Geddy Lee recently discussed his new autobiography, ‘My Effin’ Life,’ in an interview with CBC News: The National. During the chat about the book, he touched on how KISS influenced Rush in their early years while recalling:
“We were so green when we crossed the border into the US of A for the first time in 1974. We were opening shows, we were so wide-eyed, and we barely had professional cases. We were still carrying some of our cabling in empty Coke crates, you know. So, we had a lot to learn.”
The singer referred to the effort KISS put into their shows and said:
“We’d sit night after night at the side stage after our short set and watch all the bands, and KISS was really impressive because not only was the road crew incredibly kind to us and the guys in the band were very supportive of us, but they were putting on this literally explosive pyrotechnic display, and they worked so hard every night, and everything had to be choreographed, and everything was split-second timing.”
Saying Rush learned a lot from the ‘I Love It Loud’ band’s business approach, he added:
“So, there was a lot to learn. There was a lot to take in. It wasn’t really about their music for us. We liked some of their songs, of course, some of them, [we] didn’t care for, but the way they went about their business was really instructive.”
Rush’s Path After Opening For KISS
According to Gene Simmons, in the early ’70s, despite also being at the beginning of their rise, KISS headlined venues that could hold around 3,000 people, with some ‘pretty big’ shows. So, the band didn’t hold back from supporting their opening acts in those years, as the bassist told Classic Rock:
“We were about giving the people who came to the shows a real bang for their buck, so we never worried about money and buy-ons and all the rest of it. The attitude was that if the package was good, then the money would take care of itself. Our opening bands were a reflection of us. We never pulled the sound down on them. We always gave them full lights.”
After the tour with KISS, Rush’s debut album reached number 105 on the Billboard 200 chart. In the years that followed, they released many albums, with 24 reaching gold status and 14 going platinum in the US.
So, commenting on the band’s career after The KISS Tour, Simmons went on:
“It was a cutthroat business, but we never did those things. We gave first tours to AC/DC, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Bon Jovi, Motley Crue, a whole bunch of acts… Rush was one of the first acts that we gave a break to – and time has judged that we made a good decision.”
You can watch Geddy Lee’s full interview about his life and career below.
