HomeNeil Peart Speaks With Zildjian
"Awhile back my friends at Zildjian asked me if I would contribute something to their magazine or website. Being in the middle of the Vapor Trails tour with RUSH at the time, I asked if maybe they could send me a list of questions in an interview format, and I would try to find time to scribble out some answers. I never got past the first question… 'Who was the first drummer who inspired you to take up the instrument? Who were some of your early drum influences?'" - Neil Peart, Zildjian.com. - January 28, 2003
The "Ghost Rider" featured in Cycle World, February 2003
Neil Peart only gave two interviews during the Vapor Trails tour, one for "Modern Drummer", the other for "Cycle World". Neil is interviewed by the magazine's Executive Editor, Brian Catterson, who is also a life long Rush fan. Catterson met up with Neil after the Albuquerque show of the Vapor Trails tour, and rode with him on a "Ghost Rider-esque" motorcycle adventure the following two days en route to Salt Lake City. Catterson writes upon his trepidation of first meeting Peart:"as I approached the tour bus door, there was only one Rush lyric on my mind...'I can't pretend a stranger is a long awaited friend'. And so it was with more than a little apprhension that I knocked. An anxious few moments passed, and then Neil himself threw open the door and greeted me with a warm handshake and a smile...Not surprisingly the TV in the bus was tuned to the Weather Channel. Looking at the forecast, I noted that it read, 'Ceiling Unlimited'...'Yes, that's where that came from,' Neil said, smiling. 'You're the first person to make that connection.'" Catterson later tells of dining in Moab, "I could feel myself regressing, the inquisitive journalist replaced by the teenage Rush fan I used to be. A teenage Rush fan sitting across the dinner table from Neil friggin' Peart!" After the Salt Lake show, Catterson was backstage to say goodbye to Neil, "he encouraged me to keep in tourch via e-mail, and then, out of the blue, said, 'Aw, give old Neil a hug.' So much for that whole 'stranger' thing..."
Vapor Trails
Country Star/Rush Fan Tim McGraw
While appearing on Larry King Live, Country singer Tim McGraw [known to non-Country fans as "the guy married to Faith Hill"] was asked "Do you listen to other kinds of music?", to which he replied:
"Yes, I'm a huge '70s classic rock fan...The Eagles -- big Eagles fan. I love Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, of course. I love Phil Collins, which I guess is a little more '80s but I love those guys in Genesis. Rush. Big Rush fan..." Click here for the complete transcript. - CNN's Larry King Live, December 10, 2002
Alex Lifeson Produces 3 Door Down
In Spring 2000, Alex Lifeson produced three songs with Mississippi-based 3 Doors Down: "Dangerous Game," "Dead Love," and "Wasted Time". In addition, at least two of the three tracks may also include Lifeson on guitar (although some fan sites state that he played on all three tracks). Of the three tracks, "Wasted Me" was made available on a special 2CD Australian release of Better Life, as well as a b-side to the "Kryptonite" import single, while "Dangerous Game was later released on Away From The Sun.
Hemispheres 35mm Short Film
Emmerson Nogueira covers "Tom Sawyer"
Peart Receives Zildjian Cymbal Plaque Award
"Zildjian representatives John DeChristopher, Lennie DiMuzio, Jim McGathey and Paul Francis paid a visit to Neil Peart when Rush pulled into Boston for one night at the Fleet Center. During the visit Lennie presented Neil with a Cymbal Plaque Award in recognition of his contributions to the art of drumming and his long time relationship with Zildjian. The award featured a vintage cymbal from Armand Zildjian's personal collection." www.zildjian.com, October 28, 2002
"One Little Victory" included in "Need for Speed - Hot Pursuit 2"
"Exit Stage Right - The String Quartet Tribute to Rush"
A tribute by real Rush fans, the album was arranged, produced, mixed, and mastered by Todd Mark Rubenstein, who also co-handles the album's cello and bass duties. In the linernotes, Todd thanks (among others) "Neil Peart, Geddy Lee & Alex Lifeson for a lifetime of musical genius and the gift of great songs with brilliant performances that will be an inspiration to musicians of all genres for generations to come".
Rush Reunion at Superstar Birthday Party/Alex Jams with Extreme
"U.S. Protests Mexi-Canadian Overpass"
"U.S. Protests Mexi-Canadian Overpass", detailing the building of an overpass from Mexico to Canada which bypasses the U.S. One U.S. citizen complains "the honking, the chickens, the sound of thousands of cars going back and forth to Canada and Mexico is more than I can take. I can hear those goddamn radios blaring Mariachi music and Rush all day and night." - The Onion, May 15, 2002
Coming Soon: Rush.com
With little fanfare but after a long legal battle, Rush has won the rights to www.rush.com from cybersquatter Bob Ames.
"Work is being completed on the official Rush website www.rush.com and it will have all the bells and whistles. You'll find tour dates, streaming music, words from the guys, and more!" - Rush Backstage Club, April 5, 2002
Alex Lifeson's "Andromeda"
Alex Lifeson composed and performed the theme music for the first season of Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda, the Star Trek creator's final series which premiered the week of Oct. 2, 2000. The theme is now available as the opening song of the Andromeda soundtrack album. It is rumored that star/executive producer Kevin Sorbo (of Hercules fame) never liked the theme, and was behind changing the theme after the first season. "It all began when co-executive producer Robert Hewitt Wolfe was talking to executive story editor Ethlie Ann Vare, a former rock journalist (Hollywood Reporter, E! Entertainment Television, ROCK magazine). He said that the top band on his wish-list to do music for Andromeda would be Rush. Inspired, Vare made some strategically-placed calls. Since Alex Lifeson is as big a science fiction lover as some science fiction fans are Rush lovers, he seemed a good fit for the job. Lifeson composed and performed the Andromeda theme, 'March of the High Guard'. Lifeson created the whole piece in his home studio, overdubbing an astonishing 20,000 guitars for a sound quite unlike any other main title theme on television." - www.andromedatv.com, Aug. 2000.
"The strongest composition on this collection is actually Alex Lifeson's invigorating 'Season One Main Title.' The cue lasts for only 59 seconds, but it packs a punch that, for the most part, is lacking throughout the rest of the CD...With the exception of Lifeson's lone contribution, the 25 cues on the collection are all written and played by Matthew McCauley...While McCauley's artificial Andromeda arias are invariably expressive, his tunes are also consistently mediocre and, in many respects, surprisingly rough-edged." - Scifi.com Review
Dave Bidini "The Sweet Rush Of Adolescence"
In The Sweet Rush Of Adolescence, a touching article by The Rheostatic's frontman Dave Bidini, Dave reminisces about his teenage years and "Rush, the first band with which I was truly obsessed with", changing tastes while growing up, and eventually recording with hero Neil Peart in 1992 for the Rheostatic's album Whale Music:
"The Barenaked Ladies were there, too; they'd laid in their background vocal to 'California Dreamline' earlier in the day and together we watched Neil warm up, a chimeric figure in his beaded African hat under the low studio lights. Head lowered, torso centered, feet kicking, his hands glancing over the drums, Neil played all afternoon. His touch was soft when it had to be, but propulsive, too, like a distance runner tugging the flow of blood to his heart. It's one thing to see your hero perform from a distant seat in Maple Leaf Gardens, but it's something else to feel close to his work, as I did that day. At one time in my life, I'd dreamed of what it would be like to simply attend a Rush concert, and there I was at the studio, not 20 feet from where he was crafting a part for a song that would appear on our album....As Neil commanded his kit, he painted my adolescence before me, evoking everything about it." - Dave Bidini, Toronto Star, January 6, 2002
Rocket Science "Foolscap"
The long awaited debut album from Rocket Science, Foolscap, was released October 9th, from Sonic Unyon Records. Foolscap was co-produced and recorded by Geddy Lee in his home studio, and includes his nephew Rob Higgins on bass and vocals. Geddy also provided backing vocal on "Space Suit" (previously available on Rocket Sciences' 5 song EP)."It is rock, rock with a kind of technical edge to it. I have a home studio and we have been working here and gone into the smaller studios around town to do some sessions now and again. It has been fun for me and I think fun for them as well." - Geddy Lee, JAM! Showbiz, Jan. 18, 2000The album is available in most Canadian retail record stores, but is only available outside Canada via mail order at this time. To order, send a check or money order for $15.49 (Canadian) or $10 (US) payable to Rocket Science, to 54 Phoebe St., Toronto, ON, Canada M5T1A9. - Rocket Science Online
Chronicles DVD Now Available
Geddy Lee September 2001 "Guitar Center" Interview
Alex Lifeson Produces Lifer
Produced by Alex Lifeson, the eponymous second album by the band Lifer was released August 14th. An edited version (minus explicit lyrics) is also available. Lifer (formerly 'Driver'; formerly 'Strangers With Candy') landed a six-album record deal with Universal/Republic Records after winning first-place in February 2001's MTV Ultimate Cover Band Contest.Regarding their choice of producer, guitarist Aaron Fincke said, "We wanted a player, rather than just a standard producer," and said that the band expects to "sell a couple hundred thousand more copies" of their album because of Lifeson's reputation as a musician and performer. "We can only do so much with our songs, but he helped to clean up all of them." - The Crusader Online (Susquehanna University Newspaper), November 17, 2000.
Geddy Lee's "My Favorite Headache"
"Following more than a quarter-century of success with Rush - including 22 albums, all certified RIAA gold-or-better, with cumulative worldwide sales of over 35 million - My Favorite Headache finds Lee joined in the studio by guitarist/multi-instrumentalist Ben Mink and drummer Matt Cameron (Pearl Jam, Soundgarden). The album's 11 diverse new Lee compositions were co-written with Mink (best known for his collaborations with k.d. lang [webmaster note: better known to Rush fans for Mink's electric violin on Signal's "Losing It", also as a member of "FM" who toured with Rush in the early 80's]). This landmark recording sees Lee taking on a number of instruments - along with his bass and vocal duties - including piano, guitar, percussion, and various programming elements. Recorded in Seattle, Vancouver, and Toronto, the album was produced by Lee, Mink, and renowned studio whiz David Leonard (Santana, Barenaked Ladies, Prince), and also features drummer Jeremy Taggart (Our Lady Peace) on one track." - Atlantic Records/Geddy Lee Newsletter, September 19, 2000
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