Robert Scovill
While he started out as a musician, it wasn’t long for the young Robert to realise he could have more fun in front of the stage. “At a Supertramp concert at the ripe age of 13, I kind of had an epiphany,” he says. “The show’s audio production was simply sensational, I distinctly remember thinking, wait, there is something more happening here than just the band playing their instruments on stage.” As his musical tastes developed, one of the bands Robert discovered was Rush. “I was a pretty passionate fan during my teen years. I never in my wildest dreams could have imagined I would one day end up working with them.”
Robert did indeed go into pro audio, working his way up that ladder until he was working with bands such as Def Leppard. At one gig, at CNE stadium in Toronto, the band’s manager (and Cliff Burnstein’s partner) Peter Mensch made a comment to Robert in passing. “Hey Bob, Ged is coming down to hear you mix tonight because they may be looking for a mixer for their upcoming tour.” No pressure – as it happened, it was one of those gigs… the baseball game played in the stadium during the day went into extra time. “The game ended about 30 minutes before the doors were scheduled to open,” remembers Robert. “Needless to say there was a mad scramble to get everything just thrown into place. The show was started on time, we were totally flying by the seat of our pants.” Against all odds, the show came together and Geddy liked what he heard.
Robert joined the Rush crew as sound engineer on the ‘Presto’ tour, replacing John Erickson. “It was so surreal for me,” he says. “My first day at rehearsal was really special in that I was embraced as if I had been around for 20 years with them. The first night’s performance was really grand as well. I still pinch myself every now and then when I think back at that night.” Robert continued to work with Rush on the ‘Roll The Bones’, ‘Counterparts’ and ‘Test For Echo’ tours, selecting from the latter the shortlist of shows for what would become the ‘Different Stages’ album. In the Rush hiatus, he found himself working more and more for other bands, including Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers. He was offered the opportunity to re-join Rush on the ‘Vapor Trails’ tour, but conflicts of schedule forced him to hand over the reins to Brad Madix. “I was heartbroken,” he says. Who wouldn’t be.