Alex Lifeson to appear on upcoming Rik Emmett album

According to Hennemusic, Alex Lifeson will make an appearance on two tracks on the new album by fellow Canadian guitarist, Rik Emmett, planned for release in November of this year. Lifeson and Emmett have worked together twice in the past, appearing together on "Beyond Borders" with the Canadian Guitar Summit, released as a 45 rpm flexidisk included in Guitar Player magazine, July 1987. The following year, they appeared on "Hands of Man" as part of The Big Picture on Dream On The Horizon: A Tribute To The Olympic Spirit! Also appearing on Emmett's album are original Triumph bassist Mike Levine and drummer Gil Moore, the original Triumph lineup who last worked together in the studio on 1987's "Surveillance" before the guitarist exited the lineup in 1988. - Thanks to the B-man for the headsup!

Tom Sawyer featured on "The Infiltrator" Soundtrack

The Infiltrator stars Brian Cranston (Breaking Bad) as a U.S. Customs official who uncovers a money laundering scheme to take down Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar.  The soundtrack will be released Friday, August 12th, and includes a number of 80's rock hits including Rush's "Tom Sawyer", which plays at the beginning of the film.  Check it out here.  - Thanks to RushIsABand for the headsup!

Help the Alexander Family - A Rush Fan in Need

Jeff Alexander is a Rush fan who has passed his love of Rush on to his two sons.  Jeff has also served in the U.S. Army and Navy.  Last month Jeff's house exploded, with him in it.  You can read about the explosion here.  A fundraising page has been created to help the family with expenses, any help you can send a fellow Rush fan's way will be greatly appreciated:

"On June 10th, 2016, Jeff woke up and was getting ready to head to work. He was excited because the next day he was flying to AZ to be reunited with Stephanie and the kids, and bring them back to Montana. As he was doing his laundry, a huge explosion occurred, and then a fire destroyed the home. 

"Stephanie is with him, and other family members are arriving as well.  While he has medical insurance, it doesn't cover the costs that his family will be incurring as they deal with this devastating tragedy. There will be travel costs and many expenses in the future weeks and months. Please help this young family out as they face an uncertain future. Your gift is truly appreciated."  If you would like to donate, click here.

- Thanks to Trip Kinzie for the headsup!

Neil Peart's hockey themed drumkit now on display at Canada's National Music Center

Neil Peart's hockey themed kit used to record "The Hockey Theme" for TSN (and in the accompanying documentary, Fire on Ice), is now on display at Canada's new "National Music Center" in Calgary.  Click here for more info.

Geddy Lee praises The Who's "Live At Leeds"

Geddy Lee praises The Who's Live At Leeds in a new feature posted yesterday on Teamrock.com:

“I was a big Who fan. I still am. Like a lot of people, it started with My Generation for me. I used to go up to Sam The Record Man in town to get my music. That’s where I got Live At Leeds one Saturday morning. And the bass in My Generation, I mean, John Entwistle, my god, he was such an absolute influence on me and his playing on Leeds is unsurpassable. I’m a big fan of 'Summertime Blues' on that album, which we covered, to a large degree because of their version.

“I got to see The Who in Winnipeg, Manitoba of all places. They were incredible, but Moon was already gone by then. I never saw them with him, I’m very sad to say. No matter what they do, Pete Townshend’s writing has always been at the very top of his craft, the quintessential combination of heavy and melodic. Even today, Live At Leeds sounds so alive, it’s a real piece of that period of rock. It’s like a bootleg, the artwork, the tone; that was their attitude I think. It was raw: ‘Here it is’.”

 - Thanks to RushFanForever for the headsup!

Rush Referenced in X-Men Apocalypse

As we've known since December when the trailer was first released, and a film-related UK Sky Fibre commercial, during the film X-Men Apocalypse released May 27th, the character Quicksilver is a Rush fan.  Not only does he wear a Moving Pictures t-shirt in the film, he also has a Signals tour poster in his bedroom (a bootleg poster readily available on ebay), and “I Luv Rush” is written on his cast. - Thanks to Byron Chavarria, Ed Dobbins and Alex Fulop for the headsup!

Rush Referenced on "Veep"

Rush was referenced on the May 29th episode of HBO's Veep, when Jonah Ryan, who is running for US Congress, gets some bad news: "Sir, as your director of communications, I need to tell you that we just got a letter from the band Rush. They said that we can't use the song 'Working Man' anymore because they find you odious."  You can check out the scene below. - Thanks to Lawrence Ghorra, Paul Knox-Roberts and Rick Benak for the headsup!

Paul Gilbert remembers touring with Rush

In episode 15 of his Youtube series "Scarified", guitarist Paul Gilbert of Mr. Big tells of touring with Rush, including meeting Geddy Lee the first time, getting his drill caught in his hair, and learning "In The Mood" to play it on stage with Rush . You can check it out here. - Thanks to Rosmakloma for the headsup!

Chelsea Handler is a Rush fan - as spotted during today's episode of "Chelsea"

On today's episode of Chelsea on Netflix (during the episode titled "Barbara Boxer & Souls To The Polls"), Chelsea Handler is wearing a Moving Pictures t-shirt.  You can check it out here. - Thanks to Sameer Tandon for the headsup!

Neil Peart's "News Weather and Sports" - May 2016

Neil Peart has updated his website with the May 2016 issue of "News, Weather and Sports." In BubbaGram™#6, "Binge Riding", Neil tells of a ride following the July 21, 2015 show in Portland en route to San Jose, which included a journey to Oregon's Crater Lake National Park. You can check it out here.

ole's Andy Curran talks upcoming Rush releases and the band's future

Today Canada's FYImusicnews posted a new story featuring Andy Curran, Anthem’s former A&R executive who transitioned into ole’s new Label Services general manager/A&R.  Andy talks about upcoming Rush releases and the band's future.

"Aside from prepping the 40th anniversary deluxe edition of 2112 and a documentary of Rush’s R40 tour that is looking to be released in 2016’s fourth quarter, Curran is pouring over the catalogue to prep long-unavailable titles for reissue, digitally, on CD and on vinyl." 

As far as the future of Rush, Curran feels positive that Rush will be writing, recording and releasing more music.

“If I was a gambling man, I would say those guys are going to record some more music,” Curran says. “The live component is certainly a question mark with Neil, but they’re still quite young at heart. I don’t see those guys sitting still for too long and we’ll be working with them in the future.”

Click here for more. - Thanks to Ed at Rushisaband for the headsup!

Geddy Lee attends Pearl Jam show in Toronto

Geddy Lee attended the Pearl Jam’s show in Toronto on Thursday night, and the band gave a special shout out to Geddy, as they played a few notes of "Fly By Night" and "Cygnus X-1".  Unable to play more than few notes of each, Eddie Vedder explained "we have been a band for twenty five years but if we wanted to play a Rush song we would probably have to play for another twenty five."    Geddy also took photos with Vedder and drummer Matt Cameron backstage; Cameron drummed on Geddy's solo album, My Favorite Headache.  For more info, click here.

Alex Lifeson: Songwriter, Producer & Musician - Guitar Connoisseur magazine

Guitar Connoisseur magazine has posted a new interview with Alex Lifeson by David Barrett (of the David Barrett Trio).  David speaks to Alex about his solo album, Victor, recording the solo to "The Garden", his current guitar and amp setup, and more.

Auction Item: Signed copy of "Art of Rush" to benefit New Canvas of Life

A copy of "Art of Rush", signed by Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart, is part the 2016 New Canvas of Life — The Art of Transplantation, a month-long online auction to raise funds and awareness for organ donations and transplants.

Now open for bidding here, the auction benefits the Multi-Organ Transplant Program, University Hospital, London Health Sciences Centre and Aeolian Hall, and ends at 9 pm May 25.  Click here for more info. - Thanks to RushFanForever for the headsup!

Neil Peart writes foreword for David Phillips' "From The Riser, A Drummer's Perspective II"

Back in early 2014 I told you about a new photography book by David Phillips, which includes a forward written by Neil Peart (who also appears on the cover).  Phillips is publishing the book himself and has launched a new indiegogo site to fund the project.  Check out the video below.

"Much hard work and love has already gone into the making of this book. The project is near completion with all the photos already taken and approved. The money raised from this project will take the ‘From The Riser’ to its conclusion by covering the majority of the printing, production and design costs of the book. Plus additional costs for re-designing the book website, shipping and storage. This is a self-published book.

"The only way the book will come to market is through your pledges. I would like to say a big thank you in advance to anyone that pledges support for my project. I know from the huge amount of warm feedback and comments on my first book that this second book will not disappoint. I feel that the more I photograph drummers the better I get and I am very excited to show the world this new collection of photos which captures that magic of drumming." 

Click here for more info and to help fund the project. - Thanks to David Phillips for the headsup!

Rush's Tom Sawyer featured on Mike and Molly

Last night on CBS's Mike and Molly, 11 minutes into the episode "The Wreck of the Vincent Moranto" (season 6, episode 8), after Vince sells his boat after promising to take Mike fishing, Mike feels let down, and goes to his mom's house to his childhood bedroom and vents his frustration by air drumming to "Tom Sawyer". 

For a limited time you can watch the episode here. - Thanks to Randy Stringer for the headsup!

"All The Gifts Of Life: 40 Years Of Rush's '2112'" - NPR

NPR.com has posted a new article, "All The Gifts Of Life: 40 Years Of Rush's '2112'", to celebrate Rush's landmark album.  Alex Lifeson shares his memories and thoughts on the album and his memories of the writing and recording process.

"When other bands cite us as an inspiration or an influence, [the theme of 2112 is] what they're talking about, more than anything. I've often read when we're mentioned as an influence for a band they'll say, 'We're big Rush fans, because they did it on their own, they did it their own way, and that told me that I could do the same thing. If I stick with it, persevere, I can do things the way I want them to be.'"

Check it out here.

Alex Lifeson to participate in Alice Cooper's 'Rock & Roll Golf Classic and Vampire Bash'

UPDATE: The Arizona Republic has posted a review of the show, check it out here.

Alice Cooper's Rock & Roll Golf Classic and Rock & Roll Vampire Bash directly benefit Solid Rock and The Rock Teen Center, and bring together some of the biggest names in entertainment and sports, and many PGA veterans and community leaders.

Join Alice and his wife Sheryl as they raise the dead at Alice Cooper's Rock & Roll Vampire Bash on Sunday, April 24 from 4:30 p.m. until 10:00 pm. The nocturnal fun includes a cocktail reception where you can chill in the Pro Em VIP Lounge, silent auction, dinner, live auction and live entertainment on the PCS Stage with Alice Cooper and friends, including Alex Lifeson (RUSH), Danny Seraphine (CHICAGO), Tommy Thayer (KISS), Frank Sidoris (SLASH), and Neal Smith (ALICE COOPER), and the comic genius of John O'Hurley and Jeff Allen.

Tickets are $250 per person and are on sale now by calling Joy Covell at the Solid Rock office at 602-522-9200.

For more information, click here.

Rush takes down Calgary photographer - Calgary Metro

Calgary Metro is reporting that a Calgary photographer who snapped shots of Rush in 1970s is battling with the band’s legal team to sell his photos online. Ian Mark took the photographs on behalf of a magazine that no longer exists. It was right around the time Fly by Night, Rush’s first platinum album, came out.  

Three years ago, Mark began selling them online in an Etsy store. Recently, he was surprised to receive a letter, claiming he was infringing on the band’s copyright and could no longer sell the photos.

Mark reached out to the band directly for permission to sell the photos. A representative offered to buy them for $5,000, which Mark refused.

Rush’s lawyers said it’s about protecting their client’s rights.  “There are many rights besides copyrights. These include trademark rights, personality rights and merchandising rights,” said Bob Farmer, director with SRO/YYZ Entertainment Group Inc. “The owner of the photograph does not own these latter rights and cannot profit by exploiting them.” 

Farmer said he’s asked Mark to forward the profits, which will then be donated to charity.

Entertainment lawyer EB Reinbergs said Rush’s lawyers are correct in their legal analysis.

Geddy Lee looks back on 2112 - Kerrang magazine

The March 5 issue of Kerrang! magazine includes a new interview with Geddy Lee where he looks back on the 2112 album, released 40 years ago last month.  You can read the complete article here. - Thanks to RushFanForever for the headsup!