THE COFF-IN, ST. THEODORES OF CANTERBURY ANGLICAN CHURCH, TORONTO, ONTARIO RUSHS FIRST PAYING GIG: SEPTEMBER 18, 1968 FIRST GIG WITH GEDDY LEE: SEPTEMBER 25, 1968 The Coff-In was in the basement of St. Theodores of Canterbury Anglican Church in Toronto, shown here in 2009. I received a call from [Alex Lifeson] about two weeks after he started Rush with our original drummer, John Rutsey. They had an excellent bass player, but he decided to quit the band at the last minute before a gig at a local coffeehouse. - Geddy Lee, Guitar Player, June 1980 Alex stated the date of Rushs first paying show was September 18th, 1968, during an interview with Chum TV on May 6, 2002. Visions confirms the first paying gig was with Jeff Jones on bass, who was replaced by Geddy Lee one week later: In August [1968], Jeff Jones came in as bass player and lead singer and a formal line-up of John, Alex and Jeff was formed. They spent their evenings and weekends trying to learn the hard rock songs of the day and scheming for an opportunity to play outside their basements. The boys were soon able to work out an agreement to play in another basement, but this time they would be paid. Their salary was $25. The gig consisted of playing on Friday nights at an oddly named coffee-house located in the basement of an Anglican Church. The Coff-In served coffee, doughnuts and music to local teens for 25 cents a head. The band was excited, but they had a big problem. While they had been dreaming of playing, they had neglected to come up with a name for their group. So a few days before the gig they sat around in Johns basement trying to come up with an appropriate moniker. They werent having much luck when Johns older brother Bill piped up, Why dont you call the band Rush and Rush it was. The Coff-In was one of many so-called drop-in centres sprouting up in Canada at the time. By telling friends and acquaintances about the gig they were able to draw in nearly 30 people for the show. They were received pretty well, and with one live performance under their belts, the members of Rush were ready for a return performance. Well, at least two of them were. The following Friday saw their new-found careers almost come to a halt. At around 5pm, just a few hours before they were due to perform, Jeff called and canceled because he wanted to go to a party. It was time for some quick thinking, so Alex called up another bass player he had jammed with a few times. Often I would call Gedd up to borrow his amp. When I called him up this time, right away he thought, Oh, hes going to want my amp, and I said, Do you think you could come and play with us, because Jeff isnt coming, we dont have a bass player, and we have this gig tonight. Well just play the songs. The songs consisted of half a dozen Cream tunes that most of the neighbourhood players thought they knew by heart. Alex later told Geddy that he would have to sing. Geddy was not thrilled about this, but as the new man on board and with lead singers hard to find, he didnt have much choice...Geddy was excited if a little surprised by the request. He had never met John. Alex used to borrow everything, says Geddy. He borrowed my amp regularly and one day he called up to borrow me.... Geddys debut with Rush in September of 1968 was solid. When they had exhausted their repertoire of the half dozen Cream songs they knew, they played them again, and then again. After the show the trio split the $25 and went out to eat. At the restaurant they decided Geddy was in, and Jeff was out. Their first rehearsal was set for later in the week. Jeff was already playing in another band (Lactic Acid) so his dismissal was not that big a deal at the time. Alex Lifeson remembering the setlist from Rushs first paying gig: Wow. Lets see. We did Jimi Hendrixs Foxey Lady, Creams Spoonful and Crossroads, the Yardbirds Shapes of Things, and maybe a few others. We only knew about seven or eight songs back then. - Alex Lifeson, Sound & Vision Online, Feb. 2006
Posted on: Fri, 14 Mar 2014 15:07:01 +0000
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