Editing Geddy Lee (section)

===Early years===
[[File:Geddy Lee Milan 2004.jpg|thumb|Lee performing in 2004]]Lee began playing music in school when he was 10 or 11 and received his first acoustic guitar at 14. In school, he first played drums, trumpet and clarinet. However, learning to play instruments in school was not satisfying to Lee, and he took basic piano lessons independently. His interest increased dramatically after listening to some of the popular rock groups at the time. Early influences included [[Jack Bruce]] of [[Cream (band)|Cream]], [[John Entwistle]] of [[The Who]], [[Jeff Beck]], and [[Procol Harum]].<ref name= Prato>Prato, Greg. [http://www.allmusic.com/artist/geddy-lee-mn0000153933/biography "Biography of Geddy Lee"], ''All Music''</ref> "I was mainly interested in early British [[progressive rock]]", said Lee. "That's how I learned to play bass, emulating Jack Bruce and people like that."<ref name=Mulhern /> Bruce's style of music was also noticed by Lee, who liked that "his sound was distinctive – it wasn't boring."<ref name=Mulhern /> Lee has also been influenced by [[Paul McCartney]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BgrGhzD7qI| archive-url= https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211117/5BgrGhzD7qI| archive-date=2021-11-17 | url-status=live|title=Geddy Lee On Paul McCartney's Influence On His Bass Playing|last=1bloocher|date=October 2, 2012|publisher=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref> [[Chris Squire]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_Qnv0NH4-s| archive-url= https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/X_Qnv0NH4-s| archive-date=2021-12-11 | url-status=live|title=Geddy Lee on Chris Squire's influence upon his own bass playing|date=December 12, 2016|publisher=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref> and [[James Jamerson]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.musicradar.com/news/rushs-geddy-lee-these-are-the-10-bassists-that-blew-my-mind|title=Rush's Geddy Lee: these are the 10 bassists who blew my mind|last=Sharma|first=Amit|date=October 12, 2018| website= musicradar.com |access-date=July 20, 2019}}</ref>

In 1969, Rush began playing professionally in coffeehouses, high school dances and at various outdoor recreational events. By 1971, they were now playing primarily original songs in small clubs and bars, including Toronto's Gasworks and Abbey Road Pub.<ref name=Bowman>{{cite book| last= Bowman| first= Durrell| title= Experiencing Rush: A Listener's Companion| publisher= Rowman & Littlefield |year= 2015| pages= 3–7 | isbn= }}</ref> Lee describes the group during these early years as being "weekend warriors". They were holding down jobs during the weekdays and playing music on weekends: "We longed to break out of the boring surrounding of the suburbs and the endless similarities . . . the shopping plazas and all that stuff...the music was a vehicle for us to speak out."<ref name=Bowman /> He claims that in the beginning, they were simply "a straightforward rock band."<ref name=Bowman />

Short of money, they began opening concerts at venues such as Toronto's [[Standard Theatre (Toronto)|Victory Burlesque Theatre]] for the [[glam rock]] band [[New York Dolls]].<ref name=Bowman /> By 1972, Rush began performing full-length concerts, mainly consisting of original songs, in cities including Toronto and [[Detroit]]. As they gained more recognition, they began performing as an opening act for groups such as [[Aerosmith]], [[Kiss (band)|Kiss]], and [[Blue Öyster Cult]].<ref name=Armbruster>{{cite magazine| last= Armbruster| first= Greg| title= Geddy Lee of Rush| magazine= [[Keyboard (magazine)|Keyboard]]| date= September 1984| publisher= |url= | access-date= }}</ref>