London Morning with Andrew Brown
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CBC HOST
It’s one of the most influential prog rock bands of all time. Canadian rock legends Rush are returning to the stage after a decade-long hiatus. They’re taking over Toronto with a four-hometown-show schedule starting tonight as part of their Fifty Something Tour.
That band started performing together 58 years ago, and yet somehow they’re able to continue to project those melodies that you hear. And we’re wondering how they do it.
It turns out that there’s a local connection to this. There’s a London man who knows something about that. Mitch Seekins is a vocal coach who works with Rush’s Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson, and he joins us now.
Good morning.
MITCH SEEKINS
Good morning.
CBC HOST
I feel I’m a little intimidated in the presence of a vocal coach here. I feel like you might be critiquing me here as well!
We’re going to get into the vocal stuff in just a moment here, but how excited were you to start working with a band like Rush?
MITCH SEEKINS
Well, I’ve been a fan of Rush since the late ’70s, so when I got the call, it was pretty exciting, I’ve got to tell you.
It’s an honor and a privilege to help somebody of that stature. They’re national treasures, those guys, so to be a part of this is really exciting.
CBC HOST
Why do you think they resonated so much with people?
Are those, like, the platinum awards on the wall? We’re on a Zoom chat here, and I’m seeing some memorabilia on the wall behind you.
MITCH SEEKINS
Yeah, there are some gold and platinum records there from students I’ve worked with over the years.
As for why Rush resonates, I think it’s a hard question to answer, but one of the things that stands out to me is that it’s smart music. Lyrically, it’s intellectual, but melodically—man, you can’t help singing along to a lot of their songs.
They had a very strong sense of melody, and I don’t even think they necessarily thought about it that way. They just wrote the way they wrote.
Because I’m a singer and I love melody, I think that melodic sense is one of the things that helped them rise above the prog-rock genre and reach such a broad audience.
CBC HOST
And it’s not just enough to have the melodies, but you have to be able to communicate that—to project it and to get those melodies out in a way that connects with folks—which brings us to your realm of expertise.
Just how important is that vocal aspect, and by extension, your role in that process?
MITCH SEEKINS
Rush is a very unique kind of band because every part of that band was incredibly important and basically irreplaceable.
From a vocal standpoint, Geddy is gifted with one of those voices where he opens his mouth and you immediately know who it is. One or two notes and you know exactly who you’re listening to. It’s a highly identifiable voice.
That kind of uniqueness isn’t going to speak to everybody, but it certainly made them stand out. And his ability to communicate through his voice is exceptional. I think that connected with a lot of people.
CBC HOST
And so what do you do exactly during a session? What is it that you’re teaching them?
MITCH SEEKINS
Geddy is a unique case because it’s got to be one of the most difficult shows in rock to sing. What he’s been able to do throughout his career is incredible.
Because it had been such a long time since he’d been performing at this level—and, of course, there’s also the age factor; he just turned 73—we needed to rebuild his upper range.
The first thing I needed to determine was what was there: Was there any damage? Was there any degradation? Had he actually lost any range? From there, we could rebuild it, stabilize it and strengthen it.
And thank goodness, there has been no degradation and no loss of range.
Of course, we’re dealing with an older version of Geddy than before, but he’s doing an incredible job.
A lot of what we do involves vocal exercises because, essentially, he’s an athlete. You don’t accomplish this simply by singing songs.
It’s like a hockey player. You do exercises and drills to develop better control so that you can play the game better. You don’t necessarily develop those skills just by playing the game.
Vocally, it’s the same basic approach.
CBC HOST
What are some of those? I’m so curious. That idea of the vocalist as athlete is, I think, so appropriate and fascinating. What are some of those exercises that you do?
MITCH SEEKINS
They get really strange! They get very strange.
Probably the strangest one is something called blending, where we’re coordinating two parts of the voice. And it sounds like you’re torturing little animals!
So if you’re walking down the street and you hear somebody making [demonstrates vocal exercise] sounds, they may actually be studying voice. They’re not freaking out!
CBC HOST
Yeah, yeah, yeah. They’re not freaking out.
MITCH SEEKINS
They’re not freaking out, exactly!
CBC HOST
They’re not having a breakdown of any kind.
Now, I understand Rush had to cancel a show after Geddy Lee revealed he had laryngitis and bronchitis, which is like the equivalent of a strained hamstring—
MITCH SEEKINS
Yeah, exactly.
CBC HOST
—in the vocal world, right?
MITCH SEEKINS
Yeah.
CBC HOST
But when it’s absolutely necessary, from your perspective, I guess that’s something that you have to do, right?
MITCH SEEKINS
Absolutely. I’ve continued working with Geddy throughout the tour so far. I see him on off days, so I was working with him during that whole period.
What was interesting was that initially he thought it was acid reflux. He’d gone to a barbecue in Texas after the second show—and, I mean, you’re in Texas, you’ve got to go to a Texas barbecue!
But the next day he woke up really foggy and tight. I worked with him, and his range was still there, so at that point I thought, if it’s acid reflux, lots of water, get some sleep and see how things develop.
The day after that was another show day. I worked with him in the morning, but the recovery we’d hoped for wasn’t there. We tried again just before soundcheck, and by then things were considerably worse. It turned out to be bronchitis with a touch of laryngitis due to the coughing.
At that point, there was simply no voice left. There was no possible way he could do that show.
The guys are very cognizant of giving the fans what they deserve. They don’t want to go out and give them half a show. They want to give everything they have every single night.
So it was a very difficult decision, but it was necessary. There was simply no way they could deliver the show they wanted to deliver.
Geddy couldn’t sing. It was as simple as that.
CBC HOST
You know, Mitch, it’s really great chatting. We’re unfortunately going to have to end it there. We could speak with you about this for a very, very long time, but we appreciate you taking a few minutes just to give us some insight here into your side of the business.
Thanks so much.
MITCH SEEKINS
You’re very welcome. Thanks for having me.
CBC HOST
That is Mitch Seekins, a vocal coach for Rush. He lives in the London area.
Rush plays the first concert date of their four Toronto shows tonight.