Rush (Band)

Rush was a Canadian, Progressive-Rock band from 1968 until 2016. The band consisted of a trio including Alex Lifeson, Geddy Lee and Neil Peart. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2013.

History
Rush began in the summer of 1968 consisting of John Rutsey, Jeff Jones and Alex Lifeson in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Surprisingly, they played their first gig in the basement of a church (because many Christian Fundamentalists think that Rock Music is of 'the Devil'). Shortly after, Jeff Jones was replaced by Geddy Lee. It wasn't until 1974 when they produced their first album of original music "Rush," consisting of songs such as Working Man, Need Some Love and Finding My Way. Their second album "Fly By Night" was highlighted by the replacement of drummer John Rutsey for Neil Peart. This current lineup stayed in-tact until 2016, when Peart "unofficially" announced his retirement. Other hits of the 1970s included Fly By Night, Lakeside Park, Xanadu, 2112 (Temples of Syrinx), Closer to the Heart, Cygnus X-1, and The Trees.

Rush's most successful albums, also called "The Big Three" ranged from 1980 until 1982: Permanent Waves, Moving Pictures and Signals. These three albums produced massive hits such as The Spirit of Radio, Freewill, Tom Sawyer, Limelight, Red Barchetta, Subdivisions and New World Man. They continued to have success throughout the 1980s. Other hits from the 80s included Distant Early Warning, Manhattan Project, The Big Money, Turn the Page, Force Ten, Time Stand Still and Show Don't Tell.

The 1990s also proved to be successful for Rush, producing hits such as Roll the Bones, Nobody's Hero, Animate, Carve Away the Stone and Ghost of a Chance. The band decided to take a hiatus around 1999.

In 2002, Rush made a comeback with the album "Vapor Trails". It would be another five years before another studio album was made "Snakes & Arrows". Once again, they waited another five years before their next (and final) studio album "Clockwork Angels". Some of their best songs from 2002-2012 were Vapor Trail, The Main Monkey Business, Malignant Narcissism, BU2B, Caravan and The Wreckers.

Meaning of Songs
Many Rush fans associate certain songs with certain aspects of their lives. In turn, some of the songs sung by Rush have "subliminal messages". For example, "The Trees" is about crony-capitalism, big business and big government (which is actually wanted and enforced by Republicans), along with equal rights. Their song "Subdivisions" is about social outcasting in schools and neighborhoods.

Political Views
The members of Rush are believed to be Liberal/Democrat. In June 2015, drummer Neil Peart called out Rand Paul for "hating women and brown people". In the same interview he called Dubya "an instrument of evil" [1]. The Federalist, a Conservative website, had a mental breakdown over Peart's words, claiming he had "no clue what he was talking about" [2]. Neil Peart is believed by many Rush fans to have Asperger's Syndrome due to his wide interests in sci-fi, books as well as often not being part of interviews or being with the trio off the stage.