Geddy Lee Performs at The Who's Concert for Teenage Cancer Trust

Last night Geddy Lee was one of the guest performers at The Who's concert for Teenage Cancer Trust at London's Shepherd's Bush Empire.   Today's review in London's Guardian newspaper noted "Rush’s Geddy Lee’s leather-lunged take on The Seeker confirms that when the Who rock, they really rock," and Rollingstone reported "Geddy Lee put in a laidback performance on 'The Seeker.' The Rush singer, who had flown in from Canada especially for the gig and celebrates his own band's 40th anniversary this year, also played bass and later said he was 'thrilled to support the Teenage Cancer Trust while celebrating the music of the Who, a band that changed my life.'"

Geddy Lee's performance of "The Seeker", which was covered by Rush performed on Feedback,  can be seen in these fan filmed video recordings here, here, here and here (embedded below) .  An extensive gallery of photos from the event is available here.

"An evening of music in aid of Teenage Cancer Trust
The house band for the evening is The Who's band featuring Simon Townshend, Zak Starkey, Pino Palladino, Billy Nicholls, Frank Simes, Loren Gold and John Coury, and they will be joined onstage by some of the best artists in the world all performing Who classics.

"Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder, Liam Gallagher, Ricky Wilson from the Kaiser Chiefs, Manic Street Preachers’ James Dean Bradfield, Geddy Lee from Rush, The Strypes, Brody Dalle, Tom Odell, Amy Macdonald, Andy Burrows and Rizzle Kicks as well more to be announced soon, have chosen their favourite WHO songs to perform in aid of Teenage Cancer Trust."

The evening's setlist and list of performers was as follows:  

'I Can't Explain' - Andy Burrows; 'The Kids Are Alright' - Wilko Johnson + The Strypes; 'Getting In Tune' - Tom Odell; 'Behind Blue Eyes' - Amy Macdonald;  'Who Are You?' - Rizzle Kicks; 'You Better You Bet' - Rich Hall; '5.15' - Ricky Wilson; 'Bell Boy' - Ricky Wilson + Phil Daniels; 'Love Reign O'er Me' - Joe Elliott; 'Acid Queen' - Sheila Ferguson; 'The Seeker' - Geddy Lee; 'Baba O'Riley' - Leslie Mendelson; 'My Generation' - Liam Gallagher; 'Naked Eye' - Eddie Vedder; 'Won't Get Fooled Again' - Eddie Vedder; 'Listening To You' - Eddie Vedder; 'Substitute' - Roger Daltrey; 'Young Man Blues' - Roger Daltrey

3 Doors Down's Chris Henderson Digs Rush

In a new interview posted today at MemphisFlyer.com, 3 Doors Down guitarist Chris Henderson talks about how Rush's Chronicles compilation helped him through a bad breakup, and how working with Alex Lifeson (in spring 2000, shortly after the release of Better Life, Lifeson produced three 3 Doors Down tracks: "Wasted Me", "Dangerous Game" and "Dead Love") taught him to be a better producer.

I had a girlfriend. I was engaged to her. We broke up after five years of being together. She went off and did whatever to get over it. I put in Rush Chronicles, got in my truck and drove around for five days. That's how I got over that relationship. After I listened to that record, I said, 'I don't need this crap. I've got Rush.' So needless to say, when Alex Lifeson's name came up as a producer, I was in, Jack. I didn't need to hear anybody else's name. I can't explain how nice a guy and how smart he was. How cultured he was and how great a musician he is. I can't put into words how much his influence brought to my life before I met him and after I met him. There's not a week that goes by that I don't think of that experience. I spent three weeks with him in the studio.

He taught me that the technical aspect of being a producer is not the most important part. Tee most important part is the song and how to delegate. If you want to change someone's art, they are going to fight you on it. If it's all about the art becoming better, you've got to get your point across. That's what Alex taught me. Instead of saying 'I'm a producer. I'm from Rush. You need to listen to me.' He wasn't like that. He came in and was like,' Think about it like this: What does the fan think? From a radio listener's perspective, you have about 13 seconds. They hit that seek button. That's the way it works. He taught us that.

- Thanks to Rushfanforever for the headsup!

Geddy Lee Discusses 2015 Tour and R40 Collectors Box - Rollingstone.com

Rollingstone.com has posted a new interview with Geddy Lee where he confirms that plans for a 2015 tour are still up in the air.

"We're still talking.  Everybody has a different idea how they want to spend the next couple of years, so we haven't come to a decision. I'm ready and happy to play if everyone else agrees. I think in the next couple of months we'll decide to do something or not."

He also discusses the force behind the release of the R40 boxed set:

"The office and our manager is always pushing us to release some archival stuff.  Seeing as we were off, we said, 'Have at it.' It was interesting seeing all the old footage. We recorded a show on the Test For Echo tour we'd forgotten about because it came just before a particularly dark period in our history. It was painful to think about, but when we listened back we realized we were in good form that night. It would have been a shame to not unearth at least part of it."

Click here for the complete interview.  - Thanks to Skip Daly for the headsup!

Neil Peart on The Strombo Show Sunday November 9th - Video Now Available

UPDATE: Nov 10: Neil Peart appeared on The Strombo Show this past Sunday, November 9 on CBC Radio 2 in Canada from 8-11pm.  Neil's complete 28 minute interview is now available here.  In addition, the complete broadcast is available as a podcast on Strombo's SoundCloud channel here (Neil's interview is from 55:00 to 2:10:22).

Vote for what you want to hear on tour in 2015 at RushPetition.com

With Rush gearing up to tour in 2015, RushPetition.com is back!  This is your chance to vote for what you want to hear live during next year's tour:

"In the interest of encouraging the band to pull some choice rarities out of the vault, the song list (below) is limited to songs from the Peart recording era that Rush has never performed live ("Feedback" covers excluded). As in the past, each person gets to select FIVE songs from the list below and submit their votes, with each individual being allowed to cast one "ballot". No guarantees, of course, but with any luck the band will keep an eye on the results and take the results into some degree of consideration. (We'll certainly be letting Anthem/SRO know the site is up and running again)."

To vote visit RushPetition.com.

Win a bottle of 12 year old Macallan whisky signed by Neil Peart of RUSH

RUSHfest Scotland, the Scotland convention for Rush fans, is hosting a world wide raffle to win a 12 year old bottle of The Macallan whisky signed by Neil Peart, in an effort to raise funds for Macmillan Cancer Support.

It is a well known fact amongst RUSH fans that Neil Peart’s favorite tipple after a show or a bike ride is a ‘wee measure’ of 'The Macallan', one of the most highly regarded distillers in Scotland.  The 12 year old Macallan, which will come with a certificate of authenticity, is no longer in production and sure to go up in value within the whisky collector community.

Each drawing entry is just £5 GBP (~$8 USD), and it is open worldwide.   The more you donate, the more times you get entered into the raffle - each multiple of £5 GBP is another entry in the raffle.  The drawing will be made on April 18th, 2015.

For complete details, visit https://www.justgiving.com/rushfest-Scotland/. - Thanks to Mike Sword for the headsup!

TJ Martell World Tour of Wine Dinner & Auction

Yesterday Rush.com announced that Alex Lifeson will be attending the TJ Martell World Tour of Wine Dinner & Auction, honoring RUSH & Doug Shafer, President of Shafer Wines.  The event will take place Thursday, November 20th at Capitale, 130 Bowery, New York, NY, beginning at 6:30PM.  Tickets are available here. 

About The TJ Martell World Tour Of Wine & Auction:
Each year, our World Tour of Wine guests join us for full tastings from the cellars of some the most avid wine lovers and collectors in the United States who donate their wine for those at their table to drink. The 220+ guests in attendance also enjoy an exquisite five-course gourmet meal (featuring courses prepared by a celebrity chef) at this dinner while bidding on silent auction lots from the wine, sports and music/entertainment fields, as well as 8-10 live auction lots. What makes the World Tour of Wine truly unique is the fact that, unlike most charity dinners where the wines are provided by either one or a select few vineyards, each table is pouring wine from the collections of its “wine host”. Therefore, no two tables are alike in terms of what is being poured, and “table hopping” between guests begins almost as soon as the corks are pulled!

Speakeasy: An intimate conversation with Geddy Lee of Rush

UPDATE: The taped show will air next April 2015.  Yesterday the day after the taping, Rush.com shared "75 minutes flew by talking to one of my favourite writers and a truly awesome person" - Geddy Lee (with Michael Chabon taping PBS Speakeasy airing in huge new year)"

Front & Center Presents
Speakeasy: An intimate conversation with Geddy Lee of Rush
Location: New York, NY | McKittrick Hotel (542 W 27th St, New York, NY 10001)
Event time: 2:30 pm – 4:30 pm

There will be 50 tickets available for this event for fans to be in the studio audience that will go on-sale on Tuesday, Nov 4 at 10am ET.

https://www.citiprivatepass.com/landing/speak_easy_geddy_lee.html
Rush.com will also be giving away a few pairs so stay tuned for your chance to win!

Neil Peart Appears in Cow Form in Chick-Fil-A's 2015 Calendar

Neil Peart appears in cow form in the 2015 edition of Chick-Fil-A's "Cow Calendar". The photo for May is "Veal Girth", a drumming cow wearing a Kofia hat surrounded by an extensive drumset made up of milk cans, wash tubs, trash can lids and, of course, cow bells. You can check out the full calendar at chick-fil-a.com. - Thanks to Kevin Cooney for the headsup!

Premiere of Rush with John Rutsey performing "The Loser"

Rush's R40 40th Anniversary Collectors Box Set is going to be released next Tuesday on DVD and Blu-Ray, and today Radio.com has posted another premiere of one of the rarities from the R40 "Bonus Disc", titled "The Loser".  This is Rush with John Rutsey at their finest!   Also included is a new interview with Geddy wherer he discusses the song, which you can read after the Youtube link below.

What went through your mind when you watched the footage of you guys performing in 1974? 
Well, watching that is like an out-of-body experience for me. Because I remember it, and at the same time, it was so long ago, it’s hard to know if it’s a real memory, or a dream state memory. It’s hard to feel like that same guy who was screeching on the stage back then in unusual clothing.
Alex Lifeson told us that the thing that stuck out in his mind is that the audience were seated the entire time, no one got up! 
That was a very Canadian response back then. Canadians, especially back then, were an almost self-conscious audience. Even if they were loving it, most of the crowd was quite quiet. That’s changed, of course, over the years. Back then, you would play a small town in Canada or across the country, and you wouldn’t be sure that they were loving it. When they actually were loving it, but they weren’t very demonstrative about it. So, we’d come back from the U.S. and American crowds were famously exuberant, and then you’d cross the border and do some small town in Saskatchewan or something, the crowd would be not so exuberant. You’d feel like you were bombing, but afterwards people would come up and say, “Man, I loved your show!”
Was it bittersweet, watching the footage with John Rutsey?
Yeah, it is sad in one sense, but it’s also quite a nice thing that this footage is available, so people can see what we were like with him, and what he was like. I think in a way, it helps keep his memory alive. He’s part of our history.
Back then, John was the guy in the band who talked to the audience from the stage. Did you prefer that you didn’t have to take on that role? 
I was always the reluctant… everything. I was originally a guitarist, and the bass player in my old garage band quit, and they voted and I became the bass player. I was the only one that could sing, so I became the singer. I didn’t really want to write lyrics, so in the early days of Rush, John wrote the lyrics. I was a very shy kid, I didn’t really feel comfortable talking to the audience, so John did that. So I really kind of backed into my entire career.
It seems to have worked out.
It’s worked out really well! I’m still playing it by ear.
How long did it take for you to get comfortable with being the guy who had to do the onstage banter?
It took quite a long time, really. I didn’t really have a persona. All the singers from rock bands in those days were taking on a persona of a very loud, sort of gregarious guy who would rile up the crowd. That’s not me, I’m not that guy. I’m not that guy socially, I’m not that guy period. For me to suddenly have to talk to the audience… I was rather soft-spoken, so it was always work for me to psych for myself up to try to do that. In the early years, the lack of persona seemed to be a problem. As we hung around, I think my lack of onstage persona has actually become my onstage persona. So you kind of grow into who you actually are. It’s kind of worked out for me. The ideal person to be our MC would be Alex, he’s naturally hilarious, he’s such a goof and such a funny, warm guy. But he’s, at times, even more shy than me. He didn’t want to do it either!
What do you remember about the song “The Loser?” 
I honestly don’t remember that song, and I didn’t remember it until I actually saw the footage of us playing it. And I didn’t remember it was called ‘The Loser.” So much for my memory! We wrote so many songs in the early days, and half of them fell by the wayside. A while back, Alex uncovered a demo tape that he and I had done for copyright purposes. Since we couldn’t write music, the only way you could submit a song for copyright in those days was, you’d record it. Alex would play guitar and I would sing onto a tape. We found one of these very basic tapes. I just could not remember half of the songs that were there. It was just teenage ramblings.
Any chance you’d consider putting out a compilation of previously unreleased pre-1974 Rush recordings? 
They’re not very musical! Maybe after we’re dead and gone, if somebody uncovers those tapes. While we’re still alive, I don’t think we would want anybody to hear that stuff.

Rush Heard On The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon Oct 29th

During his Tonight Show monologue on Tuesday, October 29th, Jimmy Fallon said that CNN is going to use colored LED's to project the results of the midterm elections on The Empire State Building.  He then showed photographs of the top of the building with colored lights as he explained if the Republican's win the senate, it will turn blue, if the Democrats win it will turn red, and then he concluded "and if it gets hacked, it will look like this" and showed a video of alternating red and blue and white lights as "Tom Sawyer" is played. You can watch it here, beginning at the 3:30 mark. - Thanks to Greg Nosek for the headsup!

First Look at Rush Performing ‘I’ve Been Runnin” And New Alex Interview - Radio.com

Rush's R40 40th Anniversary Collectors Box Set is going to be released on November 11th on DVD and Blu-Ray.  Today Radio.com posted the first look at Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson and John Rutsey performing "I've Been Runnin'" from the R40 Bonus Disk, live at the Laura Secord Secondary School in early 1974.  In addition, they have posted a new interview with Alex Lifeson where he gives his recollections on the performance.

"Oh my god, that was such a long time ago. I can vaguely remember it, I remember being on the stage in that auditorium in that school, and how all of the kids were sitting in their seats — no one was standing! —  and it was a little uncomfortable. But it’s a good example of the band we were at that time playing bars and high schools...[John Rutsey] had a very witty sense of humor, and he had such balls. He would talk to the audience and say stuff; sometimes, I thought he’d get us killed. He was comfortable talking to people, and being that guy, whereas Geddy really wasn’t, and I’m not even sure he is that comfortable with it today. But John, he would tell stories, and tell jokes, he would pick someone from the audience and do running jokes with that person all night. He was really great at that. It was fun: those days were really fun with him. We were with him for six years. You know, John sang one or two songs… I think. He really didn’t have a singing voice, it was like a Bob Dylan-ish monotone. But there were a couple of songs that he sang, and he and I also did some backing vocals. His on-stage mic wasn’t just reserved for talking." - Alex Lifeson, Radio.com, October 30, 2014

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!