During the September 18th, 2010 show at the Jiffy Lube Live venue in Bristow Virginia, both Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson sat down with a reporter from the Brazilian TV program "Hoje em Dia" for an interview.

Before the actual interview, which can be viewed below, the video segment included a back-stage tour and conversations with several members of the tour crew. It also focused quite a bit on the 'Spider Lighting' that Rush is employing during this tour.

Though primarily in Spanish, the actual interview segments with Geddy and Alex are in English and sub-titled in Spanish.

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Second Update: Click HERE to view the John Roberts and Alex Lifeson jamming together.

Update: The CNN interview is now online. Thanks RushFanForever.

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According to a posting on their official Facebook Page, Rush will be interviewed by John Roberts on CNN. The piece will air twice on CNN 'American Morning' between 6:00 and 9:00 AM on Thursday, September 30th, 2010. It will also repeat on Kyra Phillips' show between the 9:15-9:45 window and appear on www.cnn.com

Canadian-born journalist John Roberts also made an appearance in Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage.

Thanks to reader Carmful for the headsup!

Billboard Magazine has just announced that Rush will be named this year's Legend of Live at the 2010 Billboard Touring Awards in New York on November 4th, 2010.

The Legend of Live honors groups or individuals who have made significant and lasting contributions to live music and the touring business, and acknowledges the recipients' commitment to the art of performing live and reaching fans through the concert experience.

Previous award recipients include Rolling Stones promoter Michael Cohl (2004), Cellar Door Concerts founder Jack Boyle (2005), Sir Elton John (2006), pioneering agent Frank Barsalona (2007), the Allman Brothers Band (2008) and Ozzy Osbourne (2009).

The Billboard Touring Awards wraps the 7th annual Billboard Touring Conference, which takes place November 3rd - 4th at the Sheraton in New York City, New York.

For more information on the announcement, click HERE.

Thanks to Ed from RushIsABand for passing along the news.

According to numerous news reports, Rush are to receive a "Living Legend" honour at Classic Rock magazine's annual awards. The band are expected to fly to London to collect the title at the Marshall Classic Rock Roll Of Honour Awards on November 10th.

Alice Cooper is scheduled to host the event at north London's Roundhouse venue.

Previous recipients of the award include Iggy Pop, Ozzy Osbourne, Jimmy Page and Motorhead frontman Lemmy.

Geddy Lee commented: ?We are thrilled to receive the ?Living Legend? award from Classic Rock. It?s much better than the alternative! Seriously, we are humbled and very appreciative.?

Click HERE for more information on this honour.

The latest installment of the Guitar Hero video game series, Warriors of Rock was released today. As we reported back in July, the sixth installment of the series features Rush's 2112. From the original Rolling Stone News Story:

It's official: Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock has the most epically prog-rock sequence of any music video game yet. Rush have teamed with Activision for the fall release, which features a story-based Quest Mode that includes with hero wannabes playing the entirety of "2112," a seven-part suite from the Canadian band's 1976 album of the same name. The story of the game's final segment roughly follows Rush's opus, and will be narrated by lead singer Geddy Lee and guitarist Alex Lifeson. "In our story, the caves of 2112 are where our hero finds the lost guitar," says Lee. "This rediscovery of music is much like the Guitar Hero warriors' journey to find the Demi-God of Rock's Legendary guitar, which has been trapped in a cavern."

Click HERE to order your copy of Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock from Amazon.Com

Thanks to Eric from Power Windows for the reminder about the release date.

Update: Fans aren't the only ones upset about Rush's snub. Eddie Trunk just posted a scathing entry in his blog where he lashes out at the Hall of Fame. Additionally, Scot McFadyen, who directed Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage commented 'It's unfortunate' in an Entertainment Weekly article titled Rush documentary director on their latest Rock and Roll Hall of Fame snub: 'It's unfortunate'.

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The nominees for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2011 have been announced and, as shocking as it may sound, Rush has, once again, been excluded from the ballot. The band has been eligible for induction since 1999 yet despite growing popularity, sold-out tours, award-winning documentaries, glowing critical praise and the most dedicated fan base in the industry, the 'powers-that-be' of the Hall of Fame continue to dismiss Rush.

Recent articles, like 21 - No, 12 Geeky Reasons Why Rush Should Be Inducted Into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame from Wired.Com continue to make a case for the band's induction, yet all attempts continually fall of deaf ears.

Though fans are becoming less concerned with the entire induction fiasco, as is Rush themselves, it still annoys many (myself included) when the list of nominees contain talents that are seemingly less deserving than Rush. Take this year's list of nominees which include:

   Alice Cooper
   Beastie Boys
   Bon Jovi
   Chic
   Neil Diamond
   Donovan
   Dr. John
   J. Geils Band
   LL Cool J
   Darlene Love
   Laura Nyro
   Donna Summer
   Joe Tex
   Tom Waits
   Chuck Willis

Not to take anything away from (most) of these artists, but when comparing the extensive career, the unending reach and the musical prowess of Rush to this list, few (if any) can hold a candle to our favorite Canadian Power Trio.

So be it. Another September has come, another induction into the increasingly pathetic institution has once again passed Rush by, but life goes on.

For those interested, the 26th Annual Induction Ceremony will take place on March 14, 2011 at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will be televised live on Fuse, Madison Square Garden?s national music television network.

The long-awaited 2112 & Moving Pictures - Classic Albums documentary is now available.

Click HERE to order the DVD.

Click HERE to order the Blu-Ray.

The acclaimed "Classic Albums" series is a definitive collection of the stories behind the albums that form the soundtrack to our lives. The latest addition to the series tells the story behind the making of two legendary albums from Rush. "2112" was the album that saw Rush break through to major chart success, going to No.1 in their native Canada and Top 75 in the USA where it would eventually be certified triple platinum. "Moving Pictures" opened them to a mass audience for the first time and remains the biggest selling album of their career. It also went to No.1 in Canada and went quadruple platinum there whilst hitting No.3 in both the UK and USA. Rush members Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart talk us through the making of the albums, together with original producer Terry Brown via interviews, demonstrations, archive videos and use of the original multi-track tapes.

Both the DVD and Blu-ray editions of "2112 & Moving Pictures - Classic Albums" will feature over 50 minutes of additional interviews, archive footage and new demonstrations not included in the broadcast version.

For more information on the documentary, click HERE.

Have you ever wondered about the music that's playing over the loud speakers at a Rush concert before the band goes on? It's commonly referred to as the House Music List; at least it is in the Rush circles. During the Snakes & Arrows tour, Neil put together the house list (See it HERE.) and, not surprisingly, he's also the mastermind behind the music on the Time Machine Tour.

For those of you wondering what the complete list was this time around, wonder no further. Here's the complete list, courtesy of Rush's tour photographer and pyrotechnician John Arrowsmith.

Tommy Overture - The Who
School - Supertramp
Hells Bells - Bruford
Dancing With the Moonlit Knight - Genesis
Aqualung - Jethro Tull
I Ain't Superstitious - Jeff Beck Group
Peaches en Regalia - Frank Zappa
Knife Edge - ELP
I've Seen All Good People - Yes
One of These Days - Pink Floyd
What is and What Should Never Be - Led Zeppelin
Cross-Eyed Mary - Jethro Tull
Journey From Mariabronn - Kansas
All Along the Watchtower - Jimi Hendrix
In the Dead of Night - UK
Speed King - Deep Purple
Watcher of the Skies - Genesis
A Quick One While He's Away - The Who (Live from "Rolling Stones Rock & Roll Circus")
In the Court of the Crimson King - King Crimson
Locomotive Breath - Jethro Tull
Fool's Overture - Supertramp
Good Times, Bad Times - Led Zeppelin
The Prophet - Yes
Young Man Blues - The Who
Spanish Castle Magic - Jimi Hendrix
I Know What I Like - Genesis
Hush - Deep Purple
From the Beginning - ELP
Carry On My Wayward Son - Kansas
Roundabout - Yes
Time - Pink Floyd
Thick As a Brick - Jethro Tull (10 min. live version)

I would be remised if I didn't point out that my brother, Mario, was picking off the title and artist of nearly every song on this list when we attended the July 24th Jones Beach show.

Thanks to Ed from RushIsABand for the news.

Science Fiction author Kevin J. Anderson, whose many novels have been largely inspired by the music of Rush, recently posted a blog entry on his MySpace page called Rush and a Mountaintop. In the entry, Anderson, who has been close friends with Neil Peart for years, discusses the two Rush concerts that took place last month at the Red Rocks Amphitheater in Denver, Colorado as well as some collaborative conversations he had with Neil during that time.

It'll come as no surprise to my fans that I have long enjoyed the music of Rush. I've been going to their concerts since 1983, and Neil Peart's lyrics have inspired a great many stories and scenes in my writing.

My first novel, Resurrection, Inc., is closely based on the Rush album "Grace Under Pressure." (It's been out of print for a while, but we've just made it available in ebook format on the Kindle and for other readers http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/17515.) I mentioned the Rush inspiration in the acknowledgments of the novel, and when I received my author's copies, I autographed a copy each for Neil, Geddy, and Alex, and sent them off to the record label?and about a year later I received a letter from Neil, and we've been in touch ever since.

Anderson's entry also includes some great photos of the surrounding area as well as a few pictures of Neil tackling a mountaintop.

Click HERE to read the entire entry.

Rush is now heading into the final week-plus of the North American leg of their Time Machine Tour. It's hard to believe that the tour, which began on June 29th, is nearly over for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere. Of course, Rush will be heading to South America on October 8th for four dates with the closing performance of the tour to take place on October 17th in Santiago, Chile.

So as we approach a time where the tour will be viewed in a retrospective fashion, I thought it time to publish the sixth - and by far, the largest - installment of Rush: A Brief History of Time. There are some changes this time around. First off, the main BHoT Page, along with being indexed for each of the six installments of old Rush articles and interviews, now includes a complete listing of all the articles in chronological order.

Also, because of the size of the sixth installment (50 entries in all), I decided to only showcase a few of those entries on the 'News Page'. Of course, all of the 50 entries for the sixth installment can be read HERE.

Special thanks go out to Heiko Klages of Germany, RushFanForever, Eric Hansen from Power Windows, Ed Stenger from RushIsABand and Patrick Vella who generously contributed to this sixth installment. Thanks Guys!

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Up first are two articles from Billboard Magazine that appeared back in 1974. The first article, titled Rush, Mercury U.S. Deal talks about the signing of Rush by Mercury records and includes some record sales of their debut album. The second Billboard article from 1974 is called SRO Expands to Promo, Productions, Publishing. This one focuses on the growing success of SRO which was coupled with the growing success of Rush at the time.

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Up next is one of several entries coming out of the Sounds UK publications. This entry, titled We Have Assumed Control was written by Geoff Barton and discusses, in detail, a Rush concert in support of A Farewell to Kings that took place in Sheffield, UK.

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Up next is an interesting, lengthy piece that was published in the June 1979 edition of Canadian Musician Magazine. This one is simply called RUSH and focuses on the band's history and evolution from concept pieces to tighter arrangements that they were working on in preparation for Permanent Waves.

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Moving into 1982, Alex Lifeson appeared on the cover of the October 7th edition of Kerrang! Magazine which had a nice article on the band called New World Men. The piece was written by Steve Gett who also penned the Rush biography Success Under Pressure.

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Up next is a piece that appeared in the May 21st, 1983 edition of Sounds UK. Titled The Rush Sanctuary Breached and penned by prolific Rush scribe Geoff Barton, this two page spread has Geoff talking with the band about their history, Signals Tour and more.

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We'll enter and exit 1985 with a full page advertisement for Power Windows (available on Chrome Cassette or Album) :) and head into 1986 with a great piece that appeared in the January 1986 edition of Modern Drummer Magazine. Titled simply Neil Peart and written by Scott K. Fish, this lengthy Q&A session with Neil is actually quite revealing. Definitely one to check out.

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Next up is an article that appeared in the August 3rd, 1996 edition of Billboard Magazine. The article, titled Rush Aims For New Generation was written by Paul Verna and discusses the release of Test For Echo and how the band's sound was continuing to evolve over the years.

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Exiting the 90's and the 20th century, we'll move ahead to 2007 where Geddy Lee was the focus in the July 2007 edition of Bass Guitar Magazine. The article, titled Back to Basics was written by J.D. Considine and included photos by Dale May. It was essentially a look at the writing and recording process behind Snakes & Arrows.

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Again, this was just a small sampling of the 50 articles that made up the sixth installment of Rush: A Brief History of Time. Check out the rest via this LINK.

Enjoy-

Exactly 2112 days ago (or on December 9th, 2004), the Rush section of www.cygnus-x1.net officially went online, and what a journey it has been. Creating and maintaining a Rush related website was something I always wanted to do over the years, but never really had the opportunity to pursue. In fact, that desire stemmed from my first foray of maintaining a Rush-related online presence which dated back to the late 1980's. Back then, I ran a moderately popular Atari BBS called Skull Island. During the 3+ years that Skull Island was online, nearly 30,000 visitors made their way to my little corner of the online world, discussing all things Rush (along with some other assorted topics). Not too bad for a paltry little one-visitor-at-a-time, 300-baud system.

So it was that experience of maintaining a Rush-related online presence that always stuck with me over the years. Finally in early 2004 my plans for Cygnus-X1.Net began to take shape and on June 1st of that year, the site went online. And even though the Rush content wasn't available at the initial launch of the site, work on what eventually would come to be "A Tribute to Rush" was already underway.

Fast forward to December '04 and the first iteration of the Rush section of Cygnus-X1.Net went online. For those of you who never visited the site back then, you can see the style of the site via this link. I still look back fondly at that 'Sphere-themed' home page of the site in those days.

So here we are, nearly six years and 15 million page views later and we're still going strong. It's hard to believe I've been at this for so long, and yet harder to believe how quickly the time has flown by. Cygnus-X1.Net has had its share of ups and down (mostly ups), but none, and I mean none of this would have been possible without the never-ending support, words of encouragement, occasional donations and numerous Rush-related contributions to this site that so many of you have made. Thank you, all! Very special thanks also have to go out to Eric Hansen of Power Windows and Ed Stenger of RushIsABand for their support, guidance and friendship over the years. Thanks Guys! And of course, beyond all of that, my thanks go out to Rush for providing the most critical ingredient to the creation - and longevity - of this site: Inspiration.

2112 days down ... many, many more to come.

Back in July, Rush released 'The Rush App' for the Apple iPhone and iPod Touch. Now Rush has announced that the app is also available for phones and devices on the Android platform.

For the first time ever Rush has helped develop a fun and useful application for the hard-core Rush fans. Get exclusive up to the minute news, music, and more in the palm of your hands.

See brand new content and be a part of all things Geddy, Alex & Neil as they embark on the Time Machine Tour. Follow this application. We will continuously be featuring updates and improvements.

-Directions, ticket info, and a full tour itinerary
-Find the nearest places to dine, stay, points of interest, and transportation near each venue.
-Rush News: Up to the minute information on all Rush activities
-Rush Radio: More than 30 of your favorite Rush songs embedded in the application. Over $40 worth of music included as well as interesting facts on every song compiled by the band. Pick a song, and let it play while you explore the other functions on the Rush application.
-30 Wallpapers: for the first time available, beautiful and formatted for the iPhone and the iPod touch, include original album artwork and behind the scenes, new & vintage photos that can be emailed or saved as your wallpaper.
-Interactive game with Geddy, Alex and Neil: includes rare audio clips. It's a feature in this application that will be sure to shake you up.

A dedicated website for the Rush App has been set up at www.rushapps.com.

Update: According to David Leonard, who spoke to Ben Mink about the 'whistle' credit given to Geddy Lee, it was "...an inside joke between Ben and Nancy Wilson. Ben says "Nancy heard some hi pitched thing in 'Death Valley'" and he (Ben) said "it's probably Geddy whistling". They gave Geddy credit. That's the story." And there you have it. An inside joke. Thanks to reader RushFanForever for getting to the bottom of this.

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Geddy Lee makes a guest appearance on the new Heart album Red Velvet Car on a track titled Death Valley. Apparently, Geddy contributed to the song by playing a whistle. This has spawned some confusion on the part of Rush fans, especially considering that the normal sound of a whistle isn't readily apparent on the track. Reader RushFanForever, who let me know about this story, has been reaching out to people in the 'Heart' camp to understand the nature of the 'whistle' that Geddy used. We'll let you know if anything new is uncovered. Interestingly enough, the album was produced by Ben Mink and engineered by David Leonard, both of whom had the same credits on Geddy Lee's My Favorite Headache.

Meanwhile, Nelly Furtado, the Canadian pop singer, has performed a cover of "Time Stand Still" for the film Score: A Hockey Musical which premiered at the Toronto Film Festival last week and is expected in theaters on October 22nd.

Ms. Furtado also recently performed the song live at the Ravinia Festival on Friday, September 3rd. You can check out the video performance via YouTube.

Thanks to RushFanForever, Eric from Power Windows and Ed from RushIsABand for sharing and spreading the news.

Neil Peart has a posted a September update to the News, Weather, and Sports section of his website. The entry is titled 'CRUEL SUMMER' and has Neil discussing some 'issues' surrounding his motorcycle travels during the Time Machine Tour. Neil also touches upon various concert shows, such as the Salt Lake City date which opened up the second leg of the tour:

Winding down through Big Cottonwood Canyon to Salt Lake City, we crossed that ever-expanding conurbation from east to west, arriving in plenty of time for a good show at the amphitheater that night. (After a break, my bandmates and I often feel as though we have probably forgotten all the songs, but of course they come right out again?plus we?re all rested and refreshed, and don?t hurt anywhere yet, so that first show back is always a pleasure for us.)

Neil also talks about some adventures leading up to and including the Las Vegas date:

Riding my own motorcycle out of the MGM Grand Arena that night after the show was certainly a novel experience (unique, even, as I have never actually left a show by motorcycle), and I confess that I was mildly thrilled at having our two motorcycles led by two police bikes, with flashing lights and everything (nice to have them in front of me, for once, instead of behind).

But ultimately, the loneliness of being on the road, away from home, is what really hits home in this piece:

After thirty-six years of touring life, I'm pretty good at blocking out thoughts that will only make me feel bad-but it is especially hard to maintain that "distance" with the video calls we've also been trying: looking right at your home, your family, your dog, and not being there.

But if I couldn't be there, at least I got to be here, sitting by a lake on an August evening that was both beautiful and cruel.

You can read the entire entry via this LINK.

Ah, September; when the weather turns brisk, the days grow shorter, the leaves begin to change color and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame meet to discuss this year's induction class. We all know how this story has ended over the years; Rush is summarily ignored from the ballot and most fans, though annoyed at the ommission of the band, are fine with it.

While the nominations for the 2011 inductions haven't occurred yet, Wired.Com has posted an interesting article on Rush's ommission called 21 ? No, 12 Geeky Reasons Why Rush Should Be Inducted Into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

This month, the nominating committee of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame meets to assemble a slate to vote on for 2011's induction class. The factors that go into deciding who should be considered for induction aren't well known - this is a pretty secretive group. What is well known is that when you look at the list of previous nominees and inductees, there is a huge, glaring omission from the artists honored by the committee. Rush, the most successful power trio of all time and a group that has sold more consecutive gold and platinum records than everyone except the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, has never even had their name on the ballot.

But there is more to the story than just the numbers, oh yes. Being geeks, we can come up with some geeky reasons why Rush should be given this one little victory and be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. For your consideration:

You can read all of their 12 interesting reasons HERE. Once the nominations are in, we'll be sure to let you know that Rush didn't make the cut again.

Thanks to Eric from Power Windows for passing along the article.

Tonight in Boston, at the TD Garden, Rush begins the final leg of the North American portion of their 2010 Time Machine Tour. The next month will find the band traveling through parts of the Northeast before heading west to play dates in Oklahoma and Texas. They'll then head back east for dates in Georgia and Florida where the Time Machine Tour of North America will end. The remainder of October will have Rush visiting South America, with dates in Brazil, Argentina and Chile.

As all Rush fans know, the last (and only time) the band made it down to South America was back in 2002 in support of the Vapor Trails tour. That, of course, led to the filming and recording of Rush in Rio. However there's a possibility that Rush won't wait for the return to South American before filming/recording the Time Machine Tour. A DJ at the Pittsburgh Rock Radio station WDVE 102.5 indicated yesterday that the band was planning on filming the September 16th show at the new Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh. The indoor hockey arena, home to the Pittsburgh Penguins, is a brand new facility and could make for a very good recording venue.

There have been other filming rumors during the tour, most notably the two shows at the Red Rocks Amphitheater in Denver, CO, which didn't come to fruition but the Pittsburgh venue is promising. After all, Pittsburgh was the first city where Rush played with their new drummer Neil Peart :)

For all of you attending the shows over the next few weeks, enjoy.

Little Kids Rock is an organization established in 2002 that realizes the importance of music and how it can benefit children in many ways. They provide free rock n' roll instruments like drums and guitars as well as a musical education to students in under funded schools without proper music programs. So far the program has reached over 1,200 schools and over 54,000 students, helping kids in over 23 cities all over the United States.

On top of everything else they do, Little Kids Rock is about to host their second annual "Right To Rock" event which will take place in New York City at the B.B. King Blues Club and Grill. The benefit will take place on October 21st from 6:30 to 9:30 and will feature live music, awards, and the announced winners of a very special auction containing custom, one-of-a-kind guitars (along with other rock memorabilia) from some of the greatest players out there.

Each of the thirty artists involved in the auction have personally decorated a single Fender Stratocaster with their own design, making them rare, one-of-a-kind items. Other items like Neil Peart?s cymbals and drumsticks signed by Ringo Starr will also be auctioned.

For more information, check out the Little Kids Rocks website.

Thanks to Eric from Power Windows for passing along the story.

Update: Gibson.Com just posted a short biography about Neil in celebration of his birthday. The article is titled This Day in Music Spotlight: Neil Peart?s Journey to Rush.

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Today marks the 58th birthday of Rush Drummer and Lyricist Extraordinaire Neil Peart. Neil (born Neil Ellwood Peart) came into the world on September 12th in 1952 Hamilton, Ontario.

He grew up in Port Dalhousie, Ontario, Canada (now part of St. Catharines) working the occasional odd job including, as we learned last year, a Parts Manager for his father Tractor Supply company. His true ambition, however, was to become a professional musician. During adolescence, he floated from regional band to regional band and dropped out of high school to pursue a career as a full-time drummer. After a discouraging stint in England to concentrate on his music, Peart returned home, where he joined local Toronto band Rush in the summer of 1974. And the rest, as they say, is history.

With Rush on a mini hiatus (at least for the next two days), Neil is able to celebrate his birthday with wife, Carrie, and their now one-year old daughter Olivia Louise.

Happy Birthday, Neil. Many happy returns.

The Recording Industry Association of American (RIAA) has just certified Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage as a Double Platinum video seller. Because of how the RIAA views sales of videos, especially those with multiple discs, this likely indicates sales of at least 100,000 copies since the video's release about 2 months ago.

Two other Rush concert videos received updated certifications as well. Rush in Rio has now been certified as a 7X Multi Platinum Seller while the R30 Concert video was certified as a 5X Multi Platinum Seller.

You can check out all of Rush's official certifications via this LINK. On a related note, and as of this writing, both Vapor Trails and Snakes & Arrows remain the only two Rush studio albums that have yet to be certified Gold (sales of 500,000) by the RIAA.

Thanks to Ed from RushIsABand for passing along the news.

In celebration of a quarter century as the UK's best-selling drumming magazine, Rhythm has interviewed a host of drum legends, including Neil Peart. Other interviewed drummers include Chad Smith, Terry Bozzio, Nicko McBrain, Steve Gadd, Travis Barker, Vinnie Colaiuta, Mike Portnoy and more.

For more information on the 25th Anniversary edition of the magazine, click HERE.

Thanks to Eric from Power Windows for passing along the news.

For the fifth consecutive year, Alex Lifeson will be donating an original painting to the "A Brush of Hope" auction which benefits the Kidney Foundation of Canada.

"The foundation invites celebrities ? mostly Canadian ? to create a work of art on canvas, which will be auctioned off on eBay to raise money for kidney research in Canada...Last year the project raised $13,000. This year, (founder) Tim Fox hopes to raise at least $15,000, which shouldn?t be too difficult, given the list of celebrities he?s already got on board...'Alex is definitely a highlight for us,' says Fox. 'We asked him if he would paint for us, and I think, to be honest, he was very pleasantly surprised with how well his first painting sold. It sold for $3,000, and that really got him excited, so he painted the next year and it sold for $5,700. He has been with us every step of the way.'"

Additional information on the benefit program can be read via this article: Turns Out Guitarist Lifeson Has a Few Goods Licks on Canvas.

To view some of the available paintings, check out the A Brush Of Hope Facebook page. Additional paintings, including Alex's submission, will be posted over the next several weeks. The auction for the paintings will be held on Ebay.ca between October 21st and October 31st.

Update: Click HERE for a review of the show from the NJ Star Ledger.

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Last night, before a capacity crowd at the PNC Arts Center in Holmdel, New Jersey, Rush went head to head against the once-fierce Hurricane Earl. Fortunately for all on hand, the hurricane provided nothing more than a nice cloud-filled sky and a brief downpour about an hour before show time. Geddy even went on to say "Hurricane? What hurricane? We've got a bunch of songs for you instead..." which, of course, was met by a roar of applause.

I was on hand for the show, my second of this tour following the Jones Beach date. Also along for the ride were long time Rush fans and friends Joey P. and Ray M. We enjoyed a few hours of tail-gating prior to the show, dealt with one dead car battery along the way, and shared many memories of past Rush shows and our varied collection of Rush paraphernalia.

The show itself was nothing short of spectacular as all three members were clearly on their game last night. Alex had a few guitar issues along the way (broken strings, failing guitar straps and a non-responsive axe during Closer to the Heart), but unless you were looking right at him during those moments, you would have never guessed anything was wrong. The music was loud but tight, Geddy's vocals were truly amazing, hitting the high notes of yesteryear, particularly on Free Will and the Professor was flashing smiles at his band mates throughout the night as he effortlessly mastered his drums.

And then there was the crowd.

From our perspective, the capacity crowd remained standing throughout the entire show -- fists pumping, air drumming, and singing along with every song. The new tracks, BU2B and Caravan were enthusiastically welcomed and the completion of Moving Pictures was met with a tremendous ovation. The magic continued as Neil Peart's drum solo, which has without question evolved since the Jones Beach show earlier in the tour, was mesmerizing. At one point, there was literally complete silence from the crowd as they seemingly were all transfixed on the Professor in center stage. That was amazing.

The only minor down-side to last night's show was the lack of use of the 'Spider Lighting'. While the lighting was turned on throughout many songs, the structure never descended on and around the band as it did in shows past. For those taking in the show for the first time, they obviously didn't notice. But after seeing the amazing life-like structure earlier, I was anxiously awaiting its return. I'm not sure if there were technical difficulties with the movement of the lighting, or if the venue was somehow not conducive to it. Regardless, it was a minor setback on an otherwise fantastic night.

Also during the show, I snapped off nearly 200 photos during the event. The best 140 of them are now online via this link. Enjoy.

Rush will now take an eleven-day break before resuming the Time Machine Tour in Boston, MA on September 14th.

Alex Lifeson is one of the many celebrity wine lovers to be profiled in Mark Oldman?s new book, OLDMAN?S BRAVE NEW WORLD OF WINE. In the book ? a fun-filled and carefully-researched tour of the best, most affordable, and most adventurous wines from around the globe ? Alex discusses his favorite wines, wine-based experiences, and a few tricks he?s picked up over the years.

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

Alex's comments join those from dozens of other notable wine lovers, including actors Hilary Swank and Matthew McConaughey, novelist Jay McInerney, designer Zac Posen, and even Bill Nye, the ?Science Guy.? OLDMAN?S BRAVE NEW WORLD OF WINE will be available at book retailers everywhere on September 6th, but is available now at Amazon.Com.

For more information, view the book?s official trailer (www.markoldman.com/videos/brave_trailer) or visit MarkOldman.com.

Thanks to Elizabeth Fox for passing along the news.

I'm back from a mini-vacation and am preparing to see Rush tomorrow (Friday) night at the PNC Arts Center in Holmdel, NJ. There's just one small problem with those plans. Okay, maybe one big problem: Hurricane Earl. The Category 4 Storm is headed right for the New Jersey coast and is expected to enter the area (you guessed it) Friday night. Perhaps we'll get our own custom Hurricane Rush Baseball caps from this event :) Regardless, I'm sure the show will go on -- but a hurricane as a back drop to a Rush concert will certainly be ... interesting. I'll have pictures and news from the show over the weekend.

In the mean time, here are some notable Rush stories from the past several days.

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Alex Lifeson Interviews: Alex has held several interviews of late, one on his recent birthday, to discuss the tour, the upcoming album, his guitar work and solos and more. The first lengthy interview appeared in MusicRadar and is called Alex Lifeson Interview: Rush Guitarist on Steampunk, Solos and Moving Pictures. This interview touched on a lot of subjects but one that caught my attention more than others was the possibility that Rush would re-record Caravan and BU2B once the band re-enters the studio:

Caravan and Brought Up To Believe are pretty rocking. Are they a pretty good indicator of what we can expect from Clockwork Angels?

"I don't know. I'm curious to see how it all develops. When we finish the tour, we'll review the songs we wrote. There's bound to be some changes and modifications. In fact, I think both Caravan and BU2B will be re-recorded."

Really? Why is that?

"Because they've grown. And, you know, why not? We'll see what happens and see if we can better them - although we are happy with them as they are now.

"The title track, Clockwork Angels, is becoming quite an epic, so we'll have to see where that goes. It's going to be a lot of fun getting back in the studio, especially at this point in the game, when we're playing at our peak."

There's also another short interview/article that appeared on the Gibson Guitar website called Alex Lifeson on Rush's New Cool which is somewhat derivative of the MusicRadar piece.

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RUSHCON/FORCE/TEN Wrap Up: The 10th Annual RushCon convention, which took place in both Las Vegas and Toronto, was another huge success. The conventions this year "had over 300+ attendees, over $7500.00 raised for 2 charities, 2 guest speakers, 1 guest performer, 1 surprise guest, countless beers consumed, 9 hours of Rush concerts, 2 cities, 1 movie theatre, 3 Meet and Greets given away, 23 door prizes, 83 trivia questions answered, 62 auction items bid upon, 83 RushCon shirts sold, 309 hugs given, 18 songs sung at late night parties, and countless memories etched into our happy little brains."

Check out the complete wrap-up write up which includes numerous pictures via this LINK.

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Rush "ICONS" - Now Available: Rush "ICONS", the latest compilation from Universal, is now available and can be purchased via this LINK. The "ICONS" series includes artists ranging from KISS to Diana Ross, and have the tag line "Great Artists, Great Songs, Great Value!", and include "12 hits for only $7.99". The "featured songs include their debut album's 'Working Man,' 2112's 'The Twilight Zone' and classic rock radio staple 'Limelight.'". Despite this being yet another compilation, the low price and non-standard track listing has actually generated some decent sales thus far. I'll have liner notes and images (if there are any) uploaded within the next week.

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Neil Peart Featured In September's "Musician's Friend" : The September Percussion Issue of the Musician's Friend catalog features Neil Peart on the cover and well as a foldout photo of Neil at his Time Machine Tour Kit. Click HERE for the online version of the catalog.

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Dusting ?Em Off: Rush :Finally, check out an interesting retrospective view on Rush's debut album in an article called Dusting ?Em Off: Rush ? Rush.

That's all for now. Let the epic battle of Rush vs. Hurricane Earl begin! Wish Rush (and me) luck!

On this date in 1953, Rush Guitarist Alex Lifeson (born Aleksandar Zivojinovich) came into the world in Fernie, British Columbia. As Rush fans know, Lifeson founded the band in the summer of 1968 and was also responsible for bringing front-man Geddy Lee into the mix.

Though Alex is obviously best known for being the guitarist for Rush, he's also the part owner of the Toronto restaurant The Orbit Room, and is a licensed aircraft pilot, motorcycle rider, a gourmet cook and an artist.

Happy Birthday, Alex! Many happy returns!

The Allentown, PA newspaper The Morning Call has just posted a lengthy interview with Alex Lifeson titled Rush jumps into epic 'Time Machine'. With Rush about to play at the Allentown Fair at the end of the month, the article understandably focuses on the Time Machine Tour. However in addition to that information, Alex reveals some interesting tidbits about the forthcoming 'Clockwork Angels':

"We've got this great feeling of promise for this album and some of the material on it," Lifeson says. "I think it's all going to work out really great."

Lifeson says the band has six songs pretty much ready to go and three others almost done. The group plans to write at least a couple of additional songs after the tour. At this point, the CD is shaping up to be a musically varied work.

"There is the epic song, 'Clockwork Angels,' which is really taking shape. It's a multi-parted piece, very dynamic," Lifeson says. "Then there's some stuff that's very melodic and on the softer side, on acoustic, with a strong melody. So there's great diversity there. Honestly, I can't wait until we start really working on these songs. We've sort of got them to the stage where Geddy and I were happy with the arrangements and then Neil kind of comes in and starts working on his drum arrangements, and they go from there. So they're sort of in that pre-drum stage right now, and it's great to see them come to life."

Epic Song? I like the sound of that!

You can read the entire interview at this LINK. Thanks to Ed from RushIsABand for passing along the news story.

Update: Click HERE to read a news story on the custom Rush Hat.

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Rush played the Charter One Pavilion in Chicago on Monday night; a show that was originally rained out back in early July. This particular rained-out event drew a lot of attention due to the 'reaction' of one particular 'fan'. We'll leave it at that.

Regardless, in a very classy move, Rush handed out custom baseball caps embroidered with 'The Rain Date - Rush - Chicago 2010' to everyone in attendance. Click the thumbnail images to the right to view some high-resolution images of the cap.

So, the question now is -- who wants to sell one to me? :-)

Thanks to reader Ken Brennan for the news and RushIsABand for the images.

The final two Space Shuttle missions will be launching in November and January (2011) respectively. To commemorate the occasion, NASA is holding the 'Space Rock' contest:

The wakeup song has been a part of the space program since the days of the Apollo missions, and now NASA is giving you two chances to be a part of this history! We need your help selecting wakeup songs to be played during the final missions of the Space Shuttle Program!

Rush's Countdown from Signals is one of the choices for mission STS-133 which launches in November. You can cast your vote at this LINK.

Countdown was originally played as one of the Space Shuttle wake up calls during STS-109 back in March of 2002. That mission had the former Space Shuttle Columbia servicing the Hubble Space Telescope. STS-109 spent a total of 10 days, 22 hours and 10 minutes in space. It was Columbia's 27th flight and its first since 1999 after undergoing modifications.

STS-133 will be the 35th shuttle mission to the International Space Station. The Space Shuttle Discovery will deliver and install the Permanent Multipurpose Module, the Express Logistics Carrier 4 and provide critical spare components to the International Space Station. The Multipurpose Module will be a permanent fixture at the Station for supply storage.

Voting will be open from now through the mission launch date which is currently set for November 1st. As of this writing, Countdown along with the theme to Star Trek are in a close race. Cast your vote today.

Thanks to Eric from Power Windows for the news.

The 2011 Rush Wall Calendar, which celebrates the 30th Anniversary of Rush's best selling album Moving Pictures is now available at Amazon.Com.

The Moving Pictures themed calendar marks the eighth Rush Wall calendar that's been released and follows last year's popular 2010 Permanent Waves Calendar.

You can check out all of the previous Rush Wall Calendars in the series by accessing the Image Database. We'll also have the 2011 Calendar online in the near future.

Rush officially annouced their plans to visit Chile in October for what is likely the final stop on the 2010 leg of the Time Machine Tour. The band will be playing at the Estadio Nacional (National Stadium) in Santiago, Chile on October 17th.

Tickets went on sale this past Sunday, August 15th via Ticketmaster Chile and, according to an article posted in a local newspaper called "Las Ultimas Noticias", over 15,000 tickets have been sold over the first three days. That's a pretty fair showing considering this is Rush's first ever stop to Chile.

Many thanks to reader Claudio J. Vargas of Concepci�n, CHILE for passing along the early ticket sales figures.

Back in 2008, VH-1 celebrated the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah by airing 24 hours of Rush content including several Rush concerts, Rush specials and, of course, music videos. This year, "Rush Hashanah" returns on September 8th at 7pm. Here's some additional information from the press release:

When sundown hits, RUSH comes out to play this Rosh Hashanah. VH1 Classic celebrates the Jewish New Year with "RUSH Hashanah" starting at sundown on Wednesday, September 8 at 7 PM* for 24-hours straight. Tune in to the award-winning VH1 Rock Doc "RUSH: Beyond the Lighted Stage," for an up close and personal look at the Canadian musicians and jam to their "RUSH In Rio" concert. Take an in-depth look at Classic Albums "2112" and "Moving Pictures" premiering at 9:30 PM ET/PT and get even more RUSH when "That Metal Show" hosts Eddie, Don and Jim sit down with Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson.

This marks the first official airing of the Classic Albums documentaries.

To read the entire press release, click HERE.

Thanks to Ed from RushIsABand for the news.

Rush continued their Time Machine tour on Saturday night with a stop at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, NV. Coinciding with the show was the 10th annual RushCon convention.

Below are a couple of favorable reviews of the concert:

The Rush Time Machine: If you get it, that?s cool. If not, that is also cool -- by John Katsilometes

CONCERT REVIEW: Rush at the MGM Grand Garden -- by Jason Bracelin

In addition to the reviews, reader Scott Harrison snapped off 45 close-up pictures from the Vegas show. You can check them out HERE.

Rush will now play two shows at arguably one of the nicest outdoor venues in the U.S. -- The Red Rocks Amphitheater in Denver, Colorado. For all those attending the shows at Red Rocks, have a great time...

There have been hints and rumors of Rush visiting Chile dating back to the Snakes & Arrows tour. Now, according to the Chilean newspaper El Mercurio (See article translation courtesy of Google HERE), Rush is expected to play the National Stadium in Santiago, Chile on October 17th as part of the South American leg of the Time Machine Tour.

According to the article, tickets will go on sale on Sunday, August 15th through Ticketmaster Chile.

At this time, there still hasn't been any confirmation from Rush.Com, though with ticket sales slated for Sunday, the announcement should arrive shortly.

The long-awaited 2112 & Moving Pictures - Classic Albums are now available for pre-order from Amazon.Com.

Click HERE to order the DVD.

Click HERE to order the Blu-Ray.

For more information on the documentary, click HERE.

The acclaimed "Classic Albums" series is a definitive collection of the stories behind the albums that form the soundtrack to our lives. The latest addition to the series tells the story behind the making of two legendary albums from Rush. "2112" was the album that saw Rush break through to major chart success, going to No.1 in their native Canada and Top 75 in the USA where it would eventually be certified triple platinum. "Moving Pictures" opened them to a mass audience for the first time and remains the biggest selling album of their career. It also went to No.1 in Canada and went quadruple platinum there whilst hitting No.3 in both the UK and USA. Rush members Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart talk us through the making of the albums, together with original producer Terry Brown via interviews, demonstrations, archive videos and use of the original multi-track tapes.

Both the DVD and Blu-ray editions of "2112 & Moving Pictures - Classic Albums" will feature over 50 minutes of additional interviews, archive footage and new demonstrations not included in the broadcast version.

Thanks to GeddyWanneBefor the news.

More new Time Machine merchandise is available for purchase at the Rush Backstage Club! Check out all the new items including, new shirts, the Alchemist Hoody, the Rush messenger bag and more. These items have previously only been available for purchase on the Time Machine Tour and are now available for purchase at www.rushbackstage.com.

Last month, we learned that Rush was going to extend the 2010 leg of the Time Machine tour by heading south to Brazil; visiting Sao Paulo on October 8th at Morumbi Stadium and Rio de Janeiro on October 10th at Praca da Apoteose. Rush.Com has also just confirmed that the band will make a visit to Buenos Aires, Argentina on October 15th, playing at the Desarrollo al Rio. This will mark the first time Rush has played in Argentina.

There is also an unconfirmed rumor that the band will close up the 2010 leg of the tour with a stop in Chile. More on that as it becomes available.

Thanks to long-time reader and contributor Claudio C-08 for the news. Also check out Claudio's fantastic split-screen rendition of 2112 Discovery / Presentation at YouTube.

Rush resumes their Time Machine Tour tonight in Salt Lake City, Utah after a two-week break. With that in mind, I thought it fitting to take our own Time Machine tour back in time to review another batch of old Rush articles and interviews in the fifth installment of the Rush: A Brief History of Time.

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We'll start off the fifth segment of this archive by transporting back to 1974 for a review of Rush's debut album. Titled 'Rush' Makes Name, this favorable review was published in the Las Cruces Sun Times back on December 20th, 1974.

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Up next is a three-page article from Circus Magazine titled Rush Release: Canada's Power Trio Is Switched On Live. Published back in 1976, this article by Anastasia Pantsios focuses on Rush's up-to-them short history and their success as a traditional power trio:

Rush's ability to emulate the musical approach of the keyboard-dominated English cosmic groups without duplicating their sound is one of the advantages Rush finds in remaining a guitar/bass/drums trio, a format that has fallen out of favor in the 70s.

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Moving overseas, this next one-page Dutch article is titled Slaap Je Niet, Dan Rush Je Toch! which roughly translates to 'You Do not Sleep, Then You Still Rush'. This article was published back on September 7th, 1977. Check out the interesting portrait of "De Crew" ...

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Holding on to the 1977 era, we have two separate articles that came from the Winnipeg Free Press; both written by Jim Millican. Up first is the October 28th article Rush scores gold albums without Top 40 radio play which, as the title indicates, focuses on Rush's growing success through 'A Farewell to Kings' without the benefit of any significant air play. Next is the December 7th article titled Toronto's Rush top rock export which is somewhat of a quick review of Rush's history with some emphasis on A Farewell to Kings.

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Up next is a great five-page spread that was published on January 23rd, 1978 in Macleans Magazine. Titled, oddly enough, To Hell With Bob Dylan: Meet Rush. They're in it for the money and written by Roy MacGregor, this is actually a very interesting read that focuses, in part, on Rush Manager Ray Danniels and his commitment, financial and otherwise, to the band.

Why they survived and became so successful has little to do with instantly-obvious talent and a lot to do with hard, hard work. "It's like when I phone up an electrician and he comes and gives me good service," says Neil Peart. "I'll call him back again and maybe recommend him to someone else." The road show is superb in visual terms and two hours in length, and their vast audience is ample evidence that there are many who love their music. Nobody can ignore them anymore.

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Closing out 1978 is an article that was published in Sounds UK back on February 25th, 1978. Titled Black Holes: Close Encounters with Rush and written by Geoff Barton, this four-page article intertwines a discussion about space, the history of Rush and a deep look into Cygnus X-1: Book I.

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Moving on to 1979, up first is a quick band-review simply titled Rush which was published, uncredited, in the HM Special Issue -- UK back in the Spring of '79.

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Up next is a rare, early -- and favorable -- review of Hemispheres which appeared in none other than Rolling Stone Magazine. The article was published in the March 22nd, 1979 edition of the magazine and was written by Michael Bloom. I found this line particularly interesting:

"I affirm this band's ability to rock out, but I really want to give Rush a hard shove in the direction it's already heading."

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Up next is a nice full-page German concert advertisement from May 3rd, 1979 which also includes a smaller inset ad on the European 'Rush Through Time' live album release.

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The May 5th, 1979 edition of the Record Mirror (UK) magazine included an interesting article called The Brain Drain ... Barry Cain finds Rush acts faster than Anadin. Like I said...interesting. :-)

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Next comes a nice one page article from the May 12th, 1979 edition of Melody Maker (UK) magazine. Titled The Maple Leaf Stomp and written by Steve Gett, this article is a nice Rush and Max Webster concert review.

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We'll head into the eighties with, appropriately enough, a review of Permanent Waves which, as we all know, was released on January 1st, 1980. The review, titled Logical Positivism for Astral Minds was written by John Gill and was published in the January 26th, 1980 edition of Sounds (UK) Magazine.

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Up next is something really special. The June 1980 edition of Guitar Player Magazine included two in-depth articles on both Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee. These were among the first really detailed articles on Geddy and Alex in a major publication. The first article, titled Alex Lifeson: Rush's Kinetic Lead Guitarist was written by Jim Schwartz and spans 14 pages. The second article is titled Geddy Lee: Hi-Tech Bassist and Synthesist with Rush was written by Tom Mulhern and spans 12 pages.

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Many people are aware of the July 2008 article on Rush in Rolling Stone Magazine called Rush Never Sleeps however this wasn't the first time RS did a feature on the band. The May 28th, 1981 edition of the magazine included an article called Rush: Power From the People which was written by David Fricke. The piece was sub-titled Ignored by critics and radio this hard-rock trio went straight to the fans which accurately captures the tone of the article:

"We know we're doing well when we can sit back and say, 'That's a good record; the audience applauds for it, they like it,'" concludes Lee as he heads for the arena's dressing room. "To make records people enjoy and that we enjoy playing - that's our measure of success."

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Up next is a huge 48-page multi-article/interview collection that appeared in Sounds Magazine back in 1983. Written largely by Steve Gett, this offering includes numerous color and black-and-white images of the band. Click HERE to view it however be warned: The PDF file is about 30MB in size.

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This next article offers up a nice view into the song writing process that Geddy and Alex employ. Titled Rush: The Saga Continues and sub-titled Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee Divulge Some of Their Trade Secrets, this four-page piece written by John Swenson was originally published in the May 1984 edition of Guitar World Magazine.

Using keyboards in their arranging makes the guitar parts better, believes Lifeson: "When you play keyboard progressions on guitar. you end up playing chords on combinations you never really think to play."

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Holding on to 1984, this next piece titled Rush Release was published in May in the UK Magazine Melody Maker. Written by Derek Oliver, this well-written and favorable piece looks at the success of the band leading into their classic Grace Under Pressure album.

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In July of 1987, Guitar Player Magazine published a special Canadian edition called the Canadian Guitar Summit which included a secondary piece called Beyond Borders. This 17 page article, by Jim Ferguson, focuses on Canadian Guitar greats Alex Lifeson, Rik Emmett (Triumph) Liona Boyd and Ed Bickert. Definitely an interesting read!

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Our final entry for the 80's is an impressive 12 page entry in Metal Magazine simply called Rush: History, Portraits, Discography by Goetz Kuehnemund. It gives a nice retrospective review of Rush's career through the Hold Your Fire period. This offering comes with numerous color photos of the band, many not seen before anywhere else.

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As we enter the 90's, we return back to Macleans Magazine where, back on September 30th, 1991, an article titled Rush - Rock 'n' Roll Royalty was penned by Nicholas Jennings. The link brings you directly to Mr. Jenning's website where he has reproduced the original article.

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Up next is a piece from a 1992 copy of Spin Magazine called Confessions of a Rush Fan by Bob Mack. The title says it all for this short 2-page piece.

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Around the time when Alex Lifeson released his solo effort Victor, he was interviewed for a feature in the February 1996 edition of Guitar Shop magazine. The piece, titled Solo Signals and written by Mike Mettler, dives into the creative process that led to Alex's solo effort. Also check out the side article called Power Windows: Alex Lifeson's Hot Wheels which talks about his customized Black Mercedes 380SEC.

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A few months later in 1996, another interview/Q&A session with Alex appeared in the September 1996 edition of Guitar One Magazine. This entry, titled Alex Lifeson: The Making of a Guitar Legend was written by Wolf Marshall and spans ten pages in all.

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Our final entry this time around for the 1990's also features Alex Lifeson in a Guitar Shop Magazine article. Titled The Different Stages of Rush: Guitarist Alex Lifeson Reveals the Secrets Behind a 25-Year Legacy and written by Jeffrey L. Perlah, this six-page article is another in-depth Q&A session with the Rush guitarist which took place shortly after the band released their fourth live offering Different Stages.

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We'll enter the 21st century with a very in-depth look at the creative process behind the formation of Rush's 2002 offering Vapor Trails. The article, simple titled Alex Lifeson on the Making of Vapor Trails originally appeared in the May 7th, 2002 edition JAM! Showbiz Magazine (Online).

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And finally, closing out this fifth installment of Rush: A Brief History of Time is another Alex Lifeson-centric article. This one, titled Iron Man follows Alex while he works on his second-favorite past-time: Golf. This article was published in the December 2009 edition of Guitar Aficionado Magazine and was written by Gary Graff with photos by K.C. Armstrong.

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Once again, tremendous thanks go out to Heiko Klages, RushFanForever and Eric from Power Windows for their contributions to this segment.

To see all five installments, click HERE. Enjoy!

Neil Peart has posted an update to the News, Weather, and Sports section of his website. The entry, titled 'THEME AND VARIATIONS', focuses mainly on his motorcycle travels and a book/project he's been thinking about:

Since at least 2004, during the Thirtieth Anniversary tour I wrote about in Roadshow, I have been talking about a theme for a book, and even chipping away at it (mostly in my head, but partly in these stories). I referred to that imaginary book as Roadcraft: How to Work the World, and the aim was to assemble a set of rules for travelers that deliberately paralleled rules about living, working, making music-metaphors, like.

However, the more I continued to think about that goal, the more I realized it was not a book you could just sit down and write-it would have to accumulate, like experience, a journey, a life, and (indulge me here), a drum solo. In the flow of rhythm, dominant patterns arise and gather gravity over time, and suggest parallels that can be further developed and expressed-variations on a theme.

It has become obvious to me that my ambitions for Roadcraft represent the project of a lifetime, really, to be gathered and shared along the way. And in any case, those observations would certainly demand more than one book-more than one lifetime. But, what the hey-I figure I'll just start trying to nail down any principles I can, for as long as I can, then pass the project down to the next generation of travelers . . .

You can read the entire entry via this LINK.

The Canadian-made star-studded 'Vampire Rock&Roll Comedy' Suck, which features a cameo by Alex Lifeson as a Canadian border officer, is finally headed to the big screen in the U.S. on September 2nd. The limited theatrical release will be followed by the release of the film on DVD and Blu-Ray on September 28th.

The film originally premiered at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival. More information on the theatrical release can be viewed HERE.

You can pre-order your copy of the film via Amazon.Com.

Thanks to RushFanForever for the news.

Geddy Lee (born Gary Lee Weinrib) turns 57 today. Happy Birthday, Geddy -- and many happy returns! "Gary" was born in the small Toronto village of Willowdale. As many fans know, his given first name "Gary" transformed into "Geddy" during his high school days thanks to his mother's heavily-accented pronunciation of his name.

July 29th is also an important date in Rush history as it marks the date, back in 1974, when Neil Peart joined the group.

Rush closed out the first leg of their 2010 Time Machine Tour on Saturday with a sold-out performance at the Nikon Theater at Jones Beach on Long Island, NY. I was in attendance and snapped off a few pictures during the show. The crowd - and the band - were electric that night and though there were a few technical difficulties with the main screen from time to time, no one seemed to notice or care. The band are now enjoying a well-deserved two week break and will resume the tour in Salt Lake City on August 5th. In the mean time, here are some recent news stories...

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Donna Halper UsedBinRadio Interview Now Online: Donna Halper's interview on UsedBinRadio last week can now be listened to online via this LINK. Donna's segment on the podcast begins at the 47 minute, 10 second mark and continues for about 50 minutes. Thanks to RushFanForever (who called into the show) for the link.

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NeilPeart.Net Re-skinned: Neil Peart's official website has been reskinned in the 'Time Machine' theme. We're also expecting a new "News, Weather, and Sports" update from Neil within the next couple of weeks.

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Rush "ICONS" - Now Available for Pre-Order: Coming August 31st, Rush "ICONS", the latest compilation from Universal, is now available for pre-order via this LINK. The "ICONS" series includes artists ranging from KISS to Diana Ross, and have the tag line "Great Artists, Great Songs, Great Value!", and include "12 hits for only $7.99". The "featured songs include their debut album's 'Working Man,' 2112's 'The Twilight Zone' and classic rock radio staple 'Limelight.'". Thanks to Eric from Power Windows for the news.

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Time Machine Concert Photos for Sale: John Arrowsmith, Rush's official tour photographer, is now making many of his photographs available for sale. High quality prints of the photos that John has been regularly posting at Rush.Com are now available for purchase via this link. The photos are available in a variety of sizes and finishes starting at $40.

That's all for now. Look for the next article-packed edition of Rush: A Brief History of Time soon.

There's some exciting news for Guitar Hero (and Rush) fans. The band's iconic concept album 2112 is coming to the new Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock:

It's official: Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock has the most epically prog-rock sequence of any music video game yet. Rush have teamed with Activision for the fall release, which features a story-based Quest Mode that includes with hero wannabes playing the entirety of "2112," a seven-part suite from the Canadian band's 1976 album of the same name. The story of the game's final segment roughly follows Rush's opus, and will be narrated by lead singer Geddy Lee and guitarist Alex Lifeson. "In our story, the caves of 2112 are where our hero finds the lost guitar," says Lee. "This rediscovery of music is much like the Guitar Hero warriors' journey to find the Demi-God of Rock's Legendary guitar, which has been trapped in a cavern." Watch exclusive footage from the game here.

Peart, Lee and Lifeson join Kiss' Gene Simmons as Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock narrators. Simmons' contribution begins with an introduction asking players to "Come with me, and enter a world populated of Demi-Gods and Beasts. Transform from an everyday person and become the savior of rock & roll."

For more on the release, including some video footage of the game and an interview with Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson about the project, click HERE.

Thanks to readers Lee Simister, RushFanForever and Richard Rhodes for sending along the news.

Michael from NeilPeartDrumsticks.Com just let me know that the official Neil Peart "Time Machine Tour" drum sticks from Pro-Mark are now available:

The new Time Machine retail model of Pro-Mark drumsticks are now hitting store shelves. Check with your favorite store today!

To get a close up view of the new sticks drop by www.neilpeartdrumsticks.com.

While there you will also find the details about getting the new exclusive Neil Peart Signature Series mobile application for your Smartphone.

If you receive a pair of Neil's personal sticks from a concert ... remember to send in your photo with the sticks and sign, or no sign and the story, to be posted in the 2010 BUBBA's STICK CLUB on the Fan Gallery page. Already have a couple new members!

Additional information on the unique drum stick app as well as online ordering information for the drum sticks themselves will be posted once available.

Thanks to Michael for sharing the news.

Professional Golfer Rocco Mediate, who has multiple PGA Tour wins, recently indicated that we would adorn a Rush hat while playing at the 101st edition of the RBC Canadian Open later this week. From the article Feschuk: Canadian Open Challengers Ready to Rock:

If all the world?s pro athletes were forced to make an in-their-prime career change, it wouldn?t take a pollster to project the majority vote.

They?d mostly morph into rock stars, or rap stars. And you could count Rocco Mediate, the PGA Tour pro, among the first in line to make the switch.

At least this is what Mediate was saying on Monday between practice putts at St. George?s Golf and Country Club in Etobicoke, where the RBC Canadian Open will commence its 101st edition on Thursday. Mediate, who famously tangled with Tiger Woods in an 18-hole playoff at the 2008 U.S. Open, is a big music fan. He is also a close friend of Alex Lifeson, the Toronto-bred guitarist for the rock band Rush.

And Mediate admires the acclaimed trio so much that this week he?ll be a rare sight among PGA types. Not currently under contract to sport the obligatory logo of a sponsor on his cap, he?ll pull on headwear bearing the logo of Lifeson?s band.

"I absolutely would trade my job for Alex?s. Tomorrow," said Mediate, 47. "He still loves what he does . . . and he?s a psycho golfer. Psycho. He plays literally every day . . . He?s probably about an eight handicap now, which isn?t bad."

Check out the entire article via this LINK.

Thanks to Eric from Power Windows for the heads up.

The long-running interactive video game project known as DarkStar, which was to feature a complete soundtrack of more than 20 songs by Rush, has now announced that, due to broken negotiations with Universal and Atlantic, the video game will no longer include any songs by Rush:

"'The band gave us a green light years ago, but tough negotiations with Universal more recently have gone nowhere - and at the end of the day, they own the RUSH masters. They simply want too much money, more than was ever talked about during this process.' commented Studio owner J. Allen Williams. 'At this point we've made the difficult decision to pull the music and produce an original score for Darkstar so we can release, and that is now in process. We wish it could have gone better for both RUSH and our project, but that's Hollywood for you. Clearance rights were our last worry as we were told repeatedly over the years that the band was behind us. Anthem encouraged us to talk about it in interviews, which we did.' said Williams. 'We are disappointed, of course, as I'm sure there will be fans who have been writing us for so long waiting to see their favorite band in Darkstar.

I have a true love for RUSH and a vision that could have glorified them to a new generation of listeners. It sucks, it's sad, but that's the final word.' Darkstar began production in mid-2000, featuring the original cast of the television series Mystery Science Theater 3000, Clive Robertson (Sunset Beach), and was veteran actor Peter Graves final performance. Darkstar is back on schedule for release now that these issues are resolved, a date to be announced late summer once new music is in place."

It's a shame that after more than six years of waiting for this game that it will no longer be tied to Rush, but hopefully the original music the creators come up with will compliment the game nonetheless. Time will tell.

Update: Images from the Time Machine Tour Book are now online. Enjoy!

In one week, Rush will be heading to Jones Beach on Long Island, New York where yours truly will be in attendance; my first show on the 2010 Time Machine Tour (and hopefully not the last), while tonight marks the final show the band will play in the native Canada on this leg of the tour. Aside from the ongoing tour, here are some notable news stories that have recently surfaced.

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Donna Halper to Appear on UsedBinRadio: Donna Halper, the Cleveland DJ who helped to bring Rush to the U.S. masses back in 1974, will appear on UsedBinRadio this Tuesday.

"This week, we?re pleased to welcome our featured guest, DONNA HALPER, into the bin. Media consultant, musical historian, author, teacher and former music director for WMMS Cleveland, Donna was a pivotal on-air figure for rock radio. As many Used Bin listeners will undoubtedly be aware, Donna was the first to play RUSH on the air in 1974, ultimately landing them their first recording contract, and the rest, as they say is history. We?ll discuss her 36 year long association with our favorite Canadian trio, her induction speech at their recent Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony and the illustrious career of a true media legend

Thanks to Eric from Power Windows and RushFanForever for the news.

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Neil Peart Discusses Sabian Steampunk Cymbals: Click HERE for a great article on the making of the Sabian Cymbals with the Steampunk influence that adorns Neil's Time Machine Tour Kit.

Sitting in Neil Peart?s kitchen, over a Scotch, he shared with me his elaborate concept for Rush?s new album Clockwork Angels. There was so much to the story, and the concept was so visual. He explained the steampunk style to me, citing examples from H.G. Wells and Jules Verne?s tales, including bizarre mechanical inventions powered by steam, elaborate clockworks, and alchemy, in an alternate timeline ? ?the future as it ought to have been.? Neil could see that he was over my head, as usual, so he said think of the movies The Time Machine and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. That?s steampunk!

Thanks to Eric from Power Windows for the news.

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Neil Peart Wins Drummer of the Year: The results from the Drum Magazine Drummies Awards are in and, once again, Neil Peart was voted in as the Drummer of the Year - 2010. Runner ups in the category included Travis Barker, Jimmy Sullivan, Mike Portnoy and Aaron Gillespie.

Neil was also the runner up in the category of Best Live Drummber (won by Aaron Gillespie) and Progressive Rock Drummer (won by Mike Portnoy).

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Rush Featured in July Prog Magazine:The July edition of the British Classic Rock Presents "Prog" Magazine has Rush featured on the cover and includes a six-page article on the band including interviews with Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee, as well as 'Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage; documentary filmmakers Sam Dunn and Scot McFayden. To purchase a copy of the magazine, click HERE.

Finally, I'm about half way through scanning the Time Machine Tour Book. I should have all the images online within the next few days. Enjoy-

For the first time ever Rush has helped develop a fun and useful application for the hard-core Rush fans. Get exclusive up to the minute news, music, and more in the palm of your hands.

See brand new content and be a part of all things Geddy, Alex & Neil as they embark on the Time Machine Tour. Follow this application. We will continuously be featuring updates and improvements.

-Directions, ticket info, and a full tour itinerary
-Find the nearest places to dine, stay, points of interest, and transportation near each venue.
-Rush News: Up to the minute information on all Rush activities
-Rush Radio: More than 30 of your favorite Rush songs embedded in the application. Over $40 worth of music included as well as interesting facts on every song compiled by the band. Pick a song, and let it play while you explore the other functions on the Rush application.
-30 Wallpapers: for the first time available, beautiful and formatted for the iPhone and the iPod touch, include original album artwork and behind the scenes, new & vintage photos that can be emailed or saved as your wallpaper.
-Interactive game with Geddy, Alex and Neil: includes rare audio clips. It's a feature in this application that will be sure to shake you up.

The APP is currently only compatible with an Apple iPhone and iPod Touch and requires iOS 4.0 or later. There is currently no information on whether or not the APP will make its way on to the Android market.

A dedicated website for the Rush App has been set up at www.rushapps.com.

The App, which is priced at $2.99 (US) is available worldwide via the Apple iTunes Store.

According to a recent news article posted at The Standard (of St. Catharines), Neil Peart's Classic Slingerland Drum Kit (aka the 'Chromey') will be on display for the public to see.

The next month is going to be full of momentous events for mega-Rush fan Chris Irwin.

For starters, he's getting married to Dr. Petra Cantrup, on Aug. 14, followed by a honeymoon in Turks & Caicos.

On Tuesday, Irwin attended a Rush concert at the Air Canada Centre. And this weekend, he's attending RushCon, the largest annual North American gathering of fans of the legendary Canadian rock band.

But one of the most exciting things will happen when the couple hosts their stag and doe on July 23 at the Welland Lion's Club. The Chromey, the 1974 chrome Slingerland drum kit that was once owned and played by Rush drummer and former Port Dalhousie resident Neil Peart, will make an appearance that night.

The same drum kit will be available for the public to view at Lakeside Park in Port Dalhousie on July 22, from 1-11 p.m., as well as July 24, from noon to 10 p.m. Fans can come to the park that was immortalized in a Rush song of the same name and have their photos taken and even play the drums to raise money for the Friends of the Carousel.

"It's a bit surreal. It's a really cool thing," Irwin said, of having the kit at his stag and doe. "It's an iconic drum kit that (Peart) played from 1974-77. It's what the song Lakeside Park was recorded on, as well as (the album) 2112."

Click HERE to read more about it.

Rush have now completed the first three of five Canadian dates during the Time Machine Tour and by all accounts, the concert goers have not been disappointed. The band will play Quebec City on the 15th and their second Toronto show on the 17th before heading down the U.S. Eastern seaboard through Connecticut, Pennsylvania and finally New York. The July 24th show at Jones Beach in Long Island (the first show I'll be attending) will mark the end of the first section of this leg of the tour. Rush will then take a near-2 week break before resuming the tour on August 5th in Salt Lake City, UT.

The postponed July 7th show in Chicago has been formally rescheduled for August 23rd. According to Rush.Com:

The rained out Wednesday, July 7 performance at Charter One Pavilion has been rescheduled to MONDAY, AUGUST 23. All tickets for the previously scheduled performance will be reactivated and honored at the rescheduled date. If fans feel that the barcodes may be illegible, they should ensure they bring picture ID and the credit card which was used to purchase the tickets. Refunds - if required at point of purchase through August 22nd. Questions can be directed to TicketMaster customer service at 800-653-8000

Also, thank you to all the folks who wrote in telling me about the 'other' unfortunate situation linked with the postponed Chicago show. However I've decided not to give that story any additional press.

Below are a few reviews of the recent Rush concerts, including a very interesting retrospective look at one persons "relationship" with Rush.

A Complicated and Enduring Relationship with Rush -- By Peter Simpson, Canwest News Service

Rush Pulls Out All the Tricks -- By Chris Cobb

Time Stands Still for Rush -- By Cory Smith

Rush Gives Ottawa's Bluesfest Moving Pictures and Much More -- By Rahul Vaidyanath

Molson Canadian Amphitheatre, Toronto - July 13, 2010 -- By Jason MacNeil

Rattled by the Rush -- By Stuart Berman

Finally, there are more pictures from each of the tour dates available for viewing at Rush.Com.

The transcription of the Rush Time Machine 2010 Tour Book is now online along with some of the internal images. Who knew Alex would look so, er, ah, 'interesting' in drag!

As I've done with all the previous tour books, I'm currently in the process of scanning all of the images and should have them online within the next week or so. The tour book itself is a real gem; one every Rush fan should have in his or her collection. If you can't wait for the tour to arrive in your neck of the woods, you can order the tour book at the Rush Backstage Club.

Thanks to Eric from Power Windows for providing the transcription!

Rush.Com has now officially announced that the band will, indeed, stop in Brazil for two shows in October. From Rush.Com:

The RUSH Time Machine Tour will hit Sao Paulo on October 8th at Morumbi Stadium and Rio de Janeiro on October 10th at Praca da Apoteose. Information about the ticket on-sales will be released shortly!

We'll have complete ticket purchasing details once they are made available.

The second of two Rush concerts in Chicago at the Charter One Pavilion has been postponed due to 'Heavy Rain'. According to some tweets from Chicago's 97.9 The Loop, Geddy called in after the cancellation to explain that the band's electronics were shorting out due to the rain. The concert is expected to be rescheduled in early September, however stay tuned for an official announcement from the band.

All tickets from the second show will be honored at the rescheduled date. Thanks to reader RushFanForever for the news.

Rush has now completed the first three stops on their Time Machine Tour; opening in Albuquerque, NM last Tuesday before making stops in Kansas City, MO and the Milwaukee Summerfest yesterday. The band will now take a day off before performing two shows in Chicago at the Charter One Pavilion.

Official pictures from the first three shows have been posted at Rush.Com while several reviews have recently been published:

Proven formula just fine with the fans -- (Milwaukee, WI @ Summerfest)

Rush Fills Amphitheater with Emotion, Energy -- (Milwaukee, WI @ Summerfest)

Rush seems stuck in 'Time Machine Tour' -- (Kansas City, MO @ Starlight Theatre)

Plus here's a nice preview article from the Chicago Tribune -- Take the quiz, and tell the truth: You love Rush

Also, for those of you who don't mind some spoilers, you can now check out the Tandem Digital's rear screen videos from the tour (two in all) via this LINK.

For those of you in the United States, have a happy and safe Independence Day!