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Alex Lifeson performing at Phoenix Rising March 29
Fu Manchu: How SoCal Stoner Crew Enlisted Alex Lifeson for Epic Space Jam
"Our manager is friends with his manager, and they were talking. Without asking us, our manager was like, "Hey, would Alex want to play on their new record?" His manager asked him and got back to our manager, like, "Oh yeah, he totally will. Send him a song!" When he told us, we were all like, "Holy shit!" We immediately reverted back to the Rush fans we were in seventh grade! [Laughs] So we sent him the four-track, which was a little lower than normal demo quality and he was like, "This is great. What do you want me to do on it?" We were like, "Holy shit, he's asking us?!? Dude, do whatever you want, wherever you want! So we got in the studio and recorded the song, and then we sent it to him in Canada; he sent us back a bunch of stuff, and it all just sounded insane. He was like, "Use whatever you want," so we picked this one section of stuff that he did; it's in the first part where the band drops out — he's playing a really effected guitar riff along with the bass and drums, and then the bass and drums drop out. He's doing stuff with a bunch of different effects, all these sci-fi sounds and pick slides, and we were just flipping out listening to it. We still can't believe it! [Laughs]"Click here for the full story.
"Animate" covered by Allegaeon, featuring "Counterparts" inspired album art
"When we settled on Rush to cover during the 'Proponent' sessions, I simply couldn't pick which song to do. 'Subdivisions' or 'Animate.' Both were favorites for me personally, and both were sort of 'under the radar' eg. not 'Tom Sawyer' or 'Spirit Of Radio.' Where the original idea was to do a cover for a Japanese bonus track, we figured if we did both we could cover a special song for both the Japan AND Europe pressing. Then the powers that be decided to just include 'Subdivisions' on the album, and keep 'Animate' in reserve for something. Jan 6th, 2018 is the only occurrence of the golden ratio in date form that will occur during our life time. So 1.6.18 seemed like the perfect date to release it in Allegaeon fashion." Guitarist Greg Burgess, via Blabbermouth.net, January 5, 2018- Thanks to B-man for the headsup!
Rush Reference on "Kevin Can Wait"
Rush Reference on "Riverdale"
Riverdale is an American television series based on the characters of Archie Comics currently airing on Warner Bros CW network. During season 2, episode 10, aired January 17, 2018, titled "Chapter Twenty-Three: The Blackboard Jungle," when confronted with being transferred to a new High School, Jughead quotes "Subdivisions" and says: 'So our choices are conform or be cast out." - Thanks to Sebastian Seifert for the headsup and screencap!
Neil Peart reviews Bill Bruford's book "Uncharted"
“After forty years of creating professional music, pretty much all of it to his taste (passing rare), Bill Bruford has laid down the torches — and tried to capture their flame in words. Begin by running your eyes down the list of Bill’s collaborators. The expert performers and teachers will attract any reader with more than a passing affection for music. Simply put, it is a lights-out masterpiece of useful insight and passionate, reflective wisdom."- Thanks B-man for the headsup!
—Neil Peart, former drummer and lyricist, Rush
How the end of Rush let Alex Lifeson be 'as creative as I want to be' - Globe and Mail
"It's been a little over two years since Rush last toured. We have no plans to tour or record any more. We're basically done. After 41 years, we felt it was enough."Click here for more.
Clockwork Lives - The Graphic Novel now available for preorder
Coming June 19th, the hardcover edition of the all new graphic novel edition of Clockwork Lives is now available for preorder. This is graphic novel version of Kevin J. Anderson's novel Clockwork Lives, released back in 2015. Click here to order.
Set in the world of Clockwork Angels, "Clockwork Lives is a novel in its own right, a story wrapped around a steampunk Canterbury Tales, and some of those tales are of familiar characters from Clockwork Angels (Golson the Strongman, The Fortune Teller, Guerrero the pickpocket, for example) and there are also many cross connections and cameos. You can read it on its own, but if you have read Clockwork Angels, you will get a bigger smile on your face." - Kevin J. Anderson
- Thanks to Ed @ RushIsABand for the headusp!
Offers from Geddy and Alex for the Holidays
From today's Rush newsletter, there are two offers from Geddy and Alex for the holidays. Geddy Lee has made a small number of bottles available for auction from
his private cellar collection. The bottles include a sticker
declaring them "from the cellars of Geddy Lee" and feature the insignia
made up for the wine club Geddy & Alex formed while on the road
during the R30 tour (original membership:2). The auction closes on
Sunday December 17 at 9:00 PM ET. Make your bid here. * The wines in this auction will be available to ship early 2018, or Zachys will hold them for free until the end of March.
Meanwhile Alex Lifeson is now a guest contributor to his pal Dave Bidini's local Toronto community arts paper, the West End Phoenix. Alex's short stories are illustrated by artist Casey McGlynn. We're offering 100 signed first issue editions here with proceeds going to support the local West End Phoenix.
Meanwhile Alex Lifeson is now a guest contributor to his pal Dave Bidini's local Toronto community arts paper, the West End Phoenix. Alex's short stories are illustrated by artist Casey McGlynn. We're offering 100 signed first issue editions here with proceeds going to support the local West End Phoenix.
Alex Lifeson to Guest on New Fu Manchu Album
Fu Manchu will release their 12th studio album, Clone of the Universe, on Feb. 9, 2018. A follow-up to 2014's Gigantoid, this new project contains an appearance by Alex Lifeson, guitarist for Rush. Click here to preorder the mp3 album.
Lifeson guests on "Il Mostro Atomico," an 18-minute, album-closing song that's broken up into four sections. Fu Manchu are calling it the heaviest track they've ever recorded and, as guitarist and singer Scott Hill said in a press release, they're itching to test it out in concert.
“We are excited to get out and play this stuff, especially 'Il Mostro Atomico,'" he said. "We think it’s some the strongest music we’ve ever done. We really love the overall sound of the album and having Alex play on it is just incredible. It gives it that special validation for the idea that we had to try something like a side long song.” - ultimateclassicrock.com, December 4, 2017
Spectacularly Majestic! - Ray Wawrzyniak
A Farewell To Kings 40th Anniversary Edition Now Available
The 40th Anniversary edition features the Abbey Road Mastering Studios 2015 remastered edition of the album; a complete Rush concert recorded in February 1978 at London's Hammersmith Odeon, newly mixed by longtime Rush engineer and original A Farewell to Kings producer Terry Brown from the multi-track live tapes; four newly-recorded cover versions of songs from the original album by Dream Theater, Big Wreck, The Trews and Alain Johannes; and an instrumental studio outtake of the spacey sound effects from “Cygnus X-1” the band has creatively titled “Cygnus X-2 Eh”. The set also includes an elaborate new 40th anniversary cover treatment by longtime Rush creative director Hugh Syme, who has also created a new piece of artwork for each of the album's six songs, an extensive 12,000-word liner notes by Grammy®-winning rock historian Rob Bowman. The vinyl editions include a 32-page vinyl-sized booklet and a special 12-inch turntable mat.
Available options:
- 3 CD Edition
- 4 LP Edition
- Super Deluxe Edition, combines the complete contents of the 3 CD and 4 LP Editions, as well as one Blu-ray Audio disc containing a brand new 5.1 surround mix of the album by four-time Grammy® nominated surround sound producer Steven Wilson, along with three original 1977 promo videos from a newly found 2-inch quad video master significantly improving the video quality for “Closer To The Heart.” The Super Deluxe Edition includes several exclusive items, including a unique King's Ring, with custom velvet pouch and neck chain; two lithographs with original artwork by Hugh Syme; the 12-inch turntable mat featuring distinctive artwork by Hugh Syme; and a reproduction of Rush's original 1978 A Farewell To Kings tour program.
Related News:
- Say Hello Again To Rush's 'A Farewell To Kings' - PRNewswire, October 19, 2017
Long-haired microbes named after Canadian band Rush
From today's University of British Columbia Science News:
Three new species of microbe found in the guts of termites have been named after members of the Canadian prog-rock band Rush, owing to the microbes’ long hair and rhythmic wriggling under the microscope.
“A Spanish postdoc, Javier del Campo, asked me to recommend some good Canadian music, and I suggested he listen to Rush,” says Patrick Keeling, a University of British Columbia microbiologist and senior author on the paper describing the new species. “He came back to me and said ‘Those microbes we’re finding have long hair like the guys on the album 2112!’”
The microbes in question are covered with flagella, which are long threads that cells use to move around. Many cells have a few flagella, but these little rockers have more than ten thousand very long flagella, giving them flowing hair that even Farrah Fawcett might envy.
And while Rush may not be famous for their dance moves, the tiny creatures also have rhythm. They bob their heads and sway their bodies in microscopic dances, prompting the researchers to baptize the new Pseudotrichonympha species P. leei, P. lifesoni, and P. pearti after musicians Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart.
The prototypical Canadian power trio is known for songs such as “Natural Science,” “Tom Sawyer” and “Closer to the Heart,” and lyrics drawing on themes from science and literature, such as the seminal 1976 album 2112.
The microbe named after drummer and lyricist Peart contains a rotating intracellular structure never seen before. The researchers dubbed this the “rotatosome,” and even though they tested several theories, they still can’t figure out what it does.
“We have looked at a lot of crazy cells in my lab, and none of us has ever seen anything like this,” Keeling says.
While taxonomy can be a dry topic, some biologists inject a bit of fun with species names. Previously, Keeling’s team found another termite microbe which they named Cthulhu, after the terrifying tentacled entity in H.P. Lovecraft’s stories. Pseudotrichonympha leei, lifesoni, and pearti may come from the same place as Cthulhu (a termite’s hindgut), but these dancing, long-haired creatures seem much friendlier."
Fantoons' "Where's Geddy Alex & Neil?"
"We've crafted scenarios inspired by ALL Rush albums (studio & live) between the Rush (1st LP) until Hold Your Fire, packed with references and different levels of difficult, for everyone to have fun finding the greatest power trio on earth (whether they are Rush fans or not, everyone can play)- Thanks to David Calcano for the headsup!
The book is 12.5 x 9.5 inches! 38 pages and 14 Rush worlds: Rush, Fly by Night, Caress of Steel, 2112, Permanent Waves, Moving Pictures, and many more!
People will be able to find Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart in their different 'fashions' through this crazy worlds that we've created for everyone to enjoy.
This book is an official RUSH publication."
Alex Lifeson cameo in Trailer Park Boys' Out of the Ballpark
Lerxst sighting! Alex Lifeson appears in the Trailer Park Boys' latest, "Out of the Ballpark" coming to Netflix November 24th. Catch him in the trailer below. - Thanks to John Patuto at Cygnus-X1.net for the headsup!
Rush Cover Feature on the December issue of Prog
Alex Lifeson dontates "20,000 Feet Over The Sea" original painting to 2017 A Brush of Hope
ole Looking for Equity Partner
"Ole, owner of rights to songs from Timbaland to Canadian rockers Rush, aims to ramp up acquisitions and double its profit as it looks for a new equity partner.
"The closely held Toronto-based rights management company had been trying to sell itself for the past year but its asking price of about $600 million was too high for prospective buyers, according to two people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified because the deliberations were private.
"Ole declined to comment on any previous sale process but the company isn’t currently trying to sell itself, Chief Executive Officer Robert Ott said in an email. It is looking for a new equity investor however as the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan seeks to cash out after investing more than C$150 million ($119 million) in the company, Ott said in an interview at Bloomberg’s Toronto office." - For more visit Bloomberg.com, November 1, 2017
"The closely held Toronto-based rights management company had been trying to sell itself for the past year but its asking price of about $600 million was too high for prospective buyers, according to two people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified because the deliberations were private.
"Ole declined to comment on any previous sale process but the company isn’t currently trying to sell itself, Chief Executive Officer Robert Ott said in an email. It is looking for a new equity investor however as the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan seeks to cash out after investing more than C$150 million ($119 million) in the company, Ott said in an interview at Bloomberg’s Toronto office." - For more visit Bloomberg.com, November 1, 2017
"Closer To The Heart" Record Store Day Release
"Canadian rock legends Rush have been making music for more than five decades. The songs on this RSD 7" are "Closer to the Heart" and "Madrigal," both released in 1977 on A Farewell to Kings. This single is being re-released for RSD Black Friday to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the LP. This 7" has a large center hole, and new art by longtime Rush album designer Hugh Syme. It also comes with a custom 7" adapter and is to be timed with the 40th anniversary of A Farewell to Kings box set re-issue."For more info visit recordstoreday.com
Geddy Lee on The Big Interview with Dan Rather Premieres Oct. 24
"On this episode of The Big Interview, Geddy Lee welcomes Dan into his home to chat about his fascinating career. From trying to identify who they were as a band in the early days of Rush to a life of fame, Lee speaks candidly about his journey in rock & roll. Learn more about the Rush star in this new episode of The Big Interview with Dan Rather premiering Tuesday, October 24th on AXS TV." - axs.tv, October 18, 2017
The interview is available to view on itunes here.
The interview is available to view on itunes here.
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