Don Felder Talks About Woodstock, Songwriting, Rush and New Solo Album – American Rock ‘N’ Roll

In a new interview with musiclifemagazine.net, Don Felder talks about Alex Lifeson's guest appearance on his new solo album, American Rock 'N' Roll, and how it came about through his friendship with Neil Peart:

“I actually met [Rush drummer] Neil Peart before I met Alex. Neil’s little girl and my little boy actually went to the same preschool together, so we became friends and went to dinner and he would come to birthday parties at my house and school events and just hang out. About two and a half years ago he came to a birthday party and I asked him to get up and play. I had my road band with me and Stephen Stills also came and did a set with me; it was just a fun jam at my house. But Neil said, ‘I’ve quit playing.’ I said, ‘what?’ He said, ‘I quit playing. It’s just too hard physically for me to do what I have to do to maintain the level of my performance at my age. I can’t do that, and I can’t go onstage and play at less than what I think is the best I can do.’ I had the ultimate amount of respect for that, but it just broke my heart to hear him telling me that he was done playing music,” said Felder.

“About a year or so later I was playing in this golf event for St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital and Alex was there and we ended up playing together. Afterwards, he jammed with me on some stuff and we played a soundcheck together and I think we played Pride and Joy as a matter of fact, where we traded off guitars. Backstage I took this goofy picture of the two of us playing my white double-neck with each of us playing one of the necks. He’s such a nice guy and I realized as I was making this record that since Alex is not working regularly – he is probably just playing a lot of golf – he probably would be very interested in jumping on this record if I reached out to him.

“And indeed, he was very excited. He was up in Canada and I sent him some stuff for him to play to and he got back to me asking what I wanted him to do. He went in and in a very tasteful way played acoustic guitar on the bridge of Charmed and did some great guitar solos on the end and sent it back and we did a little digital editing where I overdubbed on top of it so it sounds like we’re actually trading off lines at the very end of it. The very last line that he played was very cool, so I figured out the harmony for it and played harmony on top. It was a fun couple of days for him and a fun couple of days for me. I wish we could have been in the same room. And I loved the way he plays, I love his work, he is just a super sweet guy. I haven’t met a Canadian that I don’t like, basically.”

- Thanks to Rushfanforever for the headsup!

Godsmack’s Sully Erna discusses Neil Peart's retirement

Godsmack’s Sully Erna discusses Neil Peart's retirement in a new interview.   According to Loudwire.com:

Speaking with Mulatschag TV, Sully Erna revealed that Peart spoke on behalf of the band for their forthcoming documentary. "[He] did a review on me and Shannon's drum battle. And it might have been the last time he went on camera, because he'd been retired. He literally is done — he shut off that part of his life now. He feels he's done everything he can do. Literally, he told Shannon that right to his face. Shannon's, like, 'Aren't you gonna play a little?' And he's, like, 'Nah, I think I'm done.' Shannon's, like, 'Yeah, but you're not even gonna have a drum set in your basement?' He goes, 'Son, I think I've done everything I can do on the drums.' Shannon was, like, 'Yes, you have, sir.' [Laughs] And so he was done, man."

Continuing the discussion, Erna added, "We got to meet him a few times, and I'm very good friends with his personal assistant. He agreed to do an interview, and we have that on video, luckily. And we're very, very proud of that. That's an extremely important thing for me and Shannon, especially after all the work we've put into that drum battle, to hear the actual icon of drumming praise us for the work that we did is a real honor… [He's] one of my biggest inspirations in the world. He changed my life, for sure.

Alex Lifeson Remembers What Happened When Rush Opened for Rory Gallagher & Gift He Got From Him

During a recent interview, transcribed by Ultimate-Guitar.com, Alex Lifeson sang praises of Rory Gallagher, remembering how Rush opened for the late guitarist in 1974, adding:

"I think it was during the Taste period [Rory was in the band between 1966 and 1970], I was really impressed with Rory's playing as a guitarist."

"He was in a lot of ways a great rock guitarist. He had so much energy in his playing, and he wasn't the typical blues player. He had a style of his own, and it was a reflection of his soul, truly.

"His vocals and his guitar playing together made for this really really special thing, that very few people had."

"We were doing a lot of sporadic dates; we had some club dates mixed in that we were headlining small, like, bars, but we did some dates with some other bands that we really looked up to. Nazareth was one and then playing with Rory was a real treat.

"It was in the fall of 1974, we did a cross-Canada tour with some dates in the States and the northwest coast and into Los Angeles.

"We're 20 years old, this is our first tour, it's so exciting, we didn't know our place so we tried to stay in the background and be polite as possible, and not be a bunch of dicks basically.

"Right from the get-go, the whole band, Rory especially, they were so hospitable and accommodating and they let us do an encore, and a lot of bands didn't do that with their opening acts in that time.

"They were very approachable, so we got to spend some time, I would watch Rory every night, we were one of the opening acts on a three-act show, so we were only on usually for about 20 minutes or half an hour or something.

"I would watch his set and go back to the dressing room and just play, just because I was so inspired by watching him play. Honest to god, his soul was just amazing, and to see him close his eyes and just get lost in his playing was truly, truly remarkable."

"In 1982, Rory opened for us. There was an offer for Rory to open for a tour, and we were, like, absolutely over it. We ended up doing about three months together in that period in '82 and that's when I really got to know him.

"We spent a lot of time together, he would come by and we would sit and talk for hours and maybe drink a little bit too much and whatever else, but this was our pattern.

"And then we played and there was so much respect for them. And we returned the favor, we made sure they got everything that they ever needed on any show, complete freedom to do whatever they wanted.

"We were so honored to have them out with us, and he and I talked about all kinds of things - politics, family and him being from Ireland, my ancestors coming from former Yugoslavia and the same sort of issues there.

"We spent hours and hours talking about that sort of stuff. He bought me a copy of [Irish writer] Flann O'Brien's 'The Third Policeman,' and I was really touched that he would think to do that. He said, 'You got to read it, he's a great satirist and his books are great, it gives you an eye for that Irish humor.'

"I read the book and I got back to him, days later I guess, said I really enjoyed it. We had a bit of a break, he went back to Ireland and then came back to North America, he bought me the whole series and gave me a whole series of books. He said, 'If you like that one so much, read these.'

"That was the kind of guy he was, it wasn't just about the music in the band and his guitar and all of that stuff. It was his personality and his soul, he was so thoughtful and considerate to other people, so polite. Honestly, he was such a wonderful person, never mind his talents and skills."

Kevin Bacon sings Tom Sawyer on 'City on a Hill'

The series premiere of Showtime's City On A Hill includes a scene where Jackie Rohr, played by Kevin Bacon, sings along to Tom Sawyer on his car radio.  The episode premiered June 7th, and you can view the clip below. - Thanks to Greg Paup for the headsup and video share!

First Annual "Cinema Strangiato" Coming August 21st

Today Rush has announced on August 21, Anthem/Trafalgar will bring the first annual “Cinema Strangiato” to the big screen in movie theaters worldwide for one night only. This theatrical film experience will bring Rush fans together for a special look into R40 Live, see new backstage footage, special guests, and performances that you won’t want to miss.

CINEMA STRANGIATO - August 21 2019
Tickets go on sale Thursday, June 20.
Head to https://www.cinemastrangiato.com/
to sign up for more event information!

"Time Machine 2011: Live in Cleveland" Vinyl Edition Now Available

Time Machine 2011: Live in Cleveland is coming to vinyl for the first time in its entirety on June 7, 2019. (Previously only the Moving Pictures segment of the show was pressed to vinyl as Moving Pictures: Live 2011. Order here. 

Canadian Music Publisher ole Rebrands as Anthem Entertainment

ole, the Canadian music publishing company, is being rebranded as Anthem Entertainment....In choosing a new name, Murphy went with an acquired brand Anthem that it purchased in 2015, the record label that included Rush on its roster.

"As the company turns 15 this year, it is important to celebrate its success in building a successful global content creation and entertainment services platform from scratch," Murphy said in a statement. "It is also important to stop and reassess our mission and our values. Looking forward, it is equally important for us to revisit our name. I want the name of our company to more easily identify who we are and what we do. We have grown from a small music publishing company to a large independent producer of content and entertainment services platform. We have created deep roots in music, film, and television."

Click here for more. - Billboard.com, June 5, 2019