Geddy Lee flamenco style?

[joechummer]

I've recently heard people mention that Geddy Lee sometimes employs a "flamenco" style by using his fingernails.

Does anyone know in which Rush songs he employs this technique? I have all of their studio albums, and I'm still not sure when and where this style occurs in their work. I'm curious to know exactly what this technique sounds like.

Anyone know?

 

[Coelho]

everywhere. See some live DVDs.

 

[joechummer]

everywhere. See some live DVDs.

Can you provide any specific examples? Certain songs or parts within those songs? Nothing about his style screams "flamenco" to me. "Flamenco" in my mind sounds like Spanish guitar, and I don't really hear that in Rush songs.

 

[Coelho]

search function helps
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=436533
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=464469

 

[joechummer]

search function helps
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=436533
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=464469

In those two threads (one of which I'd looked at before you posted them), I found a reference to only one Rush song someone specifically mentioned that used this technique, and I was under the impression there was a lot more instances of it.

 

[PBass101]

Basically, much of the time where he's playing really fast riffs, he's use his index fingers in an up-and-down stroke against the strings ala flamenco. And I believe he hits the strings with his fingernails, which gives him a very pick-like sound.

 

[llamalor2112]

Wow, not a lot of helpful responses.
If you want to hear the flamenco style, listen to any Rush material from 1993-Present Day (AKA Counterparts-Snakes&Arrows). It is especially helpful to watch the wizards' live DVDs. You can also hear it employed in Ged's solo album, My Favorite Headache.
Hope this helps, once you learn this technique it really opens up rythmic background that can be good enough to make having a drummer obsolete for many parts of a song. It's also great for fast riffs like others here have said.
(Best songs to here this on are Animate, One Little Victory, and Far Cry.)[Ps. the live stuff is usually way crazier than the studio material so get it if you can.)

 

[xgator4u]

Yup that is his style, not any one song, it's just the way he plays, like J. Entwistle was known for his "typewriter" style, Geddy plays flaminco style. Watch Rush in RIO, you will see. Also R-30.

 

[Alvaro Martín Gómez A.]

You won't find any examples of that technique on albums prior to "Counterparts". But from that album, it became a frequently featured item from his toolbox. "Animate" was the first song in which he tried it, and it's a great example to see/hear it in action.

 

[pedroims]

In R30 video , in one of the interviews, Geddy Lee mention that he just started to masterized the flamenco technique , I think he mentioned that in an interview dated from 2002, so probably you can find a song whit this technique in either the vapor trails or snakes & arrows.

 

[2112]

Specific examples:

From Counterparts: "Animate", "Alien Shore", "Double Agent",

From Test for Echo: "Driven", "Totem", "Dog Years", "Virtuality", "Limbo"

From Vapor Trails: "Ghost Rider", "Freeze", "Out of the Cradle", "Secret Touch"

From Snakes & Arrows: "Armor & Sword" (the long bass slide right before the guitar solo).

There may be more... these are the songs that stand out immediately. There was less flamenco on S&A than on the previous three albums.

My heavily Rush-influenced formative years caused me too add this technique to my repertoire. Sometimes I call it "rapidflap", b/c I use it to play long passages of fast 16ths. You have to practice, practice, practice to get the intonation consistent, otherwise your downflaps will sound different than your upflaps. Also, transitioning between flamenco and regular fingerstyle can be tricky until you get used to it.

Good luck!

 

[paul_wolfe]

I've started indexing Bass Player magazines for my website...and there was a mini lesson on this technique with examples in the August 2007 Bass Player.

Invalid Link Removed

 

[2112]

It strikes me funny that Bass Player Magazine called this "Geddy's new style" some 15 years late.

 

[2112]

Forgot Ged's solo album in all this...

My Favorite Headache: "My Favorite Headache" (intro, choruses, outro), "Moving to Bohemia", "Home on the Strange".

 

[paul_wolfe]

Slightly off topic...anyone got the MY FAVOURITE HEADACHE transcription book, how accurate is it?

 

[2112]

Add "Carve Away the Stone" (bridge, solo) from Test for Echo and "Cut to the Chase" (choruses) from Counterparts to the list.

 

[gotbass1228]

also in Animate right before the guitar solo its really focused on Geddy. I would listen to that. Or R30's Roll The Bones.

 

[J. Crawford]

Malignant Narcissism.

 

[2112]

You can also add to list Geddy's work in the Big Dirty Band's remake of "I Fought the Law" for the Trailer Park Boys soundtrack.

 

[llamalor2112]

Malignant Narcissism.

While that's indeed an awsome song, if you've seen him play it live or watched the DVD, he just does standard finger picking, not flamenco picking. (just sayin is all)