Rush Tickets

Rush is a popular Canadian rock band. It consists of bassist, keyboardist, and vocalist Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson, and drummer and lyricist Neil Peart. Lifeson, Lee, and John Rutsey formed the band in the summer of 1968, in the neighborhood of Willowdale in Toronto, Ontario. Two weeks before the group's first U.S. tour, the present lineup was completed when Peart replaced Rutsey on drums in July 1974.The band's self-titled debut album was released in 1974.

Rush is popularly known for the instrumental virtuosity of its members, complex compositions, and eclectic lyrical motifs drawing heavily on science fiction, fantasy, and individualist libertarian philosophy, as well as addressing humanitarian and environmental concerns.

Musical style
Rush's musical style has undergone substantial change over the years. Their debut album is strongly influenced by British-Blues rock. It is an amalgam of sounds and styles from such rock bands as Cream, Led Zeppelin, and Deep Purple. Their style remained essentially hard rock in the first few ablums with heavy influences from The Who and Led Zeppelin. The British progressive rock movement has also greatly influenced their music style.Rush wrote long songs with odd meters and fantasy-inspired lyrics in the tradition of progressive rock. But they did not soften their sound.

History
The early days (1968-1976)
The original lineup of the the band was formed in September 1968. It consisted of Jeff Jones on bass and vocals, John Rutsey on drums, and Alex Lifeson on guitars.

Jones was replaced by Geddy Lee, a schoolmate of Lifeson within a few days of forming (and before they had even played their first gig). Rapid personnel changes were experienced after this point.

Lee, Lifeson and Rutsey made the final officially recognized incarnation of the band in May 1971. The local Toronto resident Ray Danniels is the manager of the band.

The progressive rock era (1977-1981)
Rush followed up and delivered 1977's A Farewell to Kings and 1978's Hemispheres after the highly acclaimed and well-received 2112. 1977's A Farewell to Kings was proved to be a huge success. It also became the band's first U.S. gold-selling album.By expanding their use of progressive elements, these albums saw the band pushing the prog rock envelope even further than before. Trademarks such as increased synthesizer usage, extended-length concept songs, and highly dynamic playing featuring complex time signature changes became a staple of Rush's compositions.

Alex Lifeson began to experiment with twelve- and six-string classical guitars, and Geddy Lee added bass-pedal synthesizers and Mini-Moog in order to achieve a broader, progressive palette of sound. Likewise, Peart's percussion became diversified in the form of triangles, glockenspiel, wood blocks, cowbells, timpani, gong and chimes.

The synthesizer period (1982-1989)
Ever since the late 70s, Geddy Lee's synthesizers had been featured instruments. Rush's most drastic stylistic transformation up to that point was represented by 1982's Signals. Keyboards were suddenly shifted from a contrapuntal background to the melodic frontlines.

Traditional guitar solos also became less of a focal point as seen in "Countdown" and the lead-off track "Subdivisions".

Returning to their roots (1989-1997)
With the albums Presto and Roll the Bones, Rush started to deviate from their 1980s style. Record engineer and musician Rupert Hine produced these albums. Rush dropped much of their keyboard-saturated sound in these two albums.Beginning with 1989's Presto, the band opted for arrangements that were notably more guitar-centric than the previous two studio albums.The instrument was no longer featured as the centerpiece of Rush's compositions although synthesizers were still used in many songs. The use of the standard three-instrument approach was extended in 1991's Roll the Bones. The focus on synthesizers was less than its predecessor.

Snakes & Arrows (2006-present)
The band revealed their intention to begin writing new material in early 2006 during promotional interviews for the R30 Live In Frankfurt DVD.

The title of the new album of the band was announced as "Snakes & Arrows" on the official Rush web site. This album would be released May 1, 2007.The first single, entitled "Far Cry," was released to North American radio stations on March 12, 2007. The band will also embark on a tour to begin in the summer.

Reputation
More than 30 years of activity has provided Rush with the opportunity for musical diversity across their discography. Such changes have inevitably resulted in strong dissent among critics and fans. Synthetic instruments in some form or another, are included in the bulk of the band's music.It has been a great source of contention in the Rush camp, especially in regard to the band's heavy reliance on synthesizers and keyboards during the 1980s. However, through each transitional phase , the support for the band has been remained unwavering.