Rush News

"Why Rush’s Record Label Changed the ‘Caress of Steel’ Cover Art" - Ultimate Classic Rock

Today UCR.com have posted a new interview with Rush art director Hugh Syme, where he talks about the Caress of Steel Album cover. 

"I was a huge [M.C. Escher] fan.  My original drawings were in pencil: clean, monochromatic, simple homages to Escher. But when the record label got ahold of these, they thought it wasn't rock and roll enough, so they added this chromium lettering and swung the tint of the whole image over to a brown sepia tone — none of which was requested or under my purview at the time.  When the band said, 'What happened?,' I said, 'I don't know,'" he adds. "That began the premise that they would consider most A&R people attending their sessions — and, more so, their comments — as unwelcome. Because they weren't interested. And when they realized that other people were meddling in the process when it came to my art, they said, 'Don't listen to anyone. We're talking to you directly.' That set up a feature in my life.  That album worked out well. I don't look back fondly on the outcome, but that's OK," he says. "It was more just me being indulgent — art directors are pretty selfish. We do what we want to do, and what a gift it was to work with a band like Rush. They — excuse the quote — allowed that deviation from any norms because that's what they aspired to do themselves as artists."



Read More: Why Rush's Record Label Changed the 'Caress of Steel' Cover Art | https://ultimateclassicrock.com/rush-caress-of-steel-album-art/?utm_source=tsmclip&utm_medium=referral

Big Sugar's "Hemi-Vision" 25th Anniversary Edition featuring foreword by Alex Lifeson

Canadian rock band Big Sugar are releasing the 25th Anniversary Deluxe Edition of their album Hemi-Vision next Friday, September 25th, and Rush's Alex Lifeson is providing a foreword to the liner notes:
"A deluxe edition reissue of Hemi-Vision will touch down September 25 through Universal Music Canada digitally, on CD and as a 2xLP set pressed to 180-gram bright green and orange vinyl.  The deluxe package puts the original album alongside six previously unreleased bonus tracks, rare photos and memorabilia from the band's archives, and extensive liner notes by Gordie Johnson with a foreword from Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson." - exclaim.ca

Fumanchu released "Working Man" digitally, proceeds benefit Brain Tumor Research

Today the band Funmanchu announced:

"In Tribute to The Professor, Neil Peart, we are releasing our version of RUSH's 'Working Man' that we recorded January 2020. All Proceeds will benefit Brain Tumor Research at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in his memory. Members of our band and our manager were in the audience on August 1, 2015 when this was the final song played by Neil, Geddy and Alex. We are forever grateful for all of the music and memories. Thanks to Carl Saff for donating his mastering services and to David Medel for donating his art services. Thanks to Jim Monroe for the studio time, engineering & mixing hook up. Thanks to Meg and everyone in the Rush family. Thanks to John Raso for going the extra mile to help us get this out. This is a digital release only...for now"

Click here to get it from Amazon.

Modern Drummer Festival with tribute to Neil Peart - Saturday, September 12th

Drumming royalty will gather virtually this weekend to honor late Rush member Neil Peart. The Police drummer Stewart Copeland, Foo Fighters’ Taylor Hawkins, Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Chad Smith and Chicago’s Danny Seraphine are among the artists who will pay tribute to Peart’s genius as part of a one-night-only online concert, produced by LiveXLive.

The event streams live this Saturday on Neil's birthday, September 12th, at 8 p.m. ET and will be available to watch on LiveXLive.com and Fite.tv. A ticket to the pay-per-view event costs $12.99 (tickets available here) and lets you stream the show from your phone, tablet or computer. You can also watch it on your TV through the Fite TV app, which lets you cast the action onto the screen via Apple TV, Roku Streaming Stick, Fire TV and more.

Other performers for the night include Cindy Blackman-Santana, Thomas Lang, Alex Gonzalez (ManĂ¥), Jim Riley (Rascal Flatts), Dom Famularo, Carmine Appice (Vanilla Fudge), Keith Carlock, Todd Sucherman (Styx), Kenny Aronoff, Gregg Bissonette (Ringo Starr), Ray Luzier (Korn), and Kristina Schiano. The event will also feature appearances by Carl Palmer, Eric Singer, and Mike Portnoy, among others.

"Forever Terry: A Legacy in Letters" featuring epilogue by Geddy Lee

Hitting bookstores today, to mark the 40th anniversary of the Marathon of Hope, the book Forever Terry: A Legacy in Letters recounts the inspiration, dedication, and perseverance that Terry Fox embodied, and gives voice to an icon whose example spoke much louder than his words. Comprising 40 letters from 40 contributors including an epilogue written by Geddy Lee, and edited by Terry's younger brother Darrell on behalf of the Fox family, Forever Terry pays tribute to Terry's legacy, as seen through the eyes of celebrated Canadians.  Author proceeds support the Terry Fox Foundation, which has raised over $800 million for cancer research. - Thanks to RushFanForever for the headsup!


Storied: The Geddy Lee Baseball Collection

"Storied" is a new collection of 22 videos narrated by Bob Kendrick, president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, released on YouTube, Spotify and on Pro Athlete's website.   Below is Chapter 5 which tells the story of the Geddy Lee Baseball Collection! - Thanks to Rosmakloma for the headsup!