Rush Starman in "Rock & Brews" Restaurant In LA

Gene Simmons is part owner of the new "Rock & Brews" restaurant franchise, which claims to offer an atmosphere that is "like being back stage at a rock concert".

The first restaurant opened April 3rd in Los Angeles; the event served to benefit the Rock 4 Vets program, and was featured on the Gene Simmons Family Jewels episode "KISS A Vet" this past Monday (watch it here); full coverage of the event is also found here.

As seen in this screen capture, there is apparently a HUGE Rush starman logo filling an entire wall of the restaurant!  LA Rush fans, do us a favor and drop by Rock & Brews and send us some additional pics of this wall!

In addition, check out the "Rock & Brews" menu, which includes "Red Barchetta Bruchetta". - Thanks to Mike Hausler for the headsup!

Alex Lifeson on the Humble and Fred Radio Show

Today Alex Lifeson called into the Humble and Fred Radio show to discuss Clockwork Angels and the upcoming tour.  The interview is available for download here, you can hear Alex at the 64 minute mark. - Thanks to RushFanForever for the heads up.

All Axess Video: "Geddy Lee On The Evolution Of ‘Caravan’ and ‘BU2B’"

AllAxess.com has posted a new video with Geddy lee where he discusses "The Evolution Of ‘Caravan’ and ‘BU2B’". - Thanks to Ed at RushIsABand for the headsup!

PROG Magazine Video: "Geddy Lee Exclusive - What Rush Means To The Fans"

PROG Magazine has posted a new video with Geddy lee where he discusses "What Rush Means To The Fans".

Neil Peart "How to Find Balance in Life" - New York Times

Neil Peart was quoted in Sunday's New York Times' "One Page Magazine" with "How to Find Balance in Life":

As a drummer and a writer, when I get tired of wrestling with words, I can go beat up the drums. Maybe everyone should have a drum to carry around to express their feelings. That would be funny. As told to Spencer Bailey

- Thanks to Ed at RushIsABand for the headsup!

Rush Reference On Aqua Something You Know Whatever "Shirt Herpes"

Rush was referenced on last night's episode of "Aqua Something You Know Whatever" (aka Aqua Teen Hunger Force).  In "Shirt Herpes" (season 9, episode 3), Carl tells Shake about his "Interplanetary Insanitarium" fantasy world, where after stealing the bass axe from a demon, he "continued the bass solo, from a, it was like a Geddy Lee deep cut, Moving Pictures, maybe it was YYZ, I dunno..."  You can watch the episode here. - Thanks to John Stevenson for the headsup!

Geddy Lee on BBC Radio Update

Geddy Lee was interviewed by BBC Radio 5 "Up All Night"; the interview aired June 29th.  You can hear the interview here beginning at the 51 minute mark.

Geddy also appeared on Bob Harris' show on BBC Radio 2, at midnight July 1st for early Canada Day chat.  You can hear the interview here.

And finally, Geddy appeared on Ken Bruce's radio show on BBC Radio 2 Monday July 3rd during his 'Tracks of my years' segment. The interview can be heard here. - Thanks to Chris Flook, Richard Fionda, Mike Smith and RushFanForever for the headsup!

"Rush Tells A Different Story" - Times of Oman

The Times of Oman have published a new interview with Alex Lifeson titled "Rush Tells A Different Story", where he talks about the recording of Clockwork Angels, including the history of songs such as Wish Them Well which went three iterations before they were happy:

"We just were not happy at all with the first two, and it's come so far from what those ideas were. The first one was a meandering kind of rhythmic thing, a little on the sweet side and boring as hell. The second one was a little grittier, and then we kind of reassessed what the song was about and tried to be more positive with the sentiment musically."

He also talks about the radio edit of "Headlong Flight":

"Our expectation was that they probably wouldn't play it, and there was pressure to do a radio-edit version which came down to about five-and-a-half minutes - and yet it's gotten lots of play and is generating attention for the album.  So we get by without radio, really, although it's wonderful to have the support if you can get it."

And in regards to bringing an orchestra on the road:

"It's just something else that's different for us, and I can't wait to hear what it sounds like. It's new staging, new lighting, everything is new and fresh about it. I would say that it's an evolutionary extension of what the Time Machine tour was, but we are definitely freshening it up and there'll be a lot of new video stuff going on.

Geddy Lee Bass Guitar July 2012 Cover Feature Now Online

Rush.com has shared the cover of the July issue of the UK's Bass Guitar magazine, featuring Geddy Lee.  For more visit bassguitarmagazine.com.

UPDATE: The transcript is now online here, courtesy of Cygnus-X1.net.

Planet Rock Exclusive - My Planet Rock's with Geddy Lee This Sunday

This week on "My Planet Rocks", Geddy Lee talks to Rob Birnie about the music he loves, his influences and he chooses songs that have helped define his career.

 

My Planet Rock's airs on Sunday 8th July at 7pm (UK time).  For more info click here. - Thanks to Jon Norman with Planet Rock for the headsup!

Brian Gardner on mastering the new Rush ‘Clockwork Angels’ album - Audio-Times.com

Audio-Times.com has posted a new interview with mastering engineer Brian Gardner where he discusses Clockwork Angels.

"Technically Nick Raskulenicz [producer on Clockwork Angels] had it together as always and made my work so much easier.  Artistically with Clockwork Angels, there seemed to be a turn towards more presence and I noticed an artistic shift in the overall vibe, that being it was more an atmospheric feel being blended in, so any altering of EQ had to be done carefully but regardless the Brilliance of Rush would prevail.

"...With Clockwork Angels, there was a definite turn towards more presence but again everything was pretty much set sonically and any altering of EQ had to be done carefully.  Geddy definitely had say in some instances where a clarification of a vocal line or a bass line as did Alex in certain guitar sections.  Neil slipped me a $20 to make sure the drums predominated….kidding!"

 For the full interview click here. - Thanks to Ed at RushIsABand for the headsup!

Rush.com: Holland pre-sale

Rush.com has just sent the following:

Rush play the Ziggodome in Amsterdam on June 2, 2013.

Pre-sale for tickets goes on sale July 1 at 10am local time.

Tour Package:
http://www.livenation.co.uk/vip/artist/rush-tickets

Tickets:
http://www.ticketmaster.nl/event/100279?CL_ORIGIN=ORIGIN2

General on-sale is July 2nd.

Rush cover feature in the July 2012 issue of Aardschok

Rush is featured on the cover of the July issue of Holland's Aardschok magazine as well as an accompanying feature story and album review, giving Clockwork Angels a 9 out of 10.  For more info click here.  - Thanks to Jan Tiemens for the headsup!

The Favourite Albums Of Rush's Geddy Lee - The Quietus

The Quietus has posted an extensive new feature where Geddy Lee discusses his 13 favorite albums.

"Mick Middles speaks to Rush bassist and singer Geddy Lee about his favourite albums of all times...  Geddy Lee's Baker's Dozen is intriguing rather than surprising. Of course, the inclusion of adventuresome power trios like Cream and the Jimi Hendrix Experience might seem obvious and strongly reflect the blues rock of their formative years. Nevertheless, it seems a long road from there to Radiohead and Bjork."

- Thanks to Ed at RushIsABand for the headsup!

Rush: Truly Canadian - Ottawa Citizen

Sunday is Canada Day, and RUSH is the subject of a new piece in the Ottawa Citizen titled "Truly Canadian" with the subtitle "If you’re Canadian, it’s likely you own a Rush album. The world’s most polite band is good in a different kind of way. Just like us.". Check it out here.

Billy Corgan is a Rush Fanboy - Fuse

Fuse has posted a new video "Billy Corgan is a Rush Fanboy", where Billy talks about why he's such a Rush fanboy and why the band has been dismissed by the "critical class." - Thanks to Steve Pavlopoulos for the headsup!

Rush Gold Records Update

Moving Pictures Goes Platinum, 1981

With the recent release of Clockwork Angels which sold over 100,000 copies in the US the first week, one might wonder if this album might be the next studio album to be awarded a Gold Record by the RIAA.  To achieve Gold Record status, an album must sell 500,000 units, a combination of cd, vinyl, digital and cassette sales, so by now Clockwork Angels must be close to 1/4 of the way to Gold, right?

The last Rush studio album to go gold is Test For Echo.  For the record, here are the current SoundScan numbers for "sales to date" of the last five Rush albums.

• Counterparts: 788,983
• Test For Echo: 504,504
• Vapor Trails: 358,382
• Feedback: 173,386
• Snakes & Arrows: 323,842

As you can see, while it is common for each studio album to see a great many copies the first couple of weeks of its release, history has shown that they do not stay on the charts for long.

Geddy Lee cover feature in the August, 2012 issue of Bass Player - Now Online

UPDATE: Once again with thanks to John at Cygnus-X1.net, the article is now available here.

Geddy Lee is featured on the cover of the August, 2012 issue of Bass Player magazine.  Included is the feature story "Full Steam Ahead" as well as a second article "Inside Geddy's Gear" with Geddy's bass tech John "Skully" McIntosh. - Thanks to RushIsABand for the headsup!

Excerpt from Neil Peart's "Raindance Over the Rockies: Across The Mountains By Bicycle"

Nearly six years ago I first shared excerpts from three of Neil Peart's privately distributed books published prior to the release of The Masked Rider.  Those three books were Riding The Golden Lion; Pedals Over The Pyrenees: Or Spain And Spokes And Trains; and The African Drum.

Today I'm happy to share with you an excerpt from one more of the two remaining unpublished books: Raindance Over the Rockies: Across The Mountains By Bicycle.  In "Raindance" Neil shares the adventures of his bicycle trip from Calgary to Vancouver during the summer of 1988.

This except is the first two pages of the 21 page book, provided by a generous Rush fan for your reading pleasure.  Enjoy!

Geddy Lee's 5 favourite bassists of all time - MusicRadar.com

In between speaking to Billy Corgan about the state of the music world today and much more, legendary Rush frontman Geddy Lee took the time out to talk bass with MusicRadar.com. In no particular order, the Rush legend picks 5 of the best. - MusicRadar.com, June 26, 2012