R30 Commemorative Drum Kit

DW Drums has produced thirty limited edition replicas of the drumkit Neil Peart used during the R30 tour. A new article sheds more light on the subject:

"Following last year's nationwide tour of Neil Peart's actual drum kit, accompanied by long-time drum technician Lorne Wheaton, musical instrument retailer Guitar Center has teamed up with Drum Workshop (DW) and SABIAN cymbals to recreate the legendary drummer's "R30" drum kit in honor of 30 years of the enduring legacy of RUSH. The DW Neil Peart Commemorative R30 Drum Kit delivers unmatched sound and is replicated right down to the minutest detail. Each drum is made from hand-selected maple wood with an inner ply of curly maple, while the finish is an extreme custom lacquer process that involves hologram appliques of icons (inspired by Keith Moon's "Pictures of Lily" kit) representing many of RUSH's most famous recordings and tours. Each Black Mirra Flake panel is lined with red pin striping and the entire kit including hardware and pedals are custom plated in rich 24-carat gold. The R30 kit also includes a full complement of Neil's SABIAN Paragon cymbals, which he worked closely with SABIAN to develop. The kit comes complete with 30 pairs of Pro-Mark Neil Peart Commemorative Drum Sticks, an exclusive DVD titled The Making of the R30 Drumkit, as well as a Certificate of Authenticity personally signed by Neil Peart. Guitar Center is making this once-in-a-lifetime, limited production (only 30 are being produced) DW Neil Peart Commemorative R30 Drum Kit available on October 30th at $30,000.00. For more information, visit their web site at GuitarCenter.com ." - Guitar Center Teams Up With DW, Sabian, And Pro-Mark For The DW Neil Peart Commemorative R30 Drum Kit, Harmony Central, Oct. 19, 2006

Primus "Best Of" and Mockumentary

The group Primus are well known fans of Rush, having included the YYZ intro in two of their tracks, "John The Fisherman" and "To Defy The Laws Of Tradition"; released on separate albums in 1990, they are both included on their new best of collection, They Can't All Be Zingers, released yesterday, Oct. 17.

Also released yesterday is a their third DVD, Blame It On The Fish. The DVD includes a 30 minute mockumentary of the band set in 2065, where a 102 year-old Les Claypool reminisces about the band, and mentions Rush and/or Geddy Lee on three separate occasions. For more on Primus and Rush, click here.

Alex Lifeson in "Trailer Park Boys: The Big Dirty"

"Trailer Park Boys: The Big Dirty" premiered in Canada on Friday, October 6th, and includes a cameo by Alex Lifeson in the role of a policeman. Rush references abound in the film, as the basic plot premise is the scheme to rob a change machine named the "Quiznoid 2112", from inside the local theater whose marquee reportedly lists the films now showing as "Bastille Day", "The Temples of Syrinx", "Red Barchetta", "La Villa Strangiato", "The Trees" and "Cygnus X-1".

The Trailer Park Boys: The Big Dirty film soundtrack includes "The Spirit of Radio", as well as Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson with others covering "I Fought The Law" as 'The Big Dirty Band', and Lifeson on "Liqour & Whores" along with 'Bubbles and the Shit Rockers'. Both songs as well as the video for "I Fought The Law" directed by long time Rush photographer Andrew MacNaughton, along with the film's trailers featuring Rush's "The Spirit of Radio", are available online at myspace.com/bigdirtyband. For more information regarding the soundtrack and The Big Dirty Band, click here.

Alex Lifeson on Edwin's "Better Days" and Jakalope's "Born 4"

Alex Lifeson makes guest appearances on two albums released today (three counting the Trailer Park Boys soundtrack); he lends his guitar on the track "Star 24 (No Apologies) on Canadian band Jakalope's second album Born 4, as is found on "several" tracks on Edwin's third solo album Better Days. Visit Edwin's homepage to hear "Never Over" with Lifeson on guitar. - October 3rd, 2006

"Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson is on several tracks, including "Never Over" which should be a single...Edwin and Lifeson go back 10 years. The Rush guitarist invited Edwin to sing on his 1996 solo project, Victor, and that same year played on "Like A Girl" from I Mother Earth's second album, Scenery And Fish. 'He's only done me favors. I don't think I've done him any,' Edwin laughs. 'He was kind enough to let us work at his studio for a week and let us use everything we wanted - his guitars, his amps, whatever we wanted. He was great about it and he also did us the favor of coming in and doing some cameo guitar playing on a few songs. We ran the songs and he played what he felt, so we used his guitar stylings throughout the record.'" - Jam! Showbiz, May 10, 2006

"With Dave Rave Ogilvie (Skinny Puppy, Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson, David Bowie) once again at the helm of the project, Jakalope returned to the scene of the crime, recording Born4 at Vancouvers famed Warehouse Studio. NIN god Trent Reznor signed on as co-producer without question. Ogilvie and Phil Caivano (Blitzspeer, Monster Magnet) locked themselves away to create the music, coming together with Katie B for the lyrics and melodies...'Star 24 (No Apologies)' features Alex Lifeson of Rush." - Jakalope, June 2006