Vapor Trails Remixed Now Available

Originally scheduled for release October 1st, Vapor Trails Remixed is now available today, September 30th.   Vapor Trails Remixed is available on CD, Vinyl, iTunes and as part of Rush: The Studio Albums 1989-2007 (which contains remastered versions of the rest of the Atlantic Rush catalog). 

Alex Lifeson was recently interviewed by Classic Rock Magazine, where he discussed Vapor Trails Remixed, and explained the problems with the original release.

"The original mastering was the problem. It was poorly done. At the time we should have remastered. It bothered us forever – particularly Geddy, who had the task of remastering of the original album and feels responsible for it. It irked him for many years. The original version is hard on your ears, because the mastering was pushed so hard, there’s distortion and so much compression – I found it very difficult to listen to it...There was so much invested in that record and it just didn’t sit with us that we had this blemish on our recording history. We wanted to rectify that. I’d like to remix every record we did – maybe update some parts. But that’s crazy, you know? You don’t do that – records are moments in time, markers of these different periods of progression and growth. But this one was a very important record – our return after a horrible nightmare. And it deserved better...To me [Vapor Trails Remixed] sounds so good. It’s blossomed. It’s a really great Rush record – some great playing and great ideas. And now that it all knits together in a much more complete way, it feels right.  It’s much more pleasurable to listen to. Now, everything’s open, you can hear everything, and everything has its place. It’s so well-balanced. There’s a sort of creaminess and a smoothness to the sound of it. It’s so much more dynamic. Before, everything was just balls to the wall. Now it breathes." - Alex Lifeson, ClassicRockMagazine.com,  September 18, 2013

Also released today is Rush: The Studio Albums 1989-2007.  This 7-disc boxed set features every studio album Rush recorded for Atlantic Records presented in a wallet sleeve that faithfully reproduces the original artwork (except for Vapor Trails Remixed, which features a reinterpreted version of the original cover). Those that passed on the Atlantic Remasters when they were released in 2004 may be interested in knowing that The Studio Albums 1989-2007 box contains new CD versions of the six Atlantic albums newly remastered by Masterdisk's Chief Mastering Engineer, Andy VanDette, released last May digitally only on iTunes and HDTracks.  This boxed set is Atlantic's complement to the Sectors boxed sets, which were also remastered by VanDette in 2011.

Related Links

• Vapor Trails Remaster/Remix News Archive
• Lifeson: Vapor Trails Is An Important Record - Our Return After A Horrible Nightmare - ClassicRockMagazine.com, September 18, 2013
• Masterdisk Chief Engineer Andy VanDette On Remastering Rush for iTunes

Rush Remix Their Polarizing Album 'Vapor Trails' - Premiere

Rollingstone.com has just posted a streaming link to hear Vapor Trails Remixed now!  The link also includes Geddy's comments about Vapor Trails from Monday's story:

"It's a terrible feeling that, due to lack of objectivity, you let an imperfect piece of work get out there. But the songs are very strong and people really responded to the record and people were welcoming us back. The sonic defects of it got lost in the excitement of the band's return to functionality. It's always been a bee in my bonnet."

Acoustic Tom Sawyer Heard On "Revolution"

In the opening scene of tonight's season premier of NBC's Revolution, a man performs an acoustic guitar rendition of Ozzy Osbourne's "Crazy Train", followed by Rush's "Tom Sawyer" in a bar.  Here is a video clip of the performance; the episode will eventually be online at NBC.com soon. - Thanks to Jeff Lucas for the heasdsup and John Patuto at Cygnus-X1.net for the video clip!

Rush Included in New Kiss Book "Nothin' To Lose"

Released September 10th, Nothin' to Lose: The Making of KISS (1972-1975) chronicles, for the first time, the crucial formative years of the legendary rock band KISS, culminating with the groundbreaking success of their classic 1975 album Alive! and the smash single "Rock and Roll All Nite," a song that nearly four decades later remains one of rock's most enduring anthems.

Drawing from over 200 interviews, among those included are new interviews with Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson, as well as Rush crew members Howard Ungerleider and Skip Gildersleeve, on touring with KISS in '74-'75.  Chapter 26, titled "Heavy Metal Masters", focuses on this touring period, and even includes quotes from KISS' roadcrew on how well they got along with Rush (you can read the pages here using the Read Instantly function).

Click here to purchase. - Thanks to RushFanForever for the headsup!

"Geddy Lee On Finally Taking a Break From the Road" - RollingStone.com

In a new interview with RollingStone.com, Geddy discusses the Clockwork Angels Tour dvd, their future plans, and Vapor Trails Remixed.

Again he confirms there will be no 2014 tour, saying "There's nothing wrong with celebrating 42 years." He also discusses the upcoming live video "...this tour, we didn't make any plans originally to record it, but then after we saw that our work was paying off and we were so proud of the show, we thought, 'Okay, we have to record this.' We had a second leg planned in the new year, and at the time we didn't know whether we would change songs or not. The feeling was, 'Life is too unpredictable. Let's not record it next year. Let's record it now because at least we know what the show is.' So we quickly found a venue that was appropriate, or really a couple of venues, and that's how we did it."

Geddy also talks about health issues over the last two tours including "Well, I've been lucky. I've never gotten a voice polyp. I've never gotten nodes. But I do get sick, usually every tour, and to varying degrees. Sometimes it's a sinusitis. In the previous tour, I had a really bad strep throat. And I had to do a gig that night in Hamilton, Ontario. I did it and I woke up the next day and my ear was so infected, the whole thing had gone into my ear. I had to fly to Montreal. This is kind of gross, but I had to go to a doctor and he had to puncture my ear. This was on the day of a show. I did the show, and I spent the next three days in absolute hell. I got through the show, but it was a nightmare. My worst memory ever on tour."

Rush Mentioned On The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson

Rush has been popping up recently in regards to Ron Howard's new movie Rush.  Besides this brief Huffington Post item yesterday, "Is This A Line From 'Rush' Or A Lyric From Rush?", during his monologue on the Late Late Show last night, Craig Ferguson also brought up the film.  Craig said he was disappointed that the new film Rush was not about the band, or as he puts it..."You know that Canadian Progressive Jazz Pop Rock Power Trio or whatever". He then went on to compliment them on how fast they move their fingers..."And then they pick up their Instruments".  You can watch the monologue here, the Rush mention begins after the 1:40 mark. - Thanks to Andrew Weiss for the headsup!

Neil Peart Update: “Drummer With a Singletrack Mind" - September 2013

Back in June, during that month's edition of "News Weather & Sports" ("Shunpikers in the Shadowlands"), Neil Peart wrote "“Drummer With a Singletrack Mind” will appear in this department shortly after its print debut."  That time has come, as tonight Neil has updated his website with the expanded edition of  "Drummer With a Singletrack Mind", adding:

"This story was written during our Clockwork Angels European tour in May, 2013, for a British motorcycling weekly. They asked for about 700 words and a photo or two, and I gave them 1,700 words, and eight photos. They said they would run it like that, but took a few liberties...So I decided to present it here in its original form, which would also fill a gap in the tour’s documentation, before the 'Shunpikers in the Shadowlands' story about Continental Europe."

Another great read from the Professor, you can check it out here!

Longtime Rush Roadie Skip Gildersleeve Passes Away at 57

Skip Gildersleeve (Slider) and
Tony Geranios (Jack Secret) in 2012

On Wednesday the Rush world learned of the tragic loss of long time roadie and bass tech Russell "Skip" Gildersleeve.  Skip joined the Rush roadcrew in 1975 for the Caress of Steel tour, after meeting the band at their appearance at Detoit's Michigan Palace on the Fly By Night tour.  Nicknamed "Slider" by the band, Skip was a member of the road crew for 22 years, through the Test For Echo tour.

Skip is forever immortalized on the All The World's A Stage and Different Stages: Hammersmith Odeon live recordings; it is Skip who you hear saying "Oh won't you please welcome home, RUSH!"  Our thoughts go with his friends and family.

“The news of Russell ‘Skip’ Gildersleeve's passing is shocking and very, very sad. He was one of our original crew members from the mid-70s and we all have many great memories of his friendship, his sense of humour and his association with us over all those years. Our hearts and thoughts go out to his family and close friends. He will be missed.” - Geddy, Alex and Neil, Rush.com, September 19, 2013

Robert Scovill, who served as Rush's sound engineer in the 90's and served on the road crew Skip, posted a touching eulogy for his friend which you can read here.

"Skip was also a very caring and giving guy and his way of showing it was often times seen through his sense of humor and his willingness to play practical jokes and “punk” his tour mates, friends and family. He was Ashton Kutcher way before it was fashionable to be such. I’ve bore witness to many samples of his work and they will remain hidden away with me as cherished possessions, available to be pulled out to make me giggle and smile upon reflection, until my time comes to exit this planet.  Skip had a devious but infectious laugh that was perfectly coupled with his diminutive stature, always framed with a witty cool tee shirt and transported around by feet that displayed the largest and most varied collection of Converse tennis shoes one could ever imagine...Skip Gildersleeve, my touring brother, the man with the huge name and the small frame passed away quietly on September 17th 2013."  Robert Scovill, splnetwork.com, September 19, 2013

"How Morse Code has made its mark in music" - Grand Junction Post Indepent

"YYZ", or should I say "- . - -   - . - -   - - . .", is mentioned in today's Post Independent story, "How Morse Code has made its mark in music". - Thanks to RushIsABand for the headsup!

ESPN's Monday Night Football Commercial Featuring Rush's "Tom Sawyer"

I've been hearing about it all week, and here it is!  ESPN's Monday Night Football commercial for this Monday's game where the Oakland Raiders face off against the Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos is now online.  The commercial features Rush's "Tom Sawyer".

Steve Hackett and Chris Squire (aka Squackett): "We could have been Rush!"

Last March, during the 2013 "Cruise To The Edge", the progressive rock concert cruise which featured both Yes and Steve Hackett's Genesis Revisited, Chris Squire and Steve Hackett (who together form "Squackett") sat down for a Q&A with fans.

Steve mentions that the last time he was on a cruise was in 1957 when his family emigrated by ship to Canada, before moving back to the UK only four months later.  Chris then replies that in 1948 his family also nearly moved to Canada, but that his mother, who was pregnant at the time, decided it was better not to travel and therefore travel plans were canceled.  He then smiles and says to Steve, "You do realize, we could have been RUSH!".

You can see the full Q&A here; the above conversation begins at the 22:30 mark. - Thanks to Brian S. for the headsup!

Alex Lifeson Talks to Classic Rock Magazine About "Vapor Trails Remixed"

Today Classic Rock magazine posted a new interview with Alex Lifeson where he discussed Vapor Trails Remixed, and gives his thoughts on problems with the original release and the results of the remix.

"The original mastering was the problem. It was poorly done. At the time we should have remastered. It bothered us forever – particularly Geddy, who had the task of remastering of the original album and feels responsible for it. It irked him for many years. The original version is hard on your ears, because the mastering was pushed so hard, there’s distortion and so much compression – I found it very difficult to listen to it...There was so much invested in that record and it just didn’t sit with us that we had this blemish on our recording history. We wanted to rectify that. I’d like to remix every record we did – maybe update some parts. But that’s crazy, you know? You don’t do that – records are moments in time, markers of these different periods of progression and growth. But this one was a very important record – our return after a horrible nightmare. And it deserved better...To me [Vapor Trails Remixed] sounds so good. It’s blossomed. It’s a really great Rush record – some great playing and great ideas. And now that it all knits together in a much more complete way, it feels right.  It’s much more pleasurable to listen to. Now, everything’s open, you can hear everything, and everything has its place. It’s so well-balanced. There’s a sort of creaminess and a smoothness to the sound of it. It’s so much more dynamic. Before, everything was just balls to the wall. Now it breathes." - Alex Lifeson, ClassicRockMagazine.com,  September 18, 2013

Previously announced for an October 1st release date, Vapor Trails Remixed will be released September 30th on CD, Vinyl, iTunes, and as part of Rush: The Studio Albums 1989-2007 (which contained remastered versions of the rest of the Atlantic Rush catalog).   For more on the back history of the original Vapor Trails mix, click here.

Neil Peart's first drum teacher Don George talks to Drum Talk TV

Yesterday Drum Talk TV posted an interview with Don George, who Neil Peart began taking lessons from in 1965.  From Drum Talk TV:

"While Don George is known as Neil Peart's first drum teacher - and proudly says, 'Neil didn't need another lesson for 30 years,' referring to Neil getting with the late Freddie Gruber later in life - Don has remained an exceptional one-on-one drum instructor for over 45 years and is also somewhat of a historian on Drumming Education.

"In his first Drum Talk TV interview, filmed with an in-studio audience by the way, Don discusses some of his collection of materials dating back to 1923, as well as demonstrates and talks about his magic formula for teaching drums to all ages - a must see for all players and instructors. Don also demonstrates how to develop limb independence and explains why it is so important to drumming. Oh - Dan of course asked Don about teaching a young Neil Peart and Don talks about their continuing relationship as well."

- Thanks to Greg Nosek for the headsup!

Rush On Last Night's Late Show with David Letterman "Top Ten"...sort of

Back in June 2011, when promoting Drum Solo week (click here for Neil's performance), the Late Show with David Letterman showed a clip of Representative Anthony Weiner playing Neil's Snakes & Arrows drum kit with his (pixelated space over the pertinent part).

Last night, one day aver losing the New York mayoral primary with less than 5% of the vote, the topic of the Late Show Top Ten was "Anthony Weiner Future Plans".  Coming in at number three was "Learn To Play The Drums", and Dave said "Uh oh, it's this again" as they replayed the clip of Weiner playing the drums.  The video is currently on CBS.com here.
- Thanks to BP for the headsup!

Apple Uses Rush To Demonstrate iOS 7

Today Apple gave their keynote address to introduce the new iPhone 5s and 5c, as well as the new features of iOS 7.  At about 14:30 into the address when Apple senior vice president of Software Engineering Craig Federighi was demonstrating to the audience how to make an iTunes radio station, they used Rush as their example! They mentioned that they were going to show (via creating a Rush radio station) how to get a pure dose of awesome. The CNET liveblogger also remarked that, "Never have I heard so much applause for Rush!"
- Thanks to RushIsABand for the heads up!

Cyril Neville covers Working Man on "Magic Honey"

Cyril Nevill of the Neville Brothers has covered Rush's "Working Man" on his new blues album, Magic Honey.  Hitting store shelves today, September 10th, a 30 second sample can be heard here; you can order the CD here, and it is also available on iTunes.

"Neville’s vocals have never lacked swagger, but here they have an arena-rock power that he’s seldom reached for in the past. So it makes sense that the track 'Working Man' isn’t the one Mike Bloomfield wrote and Otis Rush recorded (as the cover credits have it), but the one by those venerable bluesmen, Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson. And the sound of New Orleans funkateers doing a Rush song—and doing it damn well—is about as colorblind as music gets." - Offbeat.com

Alex Lifeson's "Sunflowers" painting - limited edition print now available

Alex Lifeson's "Sunflowers" painting is available now in a limited print run of 300, each numbered and signed individually by Alex, for the Kidney Foundation of Canada.  For details click here.

13 Bands That Have Been Together Since High School - Business Insider

On Monday Business Insider posted the feature "13 Bands That Have Been Together Since High School".  Rush is #7 on the list, with the description:

Rush consists of classmates from Canada.

Rush's Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee first started playing together in 1968, when they were high school classmates in Ontario, Canada.

Drummer Neil Peart joined the band six years later, finalizing the lineup.

- Thanks to David Wholihan for the headsup!

Alex Lifeson on BBC Radio 2's "Sounds Of The 70s"

On Saturday Alex Lifeson appeared on BBC Radio 2's Sounds of the 70s with Johnnie Walker. You can hear the the interview here; Alex comes in at the 1:24:00 mark. Alex reminisces about Rush's early career playing the Toronto bar scene back in the early 70s, and introduces The Who's Won't Get Fooled Again and Pink Floyd's Comfortably Numb. - Thanks to RushIsABand for the headsup!

The Spirit of Rush Fanzine Archive

John Patuto at Cygnus-X1.net has created a new archive which will feature EVERY issue of The Spirit of Rush fanzine, one of the only sources of Rush news before the internet came along.   The fanzine includes fan writings, as well as magazine transcripts, concert reviews, convention news, etc., and John has done a fantastic job insuring this fanzine gets the honor it deserves.  Check it out here.