Alex Lifeson

T.J.Fuller · Post by **T.J.Fuller** » Tue Oct 16, 2007 3:13 pm

I'm shocked no one listed Alex sooner but, this guy is just freaking incredible!!

Remember before EVH, Alex Lifeson and Steve Howe were the later 70's all- around-play -anything- commercial radio music- guitar heroes.

Rush played last month in Columbus and I was lucky enough to be front row stage left in front of Alex.

These guys did not miss a note!!!!!!!!! they are still rocking it out!!!!!!!!!!

Please don't miss this tour if you can catch a show.

But, back to Alex.....this guy was my earliest guitar influence and was my favorite player until Eddie hit the scene.

Always melodic solos that sound like nothing else out there, great use of movable open chords all over the neck and even a NEW album decades later that is pretty damn good.

I've always admired the fact that he would mention being influenced from players such as The Edge and Andy Summers.

Here is a great interview that shows Alex's gear over the years with some pedal board shots too!

http://www.musictoyz.com/articles/chopalex.php

Rush.......Canada's own Led Zepplin

miguel · Post by **miguel** » Tue Oct 16, 2007 3:50 pm

T.J.Fuller wrote:I'm shocked no one listed Alex sooner

But, back to Alex.....this guy was my earliest guitar influence and was my favorite player until Eddie hit the scene.

I thought about listing him, but I figured it would be just us two posting...

Alex has been my primary influence since '78. I'm still trying to capture that thick/aggressive/clear Hiwatt tone he got.

Sorry, not much of an EVH fan. Lifeson is way more interesting to me.

Word is the Snakes & Arrows tour will return to parts of the US/Canada in 2008, and they're filming today's and tomorrow's shows in the Netherlands for a DVD.

geoff_bell · Post by **geoff_bell** » Tue Oct 16, 2007 4:03 pm

my fave rush albums are caress of steel and farewell to kings. 2112 didn't really float my boat, and everything since has been bland or close-but-no-cigar - that's overall. i think he's a great guitarist, but shouldn't have stopped using the big gibson.

NitroLiq · Post by **NitroLiq** » Tue Oct 16, 2007 4:35 pm

Alex Lifeson and jimmy Page (and Rik Emmet to a point) were probably the two biggest influence on me in my formative years in the early 80s. I only knew little pieces from Fly By Night because my brother had the record. I went on a youth group retreat with some friends one summer and they had all the early stuff on cassette

T.J.Fuller · Post by **T.J.Fuller** » Tue Oct 16, 2007 4:40 pm

My favorite Rush album, and also my first rock album ever, is
"All the worlds a stage" thier live album from... I think 1977 .

Whatever amps he is using sounded killer ( JMP 50's ??)

Gibson ES-335 .....Hmmmm

Anthem......By-tor and the snow dog.........

Who's doing music like this now?????........

Ahhhhh....the good olde' days of rock.

NitroLiq · Post by **NitroLiq** » Tue Oct 16, 2007 4:54 pm

This stuff brings up so many practice memories as a kid...sneaking into my brother's room and using his gear while he was gone...used to play along to "All the World's a Stage" with my LP through his mxr+ and morley power wah through an old music man combo 2 x 12. Those shows Alex was using a LP through typical Marshall SLP 100w. In the ALS link I posted above, there's a good pic from that era (2112 tour). I've been sorely tempted to buy a Maestro PS-1 phase shifter from the bay everytime I see one because of early rush.

geoff_bell · Post by **geoff_bell** » Tue Oct 16, 2007 5:53 pm

when i was learning guitar, i had a mini-fazer pedal (the one with the picture of the foot on the button) and thought i was alex lifeson - until i tried to play along ofcourse!

miguel · Post by **miguel** » Tue Oct 16, 2007 11:02 pm

Someday I want to find out how he used that Maestro Parametric Filter along with his Hiwatts... solo boost or ???

I bought a Boss CE-2 and an Electric Mistress 'cause Alex used them.

Memories... My brother and the two other guys in our old garage band were (still are really) total Rush nerds. The first show we ever played (junior high dance 1982) included on the set list:

Hemispheres - Prelude
2112
The Trees
The Spirit of Radio
In the Mood
Working Man (with obligatory drum solo)

We used to have a tape of it, and during the first break you could hear one of the chaperones complaining "we can't dance to this"...

Actually, we kind of expected it ahead of time, so we packed all the odd-meter stuff into the first set. They warmed up to us once we started playing stuff in 4/4.

NitroLiq · Post by **NitroLiq** » Wed Oct 17, 2007 9:57 am

Nice. I still have a rehearsal tape and VHS of Rush tribute band a couple of buds of mine (all rush nerds of course) and myself put together for our high school's battle of the bands...me and the drummer were both in other bands playing as well. Was funny...we had a 20min time slot so, being fans of some of thir old released concert vids at the time, we incorporated a couple of medleys....timing was perfect...they dropped the lights as we were finishing the last number...haha. Our setlist was:

Spirit of Radio
Medley 1: YYZ > Temples of Syrinx > Tom Sawyer
Medley 2: Closer to the Heart > Finding My Way > In the Mood

Man, Closer to the Heart really had the opportunity to be epic...we borrowed the huge bell chimes from the band director....and my drummer forgot the mallets so was tapping them with drum sticks...ting...ting ting...

We had his sister playing keys and singing (a last minute thing)....she did well on the lower stuff like Sawyer and and Spirit....but did a really bad falsetto on the high screamy stuff. Still funny to watch. My classic rock band played right after this with me singing zep, cream, and hendrix...I was wiped by the time I got to it...didn't realize how "active" I was during the rush stuff...hahaha.

miguel · Post by **miguel** » Wed Oct 17, 2007 11:30 am

NitroLiq wrote:our high school's battle of the bands...

That jogged my memory... actually our first "appearance" was at the high school talent show. We weren't eligible to win because I was out of school by then and our female singer was on the committee, or something like that. We played "The Trees" (2nd guitarist played that middle keyboard melody) and Pat Benatar's "Heartbreaker". Used to have a tape of that one too... I'd pay good money to find those pieces of nostalgia...

45auto · Post by **45auto** » Wed Oct 17, 2007 3:55 pm

God i love those guys. My first rock concert "farewell to kings" 3rd row. loud as hell. (with ufo & max webster) my high school rock outfit played 2112 at the talent show in '78? between parts, they started closing the curtains on us. we just walked out & kept playing, kids were lighting lighters. it was a small riot. we were banned from all future school events. one of my favorite jamming memories.

wdelaney72 · Post by **wdelaney72** » Wed Oct 17, 2007 4:10 pm

solos on "La Villa Strangiato"... enough said.

NitroLiq · Post by **NitroLiq** » Wed Oct 17, 2007 5:04 pm

"Hemispheres" really takes me back...everyday coming home from high school..the couple of hours before dinner...playing along....strangiato...over...and over...and over. Hemispheres and Caress of Steel were my fav rush records for the longest time.

miguel · Post by **miguel** » Wed Oct 17, 2007 5:14 pm

My absolute favorite solo is the one between Apollo and Dionysus... sometimes I'll pan it hard left to hear the dry tone. Love the tone and the harmonics and his signature (back then anyway) pick scrapes.

La Villa Strangiato is right up there as well... for that matter, pretty much all his solos up through Signals are very nice. After that, Alex got away from that cool melodic but quirky sensibility... but he can still rip it live.

NitroLiq · Post by **NitroLiq** » Wed Oct 17, 2007 5:30 pm

I always liked the sick wah sounds he got on the studio stuff...the solo for "Best I can" was one of the first that had me hooked. Then the weird stuff...like in Cygnus X-1 and Cinderella Man.

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Alex Lifeson

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