is, after John Ruttsey (I hope this is the correct spelling?)left the band in 1974, and Neil took over as the drummer of the band, did John Ruttsey ever play with Rush live in concert again. My particular concern was when Rush opened up for Kiss in London, Ontario Canada, at Centennial Hall July 25th 1975, after Neil had joined the band, did John Ruttsey play drums for them that show, am I right or is there another explanation. The photographs down at the newspaper arcives in London show Ruttsey on drums and backstage for the Kiss show in July 1975, whereas the month before June 27th 1975, Neil played drums at the same hall in London, Ontario headlining for Symphonic Slam. Also when was the offical last time Ruttsey played drums onstage with the band, when and where if at all possible. Thanks for your time on this Paul Goodall (Canada) ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 24 Jun 1994 01:49:54 -0500 (CDT) From: "J. Baker" Subject: Thoughtless Questions... I just want to add a little to what some guy named joe said in the last NMS...(it may have been Mendelson Joe, I dunno). Anyway, he was commenting about how stupid it would be to ask them guys in an interview things such as, "Whats the hardest song to play live?", "What are your plans for the near future?", ect...Neil Peart, Alex Lifeson, and Geddy Lee have been asked these questions 10,234 times in the last 20 years. They probably contract to kill people who persist in asking these kinds of questions. I will let history back up my point by recalling something Neil said to that guy in Germany that interviewed him for TNMS... (The question was something like, "What are your plans for the future, and are you guys planning on sticking together and making more albums?") (Neils response was something like: "OH SHUT UP! Ok, YES, I want to start rumors...Yes, we all have cancer and we will never make another album...") Anyway, I think you get the point...Neil practically got wood when the german guy asked him something about biking in Austria or something trivial like that. Rush doesn't want to be asked questions like how they got their name, or why John Rutsy's brother was in the basement when Alex and Ged were trying to figure our what to name the band, or if John Rutsy feels real dumb for leaving the coolest band on earth, or why John's mom didn't come home when they were trying to think of a name and say, "Why dont you call yourselves 'John's Band', ect...... If I was interviewing, say Alex, for example, I would ask him stuff like, "Hey alex, when you were flying that F-5, why didn't you like take over the yoke and fly the plane to Washington D.C. and shoot stuff at the White House?", or "Hey Neil, why don't you ever just get up during the middle of a concert and walk to the front of the stage and then like, start dancing aroung and singing, 'Geddy Geddy Bo Beddy, Bannana Fanna...'" Thats what I recommend, anyway....Anyone else tired of hearing about what their favorite song is, or what X song means? P.S. Rush of cool... ---------------------------------------------------------- From: grogic@llwhro.ll.pbs.org (George Rogic) Subject: Please, Different Questions... Date: Fri, 24 Jun 1994 09:58:05 -0400 (EDT) I must agree with Joe from the last issue (#985) on the interview questions. I just ftp'd/read the Neil interview from the RTB Tour and many of those questions are answered there. What I found most telling was his surprise and appreciation for the *very last* question. It was bicycle related. It had nothing to do with the band and really interested Neil. My impression was that he probably would have preferred an entire interview made up of stuff like that. They have all stated that they look at their albums/songs like children and can't pick a favorite. Technically, since *they* wrote the songs, they can obviously play them without *too much* difficulty. I personally would have a tough time and trip over the bass solo in "Freewill." Alex took classical guitar lessons eons ago. If there wasn't a future, I'm sure we'd all know about it by now. So, let's see... What else would there be to ask them? Hmmmmmm...Probably personal stuff. Nah, don't even bother. They're very private people who don't owe it to us to let them know details about their families. As they have stated, they put out a disc, we buy it, listen to it. They come to town for a show, we buy a ticket, get entertained, and go home. That's the way I see it folks. There is plenty of literature in magazines, books and syrinx that covers all of this. Let's not make the NMS look like a bunch of fools. Let's sit back, listen to a CD, read its liner notes and wait for the next release, whatever it may be... "...In touch with some reality, beyond the gilded cage." ---------------------------------------------------------- From: Brian Boyes Date: Fri, 24 Jun 94 12:01:59 PDT Subject: Possible Interview Joe Musmanno wrote: "Sorry, these are stupid questions. I sincerely hope that if these are the sorts of things you plan to ask, you are not granted the interview." That may be part of the reason Julie (Juno) was asking US what questions she should ask. He also wrote: "Why not show some real respect and leave the poor fellows alone? Or, if you truly *must* interview them because of some infantile need, why not ask things that would be as interesting for them to talk about as it would be for you to hear?" Correct me if I'm wrong, I think the idea for interviewing the boyz was an idea for something to do in conjunction with the 1000th issue of NMS. The boyz are aware of NMS and I see no reason why a professional interview for NMS would show a lack of respect. They have done many interviews before. Its not like camping out on Geddy's lawn, or hiding in Neil's dreesing room or something. The best thing about questions from NMS is they would be from real Rush fans. Any questions already on the FAQ could be avoided. Actually, I was trying to think of some question to give Julie, but every question I think of has been asked before, or wouldn't be of interest to the general NMS reader. The kind of things I would like to know are more about Rush as people. For example, I read something about Alex wanting to buy a car to fix up, maybe a question about that. Maybe Neil has an interesting cycling adventure to tell. How about asking Geddy about life with the new baby? Joe has a good point.... The best way to get someone to talk a lot is to ask them about something they are interested in. Anyone have better questions? Send them in! [ Perhaps about Geddy's interest in photography? Nah, let's find out his shoe size! :) : rush-mgr ] Brian "Only immortal for a limited time" ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 27 Jun 1994 23:35:38 -0500 (CDT) From: HUMPHREYS%SHIRE@uthscsa.edu Subject: About this interview... Howdy, all! Since the debate about the potential NMS interview with Rush is starting to develop some, I thought I would throw in an opinion or two. While I think that Joe's opinion of the whole thing was somewhat severe I think that we should be very careful of what questions we do ask so that we don't look like a bunch of idiots (or ruin any chances for future chats with the boys!) Undoubtedly our esteemed rush-mgr has a few timely queries up his sleeve and there have been a few good selections posted here already ( I love the question someone posted for Neil about coming to the front of the stage and doing that stupid banana fanna name game thing; it's pretty funny but I'm not sure we should use it ). I believe that we should keep the questions focused on things like whether any new themes/ideas are really driving Neil lyrically for this alleged new album or else some discussion of things outside of the band work that interest them (and would give the loyal NMAs (or NMS) readers a betterg picture of the people that inspire them). For example I think that the interview with Alex that was posted not long ago that was done by the musdic store owner was very interesting. I think that we should stay away from questions about really old albums because none of the guys in the band really seem very interested in talking about them or have already covered the questions elsewhere. At any rate, if this interview does go down, I'm confident that rush-mgr will see to it that stupid questions are kept to a minimum. I'll be looking forward to seeing what happens with this. James Humphreys Huphreys@uthscsa.edu "I stand atop a spiral stair ... a rush-mgr who's too busy confronts me there..." ---------------------------------------------------------- From: Radsy@aol.com Date: Tue, 28 Jun 94 10:07:15 EDT Subject: Questions for the Interview. As has already been commented, the boys would probably rather answer questions that are non-song related. For example - There is a picture in the CP tour book showing Neil on his bike and man is it packed with gear. It looks like Africa. I would like to know more about what's behind the picture. How far did he trek, what were some highlights, did he make any friends, how far does he usually ride in a day on a trip like that, did he stop in cities or camp out, etc? And, of course, was there a pair of sticks anywhere in that gear for practicing chops or di he leave all musical connections at home? Just a thought. No flames please if we already know this info and I have missed it. ORQ - "I was lined up for glory, but the tickets sold out in advance!" radsy@aol.com -----Gregg R. ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 29 Jun 1994 11:12:44 -0500 (EST) From: "YEAH...BUT CAN YOU SMOKE IT?" Subject: Interview Questions/ Mann In all this talk about what to ask Rush in an interview I can only think of one question that would really intrest me to know: When they write songs to they write the words first, the music first, or both at the same time for me most part? The reason i would ask this one is because so far when i have written songs i tend to write the words first and make music based on those words. And scince Rush has been a great influence on me both musically and lyrically, I would like to compare writing styles. rhett "And how beautifull it was tommorow..." AM ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 29 Jun 1994 10:35:58 -0700 (PDT) From: "Mr. Subtance" Subject: Interview questions. I think some good questions to pose to the guys would be regarding their interests. They are well aware of the NMS, as well as being aware of how adept we are at knowing all about their music and interests. Why dont we ask them questions that they dont expect or something they would enjoy talking to with a good old friend. Perhaps we can ask them about a very memorable place or time while on tour (a favorite activity) I would like to ask them about their warm-ups, especially Mr. Peart. I know he purchased a set of PureCussion drums because he would tool around with Herbs and liked them. I wondered what activities he would do to mentally/physically prepare... I know he tapes his shoes, removes his watch, etc... Do they ever just start jamming around with the different bands they are on tour with? I know they did with Primus, but did they enjoy this band bonding with others on the tour? Are there any bike trips planned in the future? Returning to Africa? Oh, nice picture in the Modern Drummer with no hair playing bongos! _.__ _.__ __.. ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 4 Jul 1994 19:45:41 +0800 (PST) From: The Analog Kid Subject: Beck / Questions For TNMS Interview 2) As Adam Leonard suggested, if TNMS were to conduct an interview with the band, I think it would be really cool to ask them something like "If there was one person, past or present, dead or alive, that you could have dinner with, who would it be?" _ __ _ _ __ _ , ___________________________________________________ ' ) ) ' ) / ( ) ' ) / /--' / / \ /--/ PAUL SINGH (paul@rogue.com) / \_ (__/ (___) / (_ "We fight the fire while we're feeding the flames" _______________________________________________________________________________ ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 5 Jul 94 14:43:01 HST From: puanani@wana.pbrc.Hawaii.Edu (Puanani Akaka) Subject: generic interview question I believe *this* question to hold the key to understanding all about our loyal Threesome. Frankly, I deem it an important and pertinent matter, one which should be held most high, and one that reaches into the very fabric of the bonds of friendship... If Lerxst is King, what does that make Dirk and Pratt? :) puanani ---------------------------------------------------------- From: zucker@mville.edu (Peter Zucker) Subject: REALITY CHECK TIME!!! Date: Thu, 7 Jul 94 18:17:54 EDT Greetings and Salutations!!!! The last several weeks I've been reading about how there is going to be a interview with Alex and Geddy with someone from the NMS. People have also been posting questions that should be asked. Well I would like to comment on it. IT IS NEVER GOING TO HAPPEN!!!!!!! At least not with the person who is planning on conducting the interview!!!!! Save your questions, and your inqueries! This is time for a reality check by everyone on TNMS. Thank You. [ We've already had an interview with Neil, why not Geddy and Alex? : rush-mgr ] ZUCK ---------------------------------------------------------- From: zucker@mville.edu (Peter Zucker) Subject: What I meant was ............ Date: Thu, 14 Jul 94 18:18:27 EDT Fellow Rushians- What I meant to say in my post the other day regarding the alleged interview was that NOT was it impossible to have an official TNMS interview with Alex and Geddy. What I meant was that the PERSON who was planning to do the interview had about as much chance as conducting it as I do playing first base for the NY Yankees!!!!!!!!! Remeber, in the NMS think of who the SOURCE is before submitting questions and helping someone's little fantasy along! Have a nice day, ZUCK ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 10 Jul 1994 22:15:10 -0500 (CDT) From: "J. Baker" Subject: Middle finger / Questions Look, all of those silly questions that I posted including Geddy Bo Beddy and Spazzing Neil are meant to make a point, not just to be silly. The point, for those who need it laymenned is this: If you are granted an interview with any member of Rush, please! do not ask them about Rush or anything related to Rush. A number of people have posted to TNMS that they believe there should be no Rush related questions asked, as this only makes us look completely stupid. Quite honestly, I don't understand why some of you guys want to know that stuff anyway. They have their own lives, and so should you. Let's just listen to their music and talk about how cool it is. IMHO, we should mind our own business, and if you should get an interview, then make it fun for them. Maybe someone should take a poll to see how many of us agree... Also, I have discovered the answer to this ysnl stuff. It means: "Jesus Christ, just listen to our music and look at our albums right side up! Stop analyzing every shit we take!" Sorry about the close-to-flame content....JJB ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 10 Jul 94 23:44:27 -0500 From: junoks@sage.cc.purdue.edu (Julie Oneida) Subject: *FINALLY* why the tour was so short Hi all, it's me, back from my latest trip to Toronto (I know, you're thinking, why don't I just move there? I'm working on it eh). The interview didn't go through but thanks for the question ideas. HOWEVER I did find in a newspaper back issue something that proves it's ok to finally tell the whole group what many of us have known for a while. Anything printed is fair game to be reapeated, n'est-ce pas? >From the Toronto Star, Friday, May 20, 1994, the birth announcements: WEINRIB- N. Young, G.L. Weinrib, and Julian Weinrib welcome into their family Kyla Avril, born May 15, 1994 4:45 am, 7 lb 9 oz deliveered with great care by Dr. Elliot Lyons, Dr. Hue and Diane at Mount Sinai Hospital. It even seems to be written in such a way so that someoen might figure out who it's about. So can those of you who have been whining please stop? I know I'd sure take off work a while if I became a parent, especially if my work didn't require year-round attention and paid a whole lot anyway :^). L8r, (wish she were mine), Juno :^) :'( ----------------------------------------------------------