History Music / RushBand

** They also make fun of [[CanadaEh their own nationality]].

* CanadaEh: Possibly the most famous group to come from the Great White North. Lampshaded by Neil during their Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction:
--> "All of the previous inductees into this pantheon of rock are like a constellation of stars in the night sky. Among them we are one tiny point of light. Shaped like a maple leaf."

* BlondeBrunetteRedhead: Alex (blonde), Geddy (brunette), Neil (a middling chestnut shade).

%%* BadassBookworm: Neil was a voracious reader with a muscular build and a love of motorcycle riding.

* UncommonTime: There is a common folk myth that Neil Peart can't play in 4/4. This isn't true, but their songs do switch meter signatures an awful lot. "Subdivisions" is a good example of this; it switches between 7/8, 4/4, and 3/4 pretty regularly. An exhaustive list of their use of this trope would probably be as long as this article.[[note]]For the record, most of the verse and all of the chorus of "Tom Sawyer", to name only their most famous song, is in 4/4. These myths tend to get started by people who can't count beats. Or are [[DontExplainTheJoke exaggerations for comedic effect]].[[/note]]

** Averted for about two decades now, as since ''Presto'' and ''Roll the Bones'', Geddy has never had a ponytail or mullet (or [[CoolShades uncovered eyes]], either).

* LeadBassist: Geddy Lee is not only the bassist of Rush, but also the lead singer and keyboardist (which he plays using foot pedals). He's also considered one of the best and most influential bassists of all times. And since ProgressiveRock is a genre where bass is often emphasized, many of their songs treat the bass as a lead instrument. He also has great stage presence during live shows. All of this makes him the most recognizable member of the band.

* AnswerSong: More of an "Answer Title." During performances of the instrumental "Where's My Thing?" during the Clockwork Angels Tour, Neil played a drum solo interlude that came to be known as "Here It Is!"

* Long concerts. From 1996 on, their concerts averaged at least 2-1/2 hours each. They played a 60- or 70-minute opening set then took a 20-minute break before coming back to do another set. There's a reason they stopped using opening acts.

In 2015, the band announced that their R40 Tour, which concluded on August 1 of that year, would be their last large-scale tour due to health issues for Lifeson (arthritis) and Peart (tendinitis). However, they left open the possibility of smaller tours and future studio projects. In January 2018 however, Lifeson confirmed in an interview that Rush was done, and they had no plans to record a new album or tour anymore. Neil Peart's death from brain cancer two years later made it clear that the band was over for good. Lee and Lifeson have since said they may eventually record together again, but will not tour, or release any such material under the name Rush.

** Neal Peart, who is considered an extremely talented drummer (possibly one of the best of all time), and is also the main lyricist.

%%* BadassBaritone: Neil had a deep speaking voice.

Rush were a Canadian rock trio formed in 1968, although, listening to some of their songs, you'd never guess there were only three of them. They were probably best known for Geddy Lee's "wait, is that a guy?" vocals and prominent bass and Neil Peart's early Creator/AynRand-inspired lyrics ([[OldShame though he had distanced himself from her after some backlash]], and it's really only the albums from ''Music/FlyByNight'' through about ''Music/{{Hemispheres}}'' where her influence is particularly apparent). While the band had always been an album rock (and later classic rock) radio favourite, Rush saw a decent boost to their popularity for their contributions to the video game series ''VideoGame/RockBand'' -- and another, unfortunately enough, [[DeadArtistsAreBetter following Peart's passing]].

Rush were a Canadian rock trio formed in 1968, although, listening to some of their songs, you'd never guess there were only three of them. They were probably best known for Geddy Lee's "wait, is that a guy?" vocals and prominent bass and Neil Peart's early Creator/AynRand-inspired lyrics ([[OldShame though he had distanced himself from her after some backlash]], and it's really only the albums from ''Music/FlyByNight'' through about ''Music/{{Hemispheres}}'' where her influence is particularly apparent). While the band had always been an album rock (and later classic rock) radio favourite, Rush saw a decent boost to their popularity for their contributions to the video game series ''VideoGame/RockBand'' - and another, unfortunately enough, [[DeadArtistsAreBetter following Peart's passing]].

One of those bands that split people down the middle - a lot of people hate ProgressiveRock in general, and many disapproved of [[AuthorAppeal Peart's]] [[NeverLiveItDown early fondness]] for Ayn Rand. (To be fair, while Peart acknowledged he still had areas of agreement with Rand, he did not agree with her whole [[UsefulNotes/{{Objectivism}} philosophy]], and he removed her "thank you" credit from ''2112''[[labelnote:*]]as of at least the original compact disc issue[[/labelnote]].) They are probably the biggest CultClassic band in the world: they have sold tens of millions of records throughout their career, but although a lot of people that like them ''really like them'', the same goes for people that dislike them.

Each another's audience outside the gilded cage''

* SignatureHeadgear: From the mid-1990s on, Neil took to wearing a North African ''kufi'' (prayer hat) during live shows. Its main purpose was ostensibly to keep sweat out of his eyes; however, given Neil's lifelong tonsorial choices, [[GirlishPigtails God]] [[OjouRinglets only]] [[MyHairCameOutGreen knows]] [[FunnyAfro what]] it might have been concealing ([[MegaTwintails though]] [[EinsteinHair fans]] [[CombatHaircomb can]] [[HelicopterHair always]] [[PrematurelyBald guess]].) He later began customizing them with artwork from the current tour.

->''"All the world's indeed a stage\\

Each another's audience outside the gilded cage"''