MixOnline recently posted a short interview where he discusses the technical challenges which had to be overcome to properly mic the string section on stage during the current Rush tour. Click here for more. - Thanks to RushFanForever for the headsup!
Last night, May 2nd, the fifth annual Revolver Golden Gods hard rock and heavy metal award show was held at Club Nokia in Downtown Los Angeles. All members of Rush were nominated for awards in their respective instrument categories, but this year the awards went to bassist Corey Taylor of Stone Sour & Slipknot, guitarist went to John 5 of Rob Zombie best drummer went to Arejay Hale of Halestorm. Metallica performed live, and also nominated was ex-Metallica bassist Jason Newstead who talked about his influences, including Geddy Lee, in this interview with Artistan News (beginning at the 1:30 mark).
Here's a new but brief interview with Geddy from today's UK Independent. "Slow progress, but Rush's hour is here at last" includes Geddy's comments after Rush's recent induction into the Rock Hall of Fame.
Thursday, May 2nd is Rock & Roll Music Night at Toronto's Rogers Centre when the Blue Jays face off against the Boston Red Sox. One lucky fan will go home with a signed Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee and Blue Jays season ticket holder Geddy Lee.Click here for more information. - Thanks to Deb Jeff Oullette for the headsup!
It has been awhile since I've updated the Rush Pop Culture References page, and here's the latest additions.
In the fourth issue of the ongoing creator-owned Image Comics series Revival, by Tim Seeley and Mike Norton, released October 24, 2012, the crematorium technician of the Heinlien Funeral Home is wearing an original-logo Rush shirt under his lab coat.
The Fox cartoon series Futurama had a few Rush references during its 7 season run, and here is one more. During episode #98, "The Prisoner of Brenda", aired August 19, 2010, on the title card at the very beginning of the episode, the bottom caption reads "What happens in Cygnus X-1 stays in Cygnus X-1".
In the movie Expendables 2, released on August 17, 2012, a team of mercenaries conduct their missions in an old Canadair CL-215 floatplane. In reality this plane served as a waterbomber for the Province of Ontario, and for the film, the airplane's call letters are "XP 2112".
From the season finale of FX's animated show Archer, which has had multiple Rush references over the last four years, check out this clip from the season finale, "Sea Tunt: Part II", which recently aired on April 11th.
- Thanks to Brett Hudgins, Chris Morley, Barry Horton and David Wholihan for the headsup and images!
Rush will be hitting the UK in May as part of their Clockwork Angels tour, and we are giving you the chance to get up close and personal by winning front row tickets!
We have pairs of tickets to give away for all five gig dates...All next week, our resident Rush expert, Darren Redick, will be playing you Rush songs on-air. What makes this different from every other week, is that each song will be given a special twist when it is played out around 5pm. Darren will be adding his own unique musical flavour to each song by playing guitar, bass, keyboards, or possibly even singing! When you hear the Darren Redick remix of the Rush song, just text 81400 starting with the word PLANET. Darren will then call three people, who will go head to head in a rock quiz. Whoever is crowned winner will win a pair of front-row seats to see Rush! - Click here for details.
The Clockwork Angels 2013 Tour kicks off tonight in Austin, Texas, and will run for the next three and a half months before coming to a close in Kansas City, Missouri on August 4th.
Thanks to friends and visitors to this site, Power Windows maintains a huge collection of Rush tour memorabilia, but to keep it up current we need your help. Please take the time to scan your concert ticket(s) for the Rush Tour Archive. Or if you do not have a scanner, please take a quality photograph.
In addition, any other items or pictures you have which document your show including advertisements, handbills, photographs of marquees, etc, are also welcome.
I have a stub or advertisement for every show of the last ten years. If you are a collector, you might also be able to help fill in the gaps from previous tours. Who knows, you might have a stub for a show that has been forgotten in the depths of time. My ultimate goal is to be able to provide a complete archive of the touring history of Rush for everyone to see.
Today Classic Rock magazine has posted a teaser from an interview with Neil Peart from their upcoming issue going on sale this Wednesday, April 24th. In the interview, Neil comments on an interview published in the March 4, 1978 issue of the UK's New Musical Express (which you can read here):
“I recall that NME interview very well because the conversation was great,” Peart recalls in an interview in the forthcoming new edition of Classic Rock. “And we all felt totally betrayed after, because we had a lovely time with the guy. I remember him being so courteous. It was so amicable. As far as I was concerned, we were just having an intellectual conversation. But these things are wide open to misinterpretation, and that was a classic case.”
Peart, who has since distanced himself from Rand’s writings, added: “I know where I fall politically. And I define it better now: I’m a libertarian, but a bleeding-heart libertarian. I believe in taxation and health care that is outside the usual libertarian mandate, because I don’t want people to have to suffer. It’s as simple as that. If people are suffering and I can help, I want to. But here’s the difference between being an idealist and a realist. Idealistically, I believe that we should help people. But realistically, do I think that government will do that? No.”
Peart defines ‘libertarianism’ as follows: “It’s enlightened self-interest. Free will. I’ve lived in the US for the last 10 years, and I wanted there to be a health care system. The little bit that there is, it’s a wonderful thing. So that’s an example of what I consider enlightened self-interest. That’s why I’m a bleeding-heart libertarian.
As previously announced, Rush was nominated for Group of the Year and Clockwork Angels was nominated as the Rock Album of the Year. The 2013 Juno Awards took place tonight at Regina's Brandt Centre. Rush lost group of the year catagory to Mariannas Trench, but Clockwork Angels did win as Rock Album of the Year. - Thanks to RushFanForever for the headsup!
In honor of Rush's Rock Hall of Fame Induction, Saturday night's Hockey Night in Canada opened with a video montage including Rush with Limelight in the soundtrack. - Thanks to Ben Taylor and Pat Komadoski for the heads up!
“I really wanted to make sure I threw a strike because in my own
demented mind I felt if I throw a bad pitch I’m going to jinx the Jays.
So I practised for a couple of days and once I got up there I was pretty
relaxed. I pitched right down the middle. I was very happy about that. I
couldn’t let the side down.” - Jam!Showbiz, April 16, 2012 (Thanks to RushFanForever for the headsup!)
The Toronto Blue Jays opened their 37th season with a sold out Rogers Centre for Honda Opening Night on Tuesday, April 2nd against the Cleveland Indians. Geddy Lee threw out the Ceremonial First Pitch, and it was a perfect strike! Click here to view the video.
The Vancouver Sun later posted a short video interview with Geddy shortly before throwing out he first pitch. Click here to view.
The 28th annual Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony took place last night at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles. Rush was the final act inducted, preceded by Heart, Randy Newman, Public Enemy, and the late Albert King and Donna Summer.
Rush were inducted by Dave Grohl and Taylor Hawkins of the Foo Fighters: "Rock & roll has forever been ensconced in mystery..." Grohl said, "...but there's one mystery that surely eclipses them all: when the fuck did Rush become cool?...From day one, the band built its following the right way. No hype, no (baloney), they did it from the ground up without any help from the mainstream press...Their influence is undeniable and their devoted fan base is only rivaled by the Grateful Dead. Look at you people, all of you people, right here! And their legacy is that of a band that stayed true to themselves no matter how uncool they may have seemed to anyone...They have always been cool! Consider this mystery solved. It is our honor to FINALLY induct Rush into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame."
Neil Peart was the first to give a speech, opening with: “We’ve been saying for a long time that this wasn’t that big a deal, turns out, it truly IS a big deal.’’
Geddy added it was "a little overwhelming for a nice Jewish boy from Toronto" and crowned his speech with thanks to "the most passionate, incredible fan base around the globe...for not only supporting and encouraging our musical progress over the years, but for the insistence of their voices, which has most certainly led us to this evening."
And Alex, well, Alex gave a speech that was uniquely his own, using the simple phrase of "blah blah blah" and charades to convey the highs and lows of a career fighting for respect with the mainstream media, as well as the trio’s underlying love for each other, and the journey of the band to that point in time.
Here is a complete fan recorded video of Rush's induction speech. The event will be broadcast May 18 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HBO, and will also eventually be released on DVD.
After Rush's induction speech, Dave Grohl (guitar), Taylor Hawkins (drums), and Nick Raskulinecz (Geddy's Rickenbacker), wearing wigs and kimonos circa 1976, opened the Rush set with "2112 Overture" before Rush joined them and performed "Tom Sawyer" followed by "The Spirit of Radio". The all star jam finale was "Crossroads," featuring the new Class of Hall of Famers as well as Grohl, Gary Clarke Jr. and current Hall of Famer John Fogerty.
Backstage after the event, Dave Grohl said "It's terrifying to play your favorite song in front of your favorite band. it's one thing to sit in the basement to sit in the basement and woodshed 2112, and it's another to stand in front of Rush in a fucking kimono and a wig. Tonight was one of the most special nights of my life. I met Neil Peart for the first time at rehearsal. This man was as influential to me as any religion. And he said, 'So nice to meet you, can I make you a coffee?' And he made me a coffee. Later on that night, I went to dinner and had a couple glasses of wine and I started fucking crying, because my hero made me a coffee."
Geddy Lee also reflected on the night's events, "When we first found out, I don't think it really dawned on me what it meant. And in the days building up to this tonight, I've started reflecting on our lives and what this actually does mean in the context of music, popular music."
For our gallery of photos of what we deem the best of the night click here.
The new issue of Prog magazine is now on newsstands, and inside Geddy Lee finally gives his side of The Runaways story of when they opened for Rush at Detroit's Cobo Hall on February 10, 1977, as dramatized in their feature film.
Rush fans will recall Joan Jett's comments while promoting the film:
"...Joan Jett says members of Rush were anything but polite Canucks when the Runaways opened for them in the 1970s. In the new film biopic about the band titled The Runaways, Jett (played by Kristen Stewart) is derided by an unidentified rock group they're opening for. She later retaliates by breaking into their dressing room and urinating on one of their guitars. Jett doesn't hesitate to identify the real-life inspiration for the scene. 'Rush! They sat on the side of the stage and laughed at us,' Jett says. 'That sort of stuff pisses me off.'" - JamMusic, January 29, 2010
In the current issue of Prog, Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Geddy Lee replies:
"The Runaways had a ginormous chip on their shoulders. I remember that show. We had trouble with our gear so our soundcheck got delayed and The Runaways never got one. But we were always good to whoever was opening for us. We had no bias against them because they were girls - none of that bullshit. I know they said that we were laughing at them when they played, but quite frankly they were too shitty to listen to. And 40 years later they have a story to tell about it. Who knew?"
Billboard.com has posted another short interview including video where "Lee and his bandmate Alex Lifeson look particularly relaxed in the Billboard studio, where they chatted about their upcoming Hall of Fame moment, life in a rock 'n' roll band and their friendship with the Foo Fighters, who will induct the group during a ceremony April 18." - Billboard.com, April 18, 2013
Thursday morning, Canada's House of Commons gave Rush a standing ovation in anticipation of their Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction later that evening. Check out the video here.
“It ain’t ever gonna happen. Regardless of their success, Rush have never achieved critical acclaim and no one will ever vote for them ... most of it gives me a headache... Technical proficiency is not a valid reason to induct an artist, and Rush really hasn’t done anything unique.”
Tonight, as the class of 2013 is inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, via a ceremony at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, the air will be filled with many beautiful sounds – from the performers, to the high-profile artists chosen to induct those performers with speeches, to the assembled cheering on their heroes.
But most beautiful of all for some will be the sound of Rolling Stone senior editor and rock hall board member David Wild, who is the man quoted above, eating his words. For tonight, the Canadian progressive rock trio Rush will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame...
As for Rush, the Canadian power trio's fans have long lobbied for the band's induction and their wish finally will come to fruition this evening. Guitarist Alex Lifeson and singer/bassist Geddy Lee both have the utmost appreciation for their faithful followers.
"Our fans are the most amazing fans in the world," declares Lifeson. He adds that it's "a wonderful, very satisfying feeling" when fans tell him that Rush has "helped them, through our music, to get through a difficult period."
Lee explains to ABC News Radio, "To be sitting here, all these years later and to still have people come up to us on the street on a daily basis, and to see the kind of thanks…they're thanking us for what we do -- I mean, that blows me away."
"Their musicianship was very important to me as an aspiring guitar player," he said. "And they eschewed some of the cornier trappings of hard rock music — the devil stuff and the groupie stuff, which I could never really relate to. And three of the greatest players were somehow in the same band. Their music was just very compelling to me."
"I gotta tell you, rehearsal last night, it took a little getting used to being in that proximity," he laughed. "At one point, Chris Cornell (of Soundgarden) and I ... were studying Neil Peart's kit like we were 12 years old. We begin rehearsal and I'm like holy (crap), that's Neil Peart! On Neil Peart's kit! Really, that's crazy. I could have touched him! It's awesome."
"They are as advertised though," he added. "They are as down to earth and easygoing as any band. They deserve to be in the nice guy of rock hall of fame as well as the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame."
This is it: the night that RUSH fans have waited for since 1999, when the group was first eligible to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Thursday night, the Canadian trio -- a staple of classic rock radio stations -- will jam onstage with their fellow class of inductees.
We should feel vindicated, right?
For the last 13 years, fans of the band have been outraged as the Hall of Fame overlooked their heroes. From the moment RUSH was eligible for consideration, fans signed petitions and wondered what kind of critics could be keeping their heroes from the limelight.
It has been awhile since I've updated the Rush Pop Culture References page, and here's the latest additions.
The Clockwork Angels 2013 Tour kicks off tonight in Austin, Texas, and will run for the next three and a half months before coming to a close in Kansas City, Missouri on August 4th.
Thanks to friends and visitors to this site, Power Windows maintains a huge collection of Rush tour memorabilia, but to keep it up current we need your help. Please take the time to scan your concert ticket(s) for the Rush Tour Archive. Or if you do not have a scanner, please take a quality photograph.
In addition, any other items or pictures you have which document your show including advertisements, handbills, photographs of marquees, etc, are also welcome.
UPDATE: Check out "Rush’s Lee says throwing first pitch at Jays opener “really cool”":
The new issue of Prog magazine is now on newsstands, and inside Geddy Lee finally gives his side of The Runaways story of when they opened for Rush at Detroit's Cobo Hall on February 10, 1977, as dramatized in their feature film.
Rush fans will recall Joan Jett's comments while promoting the film: 
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