Lights! Sound! Moving Pictures!
The powerful rock of RUSH lives on with the three-piece RUSH Tribute Project, a decade plus long touring act that is hitting 713 Music Hall for a one-night-only gig on Saturday, June 6.
Percussionist Tom Slawnik, who has been with the group since inception, previews what diehards can expect from the act. “We’re about 13 years in and we’ve played 200 something shows in 21 states and Costa Rica,” he says with pride. “It’s the 45th anniversary of [RUSH’s 1981 album Moving Pictures] and so the second half of the show and all the places we play this year. It is also the 50th anniversary of 2112, so we’ll be doing parts of that”
Slawnick, who covers drums and percussion in the style of RUSH’s Neil Peart, speaks highly of his longtime co-stars Sean Jones (lead vocals, bass and keyboards) and Bill Heck (guitar, pedals and vocals). “Our singer Sean is he can hit the high notes that Getty used to be able to hit with his voice,” the drummer says as a selling point. “And he can still do it. That’s a good compliment. Plus the fact that we are a three piece, we’ve stayed true to that.”
“We switch songs every night,” he continues. “For this run of 9 shows, we’ll probably have 6 different set combinations. But the anchors being the entire Moving Pictures album, and other various hits you have to play. And working in some deep cuts to keep things interesting.”
One element that seems evident from the photography of the event is the dazzling production value of their uniquely programmed light show. “We have an outstanding production with lights and sound. I think that has been the latest great compliment[for] that the light show we put on.”
As the group has toured for the past 13 years and counting, the percussionist estimates how much they’ve grown as artists. “We’ve really been able to streamline our show,” he explains. “We can all walk in, do our jobs, bing bang boom. We’re set up and ready to go. We all have a great sense of humor, we all get along well. Not just the three of us, but we’ve got five others in our crew. It has become a tight knit family.”
Slawnick’s entry into music started very much with a love of the band he now pays tribute to. “I personally don’t read music – its all foreign to me,” he admits. “But from my teens hearing RUSH, I play the albums and kept going back playing the drum parts. Trying to get note for note as well as I could. That’s basically how I learned to play the drums, listening to and trying to be as accurate to his work as possible. I got it down pretty well.”
While his official bio says he started ‘banging on drums at the young age of 4’ – Slawnick himself places the date he started really playing at closer to 10 years old. “I had a little snare drum in the basement and I just played to Dave Clark 5 Records. It was the time when the Beatles were popular, but they had a great drum sound. I tried to learn some of their moves, and then I got into Emerson, Lake and Palmer because of my brother. But it was RUSH and Neil’s work that just laid the fabric of how I learned to play the drums.”
Now, the 30+ year veteran says his greatest thrill comes from peaking at the audience as he rocks out. “You know, [you see the] drummers in the audience and they’re all playing the air drums! The advantage for them is they don’t drop a stick every once in a while.”
You know, drummers in the audience, they’re all playing the air drums. And the advantage of them is they don’t drop a stick every once in a while.
Rush Tribute Project’s performance is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 6 at 713 Music Hall, 401 Franklin, Suit 1600. For more information, visit 713musichall.com. $50–86
