Lorne Wheaton
Lorne first knew of Rush when they played his high school (the George Vanier) in the early seventies, and it wasn’t long before he’d headed down the same track. The overriding desire to work in the biz was tempered by pragmatism, which drew him away from the stage and into the technician role. “I quickly realised it paid better!” he laughs. Not much better however – taking a variety of roles, “drum tech, guitar tech, stage manager, drove truck,” it would be a few years before he really made any money. By the mid-seventies he established himself as drum tech for Max Webster and Godot, and it was through the Max connection in 1978 that Lorne hooked up with the trio once again, when the Websters were supporting Rush, through until they split in 1979. By then he had established a reputation on the circuit. “I manage to get along with most people,” he says, and he never really looked back from this point. In the early eighties, Lorne went to work with Steve Smith in Journey, not to mention Robert Palmer and Bryan Adams. He also worked (together with Skip Gildersleeve) for Steely Dan.
When Rush decided to go back into the studio again for what was to become ‘Vapor Trails’, the band needed a tech and Lorne happened to be in the right place at the right time. At Neil’s suggestion, Liam Birt called Lorne and asked him in to look after the guitars, basses and drums required for recording the album. “I looked after the guitars, basses and drums,” recalls Lorne. This was no small job – “Alex has 35 guitars, he likes to get them restrung quite often…” After this experience, Lorne was the logical choice as Neil’s drum tech for the ‘Vapor Trails’ tour, a role he has continued to the present day.