Rush News

2112 Makes Gibson's "10 Greatest Concept Albums of All Time"

"Prog-rock and heavy metal were fused more brilliantly than ever on this conceptual effort, which proved to be Rush’s breakthrough album. Spanning one full album-side, the 20-minute title track presented a harrowing portrait of a world in which individual expression is crushed at every level. Alex Lifeson’s metal riffs gave the music a hard edge that distinguished it from the flighty tendencies of Rush’s British prog-rock counterparts. Today, many of the album’s themes seem prescient." - Gibson.com, December 30, 2010 - Thanks to B-man for the headsup!

Tom Sawyer Sampled In "The Peacemaker: L.A. Gang Wars"

On December 16 "The Peacemaker: L.A. Gang Wars" premiered on the A&E network. A five-part series chronicling times of tense street gang mediation in South Central, Los Angeles, the series is executive produced by rapper/actor Ice-T, who also recorded the series' theme song which includes a sample of Rush's "Tom Sawyer". For more info click here and here. - Thanks to B-man for the headsup!

Neil Peart Master Class: Free Lesson Online

DrumChannel.com has made available a free video drum lesson from the Neil Peart Master Class; this is the 9th of 10 total classes with Neil,which range from Beginner to Advanced over 10 lessons. - Thanks to Frank Ray for the headsup!
"Watch Neil as he performs his warm-up routine in Lesson 9 from his Drum Channel Master Class, Frontiers of Composition and Articulation." - DrumChannel.com

Documentary about Niagara's Music Scene "The Big Story of Small Potatoes" Now On Youtube/Free Download

Last year you might recall a documentary about Niagara's music scene was released titled The Big Story of Small Potatoes which "explores the roots of the lost music scene of Niagara, circa 1964-1974." The documentary includes Neil Peart along with one of his early bands JR Flood performing the song "Giant Killer".

The director, Paul Miil, has graciously posted the full documentary on Youtube and as a free download for your Blackberry or Smartphone. - Thanks to Paul Miil, Andrew Olson and RushFanForever for the headsup!

Alex Lifeson on His and Geddy Lee's Wine 'Internships'

Alex Lifeson is one of the many celebrity wine lovers to be profiled in Mark Oldman’s book, Oldman's Brave New World Of Wine, released back on September 9th.

Oldman has posted another short video feature to his website:
"In an exclusive interview inside his home wine cellar, RUSH's legendary axeman Alex Lifeson tells Mark Oldman about the week-long winemaker internships he and bandmate Geddy Lee did at Joseph Phelps Winery and at Turley Wine Cellars. He fondly recalls how during crush he and Geddy were so covered in grape juice that they were mistaken for Napa locals at a nearby eatery" - MarkOldman.com, December 17, 2010 - Thanks to Laura Romain for the headsup!
This is Oldman's second video feature with Alex Lifeson; previously Oldman shared the following:
"Mark takes off to the Great White North to visit with Rush’s Alex Lifeson, the legendary rock guitarist and one of the wine-passionate 'Bravehearts' featured in Oldman’s Brave New World of Wine. We learn how Alex’s wife accidentally swipes one of his cherished bottles and how the musician devises a solution to prevent future incursions — an ingenious idea Mark dubs a 'Lifeson Ledge'. This is cautionary tale for all drinkers interested in discouraging the unauthorized removal of their favorite vino. Click here to watch the video." - Mark Oldman, November 3, 2010
Alex is one of the many wine lovers featured in the Mark's book, Oldman's Brave New World Of Wine, where he discusses his favorite wines, wine-based experiences, and a few tricks he’s picked up over the years:
"Bandmate Geddy Lee and I went to California’s Turley Wine Cellars in late September of 1998 to spend a few days working the harvest. We pulled all of the leaves and spiders and all that stuff out of the bins, and so we were covered head-to-toe in grape juice. Later, Ged and I stopped at this restaurant for lunch. Our shirts and fingers were all purple—we were so proud! People were like, 'Yeah, you guys are locals, aren’t you? We’ll get you some service right away, sir.'" - Alex Lifeson
Alex's comments join those from dozens of other notable wine lovers, including actors Hilary Swank and Matthew McConaughey, novelist Jay McInerney, designer Zac Posen, and even Bill Nye, the “Science Guy.” Oldman's Brave New World Of Wine was released September 6th. For more information, view the book’s official trailer (www.markoldman.com/videos/brave_trailer) or visit MarkOldman.com.

Selina Martin Covers "The Spirit Of Radio"

As previously announced, Selina Martin's Disaster Fantasies was released June 29th, including a "thoughtful cover" of "The Spirit Of Radio (click here for a sample).
"Toronto singer-songwriter Selina Martin, whose upcoming album Disaster Fantasies will include a thoughtful cover of the 1980 Rush hit Spirit of Radio talks about the gender disparity among the band’s fans." - Globe & Mail, June 5, 2010
Martin teamed up with the BidiniBand (fronted by Rush fan and ex-Rheostatic Dave Bidini) to perform the song two weeks ago at a Juno anniversary show at Toronto’s Horseshoe Tavern to celebrate Juno-winning music from the 1970s (click here to view the performance). When discussing the song, Martin said:
"I was never a huge Rush fan, but when I was a preteen growing up in Kanata [a suburb of Ottawa], I remember having some kind of epiphany while they were playing that song at the roller disco, with the lights flashing and the music really loud. And later, I’d be in these campfire sing-along situations, and someone would say, 'Selina, why don’t you sing something?' I just hated that, and it was always uncomfortable, so the way to kill the campfire sing-along was to do 'The Spirit of Radio', because nobody could play along!" - Selina Martin, The Globe And Mail, November 30, 2010 -Thanks to RushFanForever for the headsup!

Alex Lifeson To Join Andy Kim's Xmas Concert Tonight

Just a quick reminder, tonight Alex Lifeson will be one of the featured artists to perform at Andy Kim's Christmas Show at the Mod Club in Toronto:
"Once again, legendary singer-songwriter Andy Kim has rounded up an impressive line-up of talent to join him at his annual charity concert in Toronto. This year’s Andy Kim Christmas Show, at the Mod Club Dec. 15, will also feature Rush’s Alex Lifeson, Ron Sexsmith and Platinum Blonde. More guests are still to be announced. The evening is being presented by Sentry Investments, Long & McQuade and CP24. Tickets are on sale now for $25 at all Ticketmaster outlets, Rotate This, Soundscapes or call 416-870-8000 to charge by phone. Doors open at 7 p.m. The Mod Club is located at 722 College St." - SamaritanMag.com, November 23, 2010 - Thanks to SquintyT4E for the headsup!

Neil Peart App Free Download From Promark

"The Neil Peart application and mobile website has been available to anyone who purchases a pair of his limited edition Time Machine Tour PW747W, but we’re in the Christmas spirit, and want EVERYONE to join in on the fun!...Use your smart phone to scan this QR code and get access to the app! The Neil Peart App Home Page is your portal to everything Neil on the Time Machine Tour!" Click here for more details from Promark.com - December 13, 2011 - Thanks to AndyO and RushIsABand for the headsup!

Alex Lifeson Signs Carparelli Guitars For Charity

Back in 2009, Toronto's Carparelli guitars donated a guitar signed by Alex Lifeson to raise funds for an auction supporting Autism Speaks Canada at the Richmond Hill Gold Club on September 16, 2009.

Last month, Alex signed a Carparelli S3 guitar which was donated to Autism Speaks Canada for a future auction. In addition, Alex has signed the Jim Warren Freedom Guitar for Carparelli; the guitar has been signed by various artists including the Beach Boys and Kris Kristofferson and will receive additional artist's signatures before being auctioned off for charity in February of next year. Details for both auctions are still unannounced, stay tuned for more info.

Geddy Lee Featured On December's "Classic Rock" Magazine

Geddy Lee is on the cover of the December issue of Britain's Classic Rock magazine. The bulk of the feature includes Geddy's memories of the making of Moving Pictures, but he also briefly discusses the current Time Machine tour and playing Moving Pictures live in its entirety. For this long time fan of "The Camera Eye", I was pleased to see Geddy discuss the track at length:
"'The Camera Eye' was the last really epic song we wrote. It's 11 minutes long. At the time, we really didn't appreciate it. Back then we though it was too long and repetitive. We didn't understand the mood it generated...it was a song we never thought worked. But the way we revamped it made this come alive. One thing the tour did for us was to make us aware of how good 'The Camera Eye' always was. I'm so glad we've become friends with it again."
The full interview is available here. - Thanks to Reed Lover and RushFanForever for the headsup!

"10 Things You Gotta Do To Play Like Alex Lifeson" - Guitar Player January 2011

Alex Lifeson is featured in the January issue of Guitar Player magazine. The ten page feature story is titled "10 Things You Gotta Do To Play Like Alex Lifeson". - Thanks to Frank Panacci for the headsup!

Second life: Newsmaker Combacks

Canada's Maclean's magazine today posted the feature story "Second life: Newsmaker Combacks" which includes:
"RUSH: The rock group has been performing since 1968, but the 2010 documentary Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage (in which Gene Simmons calls them 'crazy Canadians' for their clean-living style) introduced them to a broader audience. The film was a success on the festival circuit, inspiring the band’s Time Machine Tour, where they mostly played hits from their long career." - Macleans.ca, December 9, 2010 - Thanks to John @ Cygnus-x1.net for the headsup!

Rush On Glee

In a new interview with Vanity Fair, Glee music supervisor PJ Bloom dreams of who he would like to feature in a future episode of the hit musical television show:
"I’d also love to see the ’80s hair-band episode, the punk-rock episode and, of course, the Rush episode—but then who wouldn’t want to see the New Directions sing 'Tom Sawyer'?!" - PJ Bloom, VanityFair.com, December 7, 2010 - Thanks to John at Cygnus-X1.net for the headsup!

Toronto Newscaster Mark Dailey Succumbs to Kidney Cancer

Toronto Newscaster Mark Dailey passed away Monday after a battle with kidney cancer. He was 57. Long believed by some Rush fans to be the 'spoken voice' in "Subdivisions", Dailey himself stated in 2009 that this is an "urban myth":
"That's been an urban myth for years. It's not my voice on 'Subdivisions' by Rush but I continue to get credit. I've tried to dispel it but won't go away." - Mark Dailey, Citytv.com, March 23, 2009
The voice was later confirmed to be that of Neil Peart, when he discussed Jacob Moon's cover of "Subdivisions" at Rush's induction into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame earlier this year:
"We all shared Jacob Moon's performance of Subdivisions quite a long time ago and sent it to each other, 'Hey have you seen this?' because it's such a beautiful cover. The imaginative way that he uses the little cassette player to get my voice in there. It's superb." - Neil Peart, Jam!Showbiz, March 26, 2010
For more on Mark Dailey, click here.