I must declare that I’ve never seen Rush perform, which is rather odd since there is no band that is closer to my heart. Which is to say, I’ve got six degrees of separation coming out my ying-yang with the legendary Canadian rockers.

It started by attending the same high school that Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson did (though a couple of years behind); to this day, anyone who attended Newtonbrook S.S. in Willowdale (suburban Toronto) in the ‘70s is sure to share their connection almost immediately (Uniglobe’s Joel Kopstick has some tales to tell!).

Though I never met the band, I do recall Geddy’s (his real nickname) brother at school, and Alex (real name Aleksandar Živojinović) lived on my street (or I on his).

And the band’s third member, the late Neil Peart, who was the only band member not from Willowdale (born in Hamilton, Ont.), oddly turned out to be my wife’s girlfriend’s cousin.

My life has been filled, almost cosmically, with Rush anecdotes like that one, and this: in Hawaii some years back, I was casually entering my room at a hotel in Maui, fumbling with the key. The gregarious American guest next door was doing the same and decided to chat, asking where I was from. “No way,” he replied, “I used to be a roadie for Rush!” Much conversation ensued.

With this backdrop, I tend to be acutely attuned to Rush news (less frequent these days) and came across the tidbit recently that Geddy and Alex have invited the Barenaked Ladies’ Ed Robertson to help them design a Rush-themed pinball machine.

So, as much as I would love to reveal some rare video of the band performing “Pinball Wizard,” the closest I could find was their hit “Spirit of Radio” – another relic from yesteryear (musically at least) it might be said – performed here at Rush’s long-awaited Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction in 2013.

Lyrics

Begin the day
With a friendly voice
A companion, unobtrusive
Plays that song that’s so elusive
And the magic music makes your morning mood

Off on your way
Hit the open road
There is magic at your fingers
For the spirit ever lingers
Undemanding contact
In your happy solitude

Invisible airwaves
Crackle with life
Bright antennae bristle
With the energy
Emotional feedback
On a timeless wavelength
Bearing a gift beyond price
Almost free

All this machinery
Making modern music
Can still be open-hearted
Not so coldly charted
It’s really just a question
Of your honesty, yeah your honesty

One likes to believe
In the freedom of music
But glittering prizes
And endless compromises
Shatter the illusion
Of integrity, yeah

Invisible airwaves
Crackle with life
Bright antennae bristle
With the energy
Emotional feedback
On a timeless wavelength
Bearing a gift beyond price
Almost free

For the words of the profits
Were written on the studio wall
Concert hall
And echoes with the sounds, of salesmen,
of salesmen,
of salesmen