Inside Geddy Lee’s Bass Guitar Collection
Geddy Lee may be known for his association with two types of basses, but this clip from a recent episode of That Metal Show proves that they aren’t his only axes.
The Rush bassist took the TMS crew into his bass lair to show some of collection and talk about the instrument’s evolution. “I’ve tried to recreate the history of the bass guitar with all these different instruments,” he explains, while noodling on his Rickenbacker.
Lee goes on to talk about the importance of tone, citing Jefferson Airplane’s Jack Casady as an early influence.
Interview was WAAAYYY too short.
I remember back in the 1970’s, 1980’s bass players where just that a bass player and that’s it.
But over the years the electric bass has evolved in to something much more with guys playing bass like a regular guitar only a bit different but not by much. I love playing bass making my own funk lines up .
My first bass was a Peavey Patriot bass that I bought in 1979 but was stolen out of my car after barrel rolling it thru a field of tall grass and sticker burs. A Cement truck driver saw it fit to drive like a mad man passing me on Hwy 3 in Houston throwing rocks at my windshield. I decided to speed up and pass him , which time he changed lanes and ran me off the road sending me barrel rolling 5 times when I was young. The guy behind me stopped , ran to my car shaking my shoulder to wake me up , I couldn’t figure out why my steering wheel was in my lap and the roof was on top of my head, and where was my windshield that was there just 8 seconds earlier. That accident would seal my fate , even though I walked away unharmed at 28 now at 59 I’m consumed by chronic pain in my cervical spine. But it could have been worse, I wasn’t wearing my seat belt so I rolled with the flow.
So if I get a bit anxious and write useless comments at times please don’t get angry at me, I’m holding things together best I can . Consumed by never ending chronic intractable pain can drive a person out of their mind but somehow I’ve lived thru this nightmare life of mine hour after long hours of throbbing pain. I don’t want anyone feeling sorry for me , maybe cringe a little cause it is what it is.
One thing leads to another, chronic pain leads to anxiety, anxiety leads to insomnia, insomnia leads to being short tempered and on and on it goes, when will this stop only God knows.
Best,
Mark S Beretta
Sorry to hear your story, doc.hoc. I’m a chiropractor and have been treating people with problems exactly like these for 18 years. Where do you live, have you tried chiropractic, I’ll find a good one near you if you like.
David,
Yes I have and the thing that helped the most was traction. I’ve done the entire 9 yards, epidural injections to the cervical spine, ouch, nothing helps but I’ve learned to live with it over the years, I just cant sit down and have to keep myself busy so I can sleep at night. Winter time is bad so I feel better now that the summer has came ,I live in Houston and been to some of the best surgeons.
Nothing they can do , I don’t want to get hooked on pain killers ,I’ve seen people go down that road and its a never ending circle of grief, problems and the DEA getting in the way of Pain Specialist and how they treat people with chronic pain, even cancer pain its sick. Cancer patients cant get their script of pain meds filled, pharmacist are scared to fill that type script.
Funny you mention that – the thing that’s helped my c-spine pain more than anything is a home traction device called “airnecktraction dot com.” Strongest pain killers just don’t help my neck so I went a long time with no relief, but the air traction is kinda of miracle-like. Always be careful with neck traction though – vertebral-artery stoke is a danger if not done correctly.
Jonathan,
I need to try that “airnecktraction dot com” I never heard of it. The at home traction unit I had home hung over the door with weights and ropes, the problem with that is it goes under the chin and back of the head and it drove my jaw in to the first disc in my neck causing a headache. I never used it again , all those pain creams on TV or junk but Aspercreme works pretty good, it doesn’t stink.
And you correct making others in life understand how crippling it can be, good luck with that.
I’ve chased off more friends,family because they don’t understand , it changes your life and cant be seen when people look at you, no blood is pouring out your mouth but that doesn’t mean that
never ending consuming I’m getting sick of , chronic intractable pain is not there.
At one time in 2010 the pain wrapped over the back of my head from my neck , I thought I was going to lose my mind sitting in my recliner, it lasted about 10 days then just stopped. With every heart beat a rush of pain consumed me.
I tell you what when your suffering like that you pray and ask whoever you pray to for relief.
It can drive a good man insane, but I managed to get by some how or another for 23 years now.
Sorry this subject ended up on Geddy Lee’s discussion and kind of mushroomed.
Anyhow ,,,
I understand what your going through man. The hardest part for me in dealing with chronic pain is making others in my life understand how crippling it can be. It’s not like cancer or paralysis or etc, where people can see and understand what you’re going through; being told to “man up” when you’re suffering beyond words is not easy to hear. All the best to you.
Mark, have you tried an acupuncturist?
Yes I did acupuncture a while back, about 7 sessions in to it I asked the lady when am I suppose to feel pain relief , it made her upset and she said well if it hasn’t helped yet we should just stop now and not go any further. I didn’t mean to upset her , but it seems I rub certain people the wrong way and its not my intentions.
It might be best I stop talking about this on ” No Treble” before they too get fed up with me.
I didn’t mean to start this stir . It just affects my bass playing .
I mean gosh darn man I’m not a bad guy and never harmed anyone and don’t understand why this is happening to me. Seems all these years whizzed by me now I’m closing in on 59.
What have I accomplished in life, nothing but let down after let down, which means nothing as others pass me by. But I will be okay , prayer has helped me a lot.
Tone… hmmm… my first fascination was with John Paul Jones in Heartbreaking when he played the root/fifth chords. Then it was Chris Squire. Then Stanley… and finally Mr. Geddy Lee.
Heartbreaker… not Heartbreaking…. just a typo… memory still intact.
Yep, just WAAYYY too short. More Geddy please!
his VH1 episode
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bet6rPhNSIU
TOOOOOOO SHORTTTTTT ! What do you think we are, 8 year olds ?
Kevin I thought the interview was okay , people don’t understand how much work it is to moderate a website. I moderated my doctors website for 8 years , I advocated for people suffering from chronic pain and cancer pain and found them help, people called my phone and emailed me all the time it was called , “The National Foundation for the Treatment of Pain” ,
I moderated the chat room also and it was a lot of work. I suffered for 8 years with chronic pain and no doctor would help me until I met this Pain Specialist / Psychiatrist. This doctor taught me how to live with chronic pain in my body surgeons couldn’t do anything about. His first big case as a Psychiatrist where the women in the Charlie Manson case, I forget their names . He didn’t like talking about that much.
Sadly we lost him to kidney cancer in 2010 , his name was Dr. Hochman .
Agreed with the others, give us more please! I think after playing for a while, the pursuit of “tone” is what it’s all about. I wasn’t playing then, but there were so many fantastic bassists in pop bands in the 60’s and 70’s.
Geddy and I are about the same vintage and Jack Casady was also the first bass player I heard who really made me pay attention. The first time I heard Crown of Creation I just lost my mind…
I’d love to know if he still has the blue teardrop bass (his original pbass modified) and if he ever picks it up. It’d be a great living room couch bass if you ask me.
Check out that sweet pearl-top Zemaitis!
This is easy, NoTreble needs to hook up with Geddy for the GroovePodcast.. 2 podcasts would be ultimate, one hour with Ged about gear and one about career. (priority: Gear and playing, there’s been quite a few documentaries about Rush’s career now)
Other: Love to hear that Geddy’s rick makes noises all over the place, make me feel a little less bad about my own rick’s occasional buzzing.
I absolutely love Ged’s Rick. Nothing sounds as defined and mean with a purpose. It’s like he wanted gain without any gain making devices. I wish he would switch back full time. I like his Rickenbacker way better than his Jazz bass.