HomeA farewell to kings: Canada's Rush really seems to have retired - National Post
Today Canada's National Post published an opinion piece by Colby Cash titled "A farewell to kings: Canada's Rush really seems to have retired". Fans around the world are finally getting used to (and supporting) the boys retiring with grace. Check it out here.
Neil's R40 Drum Kit now on display at Percussive Arts Society in Indianapolis
"Yesterday I set up R40 to be displayed soon at Percussive Arts Society in Indianapolis, IN. It will be there for the next 2 years. Drop by and check it out."Check out their website at pas.org.
Stewart Copeland Remembers When the Police ‘Threw Bombs’ at Rush
While hosting "Classic Rock Week" on HDNET Movies this week, during a break while airing Rush: The Rise of Kings 1968-1981, drummer Stewart Copeland talked about the time the Police came up as part of the U.K. punk scene and saw Rush as the enemy.
"They're Canadian. They are the best guys on the planet. I don't know if being Canadian has anything to do with it, but Rush are one of the best hangs in show business. Back when my band, the Police, was a struggling punk rock band, just trying to make noise and cause attention and throwing bombs wherever we could. Rush? That's some place where we threw bombs."
"And years later, it turns out Rush - the guys in the band - Neil Peart, is so Canadian that he didn't even mind," he recalls. "And we became really great friends in spite of the fact that we used to criticize his band when we were just trying to get attention. I think he's old and wise and Canadian enough to understand all that. They couldn't be nicer if they were New Zealanders, also a nation that only produces good people." - Thanks to Ultimate Classic Rock for the headsup!
"They're Canadian. They are the best guys on the planet. I don't know if being Canadian has anything to do with it, but Rush are one of the best hangs in show business. Back when my band, the Police, was a struggling punk rock band, just trying to make noise and cause attention and throwing bombs wherever we could. Rush? That's some place where we threw bombs."
"And years later, it turns out Rush - the guys in the band - Neil Peart, is so Canadian that he didn't even mind," he recalls. "And we became really great friends in spite of the fact that we used to criticize his band when we were just trying to get attention. I think he's old and wise and Canadian enough to understand all that. They couldn't be nicer if they were New Zealanders, also a nation that only produces good people." - Thanks to Ultimate Classic Rock for the headsup!
Alex Lifeson guests on Jim McCarty's Walking in the Wild Land
Last month, McCarty talked to MetalExpressRadio.com about the Rush connection that saw Alex Lifeson, Terry Brown and Hugh Syme become involved in his record:
You were able to call on a couple of Toronto residents to help you out. How Alex Lifeson of Rush get involved in your record?- Thanks to the B-man for the headsup!
I know the music scene here and have a lot of friends out here. Alex is a big fan of the Yardbirds and Rush did covers of Heart Full of Soul and Shape of Things on their Feedback EP a while ago and he also worked with Terry Brown who produced some of the older albums. Terry thought it'd be a good idea to ask him and Alex thought it'd be a great idea to do it.
Did you work together in the studio on Soft In A Hard Place?
He recorded his parts in his own studio and sent them over.
Did you give him an idea of what you wanted from his contribution or did he pretty much get a free hand?
That's quite a softish song and he put that hard edge into it which worked well with the song. He basically did what he thought would go with the song and I think it turned out great. I'm really happy with it.
Would you like to work with him again in the future?
Well you never know. We're going to get together and have a chat and see where it takes us. I don't know what he's doing now that Rush is finished and he'll probably have his own group but I'll find out when I see him next.
In keeping with the Rush connection, Terry Brown co-produced and mixed the album. What did Terry influence the recording process?
I've known Terry for a while but I was recording with George Koller and Tom Reynolds the keyboard player in the studio and I played some of it to Terry and he took them a little further. He said he'd mix it as he had some ideas of what to do. It was his idea to use the flugel horn on Charmed. He put quite a few touches into it that I really liked.
There's is also ANOTHER Rush connection on your album with Hugh Syme adding keyboards and orchestration to Changing Times, Dancing Leaves and So Many Questions. What you were looking for from him?
It was Terry's idea as I wanted some string parts and he said Hugh was very good at that. Hugh is actually an artist rather than a professional musician and he did a great job. I wanted something quite subtle and he did it just the way that I wanted. Hugh is English and he brought a real English feel to it.
Check out Alex Lifeson in a new clip from tomorrow's episode of Crawford
Alex Lifeson guest stars this week on Crawford! And here he is as Cynthia's cereal mogul boss, urging her to 'get on a mission for better nutrition'. Tomorrow at 9/930NT on CBC!
2019 35th Anniversary "Grace Under Pressure" Calendar
Clockwork Lives, the graphic novel now available
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| Order Here |
In this graphic novelization which contains many familiar characters from Clockwork Angels, "Marinda Peake is a woman with a quiet, perfect life in a small village who long ago gave up on her dreams and ambitions to take care of her ailing father, an alchemist and an inventor. When he dies, he gives Marinda a mysterious inheritance: a blank book that she must fill with other people's stories - and ultimately her own."
The graphic novel was created with a team of artists offering unique touches for each of the 13 chapters/character's stories. The hardcover book itself is absolutely gorgeous, printed on durable paper and sporting an all new cover by Hugh Syme. Like its predecessor, Clockwork Lives is well steeped in the world of Rush, yet it is done tastefully and without becoming overbearing or (pardon the pun), comical. How? Whether it is through a simple turn of phrase lifted from a Rush lyric, or through the many graphic nods to the Rush universe (such as the inclusion of a Hemispheres album cover "painting" hanging on a character's office wall, not to mention the "cameo" by Lee Lifeson and Peart themselves), we are frequently reminded of what brought us all here in the first place.
Enjoy your visit back to the world of Rush and the Watchmaker. Available June 26th, you'll want to make sure you get a copy of the Clockwork Lives graphic novel before it's gone. Click here to order.
Alex Lifeson guest stars in the new CBC comedy "Crawford"
"I got asked to do a small role...I thought I couldn't do it - that it was something for real actors. But I ended up doing a few episodes. It definitely was not in my comfort zone. But if you throw a challenge at yourself and dive into it, it can be really gratifying." - Alex Lifeson, Globe and Mail, January 18, 2018
“He’s phenomenal,” says Hennessy, a RUSH fan. (Hennessy herself has released two albums: her last, I Do, in 2015.) Given the musical connections, the Star says it’s surprising that Clattenburg hasn’t got Lifeson and Hennessy busking in a Toronto subway in a giant ironic wink to the audience. “That would so work!” says Hennessy. “My character didn’t finish high school, she was in a band. And one of her future fans was her boss (Lifeson) at the cereal company. So yes, I think somebody should talk to Mike about that scene. Could you maybe put in a word for me?” - The Star, January 30, 2018
Geddy Lee talks to the CBC about Toronto's Historic Massey Hall
Toronto's 124 year old Massey Hall is about to about to close for two years as it undergoes major renovations. Today the CBC published a collection of interviews with various artists including Geddy Lee and the Barenaked Ladies, with featured videos as well. Click here for more.
A Farewell to Kings 40th Anniversary Edition nominated for PROG's Reissue of the Year
Click here to vote now for RUSH's A Farewell to Kings 40th Anniversary Edition in PROG magazine's 2018 Progressive Music Awards! The event takes place at the Underglobe in London, on the site of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, on Thursday September 13. Click here for details. - Thanks to RushFanForever for the headsup!
Geddy Adds Pujols' Signature to his 3000-Club Baseball
Rush references on Billions' May 20th episode
Well this escalates quickly - during last night's episode of the Showtime series Billions (titled "Icebreaker", aired May 20), the following epic conversation takes place between Axe (Damian Lewis) and Taylor (Asia Kate Dillon):
- Thanks to Tod Odonnell and Ronney Monteith for the headsup!
- Businessmen "How soon do you want the money?"
- Axe "The Year 2112 we'll do the raise as a celebration of Rush's second best album, that's why we got you in here today."
- Taylor - "You mean Moving Pictures is #1. But I think it goes Hemispheres, then A Farewell to Kings, then 2112 then Pictures."
- Axe - "Well, you would...."
- Thanks to Tod Odonnell and Ronney Monteith for the headsup!
Alex Lifeson looks back on opening for The New York Dolls in 1973
Alex Lifeson appears in Bachman
As seen in the trailer, Alex Lifeson is interviewed in the new documentary Bachman set for screening May 2nd at the 2018 Hotdocs Film Festival in Toronto.
- Thanks to RushFanForever for the headsup!
"With 'American Woman' and 'You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet,' Canadian rock legend Randy Bachman achieved the rare status of reaching #1 in two separate bands. His story is one of chart-topping highs, crushing lows—and a single-minded passion for music."
- Thanks to RushFanForever for the headsup!
Costa Rica's President Elect is a (Huge) Rush Fan
As seen below, when Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau phoned Costa Rica's President Elect Carlos Alvarado to congratulate him on winning the recent election, after trading necessary pleasantries, Alvarado states "I'm a fan of...the best band in the world that I admire the most, comes from Canada, it's Rush." Check it out here, beginning shortly after the 3 minute mark. - Thank you for Raul Bonilla for the headsup.
Alex Lifeson's Top 5 Essential Albums - Guitar Tracks Insider
"Alex Lifeson is one mutt of a guitar player. He combines the blues intensity of John Mayall's early fire breathers Eric Clapton, Mick Taylor and Peter Green, with the architectural vision of progressive innovators, Steve Howe and Steve Hackett, and the fractured creative vision of modernists, like Jeff Beck and Trevor Rabin."The Top 5: "1. Electric Ladyland - The Jimi Hendrix Experience; 2. Blow by Blow - Jeff Beck; 3. Discipline - King Crimson; 4. Sounds Good To Me - Bill Bruford; 5. Voyage of the Acolyte - Steve Hackett.
Check out the feature here. - Thanks to RushIsABand for the headsup!
Edge Factor's "Masters of Resonance"
Geddy Lee inducts Barenaked Ladies into the Juno Awards Hall of Fame March 25th.
Billboard: "Geddy Lee is inducting you. How cool is that?"
Ed Robertson: "Oh man, for me that's like an actual dream come true. I reached out to Geddy and said, 'Hey, listen, this is an actual, literal teenage dream, but I am an adult now so I understand if you can't make this work.' And he's just been awesome. So he's going to do the induction, which is beyond a thrill to me. There's so much to look forward to -- we're gonna play, Geddy's doing the induction. It's a total dream weekend."
Alex Lifeson to appear in Randy Bachman Documentary "Bachman"
Ian Thornley of Big Wreck talks about covering "Closer To The Heart" on the A Farewell to Kings 40th Anniversary Edition
"I knew going in that I am probably going to piss off Rush fans because it’s not hard to do. Rush fans are some of the most rabid on the planet, as you know. And I get that because I am kind of the same way with certain bands too. The list pretty long of bands that I could pick that have iconic songs that I would probably get two bars into a cover and turn it off. At the same time, I wanted to keep it close enough to the original so that it’s recognizable. To me it sounds exactly like how I wanted it to and am happy because it sounds like Big Wreck covering a Rush song."For more, check out the full feature musiclifemagazine.net. - Thanks Darren for the headsup!
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