"We have found, over the past years, that we usually gt a great turnout when our event coincides with an actual Rush concert. It's the perfect way to celebrate this band that we love, with the fans that we cherish. Without a Toronto show this summer, combined with the incredible time we had in Las Vegas last year, we thought it would be best to keep the con around the same time as a concert." - For more information visit RushCon.org
"A highlight for Parton while a student at SCI was the time Rush, the iconic Canadian rock band, performed at the school. Actually, they performed at the school twice. The first time was in September 1970 and then again in April 1971.
"Music tutor by day and tribute band guitarist by night, Matt 'Lerxst' Johnston doesn’t have an enemy in the world...so he thinks. One night a pretty young woman tries to smother him in his sleep, and it’s not for the usual reasons a woman would have for wanting to inflict harm upon him! The dream he enjoyed at the time quickly spirals into a nightmare of mistaken identities and nosy investigators who threaten Lerxst’s freedom, to say nothing of coming close to discovering his grandmother’s secret 'herb garden.' Armed only with a guitar and endless questions, Lerxst escapes the discomfort of his beach home and hides out in New York City to learn the true identity of his would-be assailant. Instead he learns more about himself and what he needs to do to survive the next attempt on his life. And what a long, strange trip it is..."
From The Inside is a new book by Russ DiBella about a life of looking inside the world of live music, going backstage and collecting drumsticks - with Rush being the most covered band. With detailed stories from three recent Rush tours (R30, Snakes & Arrows and Time Machine) it includes stories of chance meetings with Alex, Geddy and Neil and an interesting and rare opportunity of catching a soundcheck during the Snakes & Arrows tour. From the back cover:"In 1978, when music found its way into Russ DiBella's life largely by way of external circumstances, a natural progression of sorts began to unfold which would eventually marry his affection for words with a nascent interest in drumming and lyric writing. What began as a teenage rite of passage - his first rock concert - would spawn a lifelong passion for all things music, manifesting itself in ways both deliberate and unanticipated.
"Created to commemorate Neil Peart's latest drum set creation, 'The Time Machine', each snare is an exact recreation of the drum Neil plays on tour. It's not a signature snare drum, but rather a collectible reproduction. The 6.5x14" Collector's series North American Maple shell with VLT (Vertical Low Timbre) technology provides optimal crack, warmth, bottom end and sensitivity. The drum is painstakingly finished with copper leaf-applied graphics and hand airbrush work. Custom copper hardware completes the look. Also standard is a MAG throw-off system with 3P butt plate, 3.0 True Hoops, True Tone snare wires and DW Heads by Remo USA. Available for a limited time only. Availability: 6.5x14"" - DWdrums.com
Musician's Friend is offering a limted edition cymbal pack which includes a splash cymbal autographed by Neil Peart, with a portion of the proceeds benefiting littlekidsrock.org."The Neil Peart Paragon Complete Cymbal Pack comes with an 8" and two 10" splashes (including one to be autographed for you by Neil Peart), two 16" crashes, 18" crash, 20" crash, 22" ride, 19" and 20" Chinese, 20" Diamondback Chinese, and 13" and 14" hi-hat sets. Each cymbal features a brilliant finish.- Thanks to Ed at RushIsABand for the headsup!
The Paragon series blends 2 styles of lathing for a very balanced cymbal tone. Pinpoint lathing creates a narrower groove for a fast, lively response on the top, while the traditional AA lathing creates a wider groove for a fuller, richer tone on the bottom side. The cymbal pack is shipped in a free flight case featuring custom 'Time Machine' artwork from the Rush album and tour of the same name. [webmaster note: "Time Machine" album???]
A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this pack will benefit Little Kids Rock, a nonprofit organization that transforms children's lives by restoring and revitalizing music education in our public schools. For more information, visit littlekidsrock.org."
"Then we have guitarist-extraordinaire Alex Lifeson, who has carved out his own estimable and indelible niche in the pantheon of guitar heroes. In a band known for its intricate detail and complex musical landscapes, Lifeson's guitar work is the paintbrush that completes the portrait...let's take a closer look at ten of the greatest guitar moments for the man some affectionately refer to as Lerxst..." "Top 10 Alex Lifeson Guitar Moments", Gibson.com, February 25, 2011
Gibson.com has posted a new interview with Alex Lifeson where he discusses the status and potential release date of Clockwork Angels and a spring 2012 tour:...we had six songs written. Those two were the two we decided to record just prior to the tour start, around this time last year. Since then, Geddy and I have been writing. We’ve been writing for the last couple of weeks and I think we’ve got the makings of another song. Pretty close. Some other snippets of ideas. Once we get back into the writing full-steam in the next week or so, with all those bits and pieces, I’m sure we’ll be able to get at least another song or maybe two. In which case, I think we’re looking at eight or nine songs as the magic number...We’ll take a short break in the summer, start recording in September and hopefully have the new album out for the start of the next tour, which would be in the spring of 2012."Alex also discussed the Vapor Trails remix:
"Well, we've been toying with that idea for quite a few years now. And there was initially no interest from the record company in rereleasing it. It's a little bit of a dance that we would have needed to do without their support in terms of releasing it and getting the releases for it.Click here for the complete interview at Gibson.com
The thing about that, I mean, you walk a very narrow line… That album's almost ten years old. It's a very, very important record for us. There's a lot of emotion on that. We were coming back after a very difficult period in the band's history and certainly in Neil's life. So for us, there's a great deal invested in that record and it's very, very special. And in a lot of ways, I wouldn't want to change anything, because it was recorded in such a way that we captured the very essence of what we were doing at that time. You know, you could say that that album is sixty percent demos, because really that's kind of what it was. Most of that record was what we wrote. We didn't rerecord it. It was the most basic essence of the idea. And that's what was really special. But sometimes when you do that, you're not really aware or conscious of production merits, sounds, spending time creating sounds and, you know, developing that end of it. So consequently, the record suffered a little bit from production or lack of production. And when it went to mastering, it was mastered very hot and all we hear is the little bits of distortion here and there, and these compromises that were made on production.
It's always bothered us, so we thought [we would consider it after hearing] a couple of songs that Rich Chycki remixed. They were really a lot closer to the way we always would have liked to have heard that record, you know? And we talked about it and so we decided, 'Let's just — you know what, if it's just for the three of us — let's just remix the record so we're happy with it. At least we know that we've done it, that we've got that out of our system. We'll pay for it. It's no big deal. Let's just do it.'
You could say that of any record. Go back and remix Caress of Steel or something, but I don't know. Something about Vapor Trails… We just don't feel like we serviced the record properly and we want to give it another breath. And I know it upsets a lot of fans. It goes both ways: I hear from a lot of fans who think it's just a great a idea and they can't wait to hear it, and others who say, 'Why are you touching this record? You should not touch this record.'"
In celebration of 40 Years of the Juno Awards, the Juno Awards' Facebook page is holding a vote to select the Top 40 Canadian songs of the past 40 years. Vote for Rush!
"Wendy Cosman Parlee has designed thousands of signs, logos, banners, and murals she started her custom graphics company Creative Advertising 24 years ago. But a recent project for Sabian endorser and Rush drummer Neil Peart has to be one of the most unique.Neil Peart: To Rush's army of fans any name at the top of this list other than Neil Peart is surely sacrilegious, though it's likely that Peart himself would be more than happy to see his name at Number Three – right beneath Bonham and Moon. Of course, no Rush concert is complete without a Peart drum solo. Here's one from Frankfurt Germany in 2004. - RollingStone.com, February 8, 2011 - Thanks to Jeff Lucas for the headsup!
"I was very saddened to hear the news of Gary 's death. We toured together in the 80s and I remember him as a soft spoken, gentle man with a quick smile. His influence as a guitarist is undeniable and his purity of playing and passion will live on in all of us who love the instrument he so cherished."
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