Neil Peart's "News Weather and Sports" - January 2011

Neil Peart has updated his website with his latest edition of "News Weather and Sports". Unlike his typical reports, Neil provides an update of his call to raise funds for The Red Cross of Chile:

"The Chilean Red Cross— Cruz Roja Chilena—had organized the above-ground facilities for the rescue, though their resources were already strained by the terrible earthquake in February of 2010. The staff here at neilpeart.net—Our Eponymous Founder, designer Greg Russell, and the manager over at Bubba’s Bar ’n’ Grill, Brutus—decided we wanted to help. So we thought we’d try something new: ask the readers to help us help. And people stepped up—Big Time! Over 2,000 people made donations, many of them more than the 'suggested minimum,' and within a little over a month, almost $5,000 had been raised. Our Eponymous Founder volunteered to match that amount—and we are all very proud to present this check to Cruz Roja Chilena." - Neil Peart, "News Weather and Sports", January 2011

Remembering Don Kirshner

"Don Kirshner, rock impresario, music publishing powerhouse, television host and behind-the-scenes music supervisor (before there was such a job title) and song-picker for the Archies and the Monkees, died Monday in Boca Raton, Fla., at age 76. Over the course of half a century in the music business, he served as a bridge connecting songwriters with opportunity, and provided a televised stage in the 1970s and early '80s on which some of the rock era's most important bands performed.... With his syndicated late night show 'Don Kirshner's Rock Concert,' which ran from 1973-1981, he delivered to America some of the world's biggest bands, which performed for way below their usual fees because of the publicity the broadcast generated. His taste in booking crossed boundaries, and was influential in the 1970s for highlighting budding hard rock bands such as Black Sabbath, Rush, Montrose and Kansas. For rock fans away from major metropolitan areas, the show served as a lifeline to musicians they might not have otherwise seen..." LATimes.com, January 18, 2011 - Thanks to John at Cygnux-X1.net for the headsup!

The 2011 Modern Drummer Readers Poll

Voting is now open in the annual Modern Drummer Readers Poll. Neil Peart is on the ballot for best Prog Rock drummer. Voting is open to all visitors, and providing your name and address automatically makes you eligible for one of three FREE one-year subscriptions to Modern Drummer magazine. - Thanks to Frank Ray for the headsup!

"Victor" released 15 years ago today

Today we celebrate the 15th anniversary of the release of Alex Lifeson's first and thus far only solo album, Victor. Lifeson teamed up guitarist Bill Bell, I Mother Earth vocalist Edwin, Primus bassist Les Claypool, his son, Adrian Zivojinovich, as well as Blake Manning, Peter Cardinali, Colleen Allen and Dalbello. Lyrically dark in many of the tracks, for the most part the album was a complete departure from the Rush sound, seeing Lifeson venture out in many new directions.

"I didn't want to call it 'The Alex Lifeson Project' or the 'Big Shot, Big Deal Project'. Everybody that worked on the record was so into it, and I just felt that it would be fairer to have everyone involved as more of a band project, and to salute them for it." - Alex Lifeson, "Rockline", January 15, 1996

"As for the anger on the album, there were relationships breaking down all around me, I was having problems in my relationship. My wife and I realised that we'd started to take each other for granted; there'd been a lot of work, I'd been away a lot. It's uncommon to have stayed together as long as we have stayed together. We'd reached a crisis in our relationship and we needed to strip it down and analyse it and find where we were going. Other relationships around me were breaking down also, a lot of my friends who are the same age were really reaching a mid-life crisis. ... All this stuff was happening around me, and I just thought about the darker side of relationships and love. By nature I'm very optimistic, a little romantic, a little funny maybe, but I felt really impassioned by all the stuff that was going around, and that was reflected in that album." - Alex Lifeson, Classic Rock, July 2002

For more visit the Victor News Archive.

Help Rush Get The "Rockabye Baby" Treatment!

Back in August I let you know that Rockabye Baby, a record label which creates children's music versions of classic punk, metal and rock albums, has an online poll to determine what band should get the Rockabye treatment next. The label's current catalog includes 33 albums ranging from Black Sabbath to Pink Floyd and The Ramones. As of today, Rush is in the lead of their five contenders with 28% of the votes, leading their closest rival, the Foo Fighters with 24%. If you haven't already, vote now!

RUSH "Moving Pictures 30th Anniversary Wall Calendar

Its the New Year - have you grabbed the 2011 RUSH "Moving Pictures 30th Anniversary Wall Calendar" yet?. Celebrating the 30th Anniversary of the release of Moving Pictures, the calendar is full of photos from the period, including alternate photos from the albums linernotes. Click here to order.

Rush On "Coverville"

In the Discography section of this website, you'll find our Rush Covers page containing a chronological listing of all known Rush songs which have been performed and released by other artists. If you have never had the pleasure of hearing many or any of these songs, you might be interested in Coverville, an online podcast radio show which focuses strictly on cover songs. The show features a combination of music and information about the cover artist as well the original artist.

Coverville #695: The Rush Cover Story, is an entire show focused exclusively on Rush, including 8 Rush covers (among them Richard Cheese, Wave Mechanics Union, Jamz Bee's Royal Jelly Orchestra, The Catherine Wheel, Jacob Moon, and more), as well as Rush's cover of The Yardbird's "Shapes of Things" from Feedback. In addition, Coverville #719 includes Candlewyck's "The Point Of Know Return"/"The Spirit Of Radio" live bluegrass medley, found on their album Candlewyck Live At The Palmetto Theater (the closest to a bluegrass Rush cover I've ever heard...still waiting on the inevitable Pickin' On Rush album!). - Thanks Tom for the headsup!

Rushpetition.com Relaunched for 2011

The creators of RushPetition.com have relaunched the popular setlist polling website in anticipation of the 2011 leg of the Time Machine Tour. Cast your vote on what songs you would like to see in 2011! - Thanks to Skip Daly for the headsup!

Moving Pictures 30th anniversary In The Studio special now available online

"As the documentary Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage is nominated for a Grammy Award, North American syndicated rock radio show InTheStudio celebrates the 30th Anniversary of RUSH Moving Pictures with show producer and host Redbeard speaking with Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart about their 1981 masterpiece. Geddy Lee comments, 'We looked at all those songs as little films....we took a cinematic approach to writing. Moving Pictures gave us a kind of acceptance and credibility none of our records previously had done.' To find out where to hear this show or to listen ONLINE visit www.inthestudio.net" - Thanks to Kurt at InTheStudio for the headsup!

Note, the radio special is already available online; go to www.inthestudio.net and click on "Listen to In The Studio Now". The Rush special is one of the available tracks.

2112 Makes Gibson's "10 Greatest Concept Albums of All Time"

"Prog-rock and heavy metal were fused more brilliantly than ever on this conceptual effort, which proved to be Rush’s breakthrough album. Spanning one full album-side, the 20-minute title track presented a harrowing portrait of a world in which individual expression is crushed at every level. Alex Lifeson’s metal riffs gave the music a hard edge that distinguished it from the flighty tendencies of Rush’s British prog-rock counterparts. Today, many of the album’s themes seem prescient." - Gibson.com, December 30, 2010 - Thanks to B-man for the headsup!

Tom Sawyer Sampled In "The Peacemaker: L.A. Gang Wars"

On December 16 "The Peacemaker: L.A. Gang Wars" premiered on the A&E network. A five-part series chronicling times of tense street gang mediation in South Central, Los Angeles, the series is executive produced by rapper/actor Ice-T, who also recorded the series' theme song which includes a sample of Rush's "Tom Sawyer". For more info click here and here. - Thanks to B-man for the headsup!

Neil Peart Master Class: Free Lesson Online

DrumChannel.com has made available a free video drum lesson from the Neil Peart Master Class; this is the 9th of 10 total classes with Neil,which range from Beginner to Advanced over 10 lessons. - Thanks to Frank Ray for the headsup!

"Watch Neil as he performs his warm-up routine in Lesson 9 from his Drum Channel Master Class, Frontiers of Composition and Articulation." - DrumChannel.com

Documentary about Niagara's Music Scene "The Big Story of Small Potatoes" Now On Youtube/Free Download

Last year you might recall a documentary about Niagara's music scene was released titled The Big Story of Small Potatoes which "explores the roots of the lost music scene of Niagara, circa 1964-1974." The documentary includes Neil Peart along with one of his early bands JR Flood performing the song "Giant Killer".

The director, Paul Miil, has graciously posted the full documentary on Youtube and as a free download for your Blackberry or Smartphone. - Thanks to Paul Miil, Andrew Olson and RushFanForever for the headsup!

Alex Lifeson on His and Geddy Lee's Wine 'Internships'

Alex Lifeson is one of the many celebrity wine lovers to be profiled in Mark Oldman’s book, Oldman's Brave New World Of Wine, released back on September 9th.

Oldman has posted another short video feature to his website:

"In an exclusive interview inside his home wine cellar, RUSH's legendary axeman Alex Lifeson tells Mark Oldman about the week-long winemaker internships he and bandmate Geddy Lee did at Joseph Phelps Winery and at Turley Wine Cellars. He fondly recalls how during crush he and Geddy were so covered in grape juice that they were mistaken for Napa locals at a nearby eatery" - MarkOldman.com, December 17, 2010 - Thanks to Laura Romain for the headsup!

This is Oldman's second video feature with Alex Lifeson; previously Oldman shared the following:

"Mark takes off to the Great White North to visit with Rush’s Alex Lifeson, the legendary rock guitarist and one of the wine-passionate 'Bravehearts' featured in Oldman’s Brave New World of Wine. We learn how Alex’s wife accidentally swipes one of his cherished bottles and how the musician devises a solution to prevent future incursions — an ingenious idea Mark dubs a 'Lifeson Ledge'. This is cautionary tale for all drinkers interested in discouraging the unauthorized removal of their favorite vino. Click here to watch the video." - Mark Oldman, November 3, 2010

Alex is one of the many wine lovers featured in the Mark's book, Oldman's Brave New World Of Wine, where he discusses his favorite wines, wine-based experiences, and a few tricks he’s picked up over the years:

"Bandmate Geddy Lee and I went to California’s Turley Wine Cellars in late September of 1998 to spend a few days working the harvest. We pulled all of the leaves and spiders and all that stuff out of the bins, and so we were covered head-to-toe in grape juice. Later, Ged and I stopped at this restaurant for lunch. Our shirts and fingers were all purple—we were so proud! People were like, 'Yeah, you guys are locals, aren’t you? We’ll get you some service right away, sir.'" - Alex Lifeson

Alex's comments join those from dozens of other notable wine lovers, including actors Hilary Swank and Matthew McConaughey, novelist Jay McInerney, designer Zac Posen, and even Bill Nye, the “Science Guy.” Oldman's Brave New World Of Wine was released September 6th. For more information, view the book’s official trailer (www.markoldman.com/videos/brave_trailer) or visit MarkOldman.com.

Selina Martin Covers "The Spirit Of Radio"

As previously announced, Selina Martin's Disaster Fantasies was released June 29th, including a "thoughtful cover" of "The Spirit Of Radio (click here for a sample).

"Toronto singer-songwriter Selina Martin, whose upcoming album Disaster Fantasies will include a thoughtful cover of the 1980 Rush hit Spirit of Radio talks about the gender disparity among the band’s fans." - Globe & Mail, June 5, 2010

Martin teamed up with the BidiniBand (fronted by Rush fan and ex-Rheostatic Dave Bidini) to perform the song two weeks ago at a Juno anniversary show at Toronto’s Horseshoe Tavern to celebrate Juno-winning music from the 1970s (click here to view the performance). When discussing the song, Martin said:

"I was never a huge Rush fan, but when I was a preteen growing up in Kanata [a suburb of Ottawa], I remember having some kind of epiphany while they were playing that song at the roller disco, with the lights flashing and the music really loud. And later, I’d be in these campfire sing-along situations, and someone would say, 'Selina, why don’t you sing something?' I just hated that, and it was always uncomfortable, so the way to kill the campfire sing-along was to do 'The Spirit of Radio', because nobody could play along!" - Selina Martin, The Globe And Mail, November 30, 2010 -Thanks to RushFanForever for the headsup!

Alex Lifeson To Join Andy Kim's Xmas Concert Tonight

Just a quick reminder, tonight Alex Lifeson will be one of the featured artists to perform at Andy Kim's Christmas Show at the Mod Club in Toronto:

"Once again, legendary singer-songwriter Andy Kim has rounded up an impressive line-up of talent to join him at his annual charity concert in Toronto. This year’s Andy Kim Christmas Show, at the Mod Club Dec. 15, will also feature Rush’s Alex Lifeson, Ron Sexsmith and Platinum Blonde. More guests are still to be announced. The evening is being presented by Sentry Investments, Long & McQuade and CP24. Tickets are on sale now for $25 at all Ticketmaster outlets, Rotate This, Soundscapes or call 416-870-8000 to charge by phone. Doors open at 7 p.m. The Mod Club is located at 722 College St." - SamaritanMag.com, November 23, 2010 - Thanks to SquintyT4E for the headsup!

Neil Peart App Free Download From Promark

"The Neil Peart application and mobile website has been available to anyone who purchases a pair of his limited edition Time Machine Tour PW747W, but we’re in the Christmas spirit, and want EVERYONE to join in on the fun!...Use your smart phone to scan this QR code and get access to the app! The Neil Peart App Home Page is your portal to everything Neil on the Time Machine Tour!" Click here for more details from Promark.com - December 13, 2011 - Thanks to AndyO and RushIsABand for the headsup!

Alex Lifeson Signs Carparelli Guitars For Charity

Back in 2009, Toronto's Carparelli guitars donated a guitar signed by Alex Lifeson to raise funds for an auction supporting Autism Speaks Canada at the Richmond Hill Gold Club on September 16, 2009.

Last month, Alex signed a Carparelli S3 guitar which was donated to Autism Speaks Canada for a future auction. In addition, Alex has signed the Jim Warren Freedom Guitar for Carparelli; the guitar has been signed by various artists including the Beach Boys and Kris Kristofferson and will receive additional artist's signatures before being auctioned off for charity in February of next year. Details for both auctions are still unannounced, stay tuned for more info.

Geddy Lee Featured On December's "Classic Rock" Magazine

Geddy Lee is on the cover of the December issue of Britain's Classic Rock magazine. The bulk of the feature includes Geddy's memories of the making of Moving Pictures, but he also briefly discusses the current Time Machine tour and playing Moving Pictures live in its entirety. For this long time fan of "The Camera Eye", I was pleased to see Geddy discuss the track at length:

"'The Camera Eye' was the last really epic song we wrote. It's 11 minutes long. At the time, we really didn't appreciate it. Back then we though it was too long and repetitive. We didn't understand the mood it generated...it was a song we never thought worked. But the way we revamped it made this come alive. One thing the tour did for us was to make us aware of how good 'The Camera Eye' always was. I'm so glad we've become friends with it again."

The full interview is available here. - Thanks to Reed Lover and RushFanForever for the headsup!

"10 Things You Gotta Do To Play Like Alex Lifeson" - Guitar Player January 2011

Alex Lifeson is featured in the January issue of Guitar Player magazine. The ten page feature story is titled "10 Things You Gotta Do To Play Like Alex Lifeson". - Thanks to Frank Panacci for the headsup!