First Annual "Cinema Strangiato" Coming August 21st

Today Rush has announced on August 21, Anthem/Trafalgar will bring the first annual “Cinema Strangiato” to the big screen in movie theaters worldwide for one night only. This theatrical film experience will bring Rush fans together for a special look into R40 Live, see new backstage footage, special guests, and performances that you won’t want to miss.

CINEMA STRANGIATO - August 21 2019
Tickets go on sale Thursday, June 20.
Head to https://www.cinemastrangiato.com/
to sign up for more event information!

"Time Machine 2011: Live in Cleveland" Vinyl Edition Now Available

Time Machine 2011: Live in Cleveland is coming to vinyl for the first time in its entirety on June 7, 2019. (Previously only the Moving Pictures segment of the show was pressed to vinyl as Moving Pictures: Live 2011. Order here. 

Canadian Music Publisher ole Rebrands as Anthem Entertainment

ole, the Canadian music publishing company, is being rebranded as Anthem Entertainment....In choosing a new name, Murphy went with an acquired brand Anthem that it purchased in 2015, the record label that included Rush on its roster.

"As the company turns 15 this year, it is important to celebrate its success in building a successful global content creation and entertainment services platform from scratch," Murphy said in a statement. "It is also important to stop and reassess our mission and our values. Looking forward, it is equally important for us to revisit our name. I want the name of our company to more easily identify who we are and what we do. We have grown from a small music publishing company to a large independent producer of content and entertainment services platform. We have created deep roots in music, film, and television."

Click here for more. - Billboard.com, June 5, 2019

'I miss my buddies': Geddy Lee reflects on Rush and his love of bass - Toronto Sun

In a new interview published today by the Toronto Sun to promote his book, Geddy talks about his future recording plans...

"I don’t really know. Alex is turning into this super session guy. He loves playing on other people’s records without the responsibilities of having to write anything other than his solo. I know he’s really digging that. I’ve been doing this project, but we talk, quite a lot. We see each other quite a lot. And we visit with Neil quite often. So we’re all close but I don’t think we would ever do a project — the three of us. It’s certainly possible that Alex and I would do something down the road. I can’t see the three of us ever really doing anything."

Check out the full article here.

Alex Lifeson guest voice actor on Trailer Park Boys: The Animated Series

Trailer Park Boys: The Animated Series premiered on Netflix just over a month ago (March 31st), and the ten episode season includes Rush's Alex Lifeson as a voice actor.   During episode 7, ‘Satan’s Bastards’, Alex is the heavily accented voice of Big Chunk, and during episode 10, ‘Trailerstock’, Alex is the manager of Queens of the Stone Age.  I think this guy has a future... - Thanks to Kenny Bratz for the headsup!

Geddy Lee’s BBBoB Canadian Book Tour & Bass Exhibit at NMC

Geddy Lee’s Official (Yet Kind of Random) Big Beautiful Book of Bass Tour has announced Canadian dates!

Event Tickets are available now in select markets at Rush.com/geddylee

One special stop on the tour will be in Calgary where Geddy Lee will open Geddy Lee’s Big Beautiful Bass Exhibition at Studio Bell at The National Music Centre (NMC), highlighting a selection of his rare and iconic bass guitars

Following Geddy Lee’s Big Book of Bass Exhibit at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Studio Bell is hosting the first Canadian exhibit of the artist’s bass guitars, with 26 instruments curated by Lee himself.

Lee has spent years collecting hundreds of vintage bass guitars-a passion which became the inspiration for Geddy Lee’s Big Beautiful Book of Bass. To celebrate the release of his new book, NMC is launching a feature exhibition at Studio Bell that will coincide with Lee’s cross-Canada book tour. NMC will host an exclusive event with Geddy Lee that includes a special Q&A followed by a book signing on May 25th with exhibit opening to the public on May 26th, 2019.

Setlists For Young Voices Auction

Starting tonight, 100+ setlists from renowned musicians will go to auction online to benefit international youth writing and activism centers and organizations on behalf of Setlists For Young Voices.

Setlists For Young Voices is a new initiative developed and launched by Nick Hornby (novelist, screenwriter, co-founder of Ministry of Stories, a London-based youth writing center), with the help of Dave Eggers (novelist, co-founder of San Francisco youth writing center 826 Valencia), and Michael Chabon (novelist, screenwriter).

The auction’s proceeds will benefit both Ministry of Stories and The International Congress of Youth Voices, which will bring international teen writers and activists together in San Juan, Puerto Rico this Summer. The auction begins tonight at 7 pm PT / 10 pm ET, and will end in ten days on May 2nd.

Included are three setlists from Rush’s 2013 Clockwork Angels tour.  The auction and all setlists can be found here.

“These Were My Heroes”: Geddy Lee On Rush And His Love Of The Bass - udiscovermusic

In an interview with uDiscover Music, Geddy Lee talks about his ‘Big Beautiful Book Of Bass’ and the musical heroes he’d loved to have played with. - April 17, 2019

Alex Lifeson guest on Don Felder's 'American Rock ‘N’ Roll' - now available

Alex Lifeson is one of many guest performers who appears on former Eagles' guitarist and songwriter Don Felder's new album, American Rock and Roll, hitting stores today, April 5th. Lifeson appears on the track "Charmed", performing acoustic rhythm on the bridge and electric guitar end solo

"A former lead guitarist and songwriter of The Eagles, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductee, and New York Times bestselling author Don Felder, announces his highly anticipated all-new album American Rock ‘N’ Roll. The new album is slated for release on April 5, 2019 on BMG and is available for pre-order on January 25th, 2019. The album features some of the biggest names in music including Sammy Hagar, Slash, Richie Sambora, Orianthi, Peter Frampton, Joe Satriani, Mick Fleetwood, Chad Smith, Bob Weir, David Paich, Steve Porcaro, Alex Lifeson and more. The album was mixed by Bob Clearmountain and mastered by Bernie Grundman." - MusicMahemMagazine.com, January 25, 2019

In a new interview with KSHE.fm, Felder talked about working with Alex:

"Alex and I play golf every year at the same children's hospital out in Palm Springs, and as a matter of fact, we have a picture of him and me backstage where he used to play of double neck a song or two from Rush. I had my own double neck and was about to play and said, 'Alex, come over here. You play one neck and I'll play the other.' After I had heard from Neil Peart that Rush was pretty much done, I figured, 'God, Alex has got to be sitting around doing nothing, bored to death. I'd love him to play on this record.' So I contacted him. We wound up playing on a really fantastic song called 'Charmed.'" - Don Felder, KSHE.fm, April 9, 2019

Geddy Lee joins Les Claypool's Lennon Delirium Onstage in Toronto

Today on his Facebook page, Les Claypool (Primus) posted:

Last night was a pinnacle moment for this Ol’ Colonel’s career. My dear friend and childhood superhero GeddyLee decided to join The Delirium onstage in Toronto for our rendition of Sean’s Dad’s, "Tomorrow Never Knows".

As Geddy slinked out of the shadows with my Pachyderm bass in his mighty grips, the crowd slowly swelled to a frenzy of recognition. The energy and excitement was so palatable that it brought a joyful tear to my eye. Like Joe DiMaggio stepping back up to the plate, Geddy proceeded to show us all why he is one of the greatest to ever wield a four string piece of furniture. It was pure magic and I imagine I'll feel the tingle on the back of my neck for some time.

Alas, our recording equipment went on the fritz so it will only live in our minds...and on the handful of cellphones that were fortunate enough to capture the glory. Good times.

- Les Claypool

Geddy Lee also commented on Instagram:

Last night the good folks of the Claypool/Lennon Delirium kindly invited me to invade their show during the closing number..The Beatles' "Tomorrow Never Knows"...it was such a blast to jam with these talented guys and most especially to appear with my pal .. the inimitable Les Claypool .. . thanks for the awesome show boys!

Alex Lifeson to appear at West End Phoenix Benefit May 31st

Alex Lifeson is one of many artists performing at the Double or Nothing Fundraser and Party for West End Phoenix Newspaper on May 31st. Alex will join Chris Walla from Death Cab for Cutie and the Rheostatics.  For tickets visit westendphoenix.com.

Rush To Be Featured In ABC's 'Schooled' April 10th Episode

Blabbermouth is reporting that Rush will be featured on ABC-TV's comedy "Schooled" on Wednesday, April 10 at 8:30 p.m. "Schooled" is a direct spinoff of ABC's long-running '80s comedy "The Goldbergs".

"In this all-new episode, character Johnny Atkins, who always wears a RUSH concert T-shirt, shows his love for the band in a new way. In "Schooled", Johnny is working at William Penn Academy as a custodian and reflects about his time in high school working at his school's radio station. He claims he put together a show called "Rush Hour", featuring 30 minutes of the greatest band in the world, RUSH.

"Schooled" posted a photo to Twitter of janitor Johnny wearing a Moving Pictures t-shirt under is coveralls back in December.

Geddy Lee "The Soundtrack Of My Life" - Classic Rock

The Classic Rock Special KISS Collectors Edition (#261) is on newsstands, and includes a feature with Geddy Lee talking about "The Soundtrack Of My Life." - Thanks to Geoff Clark and RushFanForever for the headsup!

Dream Theater’s John Petrucci on Rush: “That was the band that changed everything”

“To me, [Rush] was the band that changed everything,” Petrucci told us. “When music just hits you in such a way, especially when you’re young … and you’re sort of developing your tastes — that band, there was something about it. I just loved it. And so I got completely sucked into all things Rush.”  He added, “One of my greatest musical memories has to do with them ’cause Rush was the first concert I ever went to. Back in 1982, they were on the Signals tour, they were playing the Nassau Coliseum on Long Island — I went there and had the worst seats ever. They were so far away, but I just couldn’t believe that this was a band that I was listening to all this time, and here I am in the same building as them. How was that possible? I was just blown away by the show and the production. And you can imagine what impact that had on me, eventually making that my career.” - for more visit ConsequenceOfSound.com, March 22, 2019

Alex Lifeson guests on The Mute Gods' 'Atheists and Believers' now available

The Mute Gods' new album Atheists and Believers hits stores March 22nd.  Nick Beggs, Roger King and Marco Minnemann are joined on this their third album by guest performers Alex Lifeson, Craig Blundell, Rob Townsend and Beggs’ daughter Lula on vocals.  Earlier this month, MetalExpressRadio.com shared a new interview with bassist Nick Beggs where he discussed working with Lifeson:

"I'd worked on the 2112 re-release where we did a version of Twilight Zone. He came to the shows and we hung out and kept in contact. He was really up for contributing to the record. He was such a lovely man and a very funny man too....I'd recorded all of the guitar parts already [for 'One Day'] and I told him to do whatever he wanted. If he wanted to replace the guitar parts then he could but he did something completely different. He added Mandola, ambient guitar and 12-string acoustic and I liked so much what he'd done on the outro, that I edited it and made a whole new intro for the song so the first thing you hear is Alex strumming a 12-string guitar and me singing 'Life is a chemical reaction'. His chord inversions made the whole thing sing and that effected the way I arranged it in the end. I`d like to feature him more."

The video for the Mute Gods new single 'One Day' featuring Alex Lifeson is available below.

Alex Body's "Rush: Song by Song" Coming next January

Rush: Song by Song by Alex Body is set for publication in January. Click here to preorder.  From the description:

"In this unique book the reader is guided through each album, song by song, from the band's eponymous début in 1974 right up to 2012's Clockwork Angels. Every album (both live and studio) is explored in detail with rare insight into the circumstances in which the band wrote and recorded each song."

- Thanks to Joe Pesch for the heasdsup

Rush is on the cover of the March issue of Planet Rock magazine

The new March 2019 issue of the UK's Planet Rock Magazine is on newsstands with a cover feature on Rush including a new interview with interview with Alex Lifeson.  Now available for order online at planetrock.com.

"We welcome the world’s biggest cult band, prog rock royalty RUSH to the cover of issue 13 of Planet Rock Magazine, with a rare and exclusive interview with guitarist Alex Lifeson, and an in-depth look at the making of the band’s biggest album, Moving Pictures." - planetrock.com

- Thanks to Joe Pesch for the headsup!

Geddy Lee’s Magnificent Obsession - Premier Guitar

Premier Guitar has just posted a fantastic interview with Geddy Lee.  The conversation covered Lee’s passion for collecting and his new book, some of the rare instruments he’s now the custodian of, the challenges of Rush’s music, and what the future may hold for him as a player. Check it out here.

Record Store Day 2019 Hemispheres Picture Disc

Record Store Day returns on April 13th, and included in this years offerings is what appears to be a  reissue of the Hemispheres 12-inch vinyl picture disc originally released in December 1978.  The new pressing will be limited to 5000 copies and is listed as an RSD First release - which means it will be available via other channels at some point after Record Store Day.   For store participating record stores visit recordstoreday.com. 

Alex Lifeson guests on John Mayall's 'Nobody Told Me'

Alex Lifeson is one of many guest performers to appear on veteran bluesman John Mayall's new album, Nobody Told Me, hitting store shelves today.  Lifeson appears on the track "Evil And Here To Stay".  Additional guest performers include Todd Rundgren, Joe Bonamassa, Larry McCray, Carolyn Wonderland and Steven Van Zandt from Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band and his own Disciples Of Soul.

UPDATE: check out the track here: "John Mayall is back with a new song, and Alex Lifeson's all over it" - Loudersound.com, February 20, 2019

"Evil and Here to Stay is just one of the star studded songs you’ll be playing over and over," says Mayall. "On this particular track you get to hear some great guitar soloing from special guest Alex Lifeson, who feels right at home with this special groove."

"One of the first songs Rush learned to play as a band in front of an audience was Snowy Wood in 1968," says Lifeson. "So are influences go a long way back with John Mayall.

"When I was asked to do this particular project I was actually quite thrilled by it. Long being an admirer of the many amazing guitar players that have been a part of the Bluesbreakers and to be considered in that esteemed group I was very, very honoured, and it’s been a real pleasure." - Loudersound.com, February 20, 2019