by Diana Pratt

Ever since I had my son, Geddy, I have wanted to get Geddy Lee’s autograph for him. Ever since I attended my first Rush concert, and Sarah her first Rush concert, we have longed to meet the band. That never happened.

We got upgraded to first class on the way down

When Geddy Lee wrote his book, “Geddy Lee’s Big Beautiful Book of Bass” and took it on the road on a book signing tour, the possibility arose again. When he announced a stop in San Francisco, California in February, 2019, Sarah and I saw our chance. Up until now a meet and greet with the band had been a lottery we never won. This time we had tickets and nothing could stop us. We would meet Geddy Lee.

The book signing took place at a Barnes and Noble in Corte Madera, just north of San Francisco. When we got into our Lyft and stated our destination the driver guessed the purpose right away. When we told him we were going to meet Geddy Lee he put Rush on the radio and we talked about music and our favorite bands the whole way. This had to be a good sign.

We arrived at the bookstore at 10:17am. Our instructions said we were not to line up even one minute before 11am, but when we went inside a helpful clerk offered to escort us to the already formed line. We were numbers 83 and 85 of the 1,000 tickets sold. (We never did figure out who was number 84). With 998 other enthusiastic Rush fans in attendance, we began to talk and share stories.

Dana and his wife, Hillary, and their daughter, were from Santa Rosa. Dana told us about the final show at the Forum where he sprang for the VIP seats and ended up next to Matt Stone, with Jack Black right behind them. Somewhere along the way he also apparently ran into Taylor Hawkins as he showed us a picture he had taken with him.

Because of the way the line snaked through the bookshelf aisles we were right next to the fans in the front of the line, which is how we met Glen from Santa Cruz. Glen can be seen in the final credits of the R40 movie. In his cameo he looks at the camera, salutes and says, “Thank you boys. Thank you very much.” Glen reenacted the performance for us. One of Glen’s friends gave us stickers that looked like VIP passes for the book signing event. The guys in front of us thought they were real! Also, Glen had already been to the book signing in Los Angeles so he filled us in on the process which helped to alleviate some of the nervousness.

The best part of the day so far was standing in line for nearly four hours, talking about Rush with people who wanted to talk about Rush, sharing stories, laughing and making new friends. Rush fans know that Rush fans are the best.

During the time we stood in line at Barnes and Noble, the store and employees proved to be awesome hosts. They not only put up with all of the aisles filled with people while they tried to wait on their “normal” customers, but they also frequently brought around samples of drinks and food from their in store cafe. Kudos to a great staff.

At 1:45pm, the line moved up to the signing table and we were on high alert anticipating Geddy’s arrival at the back of the store. At 2:07pm he sneaked in from the side. He walked right by where Sarah was standing, but he came from behind so she didn’t realize he was there until he was walking past her. Their shoulders nearly brushed. And then the nervousness set back in.

When we got close to the table we were issued our books and to our surprise and delight, as part of the first 100 in line, we were given the limited edition copy. When it was our turn we asked if we could go together and the really nice lady assisting smiled and said yes, but only one book at a time and she would help us.

Geddy at Barnes and Noble in Corte Madera

I handed my book to Geddy first. I had a sticky note on it with the name I wanted signed, “Geddy.” Not wanting him to think I was confused or dumb I said, “It’s for my son; his name is Geddy also.” I didn’t notice until later that he defied the strict “name only” policy and wrote To Geddy, “The Other One”. After he signed Sarah’s book we gave him one of our Neil Peart Inspired National Park Road Trip T-shirts. Geddy said our trips sound like a great idea, thanked us, and fist bumped us. As we walked away Sarah turned back and smiled at him and he smiled back at her.

What happened next was surreal. Our legs were shaking and we felt completely discombobulated. Glen came in to congratulate us. We said goodbye to him and the other fans we met. We wandered around in a daze until we realized we were wandering around in a daze and came to our senses enough to call a Lyft.

Back at the hotel we called our niece/cousin, Candace, to relive the whole thing again. This is something we have done a thousand times since with each other and anyone else who will listen. It’s an experience we will never forget.

We returned to Seattle fully expecting Geddy to follow us up the coast for a repeat visit in Seattle. He didn’t and that made us even happier we had made the trip to San Francisco.

On May 23 Geddy Lee visited Vancouver, British Columbia. Candace and her husband, who live in northern Washington, were able to make the mid-week trip. Being the first 100 in line at this event, they were given the option to have Geddy personalize their books with “anything” they wanted him to write. Since they didn’t feel they needed two copies of the 7.9 pound book, they had one made out to me! “To Diana, Geddy’s Mom.” A beautiful, thoughtful gift I am eternally grateful for! Candace is one of the biggest Rush fans we know and I attended several concerts with her over the years. She is also the only honorary member of our Official Neil Peart Inspired National Park Road Trips.

From Vancouver Geddy travelled straight across Canada and we were extremely disappointed to discover that none of the dates would work for us. We were thankful all over again we had made that trip to California.

Finally in October Geddy Lee announced a Seattle visit. Sarah’s husband Jarad was elevated to hero status as he was the first to see and alert us about the Instagram post. Sarah immediately jumped online and bought tickets securing us a spot in Group “A”. This time the tickets would admit two guests for one signed copy of the Big Beautiful Book of Bass Guitars. We bought two tickets and invited my daughter, Angie, and son, Geddy, who accepted right away.

We met at Third Place Books on November 1. Although a much shorter day than our February signing we were eager to share this experience as a family and with some of our local Rush fan friends. The first order of business was to decide who to get our books for. Since Sarah and Geddy and I already had books, the first one would obviously go to Angie. But who would be the most worthy Rush fan we knew, still without a book, to receive the other copy? We all easily agreed on the kid’s Uncle William, affectionately known as “Uncle Billy.” I had the pleasure of taking Billy to his first Rush concert on the Test For Echo tour in Sacramento California. I told him, joking, it was required that he learn the words to “Closer to the Heart” and he actually memorized the song. He has been a faithful fan ever since. He also happens to be a super cool guy and these days the frontman for his own band.

As part of Group A we were quickly assembled in line and before we knew it we were once again standing before the man himself, Geddy Lee. We were sent up two by two so Geddy and Sarah went first. Sarah re-introduced herself and said “this is my brother we told you about, his name is Geddy also.” Geddy Lee looked up at Geddy and said “Cool man, how’s it going?” I stood by taking pictures and was able to capture the smiles they exchanged in that moment. Geddy and Geddy met at last! I unfortunately missed the photo of the fist bump. Angie and I went next and I reintroduced myself then introduced her. He was as ever kind and friendly as he signed her book. We thanked him, fist bumped, and then in the ensuing excitement completely forgot to take any pictures of our friends behind us or say goodbye to them. Still discombobulated I guess.

“Two Geddys, one bookstore.” —Geddy Pratt

We are thankful we finally met Geddy Lee and are so glad he did the book tour. To know now that he was going through a really hard time but to still take the time to share this experience with his fans is a strong testament to his character. Thank you, Geddy.