Prog “Alex Lifeson is such a big influence on me in so many ways. You know how it is when you discover a band as a teenager – you just get so invested in it. The first couple of Rush albums, I literally learned every song, and me and my friends, including [Dream Theater bassist] , jammed to all that stuff.
I think from learning all those songs, it’s just ingrained as part of my style. I remember dissecting and learning the guitar solo and all these different techniques of hammer-ons and pull-offs, even the scales that Alex used. I use that stuff all the time with Dream Theater.
Rush introduced me to progressive rock and metal, and the idea that song structures didn’t have to be the typical three-minute thing. That style of music was the perfect backdrop to storytelling and conceptual lyrics – things like . All of that had a huge influence on me and opened my mind to exploring a more unique way of writing in a progressive style.
His guitar sound changed the way I create my effects The odd time signatures and songs that had multiple parts – something like , where it’s broken into sections much in the way that would do it – was a big influence. His guitar sound changed the way I create the effects that I use. Some of his approaches to chordal playing and making a band sound really big with just one guitar was a huge influence on me.
The thing with Rush is, since they were just a three-piece, the guitar really had the job of taking up a lot of space. So the very big approach that Alex had to playing guitar and using open strings, pedal tones, chords that were richer and using chorusing on the guitar, it all really filled out that space. Sign up below to get the latest from Prog, plus exclusive special offers, direct to your inbox! I do some solo work, touring with , and that’s just a trio – so it harkens back to that influence when I’m trying to make the guitar fill out a lot of space when there’s no keyboards and no second guitar player, especially during the instrumental sections when there’s no vocal.
Alex has a beautiful way of approaching the guitar. He brought the guitar to the forefront and made it take up this beautiful space in such a great way.” After starting his writing career covering the unforgiving world of MMA, David moved into music journalism at Rhythm magazine, interviewing legends of the drum kit including Ginger Baker and Neil Peart.
A regular contributor to Prog, he’s written for Metal Hammer, The Blues, Country Music Magazine and more. The author of Chasing Dragons: An Introduction To The Martial Arts Film, David shares his thoughts on kung fu movies in essays and videos for 88 Films, Arrow Films, and Eureka Entertainment. He firmly believes Steely Dan’s Reelin’ In The Years is the tuniest tune ever tuned.
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