Geddy Lee Interviewed in Men's Fashion magazine Spring 2015

Geddy Lee is featured in a one page interview of the Spring issue of Men's Fashion magazine titled "Stopover: London".  The tagline reads:

"A man of talent, curiosity and diverse enthusiasms that include baseball, birds and bottles of fine wine, Geddy Lee, of Rush, feels a particular attraction to London.  The band, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary with a North American tour that kicks off in early May, has spent a lot of time recording and performing in Britain, and Lee is a regular visitor to a a city that he summarizes as 'his and enduring.'"

You can read the full interview on page 28 of the Spring issue here. - Thanks to RushFanForever for the headsup!

Win a Meet & Greet with members of Rush!

The Rush Backstage Club has begun their first contest of the R40 Tour to Win a Meet and Greet with members of RUSH!  They will draw one lucky winner for every city on the upcoming RUSH R40 Tour to win a pair of meet and greet passes to meet members of RUSH.

Only one entry PER PERSON PER CONCERT DATE is permitted.  This contest closes on July 9^th, 2015.  Draws will take place approximately 1-2 weeks prior to show date and winners will be notified by email.

Click here for complete details and to enter.

Peart/Anderson's "Drumbeats" included in Humble Bundle Spotlight

Humble Bundle is running a special bundle highlighting books by Kevin J. Anderson's own small publishing company, WordFire Press.  It's an amazing deal of 16 books, where you pay what you want, and a portion of the proceeds goes to charity and the rest gets divvied up among the authors.

Included in the bundle is the story co-written by Anderson with Neil Peart, titled "Drumbeats",  about a rock drummer bicycling through Africa between concert tours, and some weird stuff that happens to him...

This is a great chance for Rush fans to get a copy of the story along with a lot of other novels, and it's for a great cause.  For complete details visit https://www.humblebundle.com/books.

And don't forget, you can can now preorder two upcoming titles also by Kevin J. Anderson and Neil Peart:

• Clockwork Angels: The Graphic Novel coming May 12th, containing all six comic book issues based on the original novel, Clockwork Angels: The Novel.
• Clockwork Lives, coming September 15th, where we return to the world of The Watchmaker...

Rush Sighting on AMC's "Better Call Saul" - Again

From Monday's season finale of AMC's "Breaking Bad" spinoff, "Better Call Saul", Saul visits his old friend Marco, and in Marco's basement apartment there is a 2112 poster.

This is the second Rush poster featured on the show.  Back in February, we reported how episode 4 included a scene where you could see a commemorative poster for Rush's Aug 14, 1974 Pittsburgh show (first show with Neil Peart) on the back wall.
- Thanks to RushIsABand for the screen capture.

Photographer Glen Wexler discusses Hold Your Fire Cover Photo Shoot and More

Last year photographer Glen Wexler sat down with Travellersintime.com to discuss his career in shooting album covers.  Glen talks at length about many covers, including the work he did for Rush's Hold Your Fire album cover and linernotes art.  Glen tells how the original actor chosen to play "the juggler" was Dennis Hopper, and that the set piece still exists in his garage:

Hold Your Fire was my only Rush cover. In the mid to late 80s Hugh Syme and I collaborated on several projects. Hugh worked with Rush as their art director from very early on. We were both art directing conceptual album covers, although I was creating the images with photography, and at the time, Hugh was primarily a painter. The collaboration was an interesting and productive mix.

I often worked with miniature sets, and suggested the approach for staging the fire juggler. Many of the miniature buildings were recycled from a Yamaha advertising campaign featuring Michael Jackson, which I had created a couple years prior. I brought in my set team, who built a very impressive set, but very small, only four feet across.

I cast the fire juggler, this great character actor, Stanley Brock, who's mostly known for his role in the film Tin Men. We originally had Dennis Hopper on board, but kept running into scheduling conflicts.

I shot the miniature street scene in my studio on 4x5 film. The other elements were shot medium format with a Hasselblad. The fireballs are a basketball that was coated with rubber cement and torched. The dog, full size fire hydrant, and actor were shot separately. I combine all the elements with multiple exposures on 8x10 film in my darkroom, which was the primary method I used to combine images pre-digitally. When everything was combined together on one piece of film, it was sent out for a dye transfer print and final retouching, which was the typical workflow back then.

In the original version, we also flew in the boy who modeled for Hugh's painting for the Power Windows cover. He was seen looking out of the apartment window, but it was decided that he didn't really enhance the shot...there was so much going on. Earlier Rush covers are referenced in the image, and Power Windows was covered by the period TV sets in the room.

In hindsight, both Hugh and I regretted using that image in the inside of package. It was a little too "clever" using the three red balls for the cover, and leaving the more epic and memorable image for the inside of the packaging. While it might not look like it, the cover with the red balls is photography, as well. I had my set guys physically sculpt the RUSH text into a 4' x 8' surface that was then painted a high gloss red by an auto body shop. The printer combined the red billiard balls during the pre-press. I still have the set piece in my garage. I thought it would make a cool door.

You can read the full interview here. - Thanks to RushFanForever for the headsup!

Clockwork Angels: The Animated Movie - April Fools'!

Over the last three years, in addition to Rush's excellent album Clockwork Angels, Rush fans have been treated to the expanded steampunk universe of The Anarchist and The Watchmaker in the Clockwork Angels novelization written by Kevin J Anderson and Neil Peart, and again with Clockwork Angels: The Graphic Novel illustrated by Nick Robles.  This fall we will also be treated to the followup to the Clockwork Angels novelization, titled Clockwork Lives (now available for preorder in hardback and scheduled for release on September 15th).

We have now learned from a Rush fan at DreamWorks Animation SKG, who asked to remain anonymous, that the Clockwork Angels story is being brought to the big screen in Summer 2016.  As detailed in the working movie poster provided here, the screenplay was co-written by Kevin J. Anderson and famed screenwriter John Logan, and the art direction is a steampunk inspired collaboration by Rush cover artist Hugh Syme and the graphic novel illustrator Nick Robles.  Best of all, the film will feature the music of RUSH! 

Stay tuned for more details as we learn them.

UPDATE: I hope you enjoyed our April Fools' joke.  We again teamed up with John at Cygnus-X1.net and Ed at RushIsABand, and Kevin J. Anderson even joined in the fun. Big thanks to John for creating the poster, with suggestions bounced back and forth by Ed and I.  Who knows, this idea might not be too far fetched, we will see what the future holds...

The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Plays Prog Rock Classics Now Available, featuring Red Barchetta

Buy Now

Today saw the release of The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Plays Prog Rock Classics, which appears to be be a compilation of previous recordings including "Red Barchetta" featuring Adrian Smith of Iron Maiden (from Royal Philharmonic Plays The Music Of Rush).

Label Cleopatra Records says: “A stellar group of musical virtuosos from the prog stratosphere join the orchestra, lending their talents to these intricately arranged masterworks in a collaborative match made in prog rock heaven.”

Tracklist:
ELP Suite: Tarkus/From The Beginning/Tarkus (Reprise)
Comfortably Numb – Ian Bairnson
Thick As A Brick – Richard Harvey
21st Century Schizoid Man – Gavin Harrison & Guthrie Govan
Focus II – Thijs Van Leer
Nights In White Satin – Mark Feltham
Think Of Me With Kindness – Patrick Moraz
Roundabout – Jimmy Greenspoon
Watcher Of The Skies
Red Barchetta – Adrian Smith

Legends of Classic Rock - Jeff Woods with Neil Peart - Now Available via FlinkTO

Back on November 6th, Neil Peart sat down for an hour with Jeff Woods on his Legends of Classic Rock syndicated radio show to discuss the new R40 video collection as well as his latest book Far and Near – On Days Like These.

Although it previously aired on select radio stations the weekend of November 14-15, the entire show can now be heard on the FlinkTO app via the Apple App Store here. - Thanks to RushFanForever for the headsup!

2112 Hologram Edition And All The World's A Stage Vinyl Reissues - Now Available

UPDATE March 30th: Sales of the 2112 Hologram Edition have brought it back into the Billboard Top 200, coming in at #149. - Thanks Wolffman for the headsup!

Today, March 17th, Rush has reissued a unique hologram edition vinyl of 2112 (click to buy).    Also today, they have reissued All The World's A Stage on vinyl (click to buy).  Both reissues come with a code for a 320kbps MP4 vinyl ripped Digital Audio album download.  Take a look at the 2112 hologram edition vinyl courtesy of That Metal Show below.

As announced last fall, following last year's Rush reDISCovered release, Rush is reissuing the rest of Rush's remaining Mercury era albums (studio and live albums through A Show of Hands) in chronological order throughout the rest of 2015. Previous vinyl reissues include Rush reDISCovered, Fly By Night (also available on blu-ray audio in 5.1 surround sound), and Caress of Steel.

Neil Peart's "News Weather and Sports" - March 2015

Yesterday evening Neil Peart updated his website with the latest issue of "News Weather & Sports."  Titled "Miracle in Colorado", Neil tells of how after losing one of his BMW motorcycle's luggage cases which contained many valuables while riding in Colorado back in 2004, it was finally returned to him over a decade later, when he received it last month.

"...it’s some kind of a story—with a bittersweet ending and renewed faith in humanity. A small dark blot in my past, with its fading nebula of pain and regret, has suddenly flared into a bright star of relief and gratitude.   You can’t make that stuff up."

You can check it out here.

Rush's induction video for the 2015 Allan Waters Humanitarian Award at the Junos

UPDATE:  The complete 2015 Juno Awards Ceremony is now available on Youtube, and you can view it here.  The presentation of the Allan Waters Humanitarian Award to Rush begins at the 2:34:15 mark.

The JUNO Youtube channel has posted the induction video for Rush's "Allan Waters Humanitarian Award" and Ray Danniels' "Walt Grealis Special Achievement Award" last Saturday night at the Junos in Hamilton, Canada. Check them out below.

PRS Guitars Announces the launch of their new SE Alex Lifeson Thinline Acoustic Guitar

PRS Guitars just announced:

New product alert! We're proud to introduce the new SE Alex Lifeson Thinline Acoustic Guitar. We worked closely with Alex to make this guitar a studio and stage workhorse at a great price.

The suggested retail price is $799, but the guitar is already available at online retailers for less.  For more info, check out the SE Alex Lifeson Thinline Acoustic Guitar at PRSguitars.com. - Thanks to Rosmakloma for the headsup!

‘Nice Canadian boys’ who just happen to donate millions to charity - Hamilton Specator

Today's Hamilton Spectator included a lengthy follow on Saturday night's Juno Award's celebration:

Rush singer Geddy Lee "gratefully" accepted the award on behalf of the band, but admitted he felt uncomfortable receiving "an award for doing something that you should do."

Rush began supporting the Toronto Food Bank during its earliest shows at Maple Leaf Gardens, urging fans to bring food for those in need. Rush has also performed benefit shows for the United Way and in support of AIDS research.

In 2008, Rush donated $100,000 from a Winnipeg concert to the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. In the same year, the band also gave $100,000 from a New Orleans concert to Brad Pitt's Make It Right Foundation to help rebuild the city in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

As well, Rush has raised some $2 million for Doctors Without Borders and another $575,000 for Alberta Flood Relief.

"There are a lot of people who give and don't play in a rock band, they don't make a lot of money," Lee told reporters backstage during the Juno Awards gala attended by some 800 music industry insiders at the Hamilton Convention Centre.

"Giving is a healthy thing to pass on to other people. You don't have to shout about it, but it is important to do it, whether it's $5 to someone in the neighbourhood, it's a meal, there's a ton of ways to help. It's a part of everyone's obligation as a human being. We try to look at life like that."

When asked why the band has not publicized its many charitable acts, Lee replied: "We're nice Canadian boys and we try not to make a spectacle of ourselves. We focus on our work and get publicity for the work we do. What we do privately is private."

Lee's bandmates — guitarist Alex Lifeson and drummer Neil Peart — were unable to make it to the Juno dinner, but each sent brief videotaped messages of thanks.

"It is both a gratifying and a humble thing to be recognized this way," said Peart, who is currently rehearsing in California for the band's upcoming tour. " ... I always say, if you do well, try to do good. Because I've done well, I try to do good."

Lee, 61, told reporters that the secret to the Toronto band's longevity was its sense of humour.

"It's really not as easy as it looks to stay together for 40 years," Lee said. "We are blessed with very equal temperament and we have a unique and shared sense of humour. We try not to take things too seriously other than the music we are working on ... We are friends, we like each other and we do like to hang out together and make each other laugh."

Also honoured at the Juno dinner was longtime Rush manager Ray Daniels, who founded the Anthem Records label after the band was rejected by every other label in Canada during the early '70s. Daniels was presented with the Walt Grealis Special Achievement Award for his contributions to the Canadian music industry.

"I've always said that I was at Rush's first shows and I plan on being at the last. That hasn't changed," Daniels told the audience.

"I've had the privilege of spending time with some of the most interesting people in the world; some are captains of industry, world leaders and elite athletes," Daniels said. "Some were just well-read limo drivers and others just music fans like myself. What a trip for a kid like me who never finished high school. When I started out with Rush, Pierre Trudeau was prime minister, Nixon was about to be impeached and the Leafs were only a few years past winning the Stanley Cup. That is a long time ago."

Other charitable organizations supported by Rush include the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, Child Advocates, the Dominic Triano Foundation, Little Kids Rock, the Kidney Foundation, the Chilean Red Cross and Grapes for Humanity Canada.

Juno Awards Honor Rush for Career-Long Charity Work - Billboard

Tonight Rush will receive the Allan Waters Humanitarian Award at the 44th annual Juno Awards, taking place in Hamilton, Ontario. The honor is given to "outstanding Canadian artists whose contributions have positively enhanced the social fabric of Canada." In addition, manager Ray Danniels will receive the Walt Grealis Special Achievement Award. Geddy Lee will be on hand to receive the award.  For more check out yesterday's Billboard wrapup, "Canada's Juno Awards Honor Rush for Career-Long Charity Work".

Toronto prog legends Rush discuss band's long history with charity, Junos - Canadian Press

Another new interview with Alex Lifeson has been posted today, this time by The Canadian Press.  Alex discusses's Rush's charitable history.

"It's a way that you can do it as a unit, which Rush is, without making really a big deal about it.  This is really great to get this award — it's always very humbling — but this is just something that you're supposed to do. We don't make a big deal out of it."

Among their charitable contributions, Rush has donated significantly to Toronto Food Bank, United Way, the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, the New Orleans-assisting Make it Right Foundation, Doctors Without Borders, Alberta Flood Relief and Casey House. Click here for the full interview with Alex. - Thanks to RushFanForever for the headsup!

Alex Lifeson talks about Juno honour, upcoming tour - Canoe.ca

Today Canada's Canoe posted an all new interview with Alex Lifeson where he talks about Rush's upcoming 2015 Allan Waters Humanitarian Award at this year's Juno awards (which will be accepted in person by Geddy Lee), and how he is preparing for the upcoming tour.

“I learned very early that it feels really good to help somebody else. A lot of times it feels better than getting help yourself and now that we’re in a position to do something and have been for awhile, it only makes sense. It’s a duty, really, that we all have to help the less fortunate.”

“It’s a wonderful thing to get this kind of recognition. We’ve been very lucky, particularly over the last many years that there’s been all this attention paid to us. And it’s lovely and it’s very much appreciated but it’s not the most important thing. But we happily accept these sorts of things but we don’t try to make a really big deal. You know, it’s a typical Canadian attitude, trying to stay under the radar, and do the thing that we do, and then complain as much as we can.”

 Of the tour, Alex said:

“We’re prepping for the tour; we’re at that stage where we’ve just started playing. You don’t want to hear us.  We’re nuts.  We rehearse for six weeks before the rehearsals. I’m serious. I’ve been rehearsing for three weeks now. I spend four hours, three times a week, and then the rest of the time I play for an hour to two hours. And that’s just to get ready for rehearsals.”

You can read the full interview here.

CelebrityAccess.com: In the Hot Seat with Larry LeBlanc - Ray Danniels, SRO/Anthem

Last week CelebrityAccess.com posted a new and extensive interview with Ray Danniels, CEO and president of SRO Entertainment and the Anthem Entertainment Group.  On "In the Hot Seat with Larry LeBlanc", Ray talks about managing RUSH for four decades, maneuvering record deals over the decades, looking out for what's best for his clients, and what is to come in the future.  Of the R40 tour, and whether Rush will tour again in the future, Ray responds:

"Somewhere between possible and probable. There are some of us who would keep going forever, and there are some of us who wouldn’t. So it’s a process of working that out. And what somebody thinks today may not be what they think in a month...I am focused on making this as good as it can be, and then seeing where we are. I did not want to do a farewell tour. There was no one in the band who wanted to do that because there is nobody who thinks it is that final or thinks that they won’t make music or do something. But I will tell you this. I am probably not going to be able to get a band full of 65 year olds out again on the road--which is what would happen next time with any potential tour--they all would be 65-ish. Neil is as much an athlete as he is a musician, but with these 2 1/2 and 3 hour length sets, I don’t know if it possible to keep up with that (physical) demand. And they each want to go out on top in every single way. From their status....well, that is more me—the status—than it is them; and still having the ability to be at their best. To play at the level that they have been able to play."

You can check out the complete interview at CelebrityAccess.com. - Thanks to RushFanForever for the headsup!

Rush Reference On FX's "Archer" (yet again!)

UPDATE: One week after Kreiger's van appeared with its new color scheme, there has been yet another Rush reference.  During this week's episode, "Pocket Listing" (season 6, episode 9, aired March 5), Doctor Kreiger is seen sitting in front of a bunch of monitors and one of them is displaying a large "YYZ". - Thanks to David Wholihan for the headsup!

Last night (February 26) on FX's Archer (season 6, episode 8 "The Kanes"), Doctor Kreiger's van was once again painted with a Rush themed mural; this time it featured a motif mimicking Rush's debut album with "RUSH" simply replaced by the word "VAN". - Thanks to Ed at RushIsABand for the headsup!

This is not the first time that RUSH has been referenced on Archer:

• "Double Trouble" (season 2, episode 13, aired April 21, 2011): Dr. Krieger mentions listening to "Red Barchetta" through his "awesome van's" stereo, and says to Archer's Russian defector love interest Katya "Please tell me you like Rush". The van is painted with a mural like the Exit...Stage Left album cover but reads "Exit...Van Left".
• "The Man From Jupiter" (season 3, episode 1, aired January 19, 2012): Dr. Krieger's van is now painted with a Hemispheres themed mural that reads "Krieger Vanispheres".
• "Skin Game" (season 3, episode 8, aired March 9, 2012): In the opening scene Krieger brings Archer to his lab which holds a large Neil Peart-esque drumkit, replete with double bass drums with "Thunder" and "Dome" written in the font from the debut album. Archer says "Wow, amazing, you can play 'YYZ'", to which Krieger replies "First of all, it's YY-zed. And second of all, no I can't get it, it's impossible." Later, in the next scene (after the opening credits), in regards to creating an android of Katya, Krieger says "How dare you fail to recognize my greatest accomplishment to date?", and Pam replies "What, you finally nailed YYZ?" Krieger shouts "It's Zed, and...no, Neil Peart (Pert) stands alone..."
• "Space Race: Part 2" (season 3, episode 10, aired March 22, 2012): Dr. Krieger's van was once again painted with a Rush mural; this time it was "Caress of Krieger".
• "The Wind Cries Mary" (season 4, episode 2, aired January 25, 2013): Dr. Krieger's van is painted with a Rush mural yet again with "Van By Night".
• "Sea Tunt, Part II" (season 4, episode 13, aired April 11, 2013): Dr. Krieger is naked in his basement modifying an assault rifle, drumming to "Tom Sawyer" with a pair of screwdrivers. Click here for a video clip.

Premiere of VH1 Classic's ‘Rock Icons’ Featuring Geddy Lee Now Online

UPDATE Feb 25t: VH1.com has posted a followup feature, "Go Inside Geddy Lee Of Rush’s Personal Bass Room With ‘Rock Icons’ Sam Dunn", which includes a two minute video where Geddy shows off his bass room, and discusses his love of basses with twang...

VH1 Classic's new docu-series "Rock Icons" premiered Saturday evening (February 21st) spotlighting Geddy Lee.  The full episode is available below (or you can view it here).

 "From Banger Films, the people that brought you the Rush: Beyond The Lighted Stage documentary and the TV show Metal Evolutions, comes an all-new docu-series profiling the biggest icons in hard rock, heavy metal and classic rock. Rock Icons premieres Saturday February 21st at 10/9C, immediately following the That Metal Show‘s season 14 kick-off, and takes you backstage with in-depth, intimate portraits revealing who these rock stars really are. Each 30-minute episode is jam-packed with exclusive interviews and  never-before-seen footage with featured artists and the key people who helped shape their careers. The series premiere goes beyond the limelight with Geddy Lee, lead singer and bassist extraordinaire of Canadian progressive hard rock legends Rush. Find out how his remarkable musical talent and drive was influenced by the early passing of his father and why he is determined to live every bit of his life to the fullest. Future episode will chronicle the lives of metal god Rob Halford of Judas Priest, former Guns N’ Roses guitar hero Slash, Nikki Sixx of Mötley Crüe and more. Between Rock Icons and That Metal Show, VH1 Classic is the place to be on Saturday nights for all things rock so don’t forget to tune in starting February 21st!" - VH1.com, January 28, 201

"We did a feature length film on Rush, right? And now we’re doing a half-hour feature on Geddy Lee. We sort of sat there and said, what else are we going to talk about, we’ve already covered so much. As we started to talk about it and do more research, what we started to embrace was not only the Geddy Lee that’s in Rush but who he is outside of Rush. What does that tell us about his personality? So even though I spent hours with Geddy and the other guys in the band making Rush: Beyond The Lighted Stage, going down with him into the “bass room” of his house where he’s got, literally, the history of the electric bass all on his walls, and to sit with him as he actually pulls basses off the wall and play them and talk about the history of the instrument – I still have these moments where I’m like, this is amazing. Because I started playing bass because of my love for bands like Rush and Iron Maiden. I mean, I wanted to be Geddy Lee and Steve Harris when I was 12. I still really get a big thrill out of spending time with these guys because they come to respect the work that we do and so it’s very comfortable. We can just sit down on a very one to one basis and talk about things in a fairly transparent and relaxed way. And I think… let’s just say I’ve had worse day jobs." - Sam Dunn of Banger Films, VH1.com, February 12, 2015

Caress of Steel Vinyl Reissue Now Available

Hitting store shelves today February 24th, Caress of Steel has been reissued on vinyl, with a code for a 320kbps MP4 vinyl ripped Digital Audio album download.

As announced last fall, following last year's Rush reDISCovered release, Rush is reissuing the rest of Rush's remaining Mercury era albums (studio and live albums through A Show of Hands) in chronological order throughout the rest of 2015. Previous vinyl reissues include Rush reDISCovered, and Fly By Night (also available on blu-ray audio).

Rush Sighting on AMC's "Better Call Saul"

Five minutes into last night's AMC "Breaking Bad" spinoff, "Better Call Saul" (season 1, episode 4), Saul is in a room smoking a bong and hanging on the wall behind him is a Rush poster for the Aug 14, 1974 Pittsburgh show (first show with Neil Peart).  [Webmaster's nitpicker's note: while this is an officially licensed poster created NMR Aquarius, it is a poorly researched - it's irksome that they used a Hemispheres photo on a commemorative poster for a concert in 1974!] - Thanks to William Gordon for the headsup!

Geddy Lee reflects on Massey Hall as $136-million renovation begins

Today Geddy Lee was at Toronto's Massey Hall, which is set to undergo a seven-year, $135 million renovation.  Geddy shared some of his memories of Massey Hall with The Canadian Press:

TORONTO - Rush frontman Geddy Lee's memory of attending his first show at Toronto's Massey Hall remains spring-water clear — and what stands out is the sound quality that was swamp-water muddled.

It was June 5, 1968, and a then 22-year-old Lee was desperate to see British rock royalty Cream, even though his friends weren't.

"I couldn't get anyone to go see Cream with me," Lee told The Canadian Press in one of Massey's spartan dressing rooms Monday.

"I said: 'Screw you all, I'm going by myself.' I sat in the balcony. And I don't think their PA system had arrived because they played onstage and Jack Bruce was singing through the Massey Hall crappy little announcement system.

"It was really strange," he added, laughing.

Such whimsical glitches may become less common as the venerable Massey Hall — a piece of Toronto iconography since it was built back in 1894 — undergoes a seven-year, $135-million revitalization.

"Phase one" of that operation began this week, with improvements including a first-ever loading dock, a modernized back of house, a backstage space for artists, and technical tweaks.

Massey Hall has been the site of several legendary live recordings, including Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie's "Jazz at Massey Hall," Neil Young's "Live at Massey Hall 1971" and Rush's own "All the World's a Stage."

Lee talked to The Canadian Press about the relationship between the historic venue and his beloved power-prog trio.

Geddy Lee on That Metal Show February 21st - Now Online

Geddy Lee appeared on the season premiere of VH1's "That Metal Show" on February 21st at 9PM ET.  The full episode is available here (embedded below).  In addition, That Metal Show has posted multiple additional interviews and outtakes from Saturday night's episode which you can check out here.

During the episode, Geddy was asked to rank Rush's first nine studio albums and chose: Moving Pictures, Permanent Waves, 2112, Hemispheres, A Farewell To Kings, RUSH, Signals, Caress of Steel, Fly By Night.

Geddy Lee on Rush’s Upcoming ‘Last Big Tour’: ‘We Have to Slow Down Dramatically’

Geddy Lee pulled no punches tonight (Feb. 21) when asked if an upcoming series of dates represented a de facto farewell tour for Rush — even if he was unwilling to call it that.

“It’s very hard to answer that question for a lot of reasons,” he said, during a special guest appearance on the season premiere of VH1′s That Metal Show. “First of all, you know, the three guys in this band have very different opinions on this point in our lives. Everybody’s in a very different space right now. We’ve done a lot of touring for the last 10 years, a lot of writing, a lot of working. (Drummer) Neil (Peart), for example, has a young child at home and he’s said publicly, numerous times, that it’s very hard for him to leave his daughter. She needs him. So, it’s clear that we are at a point in our career that we have to slow down — and slow down dramatically. So, I’m not a guy who’s in love with the farewell tour idea, but it’s clear that this is going to be the last big tour that we’re going to do for a while, anyway. I can say that.”

Read More: Geddy Lee on Rush's Upcoming 'Last Big Tour': 'We Have to Slow Down Dramatically' | http://ultimateclassicrock.com/geddy-lee-final-rush-tour/?trackback=tsmclip

Geddy Lee on "On Tap Prestented by VH1" Tonight!

Today On Tap Prestented by VH1 posted on their Facebook page:

Don't miss ON TAP tonight because the ONE & ONLY Geddy Lee of RUSH will be calling in for an EXCLUSIVE interview! Geddy is going to tell us all about his upcoming appearances on VH1 Classic's That Metal Show & #RockIcons!

Here's where you can listen to ON TAP tonight:
http://on.vh1.com/OnTap

- Thanks to John @ Cygnus-X1.net for the headsup!

"The Origin of Neil Peart" documentary by Paul Miil

Back in 2009, director Paul Miil released a documentary about Niagara's music scene 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".  Miil later posted the full documentary on Youtube.

This past Sunday, Miil posted The Origin of Neil Peart, a newly assembled 48-minute documentary using reedited footage from The Big Story of Small Potatoes, as Miil explains in the intro:

"Before the footage from The Big Story of Small Potatoes was lost to time, I thought it prudent to fill the commitment I made to myself in 2007 to make the Neil Peart documentary. Neil Peart's band mates and contemporary drummers are the true character of this film. I had a ton of fun researching and finding them, and thank them all for their participation. In any event, it may be more accurate to have the 'many' explain the 'one'..."

You can check it the documentary below. - Thanks to Andy O for the headsup!

"A Little More Noise" - Stewart Copeland and Company including Neil Peart

Today Stewart Copeland posted another video of guests jamming at the Sacred Grove including Neil Peart, Matt Scannell and Danny Carey.  This one is dubbed "A Little More Noise," and you'll see why in the video.  From his post:

Some new drums arrived so Peart and Carey came over to lay heavy hands upon them. Scannell and I banged out any old riffs while Stone chimed the gongs.  Couple days later four MORE drummers dropped by and took up the horns. The piano was an afterthought.

- Thanks to Bryan Brenner for the headsup!

Neil Peart's "News Weather and Sports" - February 2015

Today Neil Peart updated his website with the latest issue of "News Weather & Sports."  Titled "The Adventures of Bamm Bamm", this is the second half of his December report where he shared his experience of competing in the "24 Hours of LeMons", an endurance racing series for low-budget enthusiasts such as Neil.   This report covers their followup races in northern California at Thunderhill Raceway in September and Sonoma Raceway in December. You can check it out here.

Le Studio - Temple Of Sound - Episode Two

Episode Two of the YouTube documentary "Le Studio - Temple of Sound" is now available.  This documentary covers the LeStudio backstory from inception to current state. This is just the second episode posted in a year; Chapter One was posted in April of last year.

LeStudio was a world class recording studio in the Laurentian Mountains of Canada. It was the private retreat of Rush for the writing and recording of eight of their albums, as well as hundreds of other artists over the years. It closed in 2003 and now sits stripped of all it's furnishings & equipment, abandoned in the forest.

Rush's "Tom Sawyer" heard on HBO's "Togetherness"/Duplass Brothers Air Drum on Conan

UPDATE (Feb. 6): Jay and Mark Duplass, creators of the show, appeared on Conan earlier this week, and cajoled Conan to air drum with them along to Tom Sawyer.    Rush.com has posted that Geddy Lee noted "Clearly the Duplass Bros. are seasoned air drummers…they nailed it!"  Check out the video here.

Rush's "Tom Sawyer" was heard during last night's episode of HBO's Togetherness (season 1, episode 3).  Near the end of the show, as Brett and Alex drive home from the party "Tom Sawyer" is playing on the car stereo.   They end up pulling over, discussing the song and air drumming. The song then plays over the end
credits.  The episode is available on demand and on HBO Go to HBO subscribers.  - Thanks to Jeff Lucas for the headsup!

Neil Peart with Jim Ladd on Sirius XM's Deep Tracks February 3

"Motorcycle enthusiast... author... drummer... lyricist... NEIL PEART of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductee RUSH joins Jim Ladd, high in the Hollywood Hills, for an exclusive one-on-one discussion. Topics will range from Neil's latest book: 'Far and Near: On Days Like These' to the music that influences him to the recently-announced Rush R40 tour celebrating 40 years! ‪This not-to-be-missed interview happens this Tuesday February 3 at 9pm Eastern / 6pm Pacific on Deep Tracks - SiriusXM 27." - XMRadio

Lorne Wheaton discusses the R40 Drum Kit and Sheds Light on the Setlist at NAMM

Evil Ed Nijjer, Canadian editor for DRUM-line magazine, spoke with Lorne Wheaton, Neil's drum tech, to discuss the R40 drum kit at the DW Booth at the NAMM show last month.  You can see the video interview below, which includes this comment which sheds some light onto what to expect from the setlist:

"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

- Thanks to Ed at RushIsABand for the headsup!

Farewell to Kings: new Rush tour could be last - Toronto Star

Although the recent R40 Tour press release alluded to the fact that this would be "their 21st tour, one which will most likely be their last major tour of this magnitude", a new interview with Neil Peart from yesterday's Toronto Star restates the obvious/unwanted truth in its title.  The interview itself, however, does not actually include any statement from Peart that this could be Rush's last tour, so take it as you will...

John Wesley "Dose of reality" - Wes discusses "Disconnect" and working with Alex Lifeson

Last year, Alex Lifeson appeared on John Wesley's latest album, Disconnect.  Last fall, Guitar Player magazine published an interview with John Wesley by Anil Prasad, which included an Alex Lifeson sidebar. That piece is now online in greatly expanded form on Innerviews.org, including extensive coverage of John’s friendships with Alex and Neil. You can find it at http://www.innerviews.org/inner/wesley.html

 - Thanks Anil for the headsup!

Steven Wilson's "Hand. Cannot. Erase." musically inspired by Rush?

click to order

In the recent issue of Prog magazine (issue #52 featuring Rush on the cover), when asked what his favorite Rush song is, Porcupine Tree's Steven Wilson replied:

"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, 2015

Hand. Cannot. Erase. is set for release March 3rd, click here to order.  For more visit www.handcannoterase.com; see below for a video teaser.


- Thanks Mr. Humphries for the headsup!

RUSH Announce R40 Live 40TH Anniversary Tour

Today Rush have finally announced their tourdates for 2015, with tickets going on sale starting January 30th, and presales starting January 27th. 

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, Oklahoma
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

Presale details below:

Geddy Lee on PBS' Speakeasy premieres tonight

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.

Recorded last fall, Geddy Lee's appearance on PBS' Speakeasy will air tomorrow night, January 29th.  Geddy is interviewed by his friend, author Michael Chabon at the McKittrick Hotel in New York City. Topics include growing up Jewish in an assimilated world; his bandmates; and how he's cared for his voice through the years.  See below for a teaser clip from tomorrow night's episode.

Rush Manager Ray Danniels to be Honoured with Walt Grealis Special Achievement Award at the 2015 JUNO Awards

Toronto, ON (January 29, 2015) — The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) today announced Ray Danniels as the recipient of the 2015 Walt Grealis Special Achievement Award, that recognizes individuals who have made an impact on the Canadian music industry. Danniels will be honoured at the 2015 JUNO Gala Dinner & Awards on Saturday, March 14 in Hamilton, Ontario as part of JUNO Week festivities.

Ray Danniels is the CEO/President of SRO (Standing Room Only) Management Inc. and of independent record label Anthem Entertainment Group. He is also the long-time manager of Canadian trio and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame members, Rush.

“I am grateful to be recognized by my peers for doing something I’ve loved and been passionate about since I was a teenager,” said Ray Danniels. “I share this honour with those that have been with me since the beginning – the members of Rush – Geddy, Alex and Neil.”

“Ray’s extraordinary intuition in business and passion for the Canadian music industry are truly something to admire,” said Allan Reid, President & CEO, CARAS/The JUNO Awards. “We are very pleased to recognize Ray Danniels with the Walt Grealis Special Achievement Award for his incredible achievements and exceptional contributions.”

Danniels began his career as an agent in the music business when he was a teenager, first booking bands and then moving on to promoting concerts in his hometown of Toronto. In 1971 he took on both agent and manager roles with a rock band from Willowdale called Rush. After every record company in Canada turned the band down, Danniels took initiative by funding Rush’s first record and then starting his own label to release it. In 1973 the first Rush single was released on Moon Records, which was later renamed Anthem. Forty years later, Anthem is still releasing Rush albums in Canada. Rush’s 20th studio album, Clockwork Angels, was released by Anthem in 2013, debuted #1 in Canada and went on to be certified gold. Together, Ray Danniels and Rush created Core Music, a publishing entity where the band’s entire body of work remains to this day.

In addition to Rush, Anthem has released albums from Max Webster, Ian Thomas, Gowan, Molly Johnson, Steven Page and most recently The Tea Party, Big Wreck and Brody Dalle. Anthem has made an impact with projects that have defined Canadian culture, having released projects such as Bob & Doug Mackenzie and The Trailer Park Boys soundtracks. In its 40-year history, SRO Management has been instrumental in the careers of Rush, Van Halen, Extreme, The Tea Party, Matthew Good, and Big Wreck amongst others.

Danniels was inducted into the Canadian Music Industry Hall of Fame in 2007 and was also the recipient of the third annual Music Managers Forum Canada Honour Roll Award.
- See more at: http://junoawards.ca/walt-grealis-special-achievement-award-recipient/#sthash.hNxjiMVu.dpuf

Neil Peart video interview discussing the DW R40 Drum Kit

Neil Peart's R40 drum kit premiered at NAMM 2015 earlier this week at the DW booth.  Yesterday afternoon, DW posted a short interview with Neil Peart where he discusses the kit.  He sheds some interesting details, including the fact that the entire kit is made from a single 1,500 year old oak log from Romania. 

DW has also announced that the Neil Peart R40 14 x 6.5 snare drum will be available for private purchase.  This is a limited production run of only 250 drums. All Pro Percussion has the snare available for $1,499.55 with an estimated delivery date of April 2015.

Fly By Night Vinyl Reissue And Blu-Ray Now Available

Today sees the reissue of Fly By Night on vinyl, with a code for a 320kbps MP4 vinyl ripped Digital Audio album download.  In addition, Fly By Night is also now available as a "blu-ray-audio remaster", previously only available in the Sectors 1 boxed set.   Click here to buy Fly By Night on vinyl, or blu-ray audio.

As announced last month, following last year's  Rush reDISCovered release, Rush is reissuing the rest of Rush's remaining Mercury era albums (studio and live albums through A Show of Hands) in chronological order throughout the rest of 2015.

In The Studio's "Permanent Waves @ 35" Now Available To Stream

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.
website

Four years before the dawn of MTV and almost two decades before the internet revolutionized the music industry, Rush sold more than a million copies of 1978’s Hemispheres album and sold out 10,000 seat arenas primarily on word-of-mouth and relentless touring.

The hard rock trio faced obstacles at every turn and at every phase of their career, but the adversity only seemed to increase the collective resolve of Rush. 1980 would be a turning point and game changer. Rush, who had been mean spiritedly criticized by the rock press and ignored by the majority of radio in the western hemisphere would deliver Permanent Waves, the breakthrough that would unleash a streamlined, more modern-sounding Rush and deliver their first legitimate hits “The Spirit of the Radio” and “Free Will”. Geddy Lee shares with InTheStudio host Redbeard the deliberate move Rush made musically 35 years ago.


“We were happy with the challenge to write twenty minute pieces... We’d done it a number of times, and we felt it was almost becoming a cross to bear for us in a way. It was almost limiting us...We sort of tried to get back to our original desires as songwriters. I think we wanted to become a little more concise.” - Geddy Lee

RUSH Permanent Waves @ 35/ InTheStudio interview is available now to stream here.  For a list of radio stations who broadcast InTheStudio, click here.

Alex Lifeson Stops By Q107 To Talk About The New R40 Tour

Alex Lifeson was on Toronto's Q107 this morning:

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:

Neil Peart R40 Collector's Series Snare Drum

At NAMM 2015 this week, DW announced that the Neil Peart R40 14 x 6.5 snare drum will be available for purchase. All Pro Percussion has the snare available for $1,499.55 with an estimated delivery date of April 2015.

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!

Kiss Roadies’ Memories of the Band’s Early Shows With Rush included in new book "Out On The Streets"

The four guys who made up the original ‘Kiss Krew’ — roadies Peter “Moose” Oreckinto, J.R. Smalling, Rick Munroe, and Mick Campise — share their stories about working for the band during its rise to fame in their new book, ‘Out on the Streets,' which you can buy here.

Like a lot of young groups in the ’70s, Kiss occasionally found themselves lumped in with some less-than-obvious acts on multi-band bills, and in the ‘Out on the Streets’ chapter ‘Remembering a Few of the Bands That We Worked With,’ the Krew recount their experiences supporting their bosses while they shared the stage with some of the bigger names in ’70s rock, as well as a couple of future legends.

They have especially fond memories of working with Rush, partly because the band went out of its way to thank the Krew in the liner notes of the 1975 album ‘Caress of Steel.’ “That was just pure respect for us,” noted Campise. “For who and what we were.”
It also happened because, as Munroe pointed out, “we helped them whenever we could” — up to and including indulging Alex Lifeson‘s routine as “The Bag.” Recalled Campise, “He’d take one of those huge paper bags that hotels provided for dirty laundry, draw some ridiculous face on it and wear it over his head and upper body. He looked kinda like SpongeBob SquarePants, now that I think of it.”

The foursome recall that Rush were eventually “thrown off our tours” because Paul Stanley felt threatened by Lifeson’s stage antics (“he would go from the corner of the stage and run to the microphone”)...

- Thanks to UltimateClassicRock for the headsup!

Fender Unveils New Geddy Lee Jazz Bass

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.

RushPetition - What do you want to hear live on the R40 tour?

RushPetition is back up and preparing for the R40 tour.   The new petition allows for each person to select FIVE songs from the list of songs from the Peart recording era that Rush has never performed live. Cast your vote here. - Thanks to Skip Daly for the headsup!

Rush To Be Honored with the 2015 Allan Waters Humanitarian Award

The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) today announced Rush – Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart – as the recipient of the 2015 Allan Waters Humanitarian Award, sponsored by Bell Media. The JUNO Award-winning and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame trio exemplifies the spirit of the award through their music and devotion to philanthropy and humanitarian causes, both of which have touched millions of lives and spanned generations.

The Allan Waters Humanitarian Award recognizes outstanding Canadian artists whose contributions have positively enhanced the social fabric of Canada. Named after CHUM Ltd. founder Allan Waters, the award is made possible by funding from BCE-Bell Media Benefits. It will be presented to Rush at the 2015 JUNO Gala Dinner & Awards on March 14, 2015 in Hamilton, Ontario.
“We are sincerely grateful to be recognized as this year’s recipients of the Allan Waters Humanitarian Award.  We are proud, honoured and humbled to be in the company of all Canadians who find it within their hearts to help those in need.”  – Rush

“We are proud to be recognizing Rush’s noble legacy with this award,” said Allan Reid, President & CEO, CARAS/The JUNO Awards & MusiCounts. “The group’s dedication to countless charities and organizations over the course of their career is truly remarkable. Their tenacity and spirit serves as an inspiration to all of us, and we salute them for all of their exceptional work.”
”Bell Media congratulates Rush on being honoured with this year’s Allan Waters Humanitarian Award,” said Phil King, President, CTV, Sports, and Entertainment Programming. “As true rock icons, Rush embodies Canada’s innate spirit of compassion. Their generous support of and commitment to numerous worthy causes over their prolific career make them truly worthy of this prestigious award.”

With more than 40 million records sold worldwide and countless sold-out tours, Rush is not only one of the most inventive and compelling groups in rock history, but remains one of the most popular. According to the RIAA® Rush’s sales statistics place them third for the most consecutive gold/platinum studio albums by a rock band, topped only by the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. In addition to their commercial success, Rush has also been recognized with nine JUNO Awards and seven Grammy nominations, including one for the acclaimed documentary “Rush: Beyond The Lighted Stage.” The group has remained unwaveringly committed and daring throughout their musical journey, and the same characteristics can be used to describe their charitable dedication.
Over the course of their four-decade-long career, the members of Rush have thrown their support behind a wide variety of worthy causes often privately and sometimes publicly. From their earliest shows at Toronto’s historic Maple Leaf Gardens, the band started working with the Toronto Food Bank to encourage fans to bring food for those in need. Eventually deciding to do their first charity concert at Maple Leaf Gardens to benefit the United Way in the early ‘80s, and an amFAR show to benefit Aids Research in the early ‘90s, engaging themselves and their fans in positive pursuits naturally became part of the Rush ethos.

As dedicated advocates of human rights, in 2008 Rush donated $100,000 from a Winnipeg concert’s gate to the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. In the same year, on their Snakes & Arrows Tour, the band donated $100,000 from their show in New Orleans to Brad Pitt’s Make It Right Foundation to assist in the revitalization of the city post Hurricane Katrina, and sponsor the construction of a house in The Lower Ninth Ward dubbed “The House that Rush Built.”

From their 2010 Time Machine Tour onwards, Rush has donated $1 from every concert ticket sold to various charities including Doctors Without Borders, a total which will soon surpass $2 million over these last five years. In 2013, the band performed an incredibly successful benefit concert at Red Deer’s Enmax Centrium with all proceeds going to the Canadian Red Cross to help victims of the flooding that devastated many regions of southern Alberta. The event raised over $575,000 and was one of the largest donations made to the Alberta Flood Relief.

Rush has also been a passionate supporter of Little Kids Rock, a national non-profit organization that works to restore and revitalize music education programs in disadvantaged U.S. public schools. In efforts to provide percussion instruments to schools, the group created a premium Neil Peart Paragon Cymbal Pack, each of which came with a free splash cymbal personalized, autographed and dated by the Rush drummer himself. This cause-based marketing initiative went on to raise over $50,000 for Little Kids Rock. Working with their endorsement companies, they have set up partnerships for their signature items which have seen many positive charitable efforts such as Neil Peart with DW, Sabian and ProMark, where one campaign raised over $60,000 for Child Advocates. Alex Lifeson has donated royalties from his signature Alex Lifeson Les Paul Axcess guitar to the Dominic Triano Foundation for guitar music scholarships.

The band members have also donated their time, funds and awareness through their personal interests and events. An avid baseball fan, Geddy Lee donated close to 400 signed baseballs by former Negro League baseball players from his personal collection to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City in 2008. Alex Lifeson is a supporter of Casey House, as well as The Kidney Foundation to which he donates his paintings to assist in their fundraising. During the band’s South American tour in 2010, Neil Peart was moved by the rescue of the trapped miners in Chile. When he wrote a story about his experiences touring in South America, he rallied Rush fans and his readers to make a $1 donation for his story. Neil matched their donations, and together they raised $10,000 for the Chilean Red Cross.

For over 10 years, Geddy Lee has been an active board member for the Grapes for Humanity Canada charity, an organization that raises funds to benefit humanitarian causes around the world with the assistance of the international wine community. Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson co-host their bi-annual “Grapes Under Pressure” wine event supporting the local wine growing regions of Ontario. All three members of the band support this cause through their Grapes Under Pressure eBay auction of Rush memorabilia. These combined events have raised over $500,000 to date.
Rush’s vast catalogue includes such classics as 1974’s self-titled debut, 1976’s 2112, 1981’s Moving Pictures, 1996’s Test For Echo, and 2002’s Vapor Trails. Rush released their 20th studio album, Clockwork Angels in 2012 via Anthem/Roadrunner Records. The critically acclaimed collection marks their first studio recording since 2007’s Snakes & Arrows, and debuted at #1 in Canada and #2 on the Billboard 200 matching the highest chart debut of the band’s career. Rush was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1994, made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1996 and inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2010. They have received a star on both Canada’s Walk of Fame (1999) and Hollywood Walk of Fame (2010). Rush received the highest artistic honour in Canada by winning the Governor General’s Performing Arts Award in 2012 and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2013.
- See more at: http://junoawards.ca/2015-allan-waters-humanitarian-award-recipient/#sthash.pjjPPNnz.dpuf

Mystic Rhythms: Rush's Neil Peart On The First Rock Drummer - NPR

As part of their "Beat Week", today NPR Music posted a new interview (audio and text) with Neil Peart where he talks about the first rock drummer, Gene Krupa.

"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!

Geddy Lee Interview from the film "Jaco"

Geddy Lee is one of the many musicians interviewed for the documentary film "Jaco", about legendary bassist Jaco Pastorius.  A short snippet of Geddy discussing fusion music from the documentary was posted to the film's YouTube channel yesterday and can be seen below.  Produced by Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo and directed by Paul Marchand and Stephan Kijak, the film debuted at the Mill Valley Film Festival on October 6th and at the Grammy Museum on December 8th, and should be available for purchase on Record Story Day this coming April.  For more info visit Facebook.com/JacoDocumentary. - Thanks to RushIsABand for the headsup!

Prog #52 Cover Feature on Rush

UPDATE: Friday Prog posted one of the features from the magazine to their website - "From Taylor Hawkins to Steven Wilson, 40 famous Rush fans pick their favourite Rush songs." You can check it out here.

The UK's Prog magazine issue #52 will hit newsstands on January 5th, and features Rush on the cover as well as various feature stories.  You can check out a teaser here. - Thanks to RushFanForever for the headsup!