The band that taught Rush and Geddy Lee how to put on a show
Although now defunct, Canadian trio Rush remain one of the most critically acclaimed groups in the prog rock genre. Together, Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson and the late Neil Peart created an intellectual yet otherworldly music that helped save millions from the struggles of everyday life and propelled them into a fantasy land that boasts an absence of the many difficulties of human existence . From “Spirit of the Radio” to “Roll the Bones,” there’s a reason Rush’s fan base is so strong.
Rush’s career is legendary and the trio have had many incredible times together. For frontman Geddy Lee, one of the highlights is their US tour in 1975 with hard rockers KISS, and during an interview the band gave in CBS In 2010, they reminisced about the tour and the great lessons they learned from KISS, which Lee revealed include how to put on a real show.
Guitarist Alex Lifeson first mentioned touring with KISS and recalled how great it was to work with KISS: “We toured with them on their first headlining tour in 1975. They were great, it was great to be with them work. We got very close on this tour.”
“We hung out together a lot. It was like a big family. Of course we had a very small crew. It was an early time for us. We have to see how hard they worked. I know Geddy has said quite a few times that there isn’t a band that works harder than KISS. They really showed we learned a lot from these guys,” Lifeson continued.
Following this, Geddy Lee revealed that Rush thought they might never tour the country as extensively as they did on the KISS tour, so they took it all in their stead: “They had problems too. It was their first headlining tour. But they were small gigs, we played in many theaters. It was a dream for us because we were working regularly, which was great, and traveling across America for probably the first time, and in our minds we were like, ‘Well, we might never go back to half of these cities.’”
He then explained what they’ve learned from KISS is how to put on a real show, which is all based on a “great work ethic.” Going into more detail, he said: “So we would keep the hotel keys and the Holiday Inn stuff, you know. So we learned a lot about how hard you have to work to put together a show. That’s one thing they had, as Alex said, such a great work ethic. Regardless of what you think of them musically, you have to respect their work ethic.”
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