Driven: Rush in the ’90s and “In the End” by Martin Popoff coming April 27th

Driven: Rush in the ’90s and “In the End”, book three in the Rush Across the Decades series, is now available for preorder, set for release April 27.

 "In this conclusion to his trilogy of authoritative books on Canada’s most beloved and successful rock band, Martin Popoff takes us through three decades of “life at the top” for Rush’s Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, and Neil Peart. Though this era begins with the brisk-selling Roll the Bones and sees throngs of fans sell out international tours, there is also unimaginable tragedy, with Peart losing his daughter and his wife within the space of ten months and, two decades later, succumbing to cancer himself. In between, however, there is a gorgeous and heartbreaking album of reflection and bereavement, as well as a triumphant trip to Brazil, a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction, and ― some say surprisingly ― the band’s first full-blown concept album to close an immense career marked by integrity and idealism."

 Driven: Rush in the ’90s and “In the End”, book three in the Rush Across the Decades series, following Anthem: Rush in the 1970's and Limelight: Rush in the 80's.

Neil Peart's 1974 "Chromey" drumkit up for auction - sells for $500,312

"The kit...was offered as a prize in a 1987 Modern Drummer contest which was won by Mark Feldman of New York. He later then sold it to its current owner [Dean Bosibud]. It’s now back on the market.  Bonhams auctions is taking care of the sale. The expected selling price is between $100,000-160,000 (US$80,000-120,000). For details go here.

 Update: The auction ended today and the kit sold for US $500,312.  

Hudson Music announces Neil Peart Drumset Scholarship

Hudson Music have announced that they are sponsoring a Neil Peart Drumset Scholarship in partnership with the Percussive Arts Society (PAS.org). PAS will begin accepting applications for the scholarship in March of next year. The scholarship will annually award 4 drummers the opportunity for online drumset lessons from well-known artists/educators. Hudson Music produces instructional how-to videos and lesson books for drums, bass and guitar, including Neil Peart's Anatomy of a Drum Solo and Taking Center Stage instructional videos. More details will be forthcoming, so be sure to follow Hudson Music on Facebook for updates. You can watch a promotional video for the scholarship below or on YouTube. - Thanks to John at Cygnus-X1.net for the heads up.

"Rush - The Day I Was There" by Richard Houghton Now Available

Rush - The Day I Was There is now available.   Published November 13, 2020, the book contains over 400 fan memories of seeing Rush live and tells their story through previously unpublished eyewitness accounts.  The author/compiler of the book is Richard Houghton, who lives in Manchester, England. Richard is the author of more than a dozen music books and his The Day I Was There series encompasses acts including Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix and Black Sabbath.

"When Rush concluded their R40 tour in 2015, fans of Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart knew extensive touring was off the agenda. But they hoped for a one off reunion gig or a festival appearance. With the untimely death of drummer Neil Peart in January 2020, those dreams were shattered. Across more than 40 years, the band that had sold over 40 million albums and played in excess of 2,400 shows around the world were no more.

"With previously unseen photos and fan memorabilia, Rush – The Day I Was There brings together over 400 previously unpublished eye witness accounts to allow the reader to take a journey back in time and recapture the experience of seeing live the greatest ever power trio in rock."

Rush - The Day I Was There is available to order from This Day In Music Books now: https://thisdayinmusicbooks.com/product/rush-the-day-i-was-there/

Alex Lifeson's 2020 A Brush Of Hope Painting "Forked" sells for $7,373

UPDATE: Alex's painting sold for C $7,373.00. 

"Alex Lifeson has been painting and offering his works to raise money for the Kidney Foundation through their annual Brush of Hope campaign for years.  Today Alex revealed his new painting up for auction for 2020, titled FORKED.  'A small point of interest, “Forked” was created entirely by using a fork, not brushes.' – Alex Lifeson

"This year the 10-day Brush of Hope auction, hosted on eBay.ca, will run from October 21st, 12pm – October 31st, 12pm noon Atlantic Standard Time /11am ET/8am PT).

"Auction Bid Link for “Forked” – http://bit.ly/BOH2020Lifeson

"In addition to the painting auction, Limited Edition Signed Prints of his 2019 work, titled “Minus 20” are now available at http://bit.ly/AlexLifesonPrints

"Thank you for supporting the Kidney Foundation!" - Rush.com, October 22, 2020

"The Missing Tourbooks Collection" from Rush

"While leafing through your Rush tourbook collection, have you ever noticed there are three studio album tours with no tourbook? We had to correct this! We went back in time, collecting photos, artwork, gear lists and much more from the tours for RUSH, Fly By Night, and Caress Of Steel. Purchase all three as a collection, and receive a bonus litho as part of the package! Shop now https://bit.ly/3433ERR" - Rush.com, October 16, 2020

Limelight: Rush in the ’80s (Rush Across the Decades #2) by Martin Popoff Now Available

Limelight: Rush in the ’80s (Rush Across the Decades) , book two in the three part Rush biography collection by Martin Popoff, is set for release on October 13th, 2020 from ECW Press. Preorder the hardcover edition at Amazon.

"In the follow-up to Anthem: Rush in the ’70s, Martin Popoff brings together canon analysis, cultural context, and extensive firsthand interviews to celebrate Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, and Neil Peart at the peak of their persuasive power. Rush was one of the most celebrated hard rock acts of the ’80s, and the second book of Popoff’s staggeringly comprehensive three-part series takes readers from Permanent Waves to Presto, while bringing new insight to Moving Pictures, their crowning glory. Limelight: Rush in the ’80s is a celebration of fame, of the pushback against that fame, of fortunes made ― and spent …

In the latter half of the decade, as Rush adopts keyboard technology and gets pert and poppy, there’s an uproar amongst diehards, but the band finds a whole new crop of listeners. Limelight charts a dizzying period in the band’s career, built of explosive excitement but also exhaustion, a state that would lead, as the ’90s dawned, to the band questioning everything they previously believed, and each member eying the oncoming decade with trepidation and suspicion."

"Why Rush’s Record Label Changed the ‘Caress of Steel’ Cover Art" - Ultimate Classic Rock

Today UCR.com have posted a new interview with Rush art director Hugh Syme, where he talks about the Caress of Steel Album cover. 

"I was a huge [M.C. Escher] fan.  My original drawings were in pencil: clean, monochromatic, simple homages to Escher. But when the record label got ahold of these, they thought it wasn't rock and roll enough, so they added this chromium lettering and swung the tint of the whole image over to a brown sepia tone — none of which was requested or under my purview at the time.  When the band said, 'What happened?,' I said, 'I don't know,'" he adds. "That began the premise that they would consider most A&R people attending their sessions — and, more so, their comments — as unwelcome. Because they weren't interested. And when they realized that other people were meddling in the process when it came to my art, they said, 'Don't listen to anyone. We're talking to you directly.' That set up a feature in my life.  That album worked out well. I don't look back fondly on the outcome, but that's OK," he says. "It was more just me being indulgent — art directors are pretty selfish. We do what we want to do, and what a gift it was to work with a band like Rush. They — excuse the quote — allowed that deviation from any norms because that's what they aspired to do themselves as artists."

Read More: Why Rush's Record Label Changed the 'Caress of Steel' Cover Art | https://ultimateclassicrock.com/rush-caress-of-steel-album-art/?utm_source=tsmclip&utm_medium=referral

Big Sugar's "Hemi-Vision" 25th Anniversary Edition featuring foreword by Alex Lifeson

Canadian rock band Big Sugar are releasing the 25th Anniversary Deluxe Edition of their album Hemi-Vision next Friday, September 25th, and Rush's Alex Lifeson is providing a foreword to the liner notes:

"A deluxe edition reissue of Hemi-Vision will touch down September 25 through Universal Music Canada digitally, on CD and as a 2xLP set pressed to 180-gram bright green and orange vinyl.  The deluxe package puts the original album alongside six previously unreleased bonus tracks, rare photos and memorabilia from the band's archives, and extensive liner notes by Gordie Johnson with a foreword from Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson." - exclaim.ca

Fumanchu released "Working Man" digitally, proceeds benefit Brain Tumor Research

Today the band Funmanchu announced:

"In Tribute to The Professor, Neil Peart, we are releasing our version of RUSH's 'Working Man' that we recorded January 2020. All Proceeds will benefit Brain Tumor Research at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in his memory. Members of our band and our manager were in the audience on August 1, 2015 when this was the final song played by Neil, Geddy and Alex. We are forever grateful for all of the music and memories. Thanks to Carl Saff for donating his mastering services and to David Medel for donating his art services. Thanks to Jim Monroe for the studio time, engineering & mixing hook up. Thanks to Meg and everyone in the Rush family. Thanks to John Raso for going the extra mile to help us get this out. This is a digital release only...for now"

Click here to get it from Amazon.

Modern Drummer Festival with tribute to Neil Peart - Saturday, September 12th

Drumming royalty will gather virtually this weekend to honor late Rush member Neil Peart. The Police drummer Stewart Copeland, Foo Fighters’ Taylor Hawkins, Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Chad Smith and Chicago’s Danny Seraphine are among the artists who will pay tribute to Peart’s genius as part of a one-night-only online concert, produced by LiveXLive.

The event streams live this Saturday on Neil's birthday, September 12th, at 8 p.m. ET and will be available to watch on LiveXLive.com and Fite.tv. A ticket to the pay-per-view event costs $12.99 (tickets available here) and lets you stream the show from your phone, tablet or computer. You can also watch it on your TV through the Fite TV app, which lets you cast the action onto the screen via Apple TV, Roku Streaming Stick, Fire TV and more.

Other performers for the night include Cindy Blackman-Santana, Thomas Lang, Alex Gonzalez (Manå), Jim Riley (Rascal Flatts), Dom Famularo, Carmine Appice (Vanilla Fudge), Keith Carlock, Todd Sucherman (Styx), Kenny Aronoff, Gregg Bissonette (Ringo Starr), Ray Luzier (Korn), and Kristina Schiano. The event will also feature appearances by Carl Palmer, Eric Singer, and Mike Portnoy, among others.

"Forever Terry: A Legacy in Letters" featuring epilogue by Geddy Lee

Hitting bookstores today, to mark the 40th anniversary of the Marathon of Hope, the book Forever Terry: A Legacy in Letters recounts the inspiration, dedication, and perseverance that Terry Fox embodied, and gives voice to an icon whose example spoke much louder than his words. Comprising 40 letters from 40 contributors including an epilogue written by Geddy Lee, and edited by Terry's younger brother Darrell on behalf of the Fox family, Forever Terry pays tribute to Terry's legacy, as seen through the eyes of celebrated Canadians.  Author proceeds support the Terry Fox Foundation, which has raised over $800 million for cancer research. - Thanks to RushFanForever for the headsup!

Storied: The Geddy Lee Baseball Collection

"Storied" is a new collection of 22 videos narrated by Bob Kendrick, president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, released on YouTube, Spotify and on Pro Athlete's website.   Below is Chapter 5 which tells the story of the Geddy Lee Baseball Collection! - Thanks to Rosmakloma for the headsup!

"Ready Player Two" coming in November

Ready Player Two: A Novel by Ernest Cline, the sequel to the Rush fan favorite Ready Player One, is coming November 24th.  As the first novel included many Rush references including a major plotline centered around "2112", it is likely the sequel will similarly include some Rush.

Geddy Lee: My 10 Favorite Bassists - RollingStone.com

The players that Lee chose for his list — from Sixties and Seventies rock gods like John Entwistle and John Paul Jones to Motown legend James Jamerson and jazz-rock virtuosos like Jaco Pastorius — all had a hand in making the bass that much cooler. They’re a diverse set of players, but Lee says that they all share a particular dual skill set.  From John Entwistle to Les Claypool, the prog-rock legend runs down his personal low-end pantheon, click here for more. - July 2, 2020

Modern Drummer Legends Vol. 1 – Neil Peart

Coming September 15th, Modern Drummer magazine is publishing an anthology of all 9 of Neil Peart's Modern Drummer cover interviews.  The special issue also includes the complete contents of his May 2020 Modern Drummer tribute issue, an analysis of Peart’s performances on every Rush studio album, a survey of the evolution of his famous live drumkits, an in-depth look at his seven self-penned books, remembrances and impressions from dozens of leading drummers, transcriptions of deep Rush cuts, Neil discussing the Snakes & Arrows track “Malignant Narcissism”, and “A Life Changed Forever”: a super-fan’s heartfelt story.  Order here.

"Rush Backstage Club Newsletters 1980 - 1994" Now Available

Rush Backstage Club first announced the "Rush Backstage Club Newsletters 1980 - 1994" was to be released May 29th to coincide with the Permanent Waves 40th Anniversary reissue.   The book has been delayed, and now has a ship date of June 19th.

Before the days of digital, Rush fans had to work hard to stay updated on current news for their favorite band. In 1980, The Rush Backstage Club was created to deliver, via regular mail service, band news, tour dates, fan Q&A's, merchandise catalogs, and a young Neil Peart's reflections. Over the years, there were over thirty newsletters released, some were full of timelines from Neil, some contained tentative upcoming tour dates, and some were merely merchandise catalogs. We have reprinted and bound the most meaningful of these newsletters in a 9" X 12", 72-page folio.

This folio is printed in Canada on heavy art paper, with open-stitch binding on the spine. Along with actual newsletters, there are a couple of other visual features, as well as a couple hand-typed notes from Neil to their management company SRO. There is an Introduction written by Ray Wawrzyniak, and Foreword written by Patrick McLoughlin.

All North American orders will receive FREE shipping on this item! Order now 👉 https://bit.ly/2JJnMxw

Alex Lifeson's "Victor" 25th Anniversary Expanded Edition Coming?

In a new interview with Ultimate-Guitar.com, when asked if he has heard from Alex Lifeson, drummer Marco Minnemann let slip "We've been in touch just recently actually, just a few days ago literally, because he's re-releasing an album called Victor he did 20 years ago; that's going to be re-released as a 20th-anniversary edition, and one of the songs we did is on it as a bonus track."

As Victor was released in January 1996, we can assume that it is actually a 25th Anniversary Edition, that he is speaking of, although no official announcement has been made.

Hugh Syme on the Undercovers Podcast

Better late than never, somehow I missed this when it was first announced.   Rush's long time creative director Hugh Syme is featured on episode 17 the Undercovers podcast, which premiered May 18, 2019.  Hugh speaks at length about Rush first, before moving on to other bands he has worked with in his career.   Available below, as well as on on your favorite podcast player as listed here.

"Hugh Syme is one of the most acclaimed album designers in history - his 40+ years with Rush as well as his work with Dream Theater, Megadeth and so many more."

Artists and albums discussed: Rush (11:37), Hemispheres (18:25), Permanent Waves, Moving Pictures, Signals (22:03), Test For Echo (31:15), Bon Jovi – New Jersey (35:30), Warrant – Cherry Pie (39:35), Whitesnake (44:03), Aerosmith – Get A Grip (47:25), Def Leppard – Retroactive (53:30), Megadeth - Youthenasia (55:05), Megadeth – Countdown to Extinction (58:00), Dream Theater – Distance Over Time (1:00:53), Dream Theater - Octovarian (1:04:05), Iron Maiden – X-Factor (107:11), KISS – Revenge (1:10:37), Alice Cooper – A Fistful of Alice (1:11:35) Billy Thorpe (1:15:35).

"Growth Rings: A Short film narrated by Neil Peart"

Edge Factor just published a new video which Neil Peart co-wrote with Jeremy Bout (Edge Factor) and did his own voice over.  The short film "Growth Rings", created in collaboration with DW Drums, is available below.

"Growth Rings" Co-written by Jeremy Bout and recorded by Neil Peart of RUSH, one of the greatest drummers of all time, this short film honors the way in which music marks moments in our lives. Just as the life of a tree can be understood through it's growth rings, we can look at the milestones and eras of our lives and reminiscence of the songs and bands that resonated with us during those times.

-Thanks to Rosmakloma for the headsup!