"For this next tour we're not going to be using the full V-Drum kit on the back. We are not going to be spinning. It's going to be full-tilt Rush songs and there will probably be a whole lot of old stuff in it." - Lorne Wheaton
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"I'd go for The Camera Eye from Moving Pictures. For me, this is Rush continuing in the tradition of their incredible 70s epics, but achieving something more structured and lyrically mature. As with the whole of the Moving Pictures album, it strikes a perfect balance between the power trio format of the 70s and the more layered keyboard-dominated sounds to come. It's also got one of the great Alex Lifeson guitar solos - among so many!"Now, according to a new review from Prog magazine posted today of Steven Wilson's latest solo album, Hand. Cannot. Erase., that love of "The Camera Eye" may have been reflected on the new album:
"...Wilson and his band (Marco Minnemann, Guthrie Govan, Nick Beggs and Adam Holzman) lean heavily on Rush’s Jacob’s Ladder and The Camera Eye, not least in the co-joined opener First Regret/3 Years Older." - Prog.teamrock.com, January 30, 2015Hand. Cannot. Erase. is set for release March 3rd, click here to order. For more visit www.handcannoterase.com; see below for a video teaser.
The R40 LIVE Tour will visit 34 cities throughout North America this summer beginning May 8 in Tulsa, OK and finishing August 1 in Los Angeles, CA. These not to be missed concerts will highlight four decades of the band’s music....After 40 years together and 20 gold and platinum studio albums – Rush is ready to celebrate with the most loyal fans in the world by embarking on their 21st tour, one which will most likely be their last major tour of this magnitude.
Tickets for the RUSH: R40 LIVE TOUR will go on sale starting January 30 in select markets at Ticketmaster.com and LiveNation.com. Citi® card members will have access to pre-sale tickets through Citi’s Private Pass® Program beginning January 27 in select markets. For complete presale details visit www.citiprivatepass.com. Exclusive Rush ticket packages are available, please visit vipnation.com for package details.Beginning May 8 in Tulsa, OK and finishing August 1 in Los Angeles, CA, here are the complete list of tourdates:
May 8, 2015 Tulsa Bok Center -- Tulsa, OklahomaPresale details below:
May 10, 2015 Pinnacle Bank Arena -- Lincoln, Nebraska
May 12, 2015 Xcel Energy Center -- Saint Paul, Minnesota
May 14, 2015 Scottrade Center -- St. Louis, Missouri
May 16, 2015 Austin360 Amphitheater -- Austin (Del Valle), Texas
May 18, 2015 American Airlines Center -- Dallas, Texas
May 20, 2015 Toyota Center -- Houston, Texas
May 22, 2015 Smoothie King Center -- New Orleans, Louisiana
May 24, 2015 Amalie Arena -- Tampa, Florida
May 26, 2015 Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre at Encore Park -- Atlanta (Alpharetta), Georgia
May 28, 2015 Greensboro Coliseum -- Greensboro, North Carolina
May 30, 2015 Jiffy Lube Live -- Bristow, Virginia
June 8, 2015 Nationwide Arena -- Columbus, Ohio
June 10, 2015 First Niagara Center -- Buffalo, New York
June 12, 2015 United Center -- Chicago, Illinois
June 14, 2015 The Palace of Auburn Hills -- Detroit (Auburn Hills), Michigan
June 17, 2015 Air Canada Centre -- Toronto, Ontario
June 19, 2015 Air Canada Centre -- Toronto, Ontario
June 21, 2015 Bell Centre -- Montreal, Québec
June 23, 2015 TD Garden -- Boston, Massachusetts
June 25, 2015 Wells Fargo Center -- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
June 27, 2015 Prudential Center -- Newark, New Jersey
June 29, 2015 Madison Square Garden, New York, New York
July 9, 2015 Sprint Center -- Kansas City, Missouri
July 11, 2015 Pepsi Center - Denver, Colorado
July 13, 2015 Maverik Center -- Salt Lake City (West Valley City), Utah
July 15, 2015 Scotiabank Saddledome -- Calgary, Alberta
July 17, 2015 Rogers Arena -- Vancouver, British Columbia
July 19, 2015 KeyArena -- Seattle, Washington
July 21, 2015 Moda Center -- Portland, Oregon
July 23, 2015 SAP Center at San Jose -- San Jose, California
July 25, 2015 MGM Grand Garden Arena -- Las Vegas, Nevada
July 27, 2015 US Airways Center -- Phoenix, Arizona
July 30, 2015 Verizon Wireless Amphitheater -- Irvine, California
August 1, 2015 The Forum -- Los Angeles (Inglewood), California
UPDATE: PBS does not have a standardized nationwide schedule. While this episode is slated to begin airing tonight, actual broadcast times and dates will vary. To find list of stations that will be airing it click here.
North American syndicated Rock radio show and InTheStudio: The Stories Behind History’s Greatest Rock Bands journeys back to a pivotal moment in the history of the band Rush to examine the 1980 release of Permanent Waves.Alex Lifeson of Rush stopped by Q107 this morning to chat with Derringer about all things rock n’ roll, including the upcoming R40 LIVE tour kicking off this May.
Q107,Toronto’s Rock presents RUSH - Wednesday June 17th & Friday June 19th at the Air Canada Centre. Tickets go on sale Friday, February 6th. Buy your tickets online at Ticketmaster.ca !
If you missed the interview live on air, not to worry, listen to Alex and Derringer chat below:
In celebration of Rush's 40th Anniversary Tour, Drum Workshop, Inc. (DW Drums) is releasing the Neil Peart R40 snare drum. Just like Neil's R40 touring kit, this DW Icon series snare features exotic inlay artwork from previous Rush albums and gold plated hardware. Each snare includes DW's Mag Throw-Off with 3 position butt plate and a DW Deluxe Snare Drum Bag.- Thanks to Andrew Olson for the headsup!
Fender has unveiled an new version of their Geddy Lee Jazz Bass that combines the specs
and features of Lee’s three favorite basses—two Fender Custom Shop
versions of his signature model and the original sleek black ’72 Jazz
Bass that Rush’s revered bassist/vocalist has riffed away on in front
of millions of devoted fans worldwide and on many a mega-selling album.
The neck has a thicker custom profile, topped by a maple fingerboard
with elegant white binding and white pearloid block inlays. For enormous
tone that crackles with life and bristles with the energy, its two
vintage-style single-coil Jazz Bass pickups are specially wound and
voiced to sound like those on Lee’s prized 1972 original, and a Geddy
Lee signature High-Mass bridge provides rock-solid intonation. The new bass has an MSRP of $899 and will be available
March 12, 2015. For more info click here.
"He was the first rock drummer, in very many ways," Peart says. "Without Gene Krupa, there wouldn't have been a Keith Moon. He was the first drummer to command the spotlight and the first drummer to be celebrated for his solos, because they were very flamboyant. He did fundamentally easy things, but always made them look spectacular." For the full feature click here.- Thanks to Rosmakloma for the headsup!
Neil Peart has just updated his website with the latest issue of "News Weather & Sports." From July but apparently not published until now, this issue is titled "Bamm Bamm and the Lemon Slug". Neil tells of his competing in the "24 Hours of LeMons", an endurance racing series for low-budget enthusiasts such as Neil. You can check it out here.
"While perhaps best known as the visual designer behind four decades of Rush concerts, he’s also worked with the likes of Blue Öyster Cult, Van Halen, Queensrÿche, Tesla, Rod Stewart, Supertramp, Def Leppard and Alicia Keys, among others. His work on the corporate side has been just as innovative, creating custom environments for companies ranging from General Motors and Mercedes-Benz to the Buffalo Sabres hockey team."PLSN has also shared a 14 minute video interview with Geddy and Alex regarding Howard's work which you can view here.
"Well, I had one tragedy. I had the Rush guys, Neil Peart and Alex Lifeson, over here, and we jammed through the night. We banged every drum, Neil and I had the drum battle from hell, Alex played every guitar, cello, horn, it was just music all night. And then I started cutting it and putting it together, and Les Claypool came over and he sang [Rush's 1975 epic] “By-Tor and the Snow Dog” or something like that over the sessions. And so I’m editing it together, and I pull out my fancy-schmancy film-scoring tools, my orchestral samples, and built this huge track. And then my hard drive crashed! And I sent it to two or three different “drive doctors,” who all charged a fortune, and none of them could rescue the disc. And I hadn’t even done a rough mix. I was a little crushed by all that. That kind of popped the balloon on the whole thing."- Thanks to RushFanForever for the headsup!
"From singing the praises of new Cubs manager Joe Maddon ("He's brilliant") to fending off fantasy baseball questions ("Too early. Way too early,") he gave us his quick takes on the Major League Baseball season that was, and, of course, what he expects from his beloved Toronto Blue Jays in 2015."Click here for more.
Two of Alex Lifeson's paintings which were auctioned off for the Kidney Foundation of Canada are now available as a limited edition print individually numbered and signed by Alex. What a great Christmas gift for Rush fans which also will raise money for a great cause!"The Kidney Foundation of Canada - Atlantic Branch and Alex have teamed up to produce these two limited edition set of prints. Only 300 prints have been made of Self Portrait #1 and only 200 prints have been made of Greek Salad. Each print is numbered and Alex Lifeson has personally signed each individual print. That's right, each print has Alex Lifeson's ORIGINAL signature on it. The print is on high quality, heavy stock. In addition, each print comes with a Certificate of Authenticity, signed by the Executive Director of the Atlantic Canada Branch of The Kidney Foundation of Canada, confirming that the print that you have purchased is one of only 300. The certificate also shows the print number (eg. Print No. 33 Limited Edition of 300). The certificate is printed on linen paper, making it ideal for framing with the art print or for displaying on its own."Click here for more information and to purchase! - Thanks Trina for the headsup!
"Once, he was just a boy tending to the apple orchards. Now, Owen Hardy is flying a magnificent airship across the skies of Albion! In the course of this adventure he learns a secret about his own family, one that will take him to the hallowed Seven Cities!"
Last night Geddy Lee was one of the guest performers at The Who's concert for Teenage Cancer Trust at London's Shepherd's Bush Empire. Today's review in London's Guardian newspaper noted "Rush’s Geddy Lee’s leather-lunged take on The Seeker confirms that when the Who rock, they really rock," and Rollingstone reported "Geddy Lee put in a laidback performance on 'The Seeker.' The Rush singer, who had flown in from Canada especially for the gig and celebrates his own band's 40th anniversary this year, also played bass and later said he was 'thrilled to support the Teenage Cancer Trust while celebrating the music of the Who, a band that changed my life.'""An evening of music in aid of Teenage Cancer TrustThe evening's setlist and list of performers was as follows:
The house band for the evening is The Who's band featuring Simon Townshend, Zak Starkey, Pino Palladino, Billy Nicholls, Frank Simes, Loren Gold and John Coury, and they will be joined onstage by some of the best artists in the world all performing Who classics.
"Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder, Liam Gallagher, Ricky Wilson from the Kaiser Chiefs, Manic Street Preachers’ James Dean Bradfield, Geddy Lee from Rush, The Strypes, Brody Dalle, Tom Odell, Amy Macdonald, Andy Burrows and Rizzle Kicks as well more to be announced soon, have chosen their favourite WHO songs to perform in aid of Teenage Cancer Trust."
'I Can't Explain' - Andy Burrows; 'The Kids Are Alright' - Wilko Johnson + The Strypes; 'Getting In Tune' - Tom Odell; 'Behind Blue Eyes' - Amy Macdonald; 'Who Are You?' - Rizzle Kicks; 'You Better You Bet' - Rich Hall; '5.15' - Ricky Wilson; 'Bell Boy' - Ricky Wilson + Phil Daniels; 'Love Reign O'er Me' - Joe Elliott; 'Acid Queen' - Sheila Ferguson; 'The Seeker' - Geddy Lee; 'Baba O'Riley' - Leslie Mendelson; 'My Generation' - Liam Gallagher; 'Naked Eye' - Eddie Vedder; 'Won't Get Fooled Again' - Eddie Vedder; 'Listening To You' - Eddie Vedder; 'Substitute' - Roger Daltrey; 'Young Man Blues' - Roger Daltrey
- Thanks to Rushfanforever for the headsup!I had a girlfriend. I was engaged to her. We broke up after five years of being together. She went off and did whatever to get over it. I put in Rush Chronicles, got in my truck and drove around for five days. That's how I got over that relationship. After I listened to that record, I said, 'I don't need this crap. I've got Rush.' So needless to say, when Alex Lifeson's name came up as a producer, I was in, Jack. I didn't need to hear anybody else's name. I can't explain how nice a guy and how smart he was. How cultured he was and how great a musician he is. I can't put into words how much his influence brought to my life before I met him and after I met him. There's not a week that goes by that I don't think of that experience. I spent three weeks with him in the studio.
He taught me that the technical aspect of being a producer is not the most important part. Tee most important part is the song and how to delegate. If you want to change someone's art, they are going to fight you on it. If it's all about the art becoming better, you've got to get your point across. That's what Alex taught me. Instead of saying 'I'm a producer. I'm from Rush. You need to listen to me.' He wasn't like that. He came in and was like,' Think about it like this: What does the fan think? From a radio listener's perspective, you have about 13 seconds. They hit that seek button. That's the way it works. He taught us that.
"We're still talking. Everybody has a different idea how they want to spend the next couple of years, so we haven't come to a decision. I'm ready and happy to play if everyone else agrees. I think in the next couple of months we'll decide to do something or not."He also discusses the force behind the release of the R40 boxed set:
"The office and our manager is always pushing us to release some archival stuff. Seeing as we were off, we said, 'Have at it.' It was interesting seeing all the old footage. We recorded a show on the Test For Echo tour we'd forgotten about because it came just before a particularly dark period in our history. It was painful to think about, but when we listened back we realized we were in good form that night. It would have been a shame to not unearth at least part of it."Click here for the complete interview. - Thanks to Skip Daly for the headsup!
"In the interest of encouraging the band to pull some choice rarities out of the vault, the song list (below) is limited to songs from the Peart recording era that Rush has never performed live ("Feedback" covers excluded). As in the past, each person gets to select FIVE songs from the list below and submit their votes, with each individual being allowed to cast one "ballot". No guarantees, of course, but with any luck the band will keep an eye on the results and take the results into some degree of consideration. (We'll certainly be letting Anthem/SRO know the site is up and running again)."To vote visit RushPetition.com.
RUSHfest Scotland, the Scotland convention for Rush fans, is hosting a world wide raffle to win a 12 year old bottle of The Macallan whisky signed by Neil Peart, in an effort to raise funds for Macmillan Cancer Support.About The TJ Martell World Tour Of Wine & Auction:
Each year, our World Tour of Wine guests join us for full tastings from the cellars of some the most avid wine lovers and collectors in the United States who donate their wine for those at their table to drink. The 220+ guests in attendance also enjoy an exquisite five-course gourmet meal (featuring courses prepared by a celebrity chef) at this dinner while bidding on silent auction lots from the wine, sports and music/entertainment fields, as well as 8-10 live auction lots. What makes the World Tour of Wine truly unique is the fact that, unlike most charity dinners where the wines are provided by either one or a select few vineyards, each table is pouring wine from the collections of its “wine host”. Therefore, no two tables are alike in terms of what is being poured, and “table hopping” between guests begins almost as soon as the corks are pulled!
UPDATE: The taped show will air next April 2015. Yesterday the day after the taping, Rush.com shared "75 minutes flew by talking to one of my favourite writers and a truly awesome person" - Geddy Lee (with Michael Chabon taping PBS Speakeasy airing in huge new year)"
What went through your mind when you watched the footage of you guys performing in 1974?
Well, watching that is like an out-of-body experience for me. Because I remember it, and at the same time, it was so long ago, it’s hard to know if it’s a real memory, or a dream state memory. It’s hard to feel like that same guy who was screeching on the stage back then in unusual clothing.
Alex Lifeson told us that the thing that stuck out in his mind is that the audience were seated the entire time, no one got up!
That was a very Canadian response back then. Canadians, especially back then, were an almost self-conscious audience. Even if they were loving it, most of the crowd was quite quiet. That’s changed, of course, over the years. Back then, you would play a small town in Canada or across the country, and you wouldn’t be sure that they were loving it. When they actually were loving it, but they weren’t very demonstrative about it. So, we’d come back from the U.S. and American crowds were famously exuberant, and then you’d cross the border and do some small town in Saskatchewan or something, the crowd would be not so exuberant. You’d feel like you were bombing, but afterwards people would come up and say, “Man, I loved your show!”
Was it bittersweet, watching the footage with John Rutsey?
Yeah, it is sad in one sense, but it’s also quite a nice thing that this footage is available, so people can see what we were like with him, and what he was like. I think in a way, it helps keep his memory alive. He’s part of our history.
Back then, John was the guy in the band who talked to the audience from the stage. Did you prefer that you didn’t have to take on that role?
I was always the reluctant… everything. I was originally a guitarist, and the bass player in my old garage band quit, and they voted and I became the bass player. I was the only one that could sing, so I became the singer. I didn’t really want to write lyrics, so in the early days of Rush, John wrote the lyrics. I was a very shy kid, I didn’t really feel comfortable talking to the audience, so John did that. So I really kind of backed into my entire career.
It seems to have worked out.
It’s worked out really well! I’m still playing it by ear.
How long did it take for you to get comfortable with being the guy who had to do the onstage banter?
It took quite a long time, really. I didn’t really have a persona. All the singers from rock bands in those days were taking on a persona of a very loud, sort of gregarious guy who would rile up the crowd. That’s not me, I’m not that guy. I’m not that guy socially, I’m not that guy period. For me to suddenly have to talk to the audience… I was rather soft-spoken, so it was always work for me to psych for myself up to try to do that. In the early years, the lack of persona seemed to be a problem. As we hung around, I think my lack of onstage persona has actually become my onstage persona. So you kind of grow into who you actually are. It’s kind of worked out for me. The ideal person to be our MC would be Alex, he’s naturally hilarious, he’s such a goof and such a funny, warm guy. But he’s, at times, even more shy than me. He didn’t want to do it either!
What do you remember about the song “The Loser?”
I honestly don’t remember that song, and I didn’t remember it until I actually saw the footage of us playing it. And I didn’t remember it was called ‘The Loser.” So much for my memory! We wrote so many songs in the early days, and half of them fell by the wayside. A while back, Alex uncovered a demo tape that he and I had done for copyright purposes. Since we couldn’t write music, the only way you could submit a song for copyright in those days was, you’d record it. Alex would play guitar and I would sing onto a tape. We found one of these very basic tapes. I just could not remember half of the songs that were there. It was just teenage ramblings.
Any chance you’d consider putting out a compilation of previously unreleased pre-1974 Rush recordings?
They’re not very musical! Maybe after we’re dead and gone, if somebody uncovers those tapes. While we’re still alive, I don’t think we would want anybody to hear that stuff.
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