Geddy & Alex's GRAPES UNDER PRESSURE 3 Charity eBay Auction

Geddy Lee have posted the following thank you regarding the Grapes Under Pressue 3 auction which took place the weekend of October 11th:

On behalf of Alex, myself and the entire GUP team I'd like to say a huge ginormous THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH to all of our fans, friends, and followers who took the time and spent their hard earned money to support this Grapes Under Pressure 3 Ebay auction in support of Grapes for Humanity Canada. Your money will go a super long way to help rebuild health care facilities in the Philippines that were damaged or destroyed in the Haiyan Typhoon. You have helped a lot of people!

Thank you all for caring!

my best to you,
Geddy Lee

On October 8th, Rush.com posted:

Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson have launched the most Rush memorabilia on their eBay auction as part of their Grapes Under Pressure 3 initiative in support of Grapes for Humanity, an organization that helps to raise funds to benefit humanitarian causes around the world with the assistance of the international wine community.

The Grapes Under Pressure eBay auction has been fast and furious since went live on Friday!

Some of the standouts include 53 bids for a signed Different Stages promo photo, 27 bids for a signed Moving Pictures Live test pressing, and 15 bids for Geddy’s home studio used Ovation acoustic guitar.

Things will really start to heat up as we move towards auction closing times on Monday evening, Oct. 13th.

You can watch the action here.  Or even better, join in the fun and make a bid! It’s all for a good cause.

Included in the auction are:

•     An autographed Geddy Lee Custom Shop Relic Fender Jazz Bass (limited edition, only 50 of these basses have been built as an exact replica of Geddy’s stage bass).
•     An autographed Alex Lifeson Signature Gibson Axcess Les Paul Guitar signed by Alex, Geddy and Neil.
•     A Rush autographed DW Snare Drum with NHL Logos Limited Edition, one of only 6 built.

ALL proceeds will be directed to Grapes for Humanity, Canada www.grapesforhumanity.com

Grapes for Humanity Canada is proud to partner with Magna Children at Risk, and proceeds for this exclusive event will go directly to rebuild health care facilities in the Philippines which were damaged by the Haiyan Typhoon.

Thanks for your support!

Geddy & Alex
#GUP3auction

Alex Lifeson Talks About The '70s In New Video Interview

Alex Lifeson was recently interviewed by Indie Power. During the brief chat he was asked what it was about the '70s that is still so powerful today over all the decades.

"I guess it was an era in music," replied the iconic Canadian musician. "And there's staying power in a lot of that music. Things were so different then. Communication is so instant now and everybody's got thousands of songs on their iPhone. It's a whole different thing. Certainly the music of that era, for the most part, is quite enduring."

- Thanks to Bravewords for the headsup!

Danforth & Pape's "Union Of Maples" T-Shirt Now Available

Danforth & Pape Outfitters, the Rush-fan t-shirt makers based in the UK, have announced their latest release, the "Grand Union Of Maples" t-shirt available in black and of course, forest green!  From their Facebook page:

Want equal rights for Maples? Then Brothers and Sisters, the Grand Union of Maples needs you!...You know the manifesto. You know our demands. Now here’s the T-shirt.

The Grand Union of Maples shirts are £17.00.  Postage and Packing is £3.00 for UK and £5.00 for the rest of the world per item.

The closing date for pre-orders is Halloween when we’ll all be topping up the sugar levels on a Witch Hunt!  Shipping will commence in Mid-November.

For additional information including sizing and ordering, visit their Facebook page.  Also look for their previous releases including tshirts for Le Studio, Blah Blah Blah, Barchetta Racing Club, and the Cygnus-X1 Rocinante crew shirt.

The Ents cover "Fly By Night" on their "Traveling Lights" EP

Progressive rock band The Ents released their EP Traveling Lights on bandcamp.com this past September 6th, and included is their cover of Rush's "Fly By Night". Check it out here. - Thanks to Ton Jansens for the headsup!

Bill Hader is a Rush fan

Rush fans are everywhere.  In the first three minutes of this interview on Speakeasy with Paul F. Tompkins originially published in August, 2013, Hader tells how when growing up in Tulsa, Oklahoma, being a fan of the comedy talents of Monty Python was a quick way of meeting fans who shared similar tastes, and goes on to say "It was the same thing as if you saw someone who was wearing a Rush tshirt..." - Thanks to Bryan Benner for the headsup!

Geddy Lee - The Mind Of The Baseball Collector

Tonight, Geddy Lee will be featured in a Sportsnet documentary regarding baseball collectors.

"The Mind of the Baseball Collector looks at the addictive world of sports memorabilia collecting. The past comes to life through the collections and stories of: rock legend Geddy Lee, eclectic collector and lawyer Allan Stitt and the Guinness Book of World Records holder of the most autographed baseballs, Dennis Schrader."

The documentary airs tonight (Monday), October 13th at 7PM on Sportsnet in Canada.  - Thanks to Ed @ RushIsABand for the headsup!

"Far and Near: An Interview with Neil Peart" - Huffington Post

Buy Now

Huffington Post has just posted "Far and Near: An Interview with Neil Peart". Promoting his recently released book (buy now), Neil talks about his history of writing, the research he invests in a topic, and states in regards to his readers,

 "I think in music you're always hoping that you'll have a like-minded audience and that the music you like making will appeal to them too. That's the same way that I approach the stories. Just as we play our music for an ideal listener as it were, I have an ideal reader in mind who's interested in nature like I am, interested in physical activity like I am, and human history."

- Thanks to Skip Daly for the headsup!

Neil Peart's "News Weather and Sports" - October 2014

Neil Peart has updated his website with the latest edition of News, Weather & Sports titled "Science Island".   Neil tells of spending two weeks at his home in Quebec with five year old daughter Olivia, and also shares the news of a new Banger Films documentary about Geddy which included a visit to Le Studio! 

Alex Lifeson Participates in Scott Medlock-Robby Krieger Invitational Golf Tournament and All-Star Concert

UPDATE: Rock journalist Lucas H. Gordon interviewed Alex on video to discuss the band's activity, performing in Argentina with the flu, and more.


UPDATE: The tournament took place yesterday, and today KISS tweeted the photo to the right, with the caption: "Now here's a team! Patrick Warburton, Dan Dutton, Alex Lifeson, Paula Trickey, #KISS' Tommy Thayer and Alice Cooper".

Videos from last night's All-Star Concert are available here, including  "Working Man" and "The Spirit of Radio", as well as other classic songs from The Doors.

The seventh annual Scott Medlock-Robby Krieger Invitational Golf Tournament and All-Star Concert will return to Moorpark Country Club on Mon., Sept. 22 for the benefit of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.  The event will be hosted by artist Scott Medlock, renowned for his paintings in the world of sports, and Robby Krieger, the legendary Doors lead guitarist.

The event has raised nearly $1 million for St. Jude, and the fundraising goal this year is $300,000.  Microsemi Mercedes-Benz of Long Beach, Waste Management and Monster Energy are sponsors of the day-long event, which will kick off with a golf tournament at 10:30 a.m., followed by a 19thhole reception presented by A La Maison, Mastro's Steakhouse and Ketel One Vodka.

At 8 p.m., the rockers will take the stage for an all-star concert that will feature Krieger, Alex Lifeson (Rush), Tommy Thayer (KISS), Danny Seraphine (Chicago), David Sikes (Boston), Lita Ford and Cherie Currie (The Runaways), plus Jonny Lang, Ray Goren and comedians Gary Mule Deer, Mark Eddie, Scott Henry and Michael Wilson.

Concert tickets are $50 for general admission, and $100 for VIP access and the 19th hole reception. Golf entries are $5,000 per Foursome Sponsor.  For details to purchase tickets visit www.medlockkriegerinvitational.com. - The Acorn.com, September 11, 2014 - Thanks to RushFanForever for the headsup!

Neil Peart's "Far And Near ... On Days Like These" Now Shipping

As previously announced, Neil Peart's next book, "Far And Near; On Days Like These, his second collection of blog posts originally posted to his website, is set for release from ECW Press on October 14th, 2014. However, there are reports that the book is already shipping.

Don't delay, the book can be ordered in hardback and ebook options.

Whether navigating the backroads of Louisiana or Thuringia, exploring the snowy Quebec woods, or performing onstage at Rush concerts, Neil Peart has stories to tell. His first volume in this series, Far and Away, combined words and images to form an intimate, insightful narrative that won many readers.

Now Far and Near brings together reflections from another three years of an artist’s life as he celebrates seasons, landscapes, and characters, travels roads and trails, receives honors, climbs mountains, composes and performs music. With passionate insight, wry humor, and an adventurous spirit, once again Peart offers a collection of open letters that take readers on the road, behind the scenes, and into the inner workings of an ever-inquisitive mind.

These popular stories, originally posted on Peart’s website, are now collected and contextualized with a new introduction and conclusion in this beautifully designed collector’s volume.

- Thanks to Vagner Cruz for the headsup!

“Clockwork Angels” Comic Book #5 of 6 now available

The fifth of the six part Clockwork Angels comic book series is released today, September 17th.  The standard comic store cover series can be ordered directly from Boom! Studios at this link, and the limited edition cover featuring key lyrics from Rush songs that are tied to the comic is also available via BOOM! Studios as well as the Rush Backstage Club.

Alex Lifeson guest appearance on Wilderness of Manitoba's album "Between Colours" coming September 16

Toronto atmospheric folkies the Wilderness of Manitoba latest album, Between Colours, was released September 16 on Pheromone Recordings.  Guests include Alex Lifeson who plays a guitar solo on the track "Shift" which you can preview below, as well as Rheostatics member Michael Phillip Wojewoda on theremin.  For more info visit exclaim.ca.

Durrell Bowman's "Experiencing Rush: A Listener's Companion" Coming In November

Author Durrell Bowman, who previously published Rush And Philosophy, has now written Experiencing Rush: A Listener's Companion.  Part of the "Experiencing, A Listener's Companion" series, the book is set for both hardcover and ebook release in November.  You can preorder your copy here.

"In Experiencing Rush: A Listener’s Companion, music scholar Durrell Bowman guides readers through Rush’s long career, explaining through the artful combination of biography, history, and musical exegesis how to listen to this unique act. From Rush’s emergence as an early blues-rock power trio of guitar, bass, and drums into the godfathers of progressive hard rock, Bowman marks the band’s first breakthrough with its landmark, sci-fi/individualist album 2112. From there, readers explore Rush’s movement from “prog rock” extended compositions into shorter, potential-radio-play “post-prog” songs, leading to Rush’s most successful album Moving Pictures in 1981. In its later career, Rush adventurously mixed progressive hard rock and music technology, generating a new power trio sound that featured further stylistic evolutions. As Bowman makes clear, it is the band’s stalwart path and many influences on fans, musicians, and others that resulted in Rush’s induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2013."

- Thanks to Ed at RushIsABand for the headsup!

R40 6-disc Blu-ray box set coming in November

The R40 boxed set, containing blu-ray or dvd editions of Rush's five most recent live videos (Rush in Rio, R30, Snakes & Arrows Live, Time Machine, Clockwork Angels Tour) plus an R40 bonus disc containing oft-requested items from the vault, is coming November 11.  The box will also include a 56 page hardback book.

It's worth mentioning that this will contain the first release of Rush in Rio on blu-ray, and in addition this edition of the R30 blu-ray does include the bonus features, which were left off the original R30 blu-ray edition.

The bonus disc is purported to include the complete Laura Secord Secondary School 1974 footage of which only three tracks have been previously available, Lock And Key 88 (outtake previously only available on select versions of the A Show of Hands laserdisk), the Passaic NJ Capitol Theatre show from 1976 (previously seen in Beyond The Lighted Stage), and Rush at the Molson Amphitheatre in 1997 (the previously shelved Different Stages video[?]), as well as the I Still Love You Man video from the Time Machine Tour and footage of the the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Induction in 2013.

From the product description:

2014 marks the 40th anniversary of the release of Rush's eponymous debut album in 1974. This superb collector's box set brings together live performances by Rush from each decade of their career. It includes "Rush In Rio", "R30", "Snakes & Arrows Live", "Time Machine 2011: Live In Cleveland" and "Clockwork Angels Tour" plus a bonus disc of previously unseen live material stretching from 1974 to 2013. Rush are renowned for the energy and excitement of their live concerts and this set brings together some of their finest performances. The 6 Blu-ray discs are contained in a stunning 56 page hardback book measuring 305mm x 225mm with the 6 discs contained in 5 additional rigid insert pages. The 56 pages of the book are filled with memorabilia and photographs documenting 40 years of Rush live in concert. This is the ultimate collection of Rush live performances, beautifully presented.

And here are the bonus disc details:

Disc Six - R40 Bonus Disc
Laura Secord Secondary School 1974
1) Need Some Love 2) Before and After 3) Best I Can 4) I’ve Been Runnin’ 5) Bad Boy 6) The Loser 7) Working Man 8) In the Mood (partial)
Capitol Theatre 1976
1) Bastille Day 2) Anthem 3) Lakeside Park 4) 2112 5) Fly By Night/In The Mood
Lock and Key 1988
Molson Amphitheatre 1997
1) Limelight 2) Half the World 3) Limbo 4) Virtuality 5) Nobody's Hero 6) Test for Echo 7) Leave That Thing Alone/Drum Solo 8) 2112 (all seven parts)
I Still Love You Man 2011
Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Induction 2013

The UK release date is given as Monday, November 17th so the North American release will likely by the following Tuesday, November 18th. Thanks to Ed at RushIsABand for the heads up.

"The Spirit of Radio" makes BBC's 'Greatest Guitar Riffs Ever'

On Thursday, BBC Radio 2 released their list of the top 20 'Greatest Guitar Riffs Ever'.  The songs were not ranked, but "The Spirit of Radio" did make the top 20. More importantly, the BBC posted a short audio clip of Geddy Lee where he thanks the fans for voting, and also gives a short description of how Alex created the songs' signature introductory riff. - Thanks to Martin Goodfellow for the headsup!

Billy Corgan expresses the ongoing inspiration of Rush

It's no secret that Billy Corgan (Smashing Pumpkins) is a Rush fan.  He is a self proclaimed "fanboy", and besides expressing his love of the band in Beyond The Lighted Stage, spoke at Rush's Hollywood Walk of Fame Induction Ceremony.

In a new interview with the Chicago Sun-Times, Corgan discusses how "his inspirations are now bands that continue to make music but without artistic pretense, such as Neil Young, Iggy Pop, and particularly Rush. He says the Canadian rock giants have taught him that 'the right way to get older is no apologies, do your thing, and when you get out there, you can still walk off the stage feeling you’re one of the best at what you do.  You don’t feel they’re leaving anything on the table or phoning it in,' he says. 'That’s the spirit that made you love them in the first place.'”  Check out the full interview here. - Thanks to David Cooper for the headsup!

"Alex Lifeson On John Wesley" in Guitar Player, October 2014 issue

The new October issue of Guitar Player magazine (featuring Slash on the cover) includes a major feature on John Wesley (Porcupine Tree) titled "Dose Of Reality; John Wesley's No-Holds-Barred Rock Reflections".  Wesley's new album, Disconnect (cd/itunes), includes a guest appearance by Alex Lifeson on the track "Once A Warrior".  The Guitar Player feature includes the sidebar "Alex Lifeson On John Wesley" written by Alex himself. - Thanks to Anil Prasad for the headsup!

Rush Referenced Again on FX's "The Bridge"

As explained in my previous update, the season premier of FX's "The Bridge" (aired July 9) included a scene where Daniel (Matthew Lillard), goes to see his AA sponsor Gary (Brian Baumgartner) who is wearing a Grace Under Pressure t-shirt and the two discuss Rush. 

In the followup episode "Lamia" (aired August 20), Daniel is at his apartment (wearing the Grace Under Pressure shirt from the previous episode) with Gary (who is wearing a Rush explosion t-shirt), doing cocaine and listening to "The Spirit of Radio".

- Thanks to everyone who alerted me, and to RushIsABand for the sceenshot.

Alex Lifeson in His Own Words - Gibson.com

Today is Alex Lifeson's 61st birthday!  Take a break from celebrating and check out Gibson.com's "Alex Lifeson in His Own Words", a collection of "what Alex has said over the years about his guitar craft and worldview to other websites and magazines. Words of wisdom, wit and fun." - Thanks to Kevin Nash for the headsup!

Vertical Horizon's Matt Scannell Talks Peart in new Guitar Player Interview

In a new interview with GuitarPlayer.com posted last Tuesday, Vertical Horizon's Matt Scannell talks about his collaborations with Neil Peart and their ongoing friendship:

"Recording with Neil Peart, the legend, is actually just like recording with Neil Peart, one of your best friends. He’s one of my favorite human beings. But what you quickly realize with Neil is that he’s just a guy who has a job, and he’s really good at his job. When we were doing our last record, Burning the Days, he and I decided to try to write a song together. It was a song called 'Even Now' and it went really well and he ended up playing drums on it. On Echoes From The Underground he plays on 'Instamatic' and 'South for the Winter.' One thing people might not realize about Neil’s drumming is how much he plays for the singer. It’s uncanny how sensitive he is to the voice. He wants to build you up as a singer and build up the vocal performance. As the singer in the band, it’s really incredible to hear him propel me forward and raise me up. 'Instamatic,' to me, is one of the greatest performances of his incredible career. It’s a master class in rock drumming and I was thrilled beyond belief to have him appear on our record."