Geddy Lee
Geddy Lee playing his signature Fender Jazz Bass
Background information
Birth name	Gary Lee Weinrib
Born	July 29, 1953 (1953-07-29) (age 54) Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Genre(s)	Hard rock, progressive rock, heavy metal
Occupation(s)	Bassist, Musician, Songwriter, Producer
Instrument(s)	Bass, Guitar, Keyboards, vocals
Years active	1968 - present
Label(s)	Mercury, Anthem, Atlantic
Associated acts	Rush, Big Dirty Band
Notable instrument(s)
Fender Signature model Jazz Bass

Geddy Lee OC (born on July 29, 1953 in Willowdale, Toronto) is a Canadian musician best known as the lead vocalist, bassist, and keyboardist for the Canadian rock group Rush. The Jazz Bass (or J Bass) was the second model of electric bass guitar created by Leo Fender. Events 1014 - Byzantine-Bulgarian Wars: Battle of Kleidion: Byzantine emperor Basil II inflicts a decisive defeat Year 1953 ( MCMLIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Toronto (təˈrɒntoʊ colloquially pronounced or) is the largest city in Canada and is the provincial capital of Ontario Ontario (ɒnˈtɛrioʊ is a province located in the central part of Canada, the largest by population and second largest after Quebec Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page A music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other Hard rock (also referred to as heavy rock) is a variation of Rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage and Psychedelic rock Progressive rock (often shortened to " progressive " " prog " or " prog rock " is a form of Rock music that evolved A bass player (bassist is a Musician who plays a Double bass, Bass guitar, keyboard bass or wind A musician is a person who plays or writes Music. Musicians can be classified by their roles in creating or performing music An instrumentalist plays a A songwriter is someone who writes the Lyrics to songs the Musical composition (chords or Melody to songs or both In the Music industry, a record producer or music producer has many roles among them controlling the recording sessions coaching and guiding the musicians organizing A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified for the purpose of making Music. The electric bass guitar (also called electric bass, or simply bass; ˈbeɪs as in "base" is a Stringed instrument played primarily with the The guitar is a Musical instrument with ancient roots that is used in a wide variety of musical styles A keyboard instrument is any musical instrument played using a Musical keyboard. In the Music industry, a record label can be a Brand and a Trademark associated with the Marketing of music recordings and Music Mercury Records is a Record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Music Group in the US and are both subsidiaries of Anthem Records is an Independent record label based in Toronto Ontario. Atlantic Records ( Atlantic Recording Corporation) is an American Record label best known for its many recordings of Rhythm & blues, Rock Rush is a Canadian rock band originally formed in August 1968 in the Willowdale neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, currently comprised of The Big Dirty Band are a Canadian supergroup comprised of Rush 's Geddy Lee (bass and Alex Lifeson (guitar Thornley The Jazz Bass (or J Bass) was the second model of electric bass guitar created by Leo Fender. The Order of Canada is the highest civilian honour within the Canadian system of honours, with membership awarded to those who exemplify the order's Latin Events 1014 - Byzantine-Bulgarian Wars: Battle of Kleidion: Byzantine emperor Basil II inflicts a decisive defeat Year 1953 ( MCMLIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Canada 2008 Willowdalejpg|thumb|250px|Driving down Yonge Street toward Churchill Avenue in Willowdale in 2008]] Willowdale is an established community in the former City of North Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page A bass player (bassist is a Musician who plays a Double bass, Bass guitar, keyboard bass or wind A keyboardist is a Musician who plays Keyboard instruments Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists Rock music is a genre of Popular music often though not necessarily employing Electric guitar, Bass guitar, and Drums. Rush is a Canadian rock band originally formed in August 1968 in the Willowdale neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, currently comprised of Lee joined Rush in September 1968 at the request of his childhood friend, Alex Lifeson in order to replace frontman Jeff Jones. Alex Lifeson, OC (born Aleksandar Živojinović on August 27 1953 in Fernie, British Columbia) is a Canadian Musician Jeff Jones is a Canadian bassist best known for being the co-founder of Toronto rock band Rush and his work in Red Rider. ^[1]

An award-winning musician, Lee's style, technique, and skill on the bass guitar have proven very influential in the rock and heavy metal genres, inspiring such players as Steve Harris of Iron Maiden,^[2] John Myung of Dream Theater,^[3] Les Claypool of Primus,^[4] and Cliff Burton of Metallica. The electric bass guitar (also called electric bass, or simply bass; ˈbeɪs as in "base" is a Stringed instrument played primarily with the Rock music is a genre of Popular music often though not necessarily employing Electric guitar, Bass guitar, and Drums. Stephen Percy Harris (born March 12, 1956 in Leytonstone, London, England) is the Bassist, band leader and primary For other uses see Iron maiden. John Ro Myung (ˈmaɪəŋ (born on January 24, 1967 in Chicago, Illinois) is a Bassist and a founding member of the Progressive Dream Theater is an American Progressive metal band formed in 1985 under the name " Majesty " by John Myung, John Petrucci Leslie Edward "Les" Claypool (born September 29, 1963 in Richmond, California, U Primus is an American rock band currently composed of singer and bassist Les Claypool, guitarist Larry "Ler" LaLonde, and Clifford Lee Burton (February 10 1962 &ndash September 27 1986 was a bass guitarist best known for his work with the American heavy metal band Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band that formed in 1981 in. ^[5]

In addition to his composing, arranging, and performing duties for Rush, Lee has produced albums for various other bands, including Rocket Science. Lee's first solo effort, My Favourite Headache, was released in 2000. My Favorite Headache is a solo album by Geddy Lee of the Canadian rock band Rush, released in

Along with his Rush bandmates—Lifeson and drummer Neil Peart—Lee was made an Officer of the Order of Canada on May 9, 1996. Neil Peart (ˈpɪərt OC, (born Neil Ellwood Peart, September 12, 1952, Hamilton, Ontario) is a Canadian Musician The Order of Canada is the highest civilian honour within the Canadian system of honours, with membership awarded to those who exemplify the order's Latin Events 1457 BC - Battle of Megiddo (15th century BC between Thutmose III and a large Canaanite coalition under the King of Year 1996 ( MCMXCVI) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar) The trio was the first rock band to be so honored, as a group. ^[6]

On May 1, 2007, Rush released Snakes & Arrows, their eighteenth full-length studio album. Events 305 - Diocletian and Maximian retire from the office of Roman Emperor. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Snakes & Arrows is the 18th full-length Studio album by the Canadian rock band Rush. Rush is currently touring in support of Snakes & Arrows across North America, which began in Atlanta, GA on June 13, 2007 and is set to end December 13. Events 1525 - Martin Luther marries Katharina von Bora, against the Celibacy rule decreed by the Roman Catholic Church for Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ^[7][8]

Early life

Geddy Lee was born Gary Lee Weinrib on July 29, 1953 in Willowdale, Toronto. Events 1014 - Byzantine-Bulgarian Wars: Battle of Kleidion: Byzantine emperor Basil II inflicts a decisive defeat Year 1953 ( MCMLIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Canada 2008 Willowdalejpg|thumb|250px|Driving down Yonge Street toward Churchill Avenue in Willowdale in 2008]] Willowdale is an established community in the former City of North Lee's stage name, Geddy, was inspired by his mother's heavily-accented pronunciation of his given first name, Gary, and it later became his highschool nickname before he adopted it as his stage name. A stage name, also called a screen name, is a Pseudonym used by Performers and Entertainers such as ^[9] Lee's parents were Jewish refugees from Poland who had been survivors of Nazi concentration camps Dachau and Bergen-Belsen during World War II. PLEASE TAKE NOTE************ According to the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, a refugee is a person who owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race Poland (Polska officially the Republic of Poland Nazism, which was a short name for National Socialism (Nationalsozialismus refers primarily to the Ideology and practices of the National Socialist German Internment is the imprisonment or confinement of people commonly in large groups without trial Dachau was a Nazi German Concentration camp, and the first one opened in Germany located on the grounds of an abandoned munitions Factory near the Belsen redirects here For other meanings see Belsen (disambiguation. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including In 2004, Canadian Jewish News featured Lee's reflections on his mother's experiences as a refugee, and of his own Jewish heritage. The Canadian Jewish News ( CJN) is a weekly English-language Tabloid -sized Newspaper serving Canada 's Jewish The word tradition comes from the Latin traditionem acc of traditio which means "a giving up delivering up surrendering" and is used in a number of ^[10]

Lee married Nancy Young in 1976. They have a son named Julian and a daughter named Kyla Avril. Lee also attended primary school with the well-known comedian Rick Moranis, of SCTV fame. Frederick Alan "Rick" Moranis (born April 18, 1953) is a retired Canadian Actor, Comedian and Musician, Second City Television (SCTV was a Canadian television Sketch comedy show offshoot from Toronto's The Second City troupe that ran between ^[11]

Body of work

The bulk of Lee's work in music has been with Rush (See Rush Discography). This is the discography of the Canadian rock band Rush. Albums All chart positions are U However, Lee has also contributed to a body of work outside of his involvement with the band through guest appearances and album production. In 1982, Lee was the featured guest for the hit song "Take Off" and its included comedic commentary with Bob and Doug McKenzie (played by Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas, respectively) for the McKenzie Brothers' comedy album Great White North. Bob and Doug McKenzie are a pair of fictional Canadian brothers who hosted "The Great White North" a Frederick Alan "Rick" Moranis (born April 18, 1953) is a retired Canadian Actor, Comedian and Musician, See the David Thomas disambiguation page for other people with this name The following year, Lee produced the debut (and only) album from Toronto new wave band Boys Brigade. For the 80s New Wave band from Canada see Boys Brigade (band. On the 1985 album We Are the World, by humanitarian consortium USA for Africa, Lee recorded guest vocals for the song "Tears Are Not Enough". We Are the World was a 1985 Album that contained USA for Africa 's " We Are the World " superstar charity recording for Famine Humanitarianism is an active belief in Humanism (the idea of the value of human life whereby Humans practice benevolent treatment and provide assistance to other humans USA for Africa (United Support of Artists for Africa was the name under which forty-five predominantly U " Tears Are Not Enough " is a 1985 charity single recorded by a supergroup of Canadian artists under the name Northern Lights, to raise funds for ^[12] Apart from band contributions, Lee sang the Canadian National Anthem in front of a full crowd at Camden Yards. "O Canada" is the National anthem of Canada. The song was originally commissioned by the then Lieutenant Governor of Quebec the Honourable Théodore The Camden Yards Sports Complex is located in Baltimore Maryland. ^[13] .

Another version of "O Canada" in rock format was recorded by Lee and Lifeson on the accompanying soundtrack CD for the Trey Parker and Matt Stone film South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut released in 1999. Randolph Severn "Trey" Parker III (born October 19, 1969) is an American Animator, Screenwriter, Film director Matthew Richard "Matt" Stone (born May 26, 1971) is an Academy Award - nominated Emmy Award - winning American Animator South Park Bigger Longer & Uncut is an Academy Award -nominated Animated satirical Comedy

My Favourite Headache, Lee's first solo album, was released in November 2000 while Rush was on a hiatus due to tragedies in drummer Neil Peart's life. My Favorite Headache is a solo album by Geddy Lee of the Canadian rock band Rush, released in Lee appeared in Broken Social Scene's video for the song "Fire-Eyed Boy" from their 2005 self-titled album and in 2006, Lee joined Lifeson's supergroup the Big Dirty Band, to provide songs accompanying Trailer Park Boys: The Movie. Broken Social Scene are a Juno Award winning Canadian Indie rock supergroup, a Musical collective currently including nineteen Broken Social Scene is the title of Broken Social Scene 's third studio album SuperGroup is a Reality show on the channel VH1. The show puts together five Heavy metal musicians packed into a large mansion that must play a show after The Big Dirty Band are a Canadian supergroup comprised of Rush 's Geddy Lee (bass and Alex Lifeson (guitar Thornley Trailer Park Boys The Movie, also known as Trailer Park Boys The Big Dirty, is a 2006 Canadian Comedy film based on the hit

Equipment used

Lee has varied his equipment list continually throughout his career.

Bass guitars

Geddy Lee playing his Fender jazz bass at a 2008 live performance at the Xcel Energy Center

For his first local gigs in the early 1970s and Rush's debut album, Lee used a Fender Precision Bass. The Fender Precision Bass (sometimes shortened to the " P Bass " is an electric bass guitar, and was the first widely-available model of the instrument From Fly By Night onward, Lee favored Rickenbacker basses, particularly the 4001 model, and a Fender Jazz Bass which is heard on Permanent Waves, Moving Pictures and Signals. Fly by Night is the second studio album by the Canadian rock band Rush, released in February 1975. For the American WWI fighter pilot see Eddie Rickenbacker. For the airport see Rickenbacker International Airport. The Jazz Bass (or J Bass) was the second model of electric bass guitar created by Leo Fender. Permanent Waves is the seventh Studio album by the Canadian rock band Rush, released January Moving Pictures is the eighth studio album by Canadian rock band Rush, released in 1981 Signals is the ninth studio album by the Canadian rock band Rush, released in 1982 (see 1982 in music) In 1981, Lee began using the compact, headless Steinberger bass, which he used occasionally on the supporting tour for Signals and for many tracks on their follow-up, Grace Under Pressure. Steinberger refers to a series of distinctive Electric guitars and Bass guitars designed and originally manufactured by Ned Steinberger. Signals is the ninth studio album by the Canadian rock band Rush, released in 1982 (see 1982 in music) Grace Under Pressure is the tenth studio album by the Canadian rock band Rush, released in 1984 (see 1984 in music) From 1985 to 1992, Lee used British Wal basses. Wal is a brand of electric bass manufactured by Electric Wood Ltd He switched back to Fender Jazz Basses for the recording of Counterparts in 1993, and has been using them virtually exclusively since then. Counterparts is the fifteenth studio Album by Canadian rock band Rush, released in 1993 (see 1993 in music) He used a Fender Jaco Pastorius fretless replica bass for the song "Malignant Narcissism" on 2007's Snakes & Arrows, and a Fender Custom Shop Jazz with an Alder Body and a Flamed Maple top in Transparent Red for songs in an alternate tuning during the last several tours. " Malignant Narcissism " is an instrumental track from Rush 's 2007 album Snakes & Arrows. Snakes & Arrows is the 18th full-length Studio album by the Canadian rock band Rush. In 1998, Fender released the Geddy Lee Jazz Bass. This "signature" model is a recreation of Lee's favorite bass, a 1972 Fender Jazz that he bought in a pawn shop in Kalamazoo, Michigan. On all of his basses, Lee uses Rotosound Swing Bass 66 Stainless Steel round-wound strings. Lee once again used his Rickenbacker 4001 for the performance of "A Passage To Bangkok" on the 2007 Snakes & Arrows Tour. Rush began the Snakes & Arrows Tour to promote their latest album Snakes & Arrows on June 13, 2007 in Atlanta Georgia

Bass guitar amplification

Lee's amps in the early days were arena-ready Sunn and/or Ampeg models. By the late seventies, his backline had evolved into a unique configuration of Ashly preamps and BGW power amps, which were run in stereo with his 4001 bass. The neck pickup was sent to one amp and set for a clean, bass-heavy tone, while the bridge pickup was sent to the other amp which was set with an exaggerated treble boost, and extra gain in the preamp. This defined Lee's bass sound from 1977 to 1982. Though he would change basses, the amplifier setup remained constant through 1991. For the Roll the Bones tour (1991-1992), Lee switched to Gallien-Krueger amps, and later to Trace Elliots. Gallien-Krueger is an instrument amplifier manufacturer also referred to informally as GK Trace Elliot is a United Kingdom -based company that designs and manufactures high quality Bass instrument amplification systems and speaker enclosures

Beginning in 2002, Lee dispensed with using a single bass guitar amplifier in favor of a complex chain of amplifiers and DI units which allow the bass guitar to be connected directly to the stage and front-of-house mixers without involving microphones. A DI unit, DI box, Direct Box or simply DI is an electronic device that connects a high impedance Line level signal that has an unbalanced Lee began using in-ear monitors at this point. In ear monitors are devices used by performers to hear a mix of Microphones and/or instruments that are on the stage

At the beginning of the 2002 Vapor trails tour, Lee revised his previous setup. His bass signal is sent via a Samson wireless unit to an Avalon U5 DI. From there it is split between a Trace Elliot Quadravalve all-tube power amplifier and a SansAmp RBI rackmountable preamp. The speaker-level signal from the Quadravalve is sent to a Palmer PD-05 speaker emulator, which provides adequate load for the tube amplifier and attenuates the signal down to line level. The signals from the U5, Quadraverb/PD-05, and RBI are all sent to the monitor and front-of-house mixers and blends of the signals are changed on a song-by-song basis. Typically the Quadravalve/PD-05 signal makes up the low end while a balance of the U5 and RBI make up the high end, with the RBI providing the "top end" distortion in Lee's sound.

For the 2007 Snakes and Arrows tour, Lee swapped the SansAmp RBI for a new unit by Sansamp, the RPM. He also plays through his "Henhouse" Amplifiers, to which he credits for his, "Hot and Tasty," sound. During preparation for this tour a feature on bassplayer. tv with his live bass tech, Russ Ryan, was filmed which detailed Lee's live signal path.

Keyboards and synthesizers

Over the years, Lee's keyboards have featured synthesizers from Oberheim (Eight-voice, OB-1, OB-X, OB-Xa), PPG (Wave 2. Oberheim Electronics is a company founded in 1973 by Tom Oberheim (a former design engineer at Maestro which manufactured audio Synthesizers and a variety of other The Oberheim OB-X is an analog polyphonic Synthesizer. It was the first Oberheim synthesizer that was created with internal prewired modules The Oberheim OB-Xa was Oberheim 's overhaul of their first compact Synthesizer, the OB-X. Palm Products GmbH (commonly abbreviated to PPG) was a highly-regarded manufacturer of audio synthesizers. 2 and 2. 3), Roland (Jupiter 8, D-50, XV-5080, and most recently a Fantom X7 on the Snakes and Arrows tour), Moog (Minimoog, Taurus bass pedals, Moog Little Phatty^[14]), and Yamaha (DX7, Yamaha KX76). is a Japanese manufacturer of Electronic musical instruments electronic equipment and Software. The Jupiter-8, Roland 's flagship Analog synthesizer of the early 1980s is an eight-voice polyphonic synth and is considered one Roland D50 is a polyphonic 61-key Synthesizer by Roland. It was released in 1987 to compete with the Yamaha DX7 The term Moog (ˈmoʊg as in 'vogue' Synthesizer can refer to any number of Analog synthesizers designed by Dr The Minimoog is a monophonic Analog synthesizer, invented by Bill Hemsath and Robert Moog. The Moog Taurus bass pedal keyboard is a foot-operated Analog synthesizer created and manufactured by Moog Music from 1976 to 1981 The Yamaha DX7 was a Synthesizer manufactured by the Yamaha Corporation from 1983 to 1986, based on FM synthesis developed by Lee used sequencers early in their development and has continued to use similar innovations as they have developed over the years. Lee has also made use of digital samplers. A sampler is an electronic musical instrument closely related to a Synthesizer. Combined, these electronic devices have supplied many memorable keyboard sounds, such as the "growl" in "Tom Sawyer" and the syncopated melody featured in the chorus of "The Spirit of Radio".

With 1993's Counterparts, Rush reduced most keyboard- and synthesizer-derived sounds in their compositions, and they continued to do so with each successive album. By 2002, the band succeeded in producing an album -- Vapor Trails -- that was completely free of keyboards/synthesizers, and featured only voice, guitar, bass guitar, drums and percussion. The band members have stated in interviews that they were proud that they had produced an album that was rich in sound and used only those basic instruments.

With the release of 2007's Snakes & Arrows, Lee sparingly adds a Mellotron to the instrument line-up. The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical polyphonic keyboard originally developed and built in Birmingham, England in the early 1960s However, it does not mark a return to a "synth" sound for the band. Much like Vapor Trails, the music is primarily recorded with multiple layers of guitars, bass, drums and percussion.

Live performances: special equipment

Recreating unique sounds

Newer advances in synthesizer and sampler technology have allowed Lee to store familiar sounds from his old synthesizers alongside new ones in combination synthesizer/samplers, such as the Roland XV-5080. For live shows in 2002 and 2004, Lee and his keyboard technician used the playback capabilities of the XV-5080 to generate virtually all of Rush's keyboard sounds to date, as well as additional complex sound passages that previously required several machines at once to produce. ^[15]

When playing live, Lee and his bandmates strive to recreate their songs as accurately as possible. To help achieve this goal, the band uses digital samplers. Using these samplers, the band members are able to recreate, in real-time, the sounds of non-traditional instruments, accompaniments, vocal harmonies, and other sound "events" that are familiar to those who have heard Rush songs from their albums. In Music, accompaniment is the art of playing along with a soloist or ensemble, often known as the Lead, in a Supporting manner In Western music, harmony is the use of different pitches simultaneously and chords actual or implied in Music.

To trigger these sounds in real-time, Lee uses MIDI controllers, placed at the locations on the stage where he has a microphone stand. MIDI controller is used in two senses In one sense a controller is hardware or software which generates and transmits MIDI data to MIDI-enabled devices Lee uses two types of MIDI controllers: one type resembles a traditional synthesizer keyboard on a stand (Yamaha KX76). The second type is a large foot-pedal keyboard, placed on the stage floor (Korg MPK-130, Roland PK-5). is a Japanese Multinational corporation that manufactures electronic Musical instruments and Electronic tuners The company is one of the Combined, they enable Lee to use his free hands and feet to trigger sounds in electronic equipment that has been placed off-stage. ^[15] It is with this technology that Lee and his bandmates are able to present their arrangements in a live setting with the level of complexity and fidelity that fans have come to expect, and without the need to resort to the use of backing tracks or employing an additional band member. A backing track is an audio or MIDI recording which musicians play or sing along to in order to add parts to their music which would be impractical to perform live ^[16]

Lee's (and his bandmates') use of MIDI controllers to trigger sampled instruments and audio events is visible throughout the R30: 30th Anniversary World Tour concert DVD (2005). R30 30th Anniversary World Tour is a live DVD by the Canadian band Rush, that was released on November 22 DVD (also known as " Digital Versatile Disc " or " Digital Video Disc " - see Etymology)is

In the Snakes and Arrows tour, Lee is using Roland Fantom X7 and Moog Little Phatty synths.

Unique stage equipment

Rush live in concert.

As of 2002, Lee no longer uses traditional bass amplifiers on stage, as he chooses to use a venue's "house" speakers. Faced with the dilemma of what to do with the empty space left behind by the lack of large amplifier cabinets, Lee chose to fill the space in a unique way. For the 2002 Vapor Trails tour, Lee lined his side of the stage with three coin-operated Maytag dryers. Maytag Corporation was a $47 billion home and commercial appliance company headquartered in Newton Iowa from 1893-2006 A clothes dryer or tumble dryer is a household appliance that is used to remove the moisture from a load of Clothing and other Textiles, generally Other large appliances would appear later in the same space. (Lee had earlier decorated his side of the stage with unusual items. For the 1996-1997 Test for Echo tour, Lee's side sported a fully-stocked old-fashioned household refrigerator. )

For every concert that featured the dryers, Rush's crew would load them with specially-designed Rush-themed T-shirts, different from the shirts on sale to the general public. At the close of each show, Lee and Lifeson would then toss these special T-shirts into the arms of lucky audience members.

For the band's R30 tour, one dryer was replaced with a rotating shelf-style vending machine. R30 30th Anniversary World Tour is a live DVD by the Canadian band Rush, that was released on November 22 A vending machine is a machine that provides various snacks beverages and other products to consumers It too was fully stocked and operational during shows.

When asked about the purpose of the dryers in interviews, Lee was purposefully vague. The irony and non sequitur of placing such unusual items on a concert stage were Lee's way of expressing his sense of humor. He fed the mystery by responding to one interview question about the dryers, saying he chose to use them for their "warm, dry tone". The dryers can be seen on the Rush in Rio DVD and the R30 DVD. Rush in Rio is a live album by Canadian band Rush, released in 2003 (see 2003 in music) The vending machine can be seen on the R30 DVD.

To add to the humorous effect, Lee's dryers were, purely for visual effect "miked" by the sound crew, just as a real amplifier would be.

In interviews dated May 2007, Lee has stated that he is considering entirely new non-musical equipment to further his established comic effect for Rush's Snakes & Arrows tour. The tour commenced June 13, 2007, with a show at the Hi-Fi Buys Amphitheatre in Atlanta, Georgia. Events 1525 - Martin Luther marries Katharina von Bora, against the Celibacy rule decreed by the Roman Catholic Church for Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. The show prominently featured 3 Henhouse brand rotisserie chicken ovens on stage complete with an attendant in a chef's hat and apron to "tend" the chickens during the show. ^[17] Such unorthodox stage equipment has been continuously seen thereafter.

Negro League Baseball collection

On June 5, 2008, Lee donated his entire collection of nearly 200 autographed Negro League baseballs to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Missouri. Events 70 - Titus and his Roman Legions breach the middle wall of Jerusalem in the Siege of Jerusalem 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum was founded in 1990 in Kansas City Missouri. Kansas City Missouri only Items for the metro area Kansas City Kansas or North Kansas City MO should go on their respective pages Missouri ( or) is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee ^[18] Bob Kendrick, a director at the museum stated "Some of these guys have been dead for some time, and we could not get these (signatures) before no matter what their significance was in the Negro Leagues". ^[19] At the time, Geddy Lee's gift was one of the largest single donations the NLBM had ever received. ^[20]

Awards

• Bass Hall of Fame - Guitar Player Magazine
• 6 time winner: "Best Rock Bass" - Guitar Player Magazine
• 1993 - "Best Rock Bass Player" Bass Player readers' poll
• 1994 - With Rush, inducted into the Juno Hall of Fame
• 1996 - Officer of the Order of Canada, along with fellow band mates Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart
• Best Album for Bass (Snakes & Arrows) - Bass Player Magazine
• "Coolest Bass Line In A Song" (for "Malignant Narcissm") - Bass Player Magazine
• "Best 2007 Cover Feature" for "Northern Warrior" - Bass Player Magazine

References

External links

• A colorful Geddy interview, w/ Nardwuar the Human Serviette
• Geddy Lee Interview on The Hour with George Stroumboulopoulos