Win A Clockwork Angels Fanpack & A Signed Drumhead from Planet Rock

The UK's Planet Rock is giving away a ton of prizes over the next few days:

"Rush release their long awaited new studio album CLOCKWORK ANGELS as a stunning, comprehensive CLASSIC ROCK MAGAZINE FANPACK on 11 June, and we are giving away an array of fantastic prizes all this week including copies of the fanpack, subscriptions to Prog Magazine, a subscription to Classic Rock Magazine and, best of all, a beautiful autographed Rush Time Machine Tour drumhead....

For complete details visit Planet Rock.

Long & McQuade's Ultimate Rush Experience Sweepstakes

Canada's Long & McQuade music stores is giving away the "Ultimate Rush Experience".  Fill out a ballot at any Long & McQuade location between June 1st and 30th for a chance to win:

• A grand prize of a pair of tickets and meet 'n' greet passes for the Rush concert in select cities*
• 10 runner-up prizes of the new Rush album, Clockwork Angels, and the DVD Live in Cleveland.

*Grand prizes available to be won: A pairs of tickets and meet 'n' greet passes for Rush concerts in these cities -

• Edmonton (Sept.30/12 - Rexall Place)
• Saskatoon (Sept.28/12 - Credit Union Centre)
• Winnipeg (Sept.26/12 - MTS Centre)
• Toronto (Oct.14/12 - Air Canada Centre)

Contest runs June 1 to 30, 2012. One entry per person. Transportation to and from the concert is the winner’s responsibility.

- Thanks to John @ Cygnus-X1.net for the headsup!

Neil Peart's Red Tama Drum Kit Auction

Neil Peart's Red Tama Superstar drum kit, used by Peart for Signals - Power Windows, is listed in an auction by Julien's auctions to begin June 22nd.

The kit, which was originally awarded to Jack Hess in 1987 (click here for Neil's announcement in Modern Drummer, October 1987), was later sold by Hess on August 17, 1999 for $26,100. The kit would appear on ebay without a buyer at least two other times before being sold to the current owner, Ian Coley, on May 2nd, 2003 for $14,621.12.  The kit was last seen being restored by Rob Telleria who has stated he has invested $20,000 into the restoration project; accordingly it is unknown why the auction value of the kit has been placed at only $4,000-$6,000.

For more information visit Julien'sLive.com. - Thanks to Joe Pesch and Greg Nosek for the headsup!

Decibrity Playlist: “Best of” Rush | Decibel Magazine

Decibel magazine has posted a new story online, Decibrity Playlist: “Best of” Rush:

"We may not write about these Canadians very often, but it’s undeniable that Rush has had a profound effect on legions of artists that we do cover. So to celebrate next week’s release of the ubiquitous band’s 19th (!) full-length studio album, we compiled a 'best of' Rush playlist that features tracks hand-picked by some of the many musicians who have been slappin’ da bass over the years."

- Thanks to Ed at RushIsABand.com, who provided Decibel with background info on the artists featured!

Classic Rock Fan Pack Exclusive Bonus Content

The CD booklet included in the Classic Rock fan pack includes the text "Exclusive bonus content, to unlock the hands of time visit: watchmaker.classicrockmagazine.com. This link includes web page with a six minutes video interview with Geddy Lee where he discusses recording at Henson studios, Neil's drum parts, and "The Garden". - Thanks to Ed @ RushIsABand for the headsup!

"Clockwork Angels" linernotes and lyrics page

Early receivers of the Clockwork Angels fanpack have been kind enough to share detailed photos of the album's linernotes including lyrics.  In turn, John at Cygnus-X1.net has been kind enough to transcribe them and has shared them with us.  Thanks John!

Click here for our Clockwork Angels linernotes and lyrics page (just click on the song titles for the lyrics).  This page also includes the Clockwork Angels "album news archive" which has a complete breakdown of the history of the album thus far from the members of Rush "In Their Own Words".

Toronto's Q107's "Q & A With Rush"

Toronto's Q107's is hosting an upcoming "Q & A With Rush" and you can win a spot in the studio with Rush:

"Be Part of An Intimate Q&A with Rush!  The Mighty Q presents the world album premiere of Rush’s Clockwork Angels, and you could be there when Rush stops by the Q107 World Headquarters!  To win your way into this exclusive event, enter right now! If you’re lucky, you and a pal will join Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson live at Corus Quay with host Jeff Woods for an intimate Q&A about the new album!" - Click here to enter.

- Thanks to RushFanForever for the headsup!

Neil Peart Named "Best Prog Drummer/Best Educational DVD" - Modern Drummer, July 2012 issue

The results of Modern Drummer's 2012 Readers Poll are included in their July issue, and Neil Peart won both "Best Prog Drummer" and "Best Educational DVD":

"As the old joke goes, if an entry for progressive rock drummer were in the dictionary, it would be Peart's face that you'd see. Neil's a bona fide cultural touchstone, nearly forty years into his career - but somehow he seems more active than ever. Last year saw the Rush drummer/lyricist appear on MD's December cover, release the book Far and Away: A Prize Every Time, participate in the legendary Canadian band's Time Machine tour, release the DVDs Taking Center Stage and Fire on Ice: The Making of the Hockey Theme, and anchor the first drum solo week on Letterman.

-Thanks to RushIsABand for the headsup!

Ernest Cline's "Ready Player One" Now In Paperback - RUSH inside

The paperback edition of last year's sensational Ready Player One (think Charlie And The Chocolate Factory meets The Matrix), the debut novel by Ernest Cline, hits bookstores today.

The writer of the geek-fest Fanboys, Ernest Cline is a hard core Rush fan, and among the tons of 80's references throughout the book, RUSH serves as a major plot device and is a guaranteed, well, rush, for any Rush fan.

In addition, to commemorate the release of the paperback, Ernest Cline is giving away a Delorean!

"[Cline] has hidden an “Easter egg” in the text of both the hardcover and paperback editions of Ready Player One. If readers can find this hidden clue, it will lead them to the first of three increasingly difficult video game challenges. The first person to complete all three of these challenges will win the grand prize, a 1981 DeLorean automobile, complete with a Flux Capacitor! Ernest Cline will be driving this DeLorean Time Machine across the country on his book tour this June, so contestants will have a chance to see the grand prize in person at each of his book signings." - For details visit Ernest Cline's blog.

Ted Leo's Life With Rush: Closer to the Heart - Spin.com

Spin.com has posted an article "Ted Leo's Life With Rush: Closer to the Heart" by Ted Leo, an American punk rock/indie rock songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who has played in the bands Citizens Arrest, Chisel, The Sin-Eaters, The Spinanes, and Ted Leo and the Pharmacists.

Ted talks about his life-long love of Rush, including scenes of his life where the music of Rush was present and how it affected him. 

- Thanks to John @ Cygnus-X1.net for the headsup!

Get a Sneak Peak at Clockwork Angels: The Novel, and Meet Kevin J. Anderson

Kevin J. Anderson will be at the Book Expo America in New York City this week signing a special limited edition sampler booklet of Clockwork Angels: The Novel.

The booklet includes the first three chapters of the novel (which roughly cover the song “Caravan”), the lyrics to “Caravan,” three full-color paintings by Hugh Syme, and original introductions by Neil Peart and by myself.  The Expo is at the Javitz Center in New York City, Monday–Thursday June 3-7; Kevin will be signing a limited number of the booklets at the ECW booth, #2740, from 2:30–3:30 PM on Tuesday and from 10–11 AM on Wednesday. - Thanks to John at Cygnus-X1.net for the headsup!

Geddy Lee Video Interview with Stormbringer

Austria's Stormbringer.at recently conducted an interview with RUSH bassist/vocalist Geddy Lee in Cologne, Germany. Over 16 minutes long, Geddy talks about the album, the tour, and confirms the band has no plans of retiring.  You can watch the video here. - Thanks to Blabbermouth.net for the headsup!

"Geddy did better when Rush fired him" - ClassicRock.com

ClassicRock.com has posted a sample from the new Classic Rock Rush Fan Pack:

"The bassist and singer was dismissed long before the Canadian outfit made their first recording. It happened even before they’d become a three-piece. The band’s new manager, Ray Danniels, who is still with them, carried out both the firing and re-hiring...He says: “That was pre-history really. We hadn’t recorded yet and were still in our embryonic stage, and Ray came along. He had no real reputation yet as a manager or anything. He was just kind of an agent working in Toronto.

“So he started directing the band and he just thought I wasn’t suitable, for whatever reasons he had. I don’t know whether it was the way I looked, or my religious background – who the fuck knew?

“Anyway, he influenced them and they went along with it, Alex Lifeson and John Rutsey, and I was out. They kicked me out.”

Rush were still laying the foundations of the band they’d become playing local drop-in centres with Lifeson, Rutsey and Lee’s brother-in-law Lindy Young on piano. After being dropped Lee formed a new outfit and joined them on the low-end live circuit.

“I started a blues band,” he says, “and I was, frankly speaking, doing better than they were. Then I got a call from John and he said, ‘Can we get together?’ Basically, ‘Can you come back? We’re sorry.’

“They had to go through whatever they went through. We tried it again and that’s really when the band started. We became this three-piece and we were really going in the same direction.”

 - Thanks to Tony Riviere for the headsup!

Neil Peart's "News Weather and Sports" - June 2012

Neil Peart has posted his first "News Weather and Sports" update since January, this one is titled "Where Words Fail, Music Speaks".

Neil talks about RUSH's receiving both the Ronnie James Dio Memorial Award for Lifetime Achievement this past April 11th in Los Angeles (originally, Neil intended to not appear out of shyness ("because I’m me"), but effectively was forced to appear when Alex bowed out), and the Governor-General’s Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Performing Arts in Ottawa on May 4th.

Neil talks at length about both events, and of meeting Pete Townshend (including a back history of how as a teen, Neil was basically obsessed with The Who).

Neil also tells of how on April 16 at Henson Studios in Hollywood (where Clockwork Angels had been mixed), Neil recorded the drum track for the song "Instamatic" with Matt Scannell for the upcoming Vertical Horizon album.

The Spirit of Radio: Greatest Hits (1974-1987) Back In The Billboard Top 200

Riding the Clockwork Angels wave, The Spirit of Radio:Greatest Hits (1974-1987) has re-entered the Billboard Top 200 at #161 for the week of June 9, 2012.

The collection originally rose to #62 on the chart before dropping out of the Top 200 after 8 weeks when it was first released in 2003.

For more on this release, click here.  

- Thanks to John at Cygnus-X1.net for the headsup!

Clockwork Angels: The Novel Official Press Release

Preorder Now

Here is the official press release for Clockwork Angels: The Novel from ECW Press. Note, this announcement includes the news that the novel will also be released as an audiobook narrated by Neil Peart.

LANDMARK CROSSOVER PROJECT:

NEW RUSH ALBUM CLOCKWORK ANGELS TO FEATURE ACCOMPANYING NOVEL BY BESTSELLING AUTHOR

The new Rush studio album, Clockwork Angels, is accompanied by a full-length “steampunk” novel written by bestselling SF author Kevin J. Anderson and Rush drummer and lyricist Neil Peart.

In an innovative combination of music and literature, the new album Clockwork Angels by legendary rock band Rush has been converted into a full-length “steampunk” science fiction novel by international bestselling SF author Kevin J. Anderson and Rush drummer and lyricist Neil Peart.

Stewart Copeland of The Police Discusses Rush - MusicRadar.com

Stewart Copeland discusses Rush in a new interview with MusicRadar.com:

"I didn't actually listen to Rush albums, and I couldn't tell you one from the other – although Neil is a good buddy. [laughs] We agreed to disagree on certain things, and it is a measure of his greatness as a human being that he is completely over whatever my feelings might be about Rush.

"This truly is the case: He's never heard me say a wonderful thing about his band. He's read a few comments that I wish he hadn't read. In unguarded moments, things tend to slip out. Musicians tend to be snippy about one another, and I'm generally not. I generally love all music and all players.

"There was a time when bands like Rush were the epitome of what The Police were theoretically against, which was an overemphasis on musicality. Our ethos in the early days was about the primal scream and that musical technique was a distraction from that mission. There may have been a few comments that I might have made regarding Rush's position on that debate, and it is really, really to Neil's credit that he's over that debate. And we get along great."

For the full interview click here.

Got a question for Alex Lifeson? Tell Total Guitar

Total Guitar will be talking to Alex Lifeson this week and they want your guitar questions. If you have a question for Alex let them know on Facebook or e-mail. If they pick your question, it will feature in a future issue of Total Guitar and you'll win a set of D'Adario strings. - Click here for more.

Alex Lifeson talks Rush's Clockwork Angels track-by-track with Musicradar.com

Alex Lifeson walks us through Clockwork Angels track-by-track in a new interview with MusicRadar.com.

“We wanted something that was bold and stripped down. The goal was to make it real in your face and very much the sound of a three piece – a hard rock record in the classic sense. I’m happy to say that it really did come out the way we anticipated and hoped for.”

“It is a concept record...I think the songs stand on their own, though. I can listen to them independently of the story, but when I hear everything from front to back, it really makes sense to me. So it works on lot of levels.”

“I tried to pull myself back from yielding to the temptation of layering so many guitars and things that are kind of inconsequential. It’s really about the basic rockiness of the songs, so it was a lot of double-tracking and beefing things up. No six tracks of guitars, no rhythm guitar and solos – simple little changes that made the sound more impactful.”

Click here for more.

Clockwork Angels Vinyl Album Preorder Available

The Clockwork Angels 2LP vinyl edition is now available for preorder.  The vinyl edition will feature a unique album cover, and is also scheduled for release June 12th.