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Alex Lifeson of Rush stopped by Q107 this morning to chat with Derringer about all things rock n’ roll, including the upcoming R40 LIVE tour kicking off this May.
Q107,Toronto’s Rock presents RUSH - Wednesday June 17th & Friday June 19th at the Air Canada Centre. Tickets go on sale Friday, February 6th. Buy your tickets online at Ticketmaster.ca !
If you missed the interview live on air, not to worry, listen to Alex and Derringer chat below:
Neil Peart with Jim Ladd on Sirius XM's Deep Tracks February 3
"Motorcycle enthusiast... author... drummer... lyricist... NEIL PEART of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductee RUSH joins Jim Ladd, high in the Hollywood Hills, for an exclusive one-on-one discussion. Topics will range from Neil's latest book: 'Far and Near: On Days Like These' to the music that influences him to the recently-announced Rush R40 tour celebrating 40 years! This not-to-be-missed interview happens this Tuesday February 3 at 9pm Eastern / 6pm Pacific on Deep Tracks - SiriusXM 27." - XMRadio
Lorne Wheaton discusses the R40 Drum Kit and Sheds Light on the Setlist at NAMM
Evil Ed Nijjer, Canadian editor for DRUM-line magazine, spoke with Lorne Wheaton, Neil's drum tech, to discuss the R40 drum kit at the DW Booth at the NAMM show last month. You can see the video interview below, which includes this comment which sheds some light onto what to expect from the setlist:
"For this next tour we're not going to be using the full V-Drum kit on the back. We are not going to be spinning. It's going to be full-tilt Rush songs and there will probably be a whole lot of old stuff in it." - Lorne Wheaton
Farewell to Kings: new Rush tour could be last - Toronto Star
Although the recent R40 Tour press release alluded to the fact that this would be "their 21st tour, one which will most likely be their last major tour of this magnitude", a new interview with Neil Peart from yesterday's Toronto Star restates the obvious/unwanted truth in its title. The interview itself, however, does not actually include any statement from Peart that this could be Rush's last tour, so take it as you will...
John Wesley "Dose of reality" - Wes discusses "Disconnect" and working with Alex Lifeson
- Thanks Anil for the headsup!
Steven Wilson's "Hand. Cannot. Erase." musically inspired by Rush?
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| click to order |
"I'd go for The Camera Eye from Moving Pictures. For me, this is Rush continuing in the tradition of their incredible 70s epics, but achieving something more structured and lyrically mature. As with the whole of the Moving Pictures album, it strikes a perfect balance between the power trio format of the 70s and the more layered keyboard-dominated sounds to come. It's also got one of the great Alex Lifeson guitar solos - among so many!"Now, according to a new review from Prog magazine posted today of Steven Wilson's latest solo album, Hand. Cannot. Erase., that love of "The Camera Eye" may have been reflected on the new album:
"...Wilson and his band (Marco Minnemann, Guthrie Govan, Nick Beggs and Adam Holzman) lean heavily on Rush’s Jacob’s Ladder and The Camera Eye, not least in the co-joined opener First Regret/3 Years Older." - Prog.teamrock.com, January 30, 2015Hand. Cannot. Erase. is set for release March 3rd, click here to order. For more visit www.handcannoterase.com; see below for a video teaser.
- Thanks Mr. Humphries for the headsup!
RUSH Announce R40 Live 40TH Anniversary Tour
The R40 LIVE Tour will visit 34 cities throughout North America this summer beginning May 8 in Tulsa, OK and finishing August 1 in Los Angeles, CA. These not to be missed concerts will highlight four decades of the band’s music....After 40 years together and 20 gold and platinum studio albums – Rush is ready to celebrate with the most loyal fans in the world by embarking on their 21st tour, one which will most likely be their last major tour of this magnitude.
Tickets for the RUSH: R40 LIVE TOUR will go on sale starting January 30 in select markets at Ticketmaster.com and LiveNation.com. Citi® card members will have access to pre-sale tickets through Citi’s Private Pass® Program beginning January 27 in select markets. For complete presale details visit www.citiprivatepass.com. Exclusive Rush ticket packages are available, please visit vipnation.com for package details.Beginning May 8 in Tulsa, OK and finishing August 1 in Los Angeles, CA, here are the complete list of tourdates:
May 8, 2015 Tulsa Bok Center -- Tulsa, OklahomaPresale details below:
May 10, 2015 Pinnacle Bank Arena -- Lincoln, Nebraska
May 12, 2015 Xcel Energy Center -- Saint Paul, Minnesota
May 14, 2015 Scottrade Center -- St. Louis, Missouri
May 16, 2015 Austin360 Amphitheater -- Austin (Del Valle), Texas
May 18, 2015 American Airlines Center -- Dallas, Texas
May 20, 2015 Toyota Center -- Houston, Texas
May 22, 2015 Smoothie King Center -- New Orleans, Louisiana
May 24, 2015 Amalie Arena -- Tampa, Florida
May 26, 2015 Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre at Encore Park -- Atlanta (Alpharetta), Georgia
May 28, 2015 Greensboro Coliseum -- Greensboro, North Carolina
May 30, 2015 Jiffy Lube Live -- Bristow, Virginia
June 8, 2015 Nationwide Arena -- Columbus, Ohio
June 10, 2015 First Niagara Center -- Buffalo, New York
June 12, 2015 United Center -- Chicago, Illinois
June 14, 2015 The Palace of Auburn Hills -- Detroit (Auburn Hills), Michigan
June 17, 2015 Air Canada Centre -- Toronto, Ontario
June 19, 2015 Air Canada Centre -- Toronto, Ontario
June 21, 2015 Bell Centre -- Montreal, Québec
June 23, 2015 TD Garden -- Boston, Massachusetts
June 25, 2015 Wells Fargo Center -- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
June 27, 2015 Prudential Center -- Newark, New Jersey
June 29, 2015 Madison Square Garden, New York, New York
July 9, 2015 Sprint Center -- Kansas City, Missouri
July 11, 2015 Pepsi Center - Denver, Colorado
July 13, 2015 Maverik Center -- Salt Lake City (West Valley City), Utah
July 15, 2015 Scotiabank Saddledome -- Calgary, Alberta
July 17, 2015 Rogers Arena -- Vancouver, British Columbia
July 19, 2015 KeyArena -- Seattle, Washington
July 21, 2015 Moda Center -- Portland, Oregon
July 23, 2015 SAP Center at San Jose -- San Jose, California
July 25, 2015 MGM Grand Garden Arena -- Las Vegas, Nevada
July 27, 2015 US Airways Center -- Phoenix, Arizona
July 30, 2015 Verizon Wireless Amphitheater -- Irvine, California
August 1, 2015 The Forum -- Los Angeles (Inglewood), California
Geddy Lee on PBS' Speakeasy premieres tonight
UPDATE: PBS does not have a standardized nationwide schedule. While this episode is slated to begin airing tonight, actual broadcast times and dates will vary. To find list of stations that will be airing it click here.
Recorded last fall, Geddy Lee's appearance on PBS' Speakeasy will air tomorrow night, January 29th. Geddy is interviewed by his friend, author Michael Chabon at the McKittrick Hotel in New York City. Topics include growing up Jewish in an assimilated world; his bandmates; and how he's cared for his voice through the years. See below for a teaser clip from tomorrow night's episode.
Rush Manager Ray Danniels to be Honoured with Walt Grealis Special Achievement Award at the 2015 JUNO Awards
Ray Danniels is the CEO/President of SRO (Standing Room Only) Management Inc. and of independent record label Anthem Entertainment Group. He is also the long-time manager of Canadian trio and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame members, Rush.
“I am grateful to be recognized by my peers for doing something I’ve loved and been passionate about since I was a teenager,” said Ray Danniels. “I share this honour with those that have been with me since the beginning – the members of Rush – Geddy, Alex and Neil.”
“Ray’s extraordinary intuition in business and passion for the Canadian music industry are truly something to admire,” said Allan Reid, President & CEO, CARAS/The JUNO Awards. “We are very pleased to recognize Ray Danniels with the Walt Grealis Special Achievement Award for his incredible achievements and exceptional contributions.”
Danniels began his career as an agent in the music business when he was a teenager, first booking bands and then moving on to promoting concerts in his hometown of Toronto. In 1971 he took on both agent and manager roles with a rock band from Willowdale called Rush. After every record company in Canada turned the band down, Danniels took initiative by funding Rush’s first record and then starting his own label to release it. In 1973 the first Rush single was released on Moon Records, which was later renamed Anthem. Forty years later, Anthem is still releasing Rush albums in Canada. Rush’s 20th studio album, Clockwork Angels, was released by Anthem in 2013, debuted #1 in Canada and went on to be certified gold. Together, Ray Danniels and Rush created Core Music, a publishing entity where the band’s entire body of work remains to this day.
In addition to Rush, Anthem has released albums from Max Webster, Ian Thomas, Gowan, Molly Johnson, Steven Page and most recently The Tea Party, Big Wreck and Brody Dalle. Anthem has made an impact with projects that have defined Canadian culture, having released projects such as Bob & Doug Mackenzie and The Trailer Park Boys soundtracks. In its 40-year history, SRO Management has been instrumental in the careers of Rush, Van Halen, Extreme, The Tea Party, Matthew Good, and Big Wreck amongst others.
Danniels was inducted into the Canadian Music Industry Hall of Fame in 2007 and was also the recipient of the third annual Music Managers Forum Canada Honour Roll Award.
- See more at: http://junoawards.ca/walt-grealis-special-achievement-award-recipient/#sthash.hNxjiMVu.dpuf
Neil Peart video interview discussing the DW R40 Drum Kit
DW has also announced that the Neil Peart R40 14 x 6.5 snare drum will be available for private purchase. This is a limited production run of only 250 drums. All Pro Percussion has the snare available for $1,499.55 with an estimated delivery date of April 2015.
Fly By Night Vinyl Reissue And Blu-Ray Now Available
As announced last month, following last year's Rush reDISCovered release, Rush is reissuing the rest of Rush's remaining Mercury era albums (studio and live albums through A Show of Hands) in chronological order throughout the rest of 2015.
In The Studio's "Permanent Waves @ 35" Now Available To Stream
North American syndicated Rock radio show and InTheStudio: The Stories Behind History’s Greatest Rock Bands journeys back to a pivotal moment in the history of the band Rush to examine the 1980 release of Permanent Waves.website
Four years before the dawn of MTV and almost two decades before the internet revolutionized the music industry, Rush sold more than a million copies of 1978’s Hemispheres album and sold out 10,000 seat arenas primarily on word-of-mouth and relentless touring.
The hard rock trio faced obstacles at every turn and at every phase of their career, but the adversity only seemed to increase the collective resolve of Rush. 1980 would be a turning point and game changer. Rush, who had been mean spiritedly criticized by the rock press and ignored by the majority of radio in the western hemisphere would deliver Permanent Waves, the breakthrough that would unleash a streamlined, more modern-sounding Rush and deliver their first legitimate hits “The Spirit of the Radio” and “Free Will”. Geddy Lee shares with InTheStudio host Redbeard the deliberate move Rush made musically 35 years ago.
“We were happy with the challenge to write twenty minute pieces... We’d done it a number of times, and we felt it was almost becoming a cross to bear for us in a way. It was almost limiting us...We sort of tried to get back to our original desires as songwriters. I think we wanted to become a little more concise.” - Geddy Lee
RUSH Permanent Waves @ 35/ InTheStudio interview is available now to stream here. For a list of radio stations who broadcast InTheStudio, click here.
Alex Lifeson Stops By Q107 To Talk About The New R40 Tour
Alex Lifeson was on Toronto's Q107 this morning:
Neil Peart R40 Collector's Series Snare Drum
In celebration of Rush's 40th Anniversary Tour, Drum Workshop, Inc. (DW Drums) is releasing the Neil Peart R40 snare drum. Just like Neil's R40 touring kit, this DW Icon series snare features exotic inlay artwork from previous Rush albums and gold plated hardware. Each snare includes DW's Mag Throw-Off with 3 position butt plate and a DW Deluxe Snare Drum Bag.- Thanks to Andrew Olson for the headsup!
Kiss Roadies’ Memories of the Band’s Early Shows With Rush included in new book "Out On The Streets"
Like a lot of young groups in the ’70s, Kiss occasionally found themselves lumped in with some less-than-obvious acts on multi-band bills, and in the ‘Out on the Streets’ chapter ‘Remembering a Few of the Bands That We Worked With,’ the Krew recount their experiences supporting their bosses while they shared the stage with some of the bigger names in ’70s rock, as well as a couple of future legends.
They have especially fond memories of working with Rush, partly because the band went out of its way to thank the Krew in the liner notes of the 1975 album ‘Caress of Steel.’ “That was just pure respect for us,” noted Campise. “For who and what we were.”
It also happened because, as Munroe pointed out, “we helped them whenever we could” — up to and including indulging Alex Lifeson‘s routine as “The Bag.” Recalled Campise, “He’d take one of those huge paper bags that hotels provided for dirty laundry, draw some ridiculous face on it and wear it over his head and upper body. He looked kinda like SpongeBob SquarePants, now that I think of it.”
The foursome recall that Rush were eventually “thrown off our tours” because Paul Stanley felt threatened by Lifeson’s stage antics (“he would go from the corner of the stage and run to the microphone”)...
- Thanks to UltimateClassicRock for the headsup!
Fender Unveils New Geddy Lee Jazz Bass
Fender has unveiled an new version of their Geddy Lee Jazz Bass that combines the specs
and features of Lee’s three favorite basses—two Fender Custom Shop
versions of his signature model and the original sleek black ’72 Jazz
Bass that Rush’s revered bassist/vocalist has riffed away on in front
of millions of devoted fans worldwide and on many a mega-selling album.
The neck has a thicker custom profile, topped by a maple fingerboard
with elegant white binding and white pearloid block inlays. For enormous
tone that crackles with life and bristles with the energy, its two
vintage-style single-coil Jazz Bass pickups are specially wound and
voiced to sound like those on Lee’s prized 1972 original, and a Geddy
Lee signature High-Mass bridge provides rock-solid intonation. The new bass has an MSRP of $899 and will be available
March 12, 2015. For more info click here.
RushPetition - What do you want to hear live on the R40 tour?
Rush To Be Honored with the 2015 Allan Waters Humanitarian Award
The Allan Waters Humanitarian Award recognizes outstanding Canadian artists whose contributions have positively enhanced the social fabric of Canada. Named after CHUM Ltd. founder Allan Waters, the award is made possible by funding from BCE-Bell Media Benefits. It will be presented to Rush at the 2015 JUNO Gala Dinner & Awards on March 14, 2015 in Hamilton, Ontario.
“We are sincerely grateful to be recognized as this year’s recipients of the Allan Waters Humanitarian Award. We are proud, honoured and humbled to be in the company of all Canadians who find it within their hearts to help those in need.” – Rush
“We are proud to be recognizing Rush’s noble legacy with this award,” said Allan Reid, President & CEO, CARAS/The JUNO Awards & MusiCounts. “The group’s dedication to countless charities and organizations over the course of their career is truly remarkable. Their tenacity and spirit serves as an inspiration to all of us, and we salute them for all of their exceptional work.”
”Bell Media congratulates Rush on being honoured with this year’s Allan Waters Humanitarian Award,” said Phil King, President, CTV, Sports, and Entertainment Programming. “As true rock icons, Rush embodies Canada’s innate spirit of compassion. Their generous support of and commitment to numerous worthy causes over their prolific career make them truly worthy of this prestigious award.”
With more than 40 million records sold worldwide and countless sold-out tours, Rush is not only one of the most inventive and compelling groups in rock history, but remains one of the most popular. According to the RIAA® Rush’s sales statistics place them third for the most consecutive gold/platinum studio albums by a rock band, topped only by the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. In addition to their commercial success, Rush has also been recognized with nine JUNO Awards and seven Grammy nominations, including one for the acclaimed documentary “Rush: Beyond The Lighted Stage.” The group has remained unwaveringly committed and daring throughout their musical journey, and the same characteristics can be used to describe their charitable dedication.
Over the course of their four-decade-long career, the members of Rush have thrown their support behind a wide variety of worthy causes often privately and sometimes publicly. From their earliest shows at Toronto’s historic Maple Leaf Gardens, the band started working with the Toronto Food Bank to encourage fans to bring food for those in need. Eventually deciding to do their first charity concert at Maple Leaf Gardens to benefit the United Way in the early ‘80s, and an amFAR show to benefit Aids Research in the early ‘90s, engaging themselves and their fans in positive pursuits naturally became part of the Rush ethos.
As dedicated advocates of human rights, in 2008 Rush donated $100,000 from a Winnipeg concert’s gate to the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. In the same year, on their Snakes & Arrows Tour, the band donated $100,000 from their show in New Orleans to Brad Pitt’s Make It Right Foundation to assist in the revitalization of the city post Hurricane Katrina, and sponsor the construction of a house in The Lower Ninth Ward dubbed “The House that Rush Built.”
From their 2010 Time Machine Tour onwards, Rush has donated $1 from every concert ticket sold to various charities including Doctors Without Borders, a total which will soon surpass $2 million over these last five years. In 2013, the band performed an incredibly successful benefit concert at Red Deer’s Enmax Centrium with all proceeds going to the Canadian Red Cross to help victims of the flooding that devastated many regions of southern Alberta. The event raised over $575,000 and was one of the largest donations made to the Alberta Flood Relief.
Rush has also been a passionate supporter of Little Kids Rock, a national non-profit organization that works to restore and revitalize music education programs in disadvantaged U.S. public schools. In efforts to provide percussion instruments to schools, the group created a premium Neil Peart Paragon Cymbal Pack, each of which came with a free splash cymbal personalized, autographed and dated by the Rush drummer himself. This cause-based marketing initiative went on to raise over $50,000 for Little Kids Rock. Working with their endorsement companies, they have set up partnerships for their signature items which have seen many positive charitable efforts such as Neil Peart with DW, Sabian and ProMark, where one campaign raised over $60,000 for Child Advocates. Alex Lifeson has donated royalties from his signature Alex Lifeson Les Paul Axcess guitar to the Dominic Triano Foundation for guitar music scholarships.
The band members have also donated their time, funds and awareness through their personal interests and events. An avid baseball fan, Geddy Lee donated close to 400 signed baseballs by former Negro League baseball players from his personal collection to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City in 2008. Alex Lifeson is a supporter of Casey House, as well as The Kidney Foundation to which he donates his paintings to assist in their fundraising. During the band’s South American tour in 2010, Neil Peart was moved by the rescue of the trapped miners in Chile. When he wrote a story about his experiences touring in South America, he rallied Rush fans and his readers to make a $1 donation for his story. Neil matched their donations, and together they raised $10,000 for the Chilean Red Cross.
For over 10 years, Geddy Lee has been an active board member for the Grapes for Humanity Canada charity, an organization that raises funds to benefit humanitarian causes around the world with the assistance of the international wine community. Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson co-host their bi-annual “Grapes Under Pressure” wine event supporting the local wine growing regions of Ontario. All three members of the band support this cause through their Grapes Under Pressure eBay auction of Rush memorabilia. These combined events have raised over $500,000 to date.
Rush’s vast catalogue includes such classics as 1974’s self-titled debut, 1976’s 2112, 1981’s Moving Pictures, 1996’s Test For Echo, and 2002’s Vapor Trails. Rush released their 20th studio album, Clockwork Angels in 2012 via Anthem/Roadrunner Records. The critically acclaimed collection marks their first studio recording since 2007’s Snakes & Arrows, and debuted at #1 in Canada and #2 on the Billboard 200 matching the highest chart debut of the band’s career. Rush was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1994, made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1996 and inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2010. They have received a star on both Canada’s Walk of Fame (1999) and Hollywood Walk of Fame (2010). Rush received the highest artistic honour in Canada by winning the Governor General’s Performing Arts Award in 2012 and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2013.
- See more at: http://junoawards.ca/2015-allan-waters-humanitarian-award-recipient/#sthash.pjjPPNnz.dpuf
Mystic Rhythms: Rush's Neil Peart On The First Rock Drummer - NPR
"He was the first rock drummer, in very many ways," Peart says. "Without Gene Krupa, there wouldn't have been a Keith Moon. He was the first drummer to command the spotlight and the first drummer to be celebrated for his solos, because they were very flamboyant. He did fundamentally easy things, but always made them look spectacular." For the full feature click here.- Thanks to Rosmakloma for the headsup!
Geddy Lee Interview from the film "Jaco"
Geddy Lee is one of the many musicians interviewed for the documentary film "Jaco", about legendary bassist Jaco Pastorius. A short snippet of Geddy discussing fusion music from the documentary was posted to the film's YouTube channel yesterday and can be seen below. Produced by Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo and directed by Paul Marchand and Stephan Kijak, the film debuted at the Mill Valley Film Festival on October 6th and at the Grammy Museum on December 8th, and should be available for purchase on Record Story Day this coming April. For more info visit Facebook.com/JacoDocumentary. - Thanks to RushIsABand for the headsup!
Prog #52 Cover Feature on Rush
The UK's Prog magazine issue #52 will hit newsstands on January 5th, and features Rush on the cover as well as various feature stories. You can check out a teaser here. - Thanks to RushFanForever for the headsup!
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