Modern Drummer Legends Vol. 1 – Neil Peart

Coming September 15th, Modern Drummer magazine is publishing an anthology of all 9 of Neil Peart's Modern Drummer cover interviews.  The special issue also includes the complete contents of his May 2020 Modern Drummer tribute issue, an analysis of Peart’s performances on every Rush studio album, a survey of the evolution of his famous live drumkits, an in-depth look at his seven self-penned books, remembrances and impressions from dozens of leading drummers, transcriptions of deep Rush cuts, Neil discussing the Snakes & Arrows track “Malignant Narcissism”, and “A Life Changed Forever”: a super-fan’s heartfelt story.  Order here.

"Rush Backstage Club Newsletters 1980 - 1994" Now Available

Rush Backstage Club first announced the "Rush Backstage Club Newsletters 1980 - 1994" was to be released May 29th to coincide with the Permanent Waves 40th Anniversary reissue.   The book has been delayed, and now has a ship date of June 19th.

Before the days of digital, Rush fans had to work hard to stay updated on current news for their favorite band. In 1980, The Rush Backstage Club was created to deliver, via regular mail service, band news, tour dates, fan Q&A's, merchandise catalogs, and a young Neil Peart's reflections. Over the years, there were over thirty newsletters released, some were full of timelines from Neil, some contained tentative upcoming tour dates, and some were merely merchandise catalogs. We have reprinted and bound the most meaningful of these newsletters in a 9" X 12", 72-page folio.

This folio is printed in Canada on heavy art paper, with open-stitch binding on the spine. Along with actual newsletters, there are a couple of other visual features, as well as a couple hand-typed notes from Neil to their management company SRO. There is an Introduction written by Ray Wawrzyniak, and Foreword written by Patrick McLoughlin.

All North American orders will receive FREE shipping on this item! Order now 👉 https://bit.ly/2JJnMxw

Alex Lifeson's "Victor" 25th Anniversary Expanded Edition Coming?

In a new interview with Ultimate-Guitar.com, when asked if he has heard from Alex Lifeson, drummer Marco Minnemann let slip "We've been in touch just recently actually, just a few days ago literally, because he's re-releasing an album called Victor he did 20 years ago; that's going to be re-released as a 20th-anniversary edition, and one of the songs we did is on it as a bonus track."

As Victor was released in January 1996, we can assume that it is actually a 25th Anniversary Edition, that he is speaking of, although no official announcement has been made.

Hugh Syme on the Undercovers Podcast

Better late than never, somehow I missed this when it was first announced.   Rush's long time creative director Hugh Syme is featured on episode 17 the Undercovers podcast, which premiered May 18, 2019.  Hugh speaks at length about Rush first, before moving on to other bands he has worked with in his career.   Available below, as well as on on your favorite podcast player as listed here.

"Hugh Syme is one of the most acclaimed album designers in history - his 40+ years with Rush as well as his work with Dream Theater, Megadeth and so many more."

Artists and albums discussed: Rush (11:37), Hemispheres (18:25), Permanent Waves, Moving Pictures, Signals (22:03), Test For Echo (31:15), Bon Jovi – New Jersey (35:30), Warrant – Cherry Pie (39:35), Whitesnake (44:03), Aerosmith – Get A Grip (47:25), Def Leppard – Retroactive (53:30), Megadeth - Youthenasia (55:05), Megadeth – Countdown to Extinction (58:00), Dream Theater – Distance Over Time (1:00:53), Dream Theater - Octovarian (1:04:05), Iron Maiden – X-Factor (107:11), KISS – Revenge (1:10:37), Alice Cooper – A Fistful of Alice (1:11:35) Billy Thorpe (1:15:35).

"Growth Rings: A Short film narrated by Neil Peart"

Edge Factor just published a new video which Neil Peart co-wrote with Jeremy Bout (Edge Factor) and did his own voice over.  The short film "Growth Rings", created in collaboration with DW Drums, is available below.

"Growth Rings" Co-written by Jeremy Bout and recorded by Neil Peart of RUSH, one of the greatest drummers of all time, this short film honors the way in which music marks moments in our lives. Just as the life of a tree can be understood through it's growth rings, we can look at the milestones and eras of our lives and reminiscence of the songs and bands that resonated with us during those times.

-Thanks to Rosmakloma for the headsup!