Home"Drummer and lyricist for Rush, Neal [sic] Peart is hailed in many circles as the quintessential rock drummer. He’s known for his ingenious drum parts and intense solos with lead passages that rock hard and prove the drums, indeed, can be a lead instrument. No Rush concert is complete without Peart’s sparking, obligatory drum solo, and his syncopated drumming style certainly has its own distinct sound and aura. You can always tell when it’s Peart playing." - Gibson.com, May 31, 2011 Thanks to B-man for the headsup!
Gibson.com's "Top 10 Rock Drummers of All Time"
Gibson.com has added a new feature to their website giving their take on "The Top 10 Rock Drummers of All Time". Coming in at #2 is Rush's Neil Peart, second only to Led Zeppelin's John Bonham:
Gothenburg Sweden's "2112" Restaurant
While in Sweden two weeks ago, Rush could have enjoyed dinner at 2112, a new restaurant in Gothenburg with an obvious Rush influence. Two members of the Swedish metal band In Flames, Peter Iwers (bass) and Björn Gelotte (guitar), are partners in the new restaurant which opened April 21st. Check out the restaurant's website or Facebook page. Thanks to Jonas Scherman and Frank Ray for the headsup!"2112 is inspired by Rush, and was released in 76, and is one of the best records in the prog genre...so we chose 2112". - co-owner Peter Iwers, Metal Hammer magazine
Neil Peart Interview with Jeff Woods Now Online
They’re Canada’s #1 musical export to the world, and so not surprisingly, guitarist Alex Lifeson, bassist/vocalist Geddy Lee and drummer/lyricist Neil Peart, have been so busy touring over the past year, that they haven’t had a chance to finish what they started: recording their 20th studio album; "Clockwork Angels". While recording is scheduled to resume fall 2011, in the meantime, RUSH’s stock has never been so valuable, with thanks in part, to the acclaimed film, that tells the story of RUSH Beyond the Lighted Stage. It seems everyone has seen it, everyone that is, except their drummer. How could THAT BE? You will find out how, and much more, from this revealing conversation with Neil Peart, who set aside a half hour, back stage, to talk to me about all things RUSH, including the evolution of his drumming, the nature of his lyrics, his latest boo Far And Away – A Prize Every Time, performing live, and just why RUSH have keep doing what they do. And as Neil Peart is about to tell you, he only tours one way …. Enjoy, Jeff - Thanks to RushFanForever for the headsup!
Rush On Supernatural (Again!)
This is the fifth time Rush has been referenced on the show. In previous episodes, "Fly By Night" and "Working Man" were heard, in another episode the Winchester brothers refer to themselves as Agent's Geddy and Lee, and in a fouth episode the brothers went undercover in a mental institution using the names Alex and Geddy. Click here for details.
"Countdown" beamed to Space Shuttle Endeavour
A one-minute edit of Rush's "Countdown" was beamed to the Space Shuttle Endeavour at 7:54pm EST on May 25th as the Flight Day 11 wake up song for Mission Specialist Mike Fincke; click here to view the video. Here is Mike's response:
"Good morning to you all down in Houston and across the planet. I just wanted to say thanks for the song. That was by the band Rush and my friends Ken Fisher and Greg Shurtz sent that up for me. And Rush was really inspired by the launch of STS-1 so they included that in their music and it was really inspirational for them and for the whole album. What's really cool about it is that the Space Shuttle program has really inspired everybody across our planet for such a long time. So this song was a tribute to the Space Shuttle program and so we'd like to say good morning.""Countdown" was written by Rush to document the first shuttle launch which took place just over thirty years ago, on April 12, 1981; footage of the launch was used in the song's video.
Rush Possibly Playing British Festival In Summer 2012
According to Rushonrock.com, Rush could break with tradition and play one of the big British festivals in support of Clockwork Angels during the summer of 2012. Festival choices include High Voltage, Download and Sonisphere, and apparently the band’s management is looking at booking a high profile festival slot for summer 2012. Rush are not known as a festival band but plans are supposedly at an advanced stage to book a series of one-off shows, and organisers of the major events in the UK and Europe are lining up to bag what would be the star attraction of the 2012 festival circuit. - RushOnRock.com, May 24, 2011 Thanks to Ed at RushIsABand for the headsup!
Popmatters' "25 Best Progressive Rock Songs of All Time"
Popmatters has posted their list of "The 25 Best Progressive Rock Songs of All Time", featuring songs recorded between 1969 and 1979. "2112" comes in at #6, "Natural Science" falls at #18 and "Cygnus X-1, Book II: Hemispheres" falls at #22. For the complete list including samples and song bios visit PopMatters.com. - Thanks to John @ Cygnus-X1.net for the headsup!
Vintage Guitar's "Top 50 Guitar Songs"
The May 2011 issue includes the Top 50 Guitar Songs of the 70's; on the list is "Working Man" at #48.
The current issue (June 2011) includes the Top 50 Guitar Songs of the 80's; included on that list is "Tom Saywer" at #20 and "Limelight" at #27 (both coming in behind Joan Jett...).
To vote for the Top 50 Guitar Songs of the 90's, click here. Thanks to RushFanForever for the headsup!
Happy Victoria Day!
Happy Victoria Day Canada! Commemorating Queen Victoria's birthday, Neil wrote about this holiday in "Lakeside Park" where "everyone would gather, on the twenty fourth of May..." (beginning in 1977, the holiday was officially recognized as the Monday on or before May 24th). If you're outside Canada and would like to celebrate on May 24th, drop by Lakeside Park Day, a Rush fansite which includes tips for a successful Lakeside Park Day!
Def Leppard's Joe Elliot On "All The World's A Stage"
The first topic of discussion, Elliot states "Notoriously the live album had much better versions than the studio record," and cites live albums by Peter Frampton, Thin Lizzy, UFO, KISS, Rush and Cheap Trick as examples. "For people in our generation, they absolutely were career breakers...Rush broke England on All The World's A Stage, and for us growing up as kids in England, these albums started people's careers off, then you'd go back and get the studio albums, and you'd listen to them and go 'oh dear, they're not as good as the live albums'". To be fair, however, he does conclude with "I think it's what you hear first is what you get used to." You can listen to the interview here.
Rush Featured In "Premier Guitar" June Issue
Moving Pictures 30th Anniversary Deluxe Edition
CHART UPDATE: Moving Pictures is currently #181 on the Billboard Top 200; with a showing of 75 weeks on the chart!Newly remixed in 5.1 surround sound, the Moving Pictures - Deluxe Edition is now available. Available as either a two disk CD/DVD or CD/Blu-Ray edition, the package includes an extensive gallery including previously unreleased photos from the original recording sessions, new liner notes by renowned music journalist David Fricke and 30th anniversary artwork by original album designer Hugh Syme. Check out the all new trailer for the Moving Pictures Deluxe Edition here.
Included in the reissue package is an extensive gallery with previously unreleased photos from the original recording sessions as well as new new liner notes by renowned music journalist David Fricke. The liner notes essay is now available on the Moving Pictures liner notes page, and 27 new images have been added to the Rush Album Art Gallery. - I would like to thank John at Cygnus-X1.net for proving the transcript and images!
Rush Autographed Gibson Guitar Auction Raises $3,050 for Autism
Prior to the event, the center held an online silent auction which included a 2011 Les Paul Studio guitar donated by Gibson, signed by Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart at the Hamilton show last month. Although not yet reflected on the website, the winning bid was $3,050. For more information click here for Geneva's website (autism.net). - Thanks to John Carere for the headsup!
Geddy Lee on Black Sea Station's "Transylvania Avenue"
Update, "March of the Shikker" is now available at Jewcy.com: "Geddy had a little time on his hands, so he decided to get back to his roots and jam with some of North America’s finest purveyors of Klezmer and Rumanian music, Black Sea Station. On this track, that’s Geddy speaking in Yiddish. Not exactly 'rocking' in the sense we’re used to, but it’s Geddy Lee. The man is a living god. He can do what he wants." - Jewcy.com, May 18, 2011
"Classic Rock Presents Prog #16" - Rush Transcripts Online
One of the key topics of discussion is performing "The Camera Eye" live after so long:
"'I don't think we would ever have played...'Camera Eye' if we hadn't decided to play the whole record,' admits Lee. 'We would never had rediscovered the enjoyment of playing a song like that, while we thought we'd never be able to pull off again! I was really gritting my teeth before we set out to learn that song. Alex and I were sitting in my studio at home and we were listening to it, saying "Oh my god, it goes on forever! What the hell were we thinking?" So we very judiciously eliminated a minute and a half of its 12 minutes. But little did we know how difficult it would be to learn a 12-minute song that suddenly became a 10-and-a-half minute song, because the edits were so subtle that they were harder for us to learn. It really would have been easier to just play the whole dame thing! Ha ha!'" - Geddy Lee, Classic Rock Presents Prog #16
Geddy Lee Loves Stewart Lee
"Stewart Lee is one of the funniest men alive. This is not up for debate, this is fact. One man who acknowledges as such is his namesake and Rush bassist, Geddy Lee. Don’t take our word for it, listen to him: 'My wife and I come to London a lot and we go to a couple of the comedy places, and one time we saw Stewart Lee. He’s fantastic. So funny. You have to spend a lot of time immersed in British culture to understand all of his jokes. For instance, I’d never seen this British show Top Gear and then I went to see one of Stewart Lee’s performances and he was absolutely destroying these people. I was laughing but I didn’t know what I was laughing about! Then my wife and I returned quickly to Canada and watched Top Gear on BBC World or whatever, and then it all made sense! If he could expand his razor wit onto a global level I think he could be incredibly popular, but I get the feeling he’s happy to keep making you Brits laugh. He did a great bit about the Cafe Nero places in London and I can’t walk past one of those without laughing now. Everyone should know that Stewart Lee is truly brilliant.'" - MetalHammer.com, May 13, 2011 - Thanks to John @ Cygnus-X1.net for the headsup!
Gibson.com's "Three's Company: The Top Top Rock Trios"
Gibson.com has added a new feature to their website titled "Three's Company: The Top Top Rock Trios". Rush comes in at #3 behind their early influences The Jimi Hendrix Experience and Cream:
Via regular reinvention, perseverance and undeniable musicality, Rush have reached legend status. It's a weird set-up: drummer Neil Peart writes the lyrics; Geddy Lee has a "unique voice" and manages to play bass/synths/footpedals and sing it all simultaneously. Alex Lifeson continues to chop out riffs and solos that all bear his unique signature. Rush remain a band no one would ever have invented, yet they remain huge after 37 years together. Even Rush instrumentals can send a crowd ballistic..." - Gibson.com, May 13, 2011
Rush On Southpark
During Wednesday's episode, "Royal Pudding" (season 15, episode 3), after the Princess of Canada is abducted during the Royal Canadian wedding, the citizens of Canada become extremely depressed and suicidal. A massive candlelight vigil is held led by Rush. The band is shown on stage performing Elton John's "Candle In The Wind" (sung as "flower breaking wind") until the song is abruptly ended with Alex's suicide! You can see the episode here. - Thanks to Frank Ray for the headsup!
Moving Pictures Contest - Win The Entire Rush CD Catalog
Rush has a new contest where you can win the ENTIRE Rush CD catalog, including the new Moving Pictures Deluxe Edition, as well as an autographed Moving Pictures lithograph and a tour program from the original 1981 tour. Click here for details.
Neil Peart Drums - Session Drummer 3
"YYZ", one of Spin Magazine's "30 Greatest Instrumental Songs Ever"
Rush, "YYZ" (1981): "With Moving Pictures, Geddy Lee and Co. proved they were mightily virtuosic, historically nerdy (rendering the letters "Y-Y-Z" in Morse Code via various musical arrangements), and capable of damn catchy melodies. Then, of course, there's the drum solo." - Spin.com, May 6, 2011 Thanks to John @ Cygnus-X1.net for the headsup!
Alex Lifeson talks "Moving Pictures": track-by-track
"'It was a beautiful time,' says guitarist Alex Lifeson, recalling the summer of 1980, when he and his Rush mates (singer-bassist Geddy Lee and drummer-lyricist Neil Peart) rented a house in Stony Lake, Ontario and wrote their eighth album, Moving Pictures, together. 'We'd spend the weeks working, and on weekends we'd drive back to Toronto. Rehearsing, figuring out arrangements – everything just flowed. Electricity was in the air.'...In 2011, the whole of Moving Pictures is being celebrated by Rush on stage – they've been playing the album in its entirety since last year - and on a just-issued special edition Blu-ray CD+DVD package, which renders its seven wondrous cuts with a level of sound clarity that Lifeson calls 'mind-blowing. Richard Chycki, who remixed the album, knew he was working with a part of history, and he did an amazing job. He didn't change the record, just expanded on it. When I heard what he did for first time, I couldn't believe it. It was impeccable. It was Moving Pictures in a 3-D box!'Alex Lifeson walks us through Moving Pictures track-by-track. 'It's a very optimistic album,' he says. 'There's a brightness about it, which I think is why people respond to it so much. Playing it live every night is interesting – The Camera Eye, which we hadn't performed in a long time because it's pretty difficult, has now become one of our favorite songs. The bottom line is, we're very proud of Moving Pictures. Thirty years later, it still feels magical.' - Click here for more from MusicRadar.com, May 9, 2011
Rush Influences Alternative Rock Band Trail Of Dead
"My mom got me into Rush. It's one of those relationships with a band that [I've] been listening to since I was a kid. I respect their longevity. But I also kind of relate to [drummer] Neil Peart, the way he had these literary aspirations with their music. I relate to that in a big way." - Conrad Keely, Trail Of Dead, Baltimore Sun, May 5, 2011
Alex Lifeson Names Pete Townshend The "Greatest Songwriter In Rock"
"The Who were always a major influence on everything that Rush ever did, from the very start. While I'd never question the Beatles' right to be regarded as the greatest songwriters in history, nonetheless what Townshend did with the Who made more of a mark on us. What he's generated is an amazing body of work, with songs so diverse yet also connected by the fact that we're dealing with a man who wasn't ever afraid to give us a glimpse into his world, his thought process, (and) the way he dealt with his problems...(He) made me aware that it was OK to for a great musician to prove he wasn't infallible. That's great quality we've never forgotten in Rush...It's so hard to choose just one song to represent what he's all about. The choice would come down to 'Pictures Of Lily,' 'I Can't Explain,' or 'Run, Run, Run.' They're all so different, yet also have that unmistakable strand of Townshend running through them." - Alex Lifeson, Classic Rock, May 2011 - Thanks to RushFanForever for the headsup!
Dave Clark & The Woodshed Orchestra's "Geddy Lee"
"The Woodshed Orchestra is an ecstatic soul-filled communal multi-headed celebration emancipation experience. The Woodshed will take you higher and make you feel the love you need to succeed. Yes it will. The Woodshed will light up your tree, push all the right buttons, stroke your ego till you come to your senses and start to sing and dance with visions of sugar plum love making times dancing in your mind that seem so real to the taste, touch and feel that you'll shout in happiness and cry tears of joy for being alive." - The Woodshed Orchestra
"Rush And Philosophy" Book Now Available
Rush And Philosophy, by long time Rush and philosophy author Durrell Bowman and co-editor Jim Berti is now shipping. The 288 page paperback book is an anthology of articles and synopses on the topic of Rush and Philosophy. The book's introduction, "Listen to My Music, and Hear What It Can Do" by Jim Berti and Durrell Bowman, as well as a complete listing of the book's contents is now available on Bowman's website. - Thanks to Mark Stench, RushIsABand and John at Cygnus-X1.net for the headsup!"Rush and Philosophy is a fascinating look at the music and lyrics of the band, setting out to address thought-provoking questions. For example, elements of philosophical thinking from the likes of Jean Paul-Sartre, Ayn Rand, and Plato can be found in Peart’s lyrics; does this make Peart a disciple of philosophy? In what ways has technology influenced the band through the decades? Can there be too much technology for a power-trio? Can listening to Rush’s music and lyrics lead listeners to think more clearly, responsibly, and happily? Is the band’s music a 'pleasant distraction' from the singing of Geddy Lee? In what ways is Rush Canadian? How can a band that has been referred to as 'right-wing' also criticize big government, religion, and imperialism?Bowman and Berti first announced they were putting together an anthology of articles and synopses on the topic of Rush And Philosophy back in June 2009.
"Rush and Philosophy is written by an assortment of philosophers and scholars with eclectic and diverse backgrounds who love Rush’s music and who 'get' the meaning and importance of it. They discuss Rush with the enthusiasm of fans and the seriousness of college professors. The book will be a must-read for the many fans who have long known that Rush deserves as much respect as the ideas, concepts, and puzzles about human existence they write and compose music about."
Neil Peart's "News Weather and Sports" - May 2011
Neil Peart has updated his website with his latest edition of "News Weather and Sports". Titled "Eastern Resurrection", he discusses the first leg of the Time Machine Tour, traveling through the eastern United States during the spring time, church signs and billboards, being a "faith-basher", and being long away from home. He briefly summarizes the mileage covered on the first leg of the tour:
"My April travels with Michael on this sequel to last year's Time Machine tour carried us from Florida up to Quebec—thirteen shows and 3,800 miles of motorcycling between them. The weather varied from warm and blossoming across Tennessee to a polar wasteland in Ontario." - Neil Peart
Minor Website Revision
In addition, after 13 years of utilizing my old menu panel which used to reside to the left side of my site, I've replaced it with a modern "mega menu" which not only allows me to reclaim a lot of previously wasted screen real estate, it is also packed with multiple sub menus to help you find related pages (check out the discography "studio albums" sub menu for example). Be sure to refresh your browser to pull in all the new info the site requires; after the first load, it will load quicker than ever before. If you like the change, or hate it, please leave feedback!
2112 Master Recordings/Drum Tracks Coming Soon
"You Will Not Believe This! It is true, in the next few weeks we will tell you how to purchase the original master recordings of RUSH-2112 and how you can listen to Neil’s drum track only, the band with Neil or the band only, and record yourself on drums with Geddy and Alex. You have to be a Newsletter subscriber to get access, so tell your friends to join the DC Newsletter. More about this coming soon!" - Thanks to Frank Ray for the headsup!
The Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit Roller Coaster includes "The Temples of Syrinx"
"The World According to...Rush" - Gibson.com
Gibson.com has added a new feature to their website, "The World According to...Rush", a pseudo-Cliff's Notes compilation of Rush interviews from the last few years succinctly edited down to nine statements.
"Collected here are some of the band members' thoughts on why their chemistry remains strong after 43 years." - Gibson.com, April 27, 2011
Rush on "Sanctuary"
Rush on "Archer"
Early on in the episode Dr. Krieger mentions listening to "Red Barchetta" through his "awesome van's" stereo, and mentions to Archer's Russian defector love interest Katya "Please tell me you like Rush". Later, we see the actual van, and it's painted like the Exit...Stage Left album cover, only it says "Exit...Van Left". Click here to watch the episode. - Thanks to Timmy Samuel for the headsup!
"Machine Head" - Rush Fans
Metal Band Machine Head are in the process of recording the followup to 2007's The Blackening. The band has posted "The Making Of The New Album" video to Youtube, in which they show off their "Jam Room", which includes 2112 among a collection of posters of "all of our favorite bands, the bands that meant something, and helped create what we became". In addition, at the 4:00 minute mark, drummer Dave McClain is wearing a Permanent Waves t-shirt. - Thanks to Frank Ray for the headsup!
Rush Mention on "United States Of Tara"
Last week's episode of Showtime's United States Of Tara included a small Rush reference. During "The Full F@ck You Finger" (aired April 11th), as Marshall is helping his dad Max clean his hoarder grandmother's house, he comes across a second place trophy for Max's band "Beaver Lamp" from a battle of the bands competition. Max explains how bad they were with "we lost to a Rush cover band, that ought to tell you everything you need to know about Beaver Lamp." Ouch! - Thanks to Hank at RushableKingdom for the headsup!
"To his own drum: Rush’s Neil Peart explores the world’s back roads in Far and Away"
The National Post has added a new interview with Neil Peart regarding his new book, Far and Away: A Prize Every Time:It's a wet, white blizzard in downtown Toronto and the waterfront is as deserted as it's ever been. But just around the corner sits arguably the most skilled drummer in the history of rock (at one point, at least). Rush's Neil Peart sits casually in front of an elaborate copper-plated drum kit, respectfully examining each drum head. "Everything's been custom-made," he says, tracing his fingers over African drums, Indian drums, valves and electronic pads. "I was a part of the whole concept process. … I went over 200 different samples [before] choosing these ones for my solo."
Peart looks older than most Fly by Night fans would remember, but he's aged well, built as solid as his drums, with a baritone voice to match. As the prolific drummer of Rush, one of the most successful rock bands to come out of Canada, Peart could easily just coast on his musical legacy. But rock is only one of his passions. In May, after the release of Far and Away: A Prize Every Time, Peart will have authored five books.
BU2B 7" Vinyl Record Store Day Exclusive
"BU2B/Caravan will be released as a limited edition 7" vinyl for Record Store Day in the US & Canada. Limited to only 3,000 copies, the 7" will be on colour vinyl - with either red or white along with a lyric insert." - Rush.com , March 11, 2011
Donna Halper Reminisces About Discovering Rush
After Donna Halper gave 'Working Man' a spin on WMMS, Rush's career took off: "'As soon as I dropped the needle on 'Working Man,' I knew this was a perfect record for Cleveland,' she said. 'It was a working-class town...I remember a city where Republic Steel would literally light the sky on fire at night with pollution.' Phones at the radio station were lighting up, too, with requests for Rush. The buzz soon led to a record deal for the band, which singled out Halper for special thanks in the liner notes of its self-titled debut album...Halper, 64, left Cleveland in 1975 to become director of artists and repertoire at Mercury Records in New York City. She hasn't returned here since then - until now. With a special invitation from Rush, Halper is planning to catch tonight's show at The Q." - Cleveland.com, April 15, 2011
The Girl Who Loved Rush: Donna Halper: "On the occasion of the band's show at The Q—which will be filmed for later DVD release—The Cleveland Sound chatted with a longtime Rush confidante who has North Coast connections that go way back...'Moon Records, yes. Oh, God—the ugliest cover [laughs]. Oye, oye. It was red. I still have the thing—I never parted with it. People ask me all the time, 'Would you sell it?' I'm like, no! Absolutely not. If you look online there's a few pictures of me holding that cover. If you friend me on Facebook you can see it. You'll see me with a couple other fans, and I'm holding the original Rush cover. So yeah, it came in your basic plain brown envelope from a friend of mine—Bob Roper. The bottom line is, I was never expecting to receive it. I didn't know who the band was. And Roper—who I'm still in touch with now and then—was the record promoter of A&M in Canada. That's the label that was co-owned by Herb Alpert, who has had many hits for many years. And they passed on it. But Roper heard something and thought it was a good record, and I had a reputation for both playing new artists as music director, and also for playing Canadian artists. I'd played a number of Canadian artists over the years; I could give you names but I don't know if they'd mean anything to your audience. But he figured I'd be receptive to hearing another Canadian band. It wasn't just out of the blue he sent this record. He figured I would be a good person to send it to. Not like, wow, I'm so marvelous, but I'd already made a lot of friends with people in the Canadian music history. So I got it, and I listened, and I was like, 'My God—you're right!' And the rest, as they say, is history." - TheClevelandSound.com, April 6, 2011
The Rush Fan Film Project Interviews Donna Halper: "Late in 2010, Donna took some time from writing her most recent book on the history of Boston radio (which has since been released) as well as her dissertation and graciously invited us to her home outside of Boston to discuss that little Canadian band. She’s an amazing storyteller and I would highly recommend going to see her speak if she’s ever in your town. We trimmed our discussion down to under 20 minutes, though it easily could have been over an hour." - RushFanFilm.com, April 6, 2011
Rush: A Brief History of Time Part 7
Neil Peart Talks About Moving Pictures With Jim Ladd
30 Years Ago Today: "Countdown"
Thirty years ago today, RUSH were eyewitnesses to the historic first launch of Space Shuttle Columbia from Red Sector A, and later captured the event in the song 'Countdown', which is 'Dedicated with thanks to astronauts Young & Crippen and all the people of NASA for their inspiration and cooperation'.
"We were there! It wasn't easy, but we made it! We had a long-standing invitation to the first launch, and always swore that we would be there no matter what. Little did we know!
"On April 9th we flew into Orlando on a day off, checked into a hotel, and slept until about four A.M., when we had to leave for our rendezvous at the Air Force Base near the Cape.
"Not YYZ" Iphone/IPad App
Geddy Lee on the cover of "Bass Guitar" April 2011
"Rush: The Fountain of Surround" - Sound&Vision
Rush: The Fountain of Surround: "Chronicling Rush’s decade-long journey toward embracing the 5.1 format—even for catalog studio material. In anticipation of the 30th anniversary reissue of Rush's truly seminal Moving Pictures as both CD+DVD (April 5) and CD+BD (May 3) deluxe editions, with PCM 5.1 and DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround-sound mixes by Richard Chycki, I'm dipping into my personal Rush interview archive to present a truly exclusive, incremental look at how the band’s attitude toward bringing its vaunted studio material into the surround-sound arena has literally changed from 'no' to 'go' over the last decade." - SoundAndVisionMag.com, April 5, 2011
Rush’s Fountain of Surround, Part 2: Moving Predictions: "'It's a timeless record with so much detail,' says surround-sound remix guru Richard Chycki about Rush's 1981 masterpiece, Moving Pictures. 'I’m glad you’ve clued into all of the nuances.' Chycki is referring to what I said to him last week about the PCM 5.1 and DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mixes he did for MP’s 30th anniversary reissue...I’ve unearthed this related 5.1 treat. Back in February 2009, Chycki and I talked exclusively about his surround work for both the audio and live video releases for Rush's 2007 album Snakes & Arrows. That interview was initially intended to be a companion piece for my interview with Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson, but for various reasons not worth getting into, it remained on the virtual shelf — until now." - SoundAndVisionMag.com, April 5, 2011
Benedictum Covers "2112 Overture/Temples of Syrinx"
Dominion, the third album by US metal band Benedictum, was released March 8th. Included as a bonus track is their cover of "2112 Overture/Temples of Syrinx"; vocalist Veronica Freeman recently discussed how she was once a "closet" Rush fan:"I'm a huge Rush fan, I love 'em. I just don't talk about it much because everybody wants to talk to me about the Dio stuff. Rush has always resonated with me, but I knew so many people that didn't like them back in the day because they didn't sound evil enough (laughs), so I became a closet Rush fan. I had always wanted to sing 'Temples'. I remember back in the times before CDs, when dinosaurs roamed the earth, I had my wannabe souped-up Firebird blasting Rush on the cassette deck. The stereo was worth more than the car (laughs). I had the windows rolled up so nobody else could hear while I tried to hit those notes (laughs)." - Benedictum vocalist Veronica Freeman, CarlBegai.com, March 28, 2011 Thanks to RushIsABand for the headsup
Rolling Stone Readers Pick the Top Ten Bassists of All Time - Geddy #4
"If Geddy Lee's only role in Rush was to play the bass he'd be unbelievably accomplished. The fact that he does it while singing and playing keyboards proves that the man is almost a freak of nature. Few singers in the history of rock could have handled this triple duty. The group has occasionally flirted with the idea of adding a fourth member to their stage show to ease Lee's load, but they always decide that fans only want to see the three members of Rush onstage. He manages it all by playing bass pedals during his keyboard parts. The band is currently performing their 1980 LP Moving Pictures on a world tour." - Rolling Stone Readers Pick the Top Ten Bassists of All Time
Coming in at #5 is Primus' Les Claypool, who is quoted with these words:
Coming in at #5 is Primus' Les Claypool, who is quoted with these words:
"When I saw my first Rush concert, I spent the whole time watching Geddy's hands," Claypool told Bass Player Magazine. "There were so many things I didn't know; I didn't even know there were such things as roundwound strings. I'd had that Memphis a year and a half without changing the strings, and here I was trying to sound like Geddy Lee and Chris Squire." - Thanks to Matt Kelly for the headsup!
Geddy Lee Discusses His Favorite Baseball Game
As Major League Baseball kicks off this year's season, the TorontoStar has just posted "The old ball game brings together Canadians of all stripes" where famous Canadian discuss the greatest game on Earth.
"Rush lead vocalist Geddy Lee is no stranger to Blue Jays fans. He’s been a longtime fan himself, and has attended hundreds of games through the good and not-so-good times. When asked about his fave game, the Toronto native knew right away: 'Game 6 of the 1992 World Series in Atlanta,' Lee said this week, just as the band was leaving Toronto for Tampa to open a tour. 'Sitting with my brother Allan and beside Candy Maldonado's dentist from Puerto Rico and the wives of the Blue Jay coaches...an island of Jays fans in a sea of Braves T-shirts, cheering in the top of the 11th inning as Dave Winfield hit a double off of Charlie Liebrandt to drive in two runs, which would lead to the Blue Jays capturing the Holy Grail, a long-awaited World Series championship. 'Truly the greatest Blue Jay play for me...Even the 1993 championship and Joe Carter's jaw-dropping home run could not compare to that spectacular moment in Atlanta." - TorontoStar, March 31, 2011
Weekly Drawing To Win A Meet And Greet With RUSH
"Every week RUSH BACKSTAGE will draw two winners to win a pair of Meet and Greet passes to meet RUSH during the Time Machine 2011 tour. The winners will meet members of the band, before the show. These lucky people will have the opportunity to say hello and have their picture taken with the guys! In order to qualify to win the prize, entrants MUST already have in their possession tickets to a Rush Time Machine concert during the Time Machine 2011 tour. Rush Backstage will not be providing concert tickets to the winners." - Click here to enter
Time Machine Tour 2011 iCalendar
Nancy Wilson Talks About Geddy Lee's Credit On Heart's "Red Velvet Car"
Update: Last August 31st, Heart released their album Red Velvet Car. The album was produced and engineered by Ben Mink and David Leonard respectively, both of whom had the same credits on Geddy Lee's My Favorite Headache.Geddy Lee is credited with "Whistle" on the track "Death Valley". Engineer David Leonard previously explained that the "Whistle" credit was an inside joke made by Ben Mink:
"...an inside joke between Ben Mink and Nancy Wilson...Nancy heard some hi pitched thing in 'Death Valley' and Ben said 'it's probably Geddy whistling'. They gave Geddy credit. That's the story." - David Leonard, September 2010.Nancy Wilson recently discussed this in more detail on New Mexico's KZZR radio:
"When Ben was mixing Red Velvet Car, Geddy Lee was around, and he got the voice of Geddy Lee hidden in the beginning of the "Death Valley" song. It's sort of a secret signal from Geddy." - Nancy Wilson, KZZR 94rock.com, March 24, 2011
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