Alex Lifeson on Primus' "Animals Should Not Try to Act Like People"

Rush fans viewing the new Primus DVD, Animals Should Not Try to Act Like People, released October 7, will be treated to an interview by a strikingly familiar face.  The "Brown Album" portion of the DVD has an area called "Horrible Swill" which contains an interview of the band performed by one "Big Al", wearing black rimmed glasses and fake crooked teeth. In addition, the "Attic" area contains a "pictures" section which includes a photo of Les Claypool and Geddy Lee fishing!

Sorrow Rather Than Celebration

Alex Lifeson's 50th birthday (born August 27, 1953) was the sorrowful occasion of the passing of his father, Nenad Zivojinovich. The obituary reads "donations to the Kidney Foundation would be appreciated by the family". Fans wishing to express condolences to Alex are asked to send them via email to info@rush.com, where they will be forwarded to Alex.

Rush In September 2003 "GQ" Magazine

Rush is included in a humorous listing in the September 2003 issue of GQ magazine: page 140 includes "10 Songs Not To Make Love To":

1. "Puttin' on the Ritz" by Taco; 2. "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son" by Iron Maiden; 3. "The Shoop Shoop Song (It's in His Kiss") by Cher; 4. ""#!*@ You Tonight" by Notorious B.I.G. featuring R. Kelly; 5. "Rockit" by Herbie Hancock; 6. "Downtown" by Petula Clark; 7. "YYZ" by Rush; 8. "Music for Mallet Instruments, Voices and Organ" by Steve Reich; 9. "Centerfield" by John Fogerty; 10. "In the Gloaming" (Traditional)

Toronto SARS Benefit Concert

Rush performed for approximately 450,000 people in Toronto's Downsview Park as part of the "Molson Canadian Rocks For Toronto" concert on July 30th to benefit Toronto's SARS-depressed economy. The list of performers for the nine hour concert included The Rolling Stones, AC/DC, The Guess Who, Justin Timberlake, Sam Roberts, The Flaming Lips, Kathleen Edwards, The Isley Brothers, Sass Jordan, La Chincane, and Dan Aykroyd with Jim Belushi and the "have love will travel revue". Rush's 35 minute set of mostly hits included an instrumental cover of the Stones' "Paint It, Black" (setlist: Tom Sawyer, Limelight, Dreamline, YYZ, Freewill, Closer To The Heart (no jam), Paint It Black, The Spirit Of Radio).
In typical fashion, Rush received little media recognition for their performance, which preceded both AC/DC (55 min. set) and The Stones (70 min set), and were not even mentioned in CNN's online review of the show. Additional news coverage can be found at CBC News and Billboard.com.
"When we were first asked to play Molson Canadian Rocks For Toronto, it seemed impossible to say yes. We had been off the road for 8 months, our gear was in the warehouse, most of our crew was out on other tours, and even we were all over the place - Geddy with his family in France, Alex working in the studio mixing our Rio de Janeiro show, and me on my motorcycle in the California mountains. However, when we thought about everything Toronto meant to our lives, to our work and play, our homes and families and friends, it seemed impossible to say no!" Neil Peart, Rush.com Newsletter, July 3, 2003