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Neil Peart, Geddy Lee & Alex Lifeson

Fri, Apr 19, 2024

UK Readers: enter to win a FREE copy of Virginia Grohl's From Cradle to Stage featuring a chapter on Geddy Lee's mother

Tue, Apr 25, 2017@9:02AM | comments

UPDATE - 5/8@9:49AM: Contest is now closed. Winner will be notified shortly. Thanks for playing everyone!

1) What song did Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson perform with drummer Taylor Hawkins at the Foo Fighters' show in Toronto back in March of 2008?
YYZ

2) NOTE: 2 part question Dave Grohl and Taylor Hawkins paid tribute to Rush at their 2013 Rock Hall induction by performing 2112 Overture dressed as Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart respectively. Who was the special guest that played the part of Geddy Lee AND what is his connection to Rush?
Nick Raskulinecz - he produced Rush's last 2 studio albums, Snakes & Arrows and Clockwork Angels

3) What is Geddy Lee's mother Mary's maiden name?
Rubenstein

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UPDATE - 4/27@1:45PM: This NY Post article on the book also includes a few excerpts from the chapter on Mary Weinrib (thanks RushFanForever):

... Despite his being more nerd than traditional rocker, lifestyle-wise ... Weinrib was terrified that Geddy, who by his senior year of high school was ignoring schoolwork for music and had hair down his back, was throwing his life away. After hearing endlessly from friends, "How do you let your son walk around like this?" Weinrib had enough. She decided to do them all a favor and surreptitiously cut his hair while he slept. "But as she approached, scissors in hand, he woke up and she backed off. A bit ashamed and completely helpless, she declared, 'OK, that's it. I don't care if he has hair to his knees.'" ...

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The new book from Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl's mother Virginia Hanlon Grohl released last week in the US, and releases in the UK today. It's titled From Cradle to Stage: Stories from the Mothers Who Rocked and Raised Rock Stars and contains a chapter on Geddy Lee's mother Mary Weinrib. The chapter starts off with a description of her early life and time in a German concentration camp, where she met Geddy's father Morris Weinrib. It goes on to recount their life in Toronto with their three children, and Morris's sudden and unexpected death in 1965, when Geddy was just twelve years old:

... Stunned and depressed by the unexpected tragedy, she broke down. Doctors gave her pills to help her deal with the shock, but she slept and cried for two weeks. ... Mary recalls a night when Geddy heard her crying and came to her room. He sat on the edge of their bed and said, "Mommy, I know why you're crying; you don't know what to do. Daddy would want you to go and open the store .. because he made it." ... Mary threw the pills away, got out of bed, made breakfast for the children, took them to school, and opened the store ... She took over. ...

She describes giving Geddy his first guitar because he, "had worked so hard and she wanted to repay him". He quickly learned how to play.

... After that, Mary recalls, "Day and night, night and day he was playing." He gathered friends in the basement, and the once quiet house became a source of despair for the neighbors and Grandmother as loud rock music blasted down the block. A truce was reached with the neighbors when an eight o'clock curfew was agreed to, but the infuriated Grandmother was not so easily ameliorated. She eventually moved out, to the quieter home of her other daughter. Mary shakes her head at the memories of those difficult times. She was in the middle, trying to keep peace between her hard-rocking son and her kosher-keeping mother. "I survived the war and the concentration camps," she recalls. "But I also survived the war in my house." ...

Weinrib goes on to describe Geddy and Rush's skyrocketing career and how proud she became of her son and his many accomplishments. Rushisaband.com has one FREE copy of the book to give away to one lucky UK resident! To enter for your chance to win, just send an email to rushisaband@gmail.com with the subject CRADLE TO STAGE CONTEST and the correct answers to the following three questions:

1) What song did Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson perform with drummer Taylor Hawkins at the Foo Fighters' show in Toronto back in March of 2008?

2) NOTE: 2 part question Dave Grohl and Taylor Hawkins paid tribute to Rush at their 2013 Rock Hall induction by performing 2112 Overture dressed as Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart respectively. Who was the special guest that played the part of Geddy Lee AND what is his connection to Rush?

3) What is Geddy Lee's mother Mary's maiden name?

Only UK residents are eligible, one entry per person, and entries must be received by midnight EST on Sunday, May 7, 2017. You can learn more about the book at this location and order your copy at this location (this location for UK readers). Back in July of 2015 when the Foo Fighters played a show in Toronto as part of their Sonic Highways tour, Mary Weinrib was in attendance as a special guest of Virginia. The pair were photographed together backstage and shown up on the big screen during the show (video here). Virginia and Dave Grohl recently gave a talk at the LA Times Festival of Books, and Mary Weinrib came up in the conversation (thanks RushFanForever).

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