Rush Referenced on "Wizards of Waverly Place"

During the opening scene of Saturday's episode of "Wizards of Waverly Place" (season 3 episode 20), Alex and Harper discover that Max has a girlfriend. To keep his girlfriend a secret from his parents, he has told her his name is 'Tom Sawyer'. Alex exclaims "'Tom Sawyer'? That is such an obvious lie, it's the name from the Rush song." Harper interjects "...and the classic book!" and Alex concludes "Wow that song was good, I didn't know they made a book out of it!" Click here for the video clip. - Thanks to Robert Mooty for the heads up!

Rush Pulls Spirit from Rand Paul's Campaign

"In Web ads and at campaign appearances, Republican U.S. Senate candidate Rand Paul sometimes has called on the music of the band Rush to give his message a little pop. It turns out the campaign wasn't using the music with the band's permission, according to Rush's attorney, Robert Farmer. Farmer, general counsel for the Anthem Entertainment Group Inc. in Toronto, which is Rush's record label, has sent a letter to Paul campaign officials informing them that they have violated copyright laws - and urging them to stop. 'This is not a political issue - this is a copyright issue,' Farmer said in an interview. 'We would do this no matter who it is.' Besides, all three members of Rush - Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart - are Canadians, not Americans, he pointed out." - Louisville Courier-Journal, June 2, 2010 - Thanks to J Grismore for the headsup!

Geddy Lee endorses Orange Bass Amps

"Orange Amps are proud to announce rock legend Geddy Lee of Rush is now using their Orange Bass amps...For more information on orange amps visit Orange Amplifiers. - Thanks to RushFanForever for the headsup!

"Backstage Secrets: On The Road With The Rock Band RUSH" DVD5 ReRelease

Backstage Secrets: On the Road with the Rock Band RUSH, was originally released on DVD last September 11th. Filmed during the 2008 Snakes & Arrows tour, the 250 minute documentary gives a backstage look at what it takes to put on Rush's show. Longtail Distribution Network has announced they are rereleasing the 250 minute documentary on DVD5 media for improved quality. If you previously purchased the original release, click here for info on how to obtain a replacement copy. To purchase the rerelease, click here. - Thanks to David Kutz, President of Longtail Distribution for the headsup!

"Longtail Distribution Network has re-released the DVD “Backstage Secrets: On the Road with the Rock Band Rush”. This new release has been replicated onto DVD5 media with better quality video. The previous version, duplicated to DVD-R media is no longer available for sale.

For those of you who were disappointed in the technical quality of the original release, for a limited period of time, we are making the newly released version available at our cost of $6.00 plus shipping. This is for all five episodes on two discs.

If you originally purchased the DVD from Amazon.com or Filmbaby, please send a copy of your purchase receipt or any other reasonable documentation validating your purchased to support@longtailnet.com. We will then provide you with a password for the special page on our website built to accommodate this replacement pricing.

If you originally purchased the DVD from the Longtail Distribution Network you do not need to provide a receipt. To validate your purchase we need to know the email address of the person who originally ordered the DVD or the address to where it was shipped. It would be helpful to also provide the approximate date of purchase. Simply write to us at support@longtailnet.com with that information and we will then provide you with a password for the special page on our website built to accommodate this replacement pricing.

If you cannot validate your purchase we are very sorry, but we will not fulfill your order. If you place an order on our password protected page without our pre-approval your purchase will be refunded and the product will not be shipped.

The newly released DVD is now available for sale at a price of $24.95 for home use on our website at http://www.longtailnet.com/1290."

New World Man: A Tribute To Rush

New World Man: A Tribute To Rush, is now available. The new release includes four new tracks, three of which are recorded by members of Coheed And Cambria, The Dillinger Escape Plan (Chris Pennie), KORN (Shane Gibson) and The Mars Volta (Juan Alderete) on the tracks "New World Man", "Fly By Night" and "Force Ten". The fourth new track is I, Omega's version of 'Tom Sawyer'. The remaining selections include previous releases from Magna Carta's Working Man (1996) and Subdivisions (2005) tribute albums featuring performances by Robert Berry, Dave Martone, Sebastian Bach, John Petrucci, Mike Portnoy and Billy Sheehan, as well as Alex Skolnick Trio's jazz interpretation of 'Tom Sawyer' from their album Last Day In Paradise.

Truth Behind Rush's Absence At The Winter Olympics

In early February, it was rumored that Rush would be one of the Canadian bands to represent their native country during the opening ceremony of the 2010 Winter Olympics. This past Tuesday during a radio interview with Philadelphia's WYSP to promote Beyond The Lighted Stage, Geddy Lee finally shed some light on the band's absence. - Thanks to John at Cygnus-X1.net for the headsup!

"We had an opportunity to play but there were all kinds of crazy rules going on about lip-synching and all stuff like that and that's just not our bag, man." - Geddy Lee, April 27, 2010

"2112" Heard In "High School" Trailer

The film High School premiered at the Sundance Film Festival this past January. Starring Adrien Brody and Colin Hanks, the trailer uses the opening keyboards from 2112 as its background music! - Thanks to Kevin Leclerc for the headsup!

"Tom Sawyer" on "Fringe"

"Tom Sawyer" was featured in the opening moments of tonight's episode of Fox's Fringe. During the episode "The Man from the Other Side", the song played on a car radio as a young couple gets high (yes, yes, "A Passage To Bangkok" would have been more appropriate!). If you missed it, it will be available in the next few days on the Fringe website. - Thanks to Jeff Lucas for the headsup!

Rush Congratulates South Park (Neil Peart Sings!?)

Yesterday, Geddy, Alex AND Neil uploaded a congratulatory video to celebrate the 200th episode of South Park. And did I mention Neil sings? - Thanks to Mark Earnshaw for the headsup!

Vapor Trails Deluxe Edition - April Fools!

I hope you all enjoyed my April Fool's joke!

"The T.A.M.I. Show" Now On DVD

Many Rush fans have brought to my attention the fact that the 1964 concert film The T.A.M.I. Show, has been remastered and reissued on DVD. This concert film includes Marvin Gaye, Chuck Berry, The Beach Boys, Jan and Dean, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, The Supremes, Gerry and the Pacemakers, and more. In his book Traveling Music, Neil Peart wrote at length regarding the show's impact, beginning on page 130 "Another movie around the same time was a much stronger musical influence on me - in fact, in retrospect, it was the influence. The T.A.M.I. Show, or "Teen Age Music International"... The DVD is now available.

Rush Songwriter's Hall Of Fame Induction

Rush were inducted into the Canadian Songwriter's Hall Of Fame Sunday, March 28th, at the Toronto Centre For The Arts' George Weston Recital Hall. All three members of Rush were in attendance for the induction ceremony and were recognized for Limelight, Closer to the Heart, The Spirit of Radio, Tom Sawyer and Subdivisions. Performing at the induction ceremony were Canadian hardcore rockers Alexisonfire performing Tom Sawyer; Primus frontman Les Claypool playing a version of The Spirit of Radio; and Canadian folk singer/songwriter Jacob Moon doing his rendition of Subdivisions. Neil Peart gave the acceptance speech for the band.

Click Here For Additional Hall of Fame Induction News

"Rush has typically been more associated with their unrivaled musicianship and their restless ambition to conquer every musical genre, sometimes in the span of one song. The band acknowledged that immediately in their speech, which was delivered entirely by drummer Neil Peart. 'First of all, songwriting award? Rush? There must be some mistake,' Peart said to laughter from a crowd that had just serenaded the group with a standing ovation. 'We continue to inspire each other and create music that inspires us all.'" - Rush, Robert Charlebois join songwriters' hall of fame, March 29, 2010

"Millions of record sales notwithstanding, Rush's songwriters have rarely earned income from other artists' covers of their famous songs. The complexity of the arrangements built into Rush's work — sudden time, tempo and key changes — are beyond the grasp of less ambitious or practised musicians, and the soaring melodies and vivid narratives are forsaken...'I understand why no one covers our songs,' Lee said. 'They sound daunting. But, as Moon proved in his ‘Subdivisions' video, most of the songs can be stripped back to their simplest form, and find a new life. When we tried to write songs that are simple and uncomplicated, it didn't work. One of our producers used to tell us, 'You'd have a lot of hits if only someone else recorded them.''" Toronto Star, March 28, 2010

"Peart, who says he would have been an English high school teacher if he hadn’t become a rock drummer, is pleased at the Rush songs chosen for induction, particularly Subdivisions. 'It's a very unusual song construction lyrically and musically that we managed to make work,” he said. “It was written at a time when we weren’t working, so to speak. We were mixing a live album and we just started playing around and wrote a song for fun. Although it’s very serious in it’s musical structure, one of the most complicated actually that we’ve had in terms of arrangement drum part alone, it’s a really intricate drum part to play and consequently I still love playing it almost 30 years later and that’s a good testament.'" Jam!Music, March 26, 2010

• Audio of the complete induction ceremony - CBC.ca
• Jacob Moon talks about his experience with backstage photos. - March 28-29, 2010
• A Rush To The Hall Of Fame - March 29, 2010
• Rush Inducted Into Hall Of Fame - March 28, 2010
• A Conversation With Rush - March 19, 2010

Administrative Update

Just a quick administrative update... For the past 8 years, the Power Windows website has promoted Rush related products through Amazon.com. Earlier this month, Amazon.com summarily severed all ties with Colorado based accounts (including your's truly, email saved for posterity), rather than give in to restrictions imposed by the Colorado State legislature requiring Amazon to collect Colorado State sales tax for all orders placed from Colorado based websites. This story made headlines here in Colorado, and still is the source of many online debates. While I don't blame Amazon, I've been forced to find alternative solutions.

After scouring the various online retailers, I've replaced all my CD and DVD links with links to CDUniverse.com (CDUniverse has a huge selection including those Rush related rarities I detail in my pages), and all book purchases now link to Barnes & Noble (bn.com). I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause, and thank you in advance for making your online purchases through Power Windows. And now back to your regularly scheduled program...

Rush Tourbooks Remasters Series

The "Rush Tourbooks Remasters Series" is now available in the Rush Backstage Club online store! Tourbooks dating back to 2112 have been brought back to all their glory (and then some) by modern printing technology and are all beautifully crafted with high-end laminated covers. Check 'em out at The Rush Backstage Club.

Drum Playalong Songs From Drum Discounters

DrumDiscounters.com offers downloadable play-a-long songs for drummers. The songs are available in mp3 format with either the music and drums on both channels, just the music on both channels (drumless), or a "split" track where the drums are on the left channel and the music on the right channel. Included in their selection are "Fly By Night", "Limelight", "A Passage To Bangkok", "Subdivisions", "Tom Sawyer", "The Trees", and "YYZ". - Thanks to David DeSantis for the headsup!

Website Updates: Windows 7 Themes and Smartphone Wallpapers

The impetus for this website when it was first launched 12 years ago was the Desktop Wallpaper and "Windows Plus!" Desktop Themes pages. While I still offer Themes for Windows XP/ME/NT, I have updated the Windows Themes page to now include a complete set of Windows 7 Themes. These Windows 7 Themes include Desktop Background Slide Shows along with the same sounds, icons and cursors used in the older Windows Plus themes. The Desktop Background Slide Shows include ALL the linernotes images for any given album, as well as additional live photos taken during that album's tour sourced from the tourbooks. Some of the Windows 7 Themes for more recent releases have HUGE Slide Shows included - the Snakes & Arrows Live theme has 36! In addition, these themes are user customizable, meaning, if you don't want to use the sounds and icons, you don't have to. Visit our Windows Themes page for details.

Next, more and more frequently I've been asked about wallpapers for Smartphones; after all, I offer PSP wallpapers, why not then include Smartphone wallpapers? As I'm a Blackberry user, however, I have been slow to get around to it. But thanks to the urging and guidance of Smartphone user John Patuto at Cygnus-X1.net, I've finally added a complete "Smartphone Wallpaper" page of 360x480 pixel RUSH wallpapers for SmartPhone, Palm, Blackberry Storm, Pocket PC, Apple iPhone and iPod Touch devices. Enjoy!

RUSH Makes Planet Rock's "Top 40 Live Albums"

Listeners of the UK's Planet Rock radio voted in their thousands in a poll to determine the Top 40 Live Albums of All Time. - Thanks to Scot McBean and Matt Kelly for the headsup!

"Thousands of you voted and now we know once and for all that Thin Lizzy's Live And Dangerous is the Greatest Live Album of All Time. The 1978 album has been repeatedly accused of containing more overdubs than live material, but that doesn't hide the fact that this is a definitive "live" record - it captured the band's stunning live energy and sound absolutely perfectly across a tracklist that probably couldn't have been bettered, and that, after all, is everything we could ask for. Deep Purple were so close to stealing this one at the last minute with their classic Made In Japan, and UFO's Strangers In The Night wasn't too far behind either. Rush deserve a notable mention for being the one band who's fans successfully sabotaged their chances for the Top Ten by splitting the vote rather spectacularly across three albums in the Top 40." - Planet Rock.com

Miniature Replica Of Geddy's Rickenbacker 4001

You've asked for it, and now it's here: a precise recreation of Geddy Lee's Rickenbacker 4001 bass. His primary instrument of the 70's, first seen during RUSH's first tour in 1974, Geddy effectively retired this bass after the Signals tour until bringing it back on tour in 2007.

This 1:4-scale replica miniature bass collectible is made of solid mahogany wood, hand crafted and airbrushed with outstanding detail. This bass guitar sells for $24.99; click here to order. As these guitars are hand made, please allow 3-4 weeks for delivery as supplies are limited.

Axeheaven is providing a special discount for Power Windows Website Users. To receive the discount, just enter the below coupon code while checking out at AxeHeaven.com:

• For free shipping for all domestic orders: coupon code FS2010
• For an overall 10% discount off of international orders: coupon code TEN2010

Click here for the complete RUSH miniature instruments collection

Rush Slam in Spoof Superbowl Commercial

In the controversial Dodge Charger Superbowl commercial, "Man's Last Stand", morose looking men are shown as a male voice over lists things a man must endure so that they can drive what they want. A spoof commercial has been made by women, "Woman's Last Stand", where the tables are turned. Of course, RUSH gets slammed; afterall, there are no female RUSH fans, right? - Thanks to John Tice for the headsup!

Superbowl Halftime Show Featuring RUSH?

"The NFL is making a very conscious effort to avoiding the conflict over potential lawsuits that came by way of Janet Jackson’s wardrobe malfunction. By most accounts, the last few years have gotten better and better while encompassing a variety of long-time, tenured, rock-and-roll professionals. So here is a list of five bands that would serve the NFL well over the next half-decade...

Number Two: RUSH might be the most controversial selection for those who are not fans of the band. However, this is one of the most technical, influential, and greatest rock bands ever to hit the stage. They have reached legendary status even though they are still snubbed by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Perhaps no band is better equipped to pull off a similar medley of their music as quickly as RUSH could. They have still been touring into their late 50’s and producing high quality musical releases as well. Most recently drummer Neil Peart was asked to help revamp the Hockey Night in Canada theme music, and has landed the drum set he used to get into the Hockey Hall of Fame. This band is from Canada, but they have always toured in the United States. RUSH is the most capable band of surprising, while making a few new fans." - BleacherReport.com, February 8, 2010 - Thanks to John @ Cygnus-X!.net