Greatest band ever!

I have a profound distaste for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It would be fair to say that I think it’s a joke, a disgrace, and nothing more than a way for a select few music executives and critics to get together once a year and circle-jerk while they tell each other how great they are. But despite my misgivings, there are those who believe “the Hall” has some legitimacy to it. To those people, I have to ask why.

Take a look at a sampling of some artists who have been inducted:  The Flamingos, The Kinks, Lovin’ Spoonful, John Mellencamp, The Moonglows, The Pretenders… I could go on.

You can obviously get where I’m going with this given the title of today’s post, so it’s not like the drum roll leading up to my argument is as dramatic as usual, but I truly have to ask:

Why is Rush not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?

How can an entity expect any pretense of legitimacy when it consistently fails to recognize one of the most important rock bands of the last 30 years. Whether you are a fan or not, as a musician you cannot overstate how important they are. I present to you the following list of points as to why Rush should have already been nominated and inducted:

Consecutive Gold Records

Only two bands sit higher on the list of groups that sold more consecutive gold records than Rush – The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. I think we can all agree that is no small achievement. Out of every single group that is currently in the Hall, only two have been more consistently successful.

Inspiring a Genre

Talk to virtually any progressive rock musician that started playing music from the late 1970′s forward and they will mention how influential Rush was to their musical upbringing. Monster musicians such as Billy Corgan, Trent Reznor, and Kirk Hammett (among many others) all sing the praises of the Canadian trio.

Not only at the group level, but individually they have all been tremendously influential as well. Take drummers, for example. I would be very comfortable saying that if I interviewed 1,000 professional rock/metal drummers today and asked who their influences were, Neal Peart (pronounced like “peert” by the way, in case you were wondering) would be on 99% of those lists.

Their long form, epic songs pushed the boundaries of songwriting, especially at a time where there was no computer recording, auto-tune, or drum quantizing.

Their Influence Compared to Others

Neal Peart - easily one of the most influential drummers in the world

Given the aforementioned inspiration for other musicians, can the members of the Hall induction committee really justify how artists like Dusty Springfield are in and Rush are not? Let’s take a look at some of this year’s noiminations:

Joan Jett and the Blackhearts
Laura Nyro
The Small Faces/The Faces

Who?
What?
Really?

I mean, who the fuck is Laura Nyro? She wrote one song, apparently, that The Mommas & The Papas sang. The Small Faces? I have absolutely no clue who they are. Joan Jett? Maybe I can see it, but I can’t think of one person she or The Blackhearts ever inspired.

Alex Lifeson - just to keep it "guitar"a

I don’t know what it is about Rush, or about the genre in general, that creates such a negative reaction. People said the same thing about hip hop twenty years ago, and yet Eric B. & Rakim are nominated this year. Genesis was only inducted in 2010; Miles Davis in 2006 and he’s not even rock! To my knowledge, Genesis is the only “prog” band that has ever gotten in, as I wouldn’t consider Pink Floyd prog.

Neal Peart vs. Hal Blaine?
“Tom Sawyer” by Rush vs. “Sincerely” by The Moonglows?

I concede that perhaps I’m not making my best argument. I’m also not saying that Clyde McPhatter and The Everly Brothers shouldn’t be in. But I’m having a very hard time swallowing the pill that the corporate music mavens make me swallow. I thought is was bad enough when the Grammys awarded Jethro Tull the “best hard rock/heavy metal album” honors over Metallica, but even they eventually admitted their mistake and made up for it.

I would like to hear your opinions. Especially if you think Rush deserves to be in, please leave a comment. I doubt that the knuckleheads at the Hall will ever get wind of my piddly blog rant, but the #OccupyRush movement needs to keep pushing forward.

Xanadu!

Why is Rush NOT in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? is a post from: Fretterverse.com: Guitar Blog | guitar news & reviews, amps, effects, guitars, music theory, guitar lessons. If you are reading this on a site that is not Fretterverse.com, it's been ripped. Please come to the real Fretterverse.com.

40 years since its inception, Rush continues to defy the odds and push the envelope, with their legions of fans champing at the bit for any and every piece of music and information they can get their hands on. Recently, two die-hard Rush fans took on the responsibility of chronicling the band’s history. The result is a two-DVD masterpiece called Rush – Beyond the Lighted Stage.

With original drummer John Rutsey

I learned a lot about the band I love so much, such as the reason why Rutsey had to leave the band after their debut album. Interviews with other bands and musicians show the huge influence Rush has had over the years; Billy Corgan, Jack Black, Gene Simmons, Trent Reznor, Mike Portnoy, Les Claypool, and others pay homage to the band that inspired them.

There is also a lot of live concert footage, interviews with Lee and Lifeson, and a virtual album-by-album discussion of Rush’s history. I was especially pleased with the discussion of my favorite Rush album, Hemispheres. I was also happy to see how the producers handled the delicate topic of drummer Neal Peart losing his daughter and wife within the same year. It was a very difficult period for Peart, and at that time no one knew (not even the band) if Rush would ever record again. I was glad to see that this period in their history was included, and that it was handled delicately and honestly.

The greatest band ever!

Even if you are not a big fan of the band, you would benefit from learning about how this band went from playing church basements to being the #3 in the world for most consecutive gold and/or platinum CDs (behind The Beatles and The Rolling Stones). Yeah, bet you didn’t know that, did you? I highly recommend you pick up this DVD and check it out. You will not be disappointed.

On a side note, the fact that Rush has not yet been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is both sad and alarming. It would be nice if the committee – whose collective heads are obviously up each other’s asses – would finally admit to and recognize the significance and influence this band has had on generations of fans and musicians. To ignore their contribution is a travesty and just goes to show you how clueless “the man” really is.

Rush – Beyond the Lighted Stage (DVD) is a post from: Fretterverse.com: Guitar Blog | guitar news & reviews, amps, effects, guitars, music theory, guitar lessons. If you are reading this on a site that is not Fretterverse.com, it's been ripped. Please come to the real Fretterverse.com.

Washington, DC-based jazz guitarist Steve Herberman is, in my opinion, one of the few to rise above the white noise. His unique chord voicings and arrangements are beautiful to listen to and watch (I’ve seen him perform live several times) and his CDs will surely test the limits of your iPod’s battery longevity.

I am pleased to have had the opportunity to interview him and am grateful for the beautiful video chord melody of Body and Soul he did for Fretterverse.com, which you can see at the bottom of this page.

When did you first pick up the guitar?

I started playing guitar when I was around 12 years old. A brief, early stint with a Ukelele got me hooked on the idea of playing a guitar and I begged my parents for a guitar. My first was a Yamaha nylon string and then I pretty quickly got a Gibson Marauder electric we found at a guitar sale.

What inspired you to start playing?

I had a couple years of piano lessons and then a little bit of trombone in elementary school band, but when I picked up a guitar that was it! Sliding notes and bending was exciting, which I proceeded to do until my family had to ask me to turn down the little Fender Champ because they heard enough.

Who were your earliest influences?

The Beatles and The Eagles were my favorites when I first started playing guitar. Day Tripper was the 1^st song I learned by ear and then Smoke on the Water, oddly enough. Usually it would be the other way around. Ritchie Blackmore, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, and Joe Perry were my favorites when I was around 13 or so.

What prompted you to go the jazz direction?

I was in a band when I was about 15 doing Rush and Yes tunes and was loving the challenge. This band I was in wanted to win a battle of the bands and there was a vote to add a vocalist, as we were just a power trio playing instrumentals. I guess the drummer thought we had a better chance of winning with vocals. Once the vocalist got there he wanted to play pop tunes and I really had to get out of there! I was just starting to hear John McLaughlin and Jean Luc-Ponty and was getting very interested in fusion music. From fusion I was led to Thelonious Monk and Wes Montgomery. It was a language I didn’t understand but was enthralled with. It was mysterious and exciting and seemed to be the high point in terms of technique, theory and more importantly emotional content. I began reading all of the jazz bios I could find and subscribing to Downbeat and JazzTimes. I was an instant convert!

Do you still listen to other styles of music aside from jazz?

Absolutely, yes. I still like the Beatles and the early stuff I listened to as a kid along with classical music, brazilian, Motown, soul etc. I like any good music.

Who are your guitar influences?

Wes Montgomery, Kenny Burrell, Lenny Breau, George VanEps, Ted Greene for the jazz guitarists. The “art rock” guys like Steve Howe (Yes), Alex Lifeson (Rush), and David Gilmour (Pink Floyd) were also big influences. Classical guys like Julian Bream and Andres Segovia were important for me too.

How did you first start learning jazz? Did you take lessons or teach yourself?

I began learning jazz on my own from records and books and going to hear live jazz. Joe Pass was a huge early influence, as was Barney Kessel and Herb Ellis and Emily Remler. I got to hear these people live when I was a teenager and was very lucky to have done so!

What did you practice when you first started learning jazz?

Scales and arpeggios were the first things and then I just transcribed like a madman. We didn’t have many videos to watch so it was just by listening only. I also studies chord voicings. The Ted Greene books along with a book of Joe Pass chord solos were a huge help. Now they have tons of Pass chord solos in TAB but that book I had was all standard notation so I had to really work for it!

Why did you start playing the 7-string guitar?

Around 1993 I bought my 1^st 7-string. I had gone through most of George VanEps’ Harmonic Mechanism books with my 6 string. I wanted to extend those studies into the lower registers but couldn’t do so with the 6-string. I think VanEps seduced me into the 7-string with those books he wrote for the 6-string. His multi-line concepts fit so beautifully with the 7-string that I had to get one after working through his material. And listening to George is what really did it. I had to explore that type of playing and had to have the right kind of guitar to do it.

Do you tune in standard tuning or de-tune the low B string to A? If so, why?

Strings 1 to 6 are tuned in the standard guitar tuning. The low 7^th string I tune to ‘A’ so any standard guitar chord voicing with a bass note on the 5^th string can be dropped to the 7^th string and that note will remain on the same fret. This helps greatly with keeping the notes of the chord all in one comfortable position. It’s easier on the hand that way rather than tuning the bass note to a B and having to stretch farther to grab common chord voicings. Also Van Eps tuned his guitar with the 7^th string tuned down a perfect 5^th from the 6^th string. He used the same tuning as me and most other 7 string jazz guitarists but tuned all his strings down a whole step so he had a low G. He had to use a .100 bass string to get it that low.

I’m particularly impressed with your inner voice movement. Can you tell me how you approach this concept?

Basically I have a bass line in mind, say a half note-based bass line with a melody line on top. I like to improvise little melodies in between the bass and melody notes. Sometimes they are scales or arpeggios or combinations of the two. The challenge is in sustaining one or more of the outside notes while threading the line in between. That’s where those Van Eps books really paid off for me. I teach these concepts and others in my many video classes I do for Mike’s Masterclasses.

Let’s talk about your Mike’s Masterclass lessons. You have a lot of video lessons there. Can you tell us about what you have to offer and what your future lesson plans are?

I have 25 lessons to date covering everything from beginning chord solos to the most intricate Van Eps-type counterpoint. And many classes on comping and soloing as well as practice techniques and how to learn tunes. Some future lesson plans involve composition techniques, more on soloing concepts, melodic minor, whole tone and augmented scales usage and lots more. Students send me suggestions and I try my best to honor them.

What advice do you find yourself giving your students the most?

Listen. Go hear live music, transcribe and analyze and get your theory and reading down solid. Study with different people to get various points of view. And most important, practice every day!

Do you recommend transcribing solos?

Absolutely, yes. Miles Davis is a great place to start.

If you could jam with one guitarist (living or dead) who would it be and why?

Ed Bickert, because I’d pick his brain about his beautiful comping. He had the knack to always play the right thing behind people. He is still living but has retired from playing, unfortunately.

Do you have any new recordings coming up?

Currently I don’t but I’m in the process of thinking about what I might do next. It’s important for me to keep getting my music out there.

What do you like to do aside from playing music? Do you have any other hobbies?

I enjoy playing football and street hockey with my 9 year old son and going ice skating. I like to walk around outdoors too and do so every chance I get. Music can be such a sedentary thing I need to counteract all that sitting!

Artist Spotlight: Steve Herberman is a post from: Fretterverse.com: Guitar Blog | guitar news & reviews, amps, effects, guitars, music theory, guitar lessons. If you are reading this on a site that is not Fretterverse.com, it's been ripped. Please come to the real Fretterverse.com.