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- Rush News Archive -
April through June 2009

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June 30th, 2009
"Limelight" Featured in Pepsi/Rock Band Commercial

According to Power Windows, Rush's Limelight will be used as the background music for a new commercial promoting Pepsi Rock Band, a contest where your can upload your very own Rock Band music video with the possibility of winning an MTV music award.

Below is a link to the commercial courtesy of YouTube.

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June 30th, 2009
Geddy Lee Comments on the "Best" Band

A recent article from the UK's Guardian asked several artists to select their favorite pop/rock band. Geddy Lee had this to say about his selection, Radiohead:

Describing someone as "the best" is something you do at school in grade 5, but Radiohead are the most interesting of the big groups. In terms of communication and reach, it has to be U2, but I like Radiohead's intricacy and melodic content. They've got a willingness to experiment with melody and texture that a lot of bands don't have. Plus, they manage to stay fresh. It's more about attitude than technology. I've often thought Radiohead carry on what began as progressive rock nearly 40 years ago. There's a similar spirit and willingness to explore.

Click HERE to read the entire article.

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June 29th, 2009
Neil Peart's News, Weather, and Sports Update - Neil's Wife is Expecting!

Neil Peart has posted the latest edition of his "News, Weather, and Sports" section of his website. In this edition, Neil discusses and shares some interesting pictures on some recent trips he took to Southern California as well as Santa Cruz Island. At one point, Neil describes how the boat he was on was surrounded by hundreds of dolphins.

"...Groups of six or eight at a time rose in synchronized arcs, a pattern repeated near and far and all around, like some fantastic water ballet. Raising cameras and binoculars, people moved slowly around the deck, in a kind of quiet reverence broken only by occasional half-whispers along the lines of 'Wow!, and, 'Look at that!'..."

But the exciting news in this edition is that Neil's wife, Carrie Nuttall, is seven months pregnant with their first child together.

At the same time, under that same marine layer, my wife Carrie was seven months pregnant. [Pause for sharp intake of breath and shiver of apprehension.] Our baby was growing and kicking, protected and insulated in its own oceanic fluid, its own marine layer. The anxious (not to say terrified) father kind of wished the baby could stay there, safe from harm, and not have to embark upon a life of menace and potential tragedy. He had lost before, and probably couldn't stand to lose again. People kept saying it was going to be all right, and he tried to keep telling himself that. Even in the June Gloom.

I'm sure you'll all join me in wishing some heart-felt congratulations to the new parents-to-be, Neil and Carrie.

To read the complete entry from Neil, click HERE.

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June 26th, 2009
Rush Takes Home Excellence in Beverly Hills

Rush's Snakes & Arrows Live took home the coveted IMDA/DVDA "Excellence in Disc Audio (Blu Ray Disc)" award during a ceremony at the Luxe Hotel in Beverly Hills.

"I always have a great time recording Rush. They play so well that it makes life easier even though you have 80 odd tracks for 3 musicians! Kudos go out to Rich Chycki and Alex Lifeson who mixed the music, to Andy VanDette who mastered the mixes and to Denis Normandeau, my audio partner of 9 years, who encoded the music to DTS-HDMA for the Blu-Ray here at FogoLabs." said François Lamoureux, president of FogoLabs after receiving the good news."

You can read more about this news at this LINK.

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June 23rd, 2009
Japanese Rush Mini-LP SHM-CD's Now Available

Back in April, we reported that Warner Music Japan was reissuing RUSH's first 12 studio albums as Mini-LP SHM-CD's. Those CDs are now available for order via Amazon.Com.

Although the data itself is not remastered, these "super high material" cd's purportedly improve the original audio through the use of new plastic material which is much clearer than normal cd's, thus reducing mechanical distortion and improving resolution.

The CD's are packaged as "Mini-LP's" in cardboard sleeves to faithfully mimic the original LP style. Only the first 12 studio albums will be released at this time, with future releases dependent on actual sales. Rush fan Jun'ya Suzuki of the Japanese Rush collector site "The Sphere" worked closely with Warner Music Japan to faithfully reproduce with exquisite detail the artwork of the original first edition Canadian LPs: you can view detailed images of the mini-lp artwork here.

At this time, only the first 12 Rush Studio albums along with Retrospective I and II are available in this format. Click the album cover images below to place your order via Amazon.com. Prices are around $50 per CD.

                           

                           

Thanks, as always, to Eric from Power Windows for sharing the news.

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June 22nd, 2009
"Rush and Philosophy" Book in Development

Open Court Publishing, creators of the Culture and Philosophy book series and long-time Rush/Philosopher author Durrell Bowman are looking to put together an anthology of articles and synopses featuring Rush and Philosophy. The editors recently posted a request for related articles on the topic:

Call for Papers: "Rush and Philosophy"

The rock band Rush resonates widely for musician-fans and others interested in structural complexity, individualism, and a range of literary and stylistic influences. The group has explored such genres as heavy metal and hard rock, progressive and synth-rock, and post-progressive "power trio," along with various secondary influences. However, the band has also wandered among such lyrical interests as relationships, fantasy-adventure, classical mythology, European and world history, science-fiction, libertarianism, atheism, science, and technology.

We are looking for short articles (of around twenty pages) to add to this proposed anthology for the series that began with "Seinfeld and Philosophy: A Book about Everything and Nothing" (2000), but since 2005 has also included (see http://www.opencourtbooks.com/categories/pcp.htm) music-related books about hip hop, Bob Dylan, U2, the Beatles, the Grateful Dead, Pink Floyd, Johnny Cash, Bruce Springsteen, Radiohead, and Jimmy Buffett. Writers in philosophy, musicology, economics, and psychology have already committed to "Rush and Philosophy," and they are exploring the following areas from across Rush's career (1974- ):

   -personal tragedies, self-determination, and Sartre
   -the anthropic cosmological principle and atheism
   -Canadianness in Anglo-American genres and in lyrics and images
   -tribute projects of the band's music in death metal, trip-hop, and classical strings
   -the band's combination of secular humanism and mysticism
   -libertarianism and left-libertarianism, rather than "right-wing"
   -the cognitive function of riffs and other music in expressing difficult ideas
   -a roundtable on political economy, Ayn Rand, and Rush's "2112"

Contributions from women, minorities, and people from outside of North America are most welcome!

Deadline for one-page abstracts: July 19, 2009. Deadline for completed first-drafts: August 31, 2009

Please send to Durrell Bowman and Jim Berti: [email protected]; [email protected]

According to Rush Fan Site Power Windows, some of the other Rush/Philosophy related articles that Durrell Bowman has been associated with are:

Progressive Rock Reconsidered with Chapter 9 titled Let Them All Make Their Own Music: Individualism, Rush, and the Progressive/Hard Rock Alloy, 1976-77

     PDF Extract from above: [LINK]

Textu(r)al Undercoding and the Music of the Rock Band Rush: String Quartets, Death Metal, Trip-Hop, and other Tributes

Permanent Change: Rush, Musicians' Rock, and the Progressive Post-Counterculture", Dissertation, Ph.D. in Musicology, UCLA, 2003

Thanks to Eric from Power Windows and Ed from RushIsABand.Com for the information on this project.

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June 22nd, 2009
New Rush T-Shirt from Salty Rockz

Howard Johnson of SaltyRockz.Com just let me know about another new Rush-related T-shirt that will be sold exclusively at SaltyRockz.Com.

...We're about to add another tee to the Saltyrockz site on Friday, June 26th, so I thought I'd give you a heads up. This one is a nod towards Fly By Night with an extra Canadian twist. To check out all the colour options, [visitors] should go to www.saltyrockz.com, type 'Rush' into the search filed on the left hand side and then click to see the design on a T-shirt. After that, all the colour combos will be available. But this will only work after Friday when the design goes live.

Thanks again to HoJo for passing along this news.

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June 22nd, 2009
Amazon Pre-Orders

In addition to the new Guitar and Bass tabs that I listed below, Amazon now has a couple of exciting Rush related Pre-Orders now available.

Up first is the 2010 Rush Wall Calendar. This will be the seventh Rush Wall Calendar to be released since the series began back in 2004. Check out the Image Database to see the other six calendars. The 2010 Wall Calendar should be release on or about July 15th, 2009.

Also now available for pre-order from Amazon are the DVD and Blu-Ray versions of the hit, Rush-filled "bromantic" comedy I Love You, Man. Both versions of the movie are expected to be released on or about August 11th, 2009.

Pre-Order Here: DVD or Blu-Ray.

Thanks to RushIsABand.Com for the news on these pre-releases.

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June 21st, 2009
Rush News Bullets

There's been plenty of Rush related new stories of late so let's get to them!

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- Alfred Rocks Out With Rush TAB Collections: Alfred Publishing, the worldwide leader in educational music publishing since 1922, has just released two new Rush-related Tab Collections:

Alfred is apparently feeling nostalgic for some good 'ole classic rock, as is evident in their announcement today of the Rush Deluxe TAB collections.

For 30 years Rush, led by bassist Geddy Lee, have been creating their own brand of highly-recognizable rock, and now Alfred is bringing Rush fans and music aficionados in general two 22-song collections to fulfill their need for the group's sound. Both collections are transcribed in authentic TAB, and feature some of the following titles: The Big Money; Closer to the Heart; Distant Early Warning; Dreamline; Far Cry; Fly by Night; Freewill; Ghost of a Chance; The Larger Bowl; Limelight; New World Man; One Little Victory; Red Barchetta; Show Don't Tell; The Spirit of Radio; Subdivisions; Test for Echo; Tom Sawyer; The Trees; Vital Signs; Working Man; YYZ.

Deluxe Guitar TAB Collection (1975-2007) and Deluxe Bass TAB Collection (1975-2007) are available now for $24.95 each.

The price for these two TAB collections is currently less than the $24.95 price indicated above when ordered via the Amazon links above. Also make sure to check out the Ultimate Guitar Play-Along Rush: Authentic Guitar TAB (Book & CD) and the Ultimate Bass Play-Along Rush: Authentic Bass TAB (Book & CD) which are also from Alfred Publishing.

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- Neil Peart Jams on Drum Channel: The Drum Channel has posted a 13-minute drum-jam video featuring Neil Peart, Terry Bozzio of FRANK ZAPPA and solo drum artist Joey Herredia.

"During a warm-up session with Peart, Bozzio, and Heredia, the Drum Channel crew was so impressed, they started rolling the cameras and managed to capture this amazing musical performance.

The full-length jam can be found as a "bonus lesson" in Neil's masterclass titled "Frontiers of Composition and Articulation", to be made available on Drum Channel later this week.

Click HERE to see the 13-minute clip.

The Drum Channel also recently conducted a live chat with Neil, Terry Bozzio and Joey Herredia. Click HERE for more information on the chat.

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- Geddy Lee & Alex Lifeson Interview on CBC Now Online: As reported earlier, Geddy & Alex were interviewed by Jian Ghomeshi for the May 20, 2009 edition of CBC's cultural affairs show "Q". Video footage of their appearance, which aired on CBC Radio One, is now available via this LINK. Or, if you prefer, you can listen to the audio via this Stream.

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- Canadian Documentary Film Maker Allan King Passes Away: At the age of 79, Documentary Filmmaker Allan King passed away. Among other documentaries, Mr. King created Come on Children back in 1973 which followed 10 troubled teenagers, including Alex Lifeson, as they ramble about on a farm talking about life, existence and what's wrong with the world.

Click HERE to see the clip of Come on Children which includes Alex Lifeson.

To order Come on Children along with other Allan King Documentaries, click HERE.

That's it for now, everyone. Also, the third edition of Rush: A Brief History of Time with also be coming online within the next few days.

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June 10th, 2009
New Contest at Rush Backstage Club

Win A Rush Complete Tourbook from the Rush Backstage Club.

This is an ULTRA-LIMITED edition of "Rush - The Complete Tourbooks". This book is one of only 5 copies debossed with a special red foil on the cover. This is a 400 page coffee table book with all of Rush's tour books to date, a total of 15 books. The books have been reproduced and bound together in a black, cloth-wrapped 12" X 12" book. Every cover of every book is printed on cover stock. The front cover is debossed in black and red foil with the starman logo. There is a two-page introduction written by Neil Peart, detailing his involvement in the design and content of every Rush tour book going back to 1977.

This contest closes on June 22, 2009 so enter today!

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June 9th, 2009
Rush in Video Games

Classic songs by Rush have been making a number of appearances in new and upcoming video games of late.

The new Guitar Hero Smash Hits compilation, which gets released on Tuesday, June 16th, will include the master-recording version of "YYZ" and will allow play from all instruments.

Out this week is the latest edition to the Rock Band franchise: Rock Band Unplugged. RBU will include the vault edition of "The Trees" and will be available as a stand-alone game or as part of the "Limited Edition Rock Band Unplugged Entertainment Pack".

"Rock Band Unplugged, based on the award-winning Rock Band series of games, features 41 songs on-disc that encompass popular tracks from the Rock Band music library, as well as nine songs exclusive to Rock Band Unplugged for a limited time before becoming available as downloadable content on other console versions...Travel the globe, play gigs, acquire fans, and become a rock legend, all while riding the train to work! Rock Band Unplugged creates a full band experience in the palm of players' hands by combining traditional beat-match gameplay with key elements from both Rock Band and Rock Band 2, such as overdrive and chords. The hands are the "peripherals" in Rock Band Unplugged, allowing players to take direct control of the lead/bass guitars, drums and vocals. Players can expect an in-depth Rock Band experience with fully functional modes, like World Tour, Band Survival and Warm Up, as well as a robust character creator for full rocker customization." - RockBand.com (includes video demo)

And on a related note, the all new "Classic Rock Track Pack" for Rock Band, which came out in late May, includes "Closer To The Heart" and "Red Barchetta" among its list of 20 tracks.

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June 4th, 2009
Miniature Rush Guitars

Just in time for the upcoming Father's Day holiday, Axe Heaven and Rush Fan Site Power Windows have created a series of Rush Miniature Guitars. From Power Windows:

Power Windows is proud to bring you these meticulously created 1:4-scale replica guitar collectibles from Axe Heaven.com. When it comes to RUSH, the instruments used by Lee and Lifeson are as iconic as the music they created. Now you can own miniature reproductions of the band's most memorable guitars* for a reasonable price (*Alex Lifeson's Gibson EDS-1275 Doubleneck, his signature Gibson ES-355, and Geddy Lee's signature Fender Jazz bass).

Power Windows has been working with Axe Heaven to insure these guitars have been reproduced as closely as possible, to include such details as the maple fretboard and chrome volume plate on Geddy's signature Jazz bass, and the gold embellishments on Alex's signature ES-355. These collectible guitars are perfect for the home or the office, letting your acquaintances know where your allegiances lie; in addition, their low cost makes them a great gift.

Click HERE for more information and ordering details.

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May 29th, 2009
Rush Themed Concert Hall planned for New Rock & Roll Amusement Park

The Decades Music Theme Park, which begins construction in 2010, is a new Rock & Roll themed amusement park which will be located in Eloy, Arizona. According to the park's website, one of the planned attractions is a Rush-themed concert hall called the Spirit of Radio Concert Hall.

Modeled from the Rush album cover art 'Spirit of the Radio', this venue will be a more intimate indoor music theater. It will include 2,000 seats and serve as a regular space for tribute band performances, battle of the band competitions, a 'New Artists' Exposure Series? and bands with smaller audience draws. We also hope to lure the VH1 Music Awards to host their annual event at this site on a rotating basis.

Learn more about the Decades Music Theme Park which is scheduled to open in 2013.

Thanks to RIAB for the head's up on this story.

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May 28th, 2009
Neil Peart News

Two quick news bits related to The Professor. First, the July 2009 edition of Modern Drummer Magazine contains the results of their 2009's Reader's Poll. While Neil didn't take home the top honors, he did place second in the category of Best Rock Drummer and third in the category of Best Progressive Rock Drummer. The issue should hit the newsstands on June 2nd.

In other news, Neil recently posted the 13th Issue of his Bubba's Book Club column. This time around, Neil discusses five books where a common theme of "heroes" emerged.

"The books I read are chosen by what seems at the time to be 'natural selection' the simple criteria of picking up the next volume that feels 'most likely to please.' Sometimes, though, a sequence of books turns out to share an unexpected theme. These five reviews are presented in the order in which the books happened to be chosen (from my endless 'books to read' shelves), and the common theme that emerged is 'heroes.'"

Here's the list of the books that Neil reviews:

- Birdwatcher: The Life of Roger Tory Peterson by Elizabeth J. Rosenthal
- Bill Bruford: The Autobiography by Bill Bruford
- Fool by Christopher Moore
- The Architects Are Here by Michael Winter
- To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Thanks to Power Windows for the news.

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May 28th, 2009
Alex Lifeson Discusses His Guest Appearance with The Tragically Hip

Last week, Alex made a guest appearance during a The Tragically Hip concert and has now posted about the experience on the Rush.Com website.

I came back on with the band for the encore to warm and crazy applause and a very kind introduction from Gord and then we launched into The Last Recluse. Although solid in soundcheck, it felt great on the night, moody and dynamic. We then quickly went in Little Bones, with that great intro riff from Paul. Three guitars playing that riff is awesome and it still runs through my head as I write this. We nailed the ending and the song just cooked all the way through.

You can read the entire entry via this LINK.

See the original news story for access to a video of Alex's performance.

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May 25th, 2009
Rush: A Brief History of Time Part II

Last month, I posted a collection of old Rush articles and interviews in a segment called Rush: A Brief History of Time. The articles were sent to me by reader Heiko Klages of Germany who was gracious enough to share some of these rare glimpses into the beginnings of Rush. Heiko sent me some additional articles that I wanted to share with you here. I hope you enjoy them.

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Up first is a fantastic 7-page article which appeared in the January 1975 edition of The Canadian Composer - a bilingual monthly music magazine. The article, titled Rush: Living the Rock and Roll Lifestyle was written by Richard Flohil and is presented below in both English and French-Canadian.

Rush: Living the Rock and Roll Lifestyle can be read here: Cover --- Page 2 --- Page 4 --- Page 5 --- Page 6 --- Page 7 --- Page 8 --- Page 9 --- Page 10 --- Page 11

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Up next is a short, uncredited article which appeared in the April 17th, 1976 edition of the UK music periodical Sounds. The article briefly discusses the similarities of Rush and Led Zeppelin from a Tolkien perspective. The article can be read HERE.

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The next article appeared in the April 27th, 1976 edition of Circus Magazine, a monthly American magazine devoted to rock music. The 2-page article, titled Behind Their Space Odyssey `2112` was written by Dan Nooger and, obviously, focuses on the band's quintessential concept album 2112.

Note the caption under the image of the band on the first page of the article. Apparently, ZZ Top refused to let the band play an encore after the "stole the show" in Cleveland. Love it!

Behind Their Space Odyssey `2112` can be read here: Page 1 --- Page 2

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The next article, titled Rush`s Concept is Rock and Roll originally appeared in the June 3rd-9th, 1976 edition of Scene magazine. Written by Nick Shofar, this article discusses 2112 and how the band attempted to "get away from the stigma of Led Zeppelin".

This article can be read via the following two links: Cover --- Article.

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Finally we have an early Billboard Article on the band called Rush Rushes Into U.S. Prominence which originally appeared in the August 28th, 1976 edition of the magazine. Written by Starr Arning, this short article briefly discusses Rush's early years, their upcoming appearance on the Don Kirshner's Rock Concert television show and how they expect to put "...a lighter part in the middle of [their] show..." after they begin headlining concerts. Definitely an interesting read.

And there you have it. Another look into the past of Rush. Thanks once again go out to reader Heiko Klages for sharing these fantastic articles.

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May 21st, 2009
Alex Lifeson Makes Guest Appearance at The Tragically Hip Concert

Canadian Rockers The Tragically Hip just completed a 6-night engagement at the Massey Hall in Toronto (where Rush recorded All The World's A Stage back in 1976). During the Hip's final show, none other than Alex Lifeson made an appearance during their 2-song encore. Alex performed with the band on The Last Recluse which appeared on the album We Are The Same as well as the song Little Bones from the album Road Apples.

Alex's appearance during the encore can be viewed via the YouTube video below (or click HERE for a direct like to the YouTube video.)

Thanks to RIAB for the news.

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May 20th, 2009
Rush News Bullets

Apologies for the lack of updates lately folks. With the recent release of the new Star Trek movie, I've been spending time on the other side of Cygnus-X1.Net. So, here some some of the most recent Rush related news stories.

- CBC Interview with Geddy Lee & Alex Lifeson Now Online: Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson were interviewed by Jian Ghomeshi for the May 20th edition of CBC's cultural affairs show "Q". The program, which aired on CBC Radio One, is now available for streaming at this location.

- Rush included in "Rock Band Classic Rock Track Pack" : The all new "Classic Rock Track Pack" for Rock Band was recently released and includes two tracks from Rush ("Closer To The Heart" and "Red Barchetta"). "Rock Band Track Pack Classic Rock" is a standalone game, meaning that players do not need to own a standard copy of a Rock Band game to play it. Players can enjoy all the great features of Rock Band, including: Solo and Band Tour Mode, Quickplay, Tug of War, Score Dual, and song unlock progression.

- 100 Obscure and Remarkable CD Covers : Smashing Magazine recently created a list of 100 Obscure and Remarkable CD Covers and Rush's own Power Windows topped the list.

While recording artists and bands are busy recording their albums, a separate effort is usually being made behind the scenes to plan for the launch, promotion and circulation of the new tracks. The creation of CD cover art is an intergral part of this process.

Some CD covers feature heavily edited and airbrushed vanity photos of the musicians or recording artists. Thankfully, others are much more creative and work to create a cover image that reflects the mood, attitude or feel of the music it promotes. The most striking designs are those that capture both a buyer's attention and the essense of the music. Smashing Magazine

Rush - Power Windows (1985)
This strange cover seems to be showing a mirrored world, where we sit and watch a window, surrounded by televisions.

The next edition of Rush: A Brief History of Time with be posted on Memorial Day Monday (May 25th). Enjoy the weekend and, for those of you celebrating, the Memorial Day holiday.

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May 13th, 2009
Last Chance to Vote for the Drum! Magazine 2009 Drummie Awards

Voting for Drum! Magazine's 2009 Drummie Awards closes this Friday. If you haven't done so already (or even if you have), place your VOTE today.

In addition to voting for the obvious Drummer (in various categories), we're also making a push to vote for the Neil Peart Drumsticks site in the category of Best Drumming Website (poll #15).

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May 6th, 2009
Rush News Bullets

- Drum Channel to Air Live Video Chat With Neil Peart: The Drum Channel will be airing a live telecast featuring Neil Peart, Doane Perry of Jethro Tull fame and Terry Bozzio; Frank Zappa's drummer on Thursday, June 18th at 3PM EST. The guests will be discussing the world of Progressive Rock Drumming and will be answering questions submitted by fans via the Drum Channel's chat room. Or, if you so choose, you can email your questions in advanced to [email protected].

- Buddy Rich Memorial Concert 2008 3 Disc DVD Set: Last year's Buddy Rich Memorial Concert, which took place in New York City and featured, among other artists, Neil Peart will be offered up as a 3-DVD Disc set at the end of the month. For more information and to sign up for an alert when the set is available, click HERE.

- Geddy Lee & Alex Lifeson to Appear on CBC Radio's Q: Geddy & Alex are scheduled to appears as guests on CBC Radio's Q with Jian Ghomeshi sometime during the week of May 21st. The program airs weekdays at 10AM on CBC Radio One (Channel 137 on Sirius Satellite Radio). A rebroadcast of the interview will likely make its way to the internet shortly thereafter. We'll post a link once it becomes available.

- Soundtracks Keep Old Hits Alive: A recent article from the Vancouver Sun discusses the proliferation of Rush "sightings" in movies this year; from the recently released Adventureland to FanBoys and last month's I Love You, Man.

Two films that opened last weekend pay homage to classic Rush tracks. Adventureland, set in an amusement park in the summer of 1987, features an inspired a cappella version of Limelight -- ironically, it first appeared on the band's Moving Pictures album -- by Barret Hackney's character Munch, whose grasp of the lyrics is a little tenuous.

"For those who think and feel," he squeals in his best Geddy Lee falsetto, before resorting to: "Blah blah-blah blah-blah blah-blaaah!"

In Fanboys, Dan Fogler (oddly similar in stature to Hackney) is a Star Wars fan with a plan and a van. The plan is to steal a copy of 1999's The Phantom Menace before its theatrical release, and the first rule in the van is that the tunes he plays must be all Rush, all the time.

YYZ and Tom Sawyer (also from 1981's Moving Pictures album) play on the soundtrack.

I'll also be posting another edition of Rush: A Brief History of Time with a new collection of early Rush articles from the 1970's. Look for it soon.

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May 1st, 2009
Win Signed Vintage Rush Posters!

The latest edition of Rush Connect, the official Rush Mailing List, just announced that the Rush Mobile Store is holding a special contest.

Join Rush Mobile and you could win a piece of Rush history!

In honor of the release of Retrospective III, we are giving fans the opportunity to win signed, vintage Rush posters. ACTUAL vintage posters - not re-prints - all signed by the guys.

We have ten of them to give away and all you need to do is sign up for Rush mobile between April 30, 2009 and May 15, 2009. On May 18, 2009 we will randomly pick ten winners and let you know via text that you have won.

Already a Rush Mobile member? You're already entered. If not, join today to win.

Good luck!

Click HERE to subscriber to the Rush Connect Mailing List.

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April 30th, 2009
Extended Cameo Appearance from I Love You, Man

An extended version of Rush's cameo appearance in the movie I Love You, Man is now available online. The original concert scene from the bromance comedy, which stars Paul Rudd and Jason Segel, clocked in at just about one minute. The version online, however, includes the entire rendition of Limelight and runs over 4 minutes in length.

You can watch the video at this LINK or via the player below.

Many thanks to RushIaABand.Com for passing along the news.

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April 29th, 2009
Win a Signed Copy of Snakes & Arrows

A new contest from the the Rush Backstage Club is now underway. This time out, the prize is a signed copy of Rush's Snakes & Arrows studio album.

All three members of the band signed this CD copy of the album which makes this a rare treat for any Rush fan.

The contest closes on May 10th, 2009 so get your entries in now.

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April 22nd, 2009
Drum! Magazine's 2009 Drummie Awards - Vote Now

Drum! Magazine has now opened up the voting for the 2009 Drummie Awards. You can place your vote in a number of categories via this LINK.

In addition to voting for the obvious Drummer (in various categories), we're also making a push to vote for the Neil Peart Drumsticks site in the category of Best Drumming Website (poll #15).

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April 20th, 2009
Rush To Appear on In the Studio with Redbeard

Marking the 35th anniversary of their debut album, Rush, the band (Geddy & Alex) are set to appear on In The Studio With Redbeard during the week of April 20th.

For a preview of the interview, click HERE and look on the left side of the page for the 'Rush' cover image. You can also click HERE for a list of stations where you can listen to the interview.

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April 16th, 2009
Rush: A Brief History Of Time

Though this section is typically reserved for "New" Rush News, I definitely wanted to share some newfound "Classic" news on the band. Over the past few weeks, reader Heiko Klages of Germany has been passing me some very old - and rare - articles and advertisements on the band. I have to say, there are a few articles here that I've never seen, so I'm excited to bring them to the rest of you to enjoy.

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First up is an articled titled Rush: Deadly Serious About Their Music by John Ayearst which was originally published back on March 21, 1974. This early article is one of the few that discusses the band with late, original drummer John Rutsey. The article is in two parts and can be read here: Page 1 --- Page 2.

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Next up is a very early review of Rush's debut album called Rush Rock Sound Crisp and Strong by Bill Provick which originally appeared in the May 30th, 1974 edition of The (Ottawa) Citizen.

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Later in 1974, Rush made what was probably their first appearance in Billboard Magazine with this articled titled Rush Hot On Circuit. This uncredited short article appeared in the October 19th, 1974 edition of Billboard and includes a rare picture of the band with Neil Peart. Alongside the band are Joe McHugh and Greg McCutcheon of "ATI"; the organization who booked Rush for their early, New York gigs. Also included in the picture is Rush's first "American" manager Ira Blacker. All three are mentioned in the liner notes from Rush's debut album.

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In March of 1975, the Music Canada Quarterly Magazine published a two-page spread on the band titled A Rush of Sound by Cliff Lorimer. There are a lot of interesting tidbits in this article including how, early on, the band was confused with other bar bands/trios who were also called Rush. Also of interest is the mention that, even back in 1975, Rush was thinking about recording a live album at Toronto's Massey Hall. About 15 months after this article was published, Rush did end up recording their first live album at Massey. We, of course, all know it as All The World's A Stage.

A Rush of Sound can be read here: Cover --- Page 1 --- Page 2.

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Moving along, here's a short article/review simply titled Rush written by Geoff Barton. Mr. Barton is also well known for having penned the "words" behind both the 2112 Tour Book as well as the first volume of Rush: The Words and the Pictures.

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Moving along chronologically, the March 1976 edition of Creem (America's Only Rock 'n' Roll) Magazine included a two-page article called Rush: Pebbles & Bam-Bam in Alphaville by Rick Johnson. Yep, you read that title correctly. Of course, any article that begins with...

"The first thing you notice about Rush, according to one observer, is that they're not as gross-looking as Bachman-Turner Overdrive and they have a somewhat lower thud weight than most other Canadian bands.

...has to be, well, interesting. Check out the entire, interesting read here: Cover --- Page 1 --- Page 2.

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Finally, outside of this early advertisement for 2112, comes an article titled How To Click Without Airplay. Published in the December 22nd, 1976 edition of Variety, this article, sub-titled Canadian Rock Trio, Rush, Brushed Off By Radio Station, But Sells Records is an interesting look back at how Rush, against all odds, did succeed. Apologies for the poor quality of the scanned article.

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Enormous thanks go out again to reader Heiko Klages for providing me with these (and other) rare Rush news clippings.

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April 15th, 2009
A Trio Of Rush Stories in the Chicago Tribune

The April 15th edition of the Chicago Tribune has 3 stories related to Rush with a blurb about the Rush-related content on the first page of the newspaper.

The first article, titled Rush Fans Make Their Way Out of the Woodwork discusses the new found popularity of the group these days with the declaration that "...liking Rush is cool."

The second short article, titled Rush: Your Questions Answered is a short review for the non-fan about what the band is all about. I was laughing out loud at the comment made by Chicago photographer Chris Schneberger who said: "Whenever I can, when I get a check in a restaurant and it's like around $18 or so, I will round up the tip until the final bill is '$21.12.' I know, it's pathetic." And I thought I was the only one who did that!

The third article, titled Cover Band Chronicles Rush's Hits discusses the Rush Tribute Band Chronicles, A History of Rush. Aptly named, this cover band "...play Rush-the hits ("Tom Sawyer"), the obscurities, the epics-in chronological order. And only chronological order."

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April 11th, 2009
Rush News Bullets

Last week, at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony, Metallica's James Hetfield began his thanks with a list of bands he'd like to see enter the hall next, including KISS, RUSH, THIN LIZZY, TED NUGENT, IRON MAIDEN and MOTÖRHEAD. You can see the speech via this YouTube video (around the 5 minute mark). Thanks to reader Austin Kelso, GeddyWannaBe, RayM and others who shot me this news. Other notable Rush pieces this week include...

- Allaire Studios to Close Down: As a sign of the times, Allaire Studios, the recording studio that Rush used for Snakes & Arrows appears to be closing down.

The long-term problem is that Allaire is very specifically targeted to the music business, and increasingly the way albums are being made we kind of ran into the perfect storm of producer-and-artist home studios and failing retail. Those things combined to seal the studio's fate.

You can read more about the studio closing down via this link. Thanks to reader Gregg Olson for the news link.

- Japanese Rush Mini-LP SHM-CD's: Rush fan site Power Windows recently posted about some newly reissued Rush "Mini LP SHM-CD's".

Coming this June, Warner Music Japan will be reissuing RUSH's first 12 studio albums as Mini-LP SHM-CD's. Although the data itself is not remastered, these "super high material" cd's purportedly improve the original audio through the use of new plastic material which is much clearer than normal cd's, thus reducing mechanical distortion and improving resolution. There are already some detrators to this technology, however.

Thanks to Ed from Power Windows for sharing this news.

- 2112 Drum Transcription Songbook: Alfred Music Publishing has just announced the release of a new drum transcription songbook for Rush's 1976 classic album 2112. From the press release:

Alfred expands their Classic Album Editions songbooks for drums with 2112 by Rush, the band's fourth album. Rush's earliest commercially successful hit, 2112 is considered to be their first true "classic" album. With a unique blend of heavy rock and progressive rock, Rush crafted a true masterpiece in the seven-movement suite "2112," a concept piece with lyrics by Neil Peart that tells the story of a futuristic society controlled by technology. Titles: 2112 A Passage to Bangkok The Twilight Zone Lessons Tears * Something for Nothing. 2112, authentic drumset edition, is now available for $14.95.

You can order the book via the Alfred Music Publishing website or through Amazon.Com.

- Rush Rock Madness Win: Rush turned out on top in Pittsburgh's WDVE 102.5 Greatest Band Ever poll. Rush beat out the likes of Jethro Tull, Neil Young, AC/DC, The Who, Pink Floyd and finally Led Zeppelin to bring home the win. Nicely done, Pittsburgh fans!

Watch for a "historic" post early next week. Have a good weekend, all.

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April 10th, 2009
New Rush T-Shirts from Salty Rockz

Howard Johnson of SaltyRockz.Com recently contacted me about some new Rush related t-shirts that he created for the UK based independent online store.

I like to listen to what Saltyrockz customers want - and Rush fans bombarded the site's 'next shirt' poll to demand a tee with their favourite band. I replied with a Rush line-up shirt and am now introducing shirts for each individual member. Geddy and Alex are available now with Neil going up at midnight tonight. I've also written a Rush themed blog that you can read on the site.

To see all the Rush related items (and to place your order), simply type 'Rush' in the search box on the main page of the SaltyRockz.Com website.

Thanks, of course, to HoJo for passing along this news.

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April 3rd, 2009
5 Things You Didn't Know: Rush

AskMen.Com, the online men's magazine, just posted a new article in their '5 Things You Didn't Know' section; this one focusing on Rush. And while there's nothing really new in the article and it's somewhat unflattering for the band and its fans, it does reflect the growing popularity of the band in light of their recent film cameo in I Love You, Man.

Rush is one of the most polarizing bands in the history of music, spawning just as many seething detractors as they have adoring fans. Speaking of their fans, they've been unflatteringly described as the Trekkies of rock 'n' roll. Rush is enjoying a bit of a renaissance right now, thanks in no small part to their prominent role in the plot of the new movie I Love You, Man, which shows everyone that you no longer have to hide in your garage to listen to 2112.

You can read about the 5 things that we all know about Rush via this LINK.

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April 2nd, 2009
Geddy Lee Interview in Heeb Magazine

A new in-depth interview with Geddy Lee has just appeared in issue #20 of Heeb Magazine.

Rush bassist/lead singer Geddy Lee is a rock icon. He is also Gary Lee Weinrib, born in Willowdale, Toronto, to Holocaust survivors Mary and Morris Weinrib. Perhaps this provides a clue as to why so many confused suburban teenage boys-myself included-spent hours in their respective dimly lit basements air-guitaring along to Rush-because Lee himself was once a confused suburban teenage boy grappling with self-confidence, religion and identity.

These weighty themes of alienation and insecurity resurface time and time again throughout Rush's 19-album catalogue-whether it's exemplified by the self-proclaimed cast-outs in "Subdivisions," the pent-up, corporate slave in "Working Man" or the powerless puppet in "Freewill." Recently, I chatted with Lee during one of his rare breaks from a nearly 30-year touring schedule and from racking up the praise for his cinematic turn in the new Paul Rudd/Jason Segel comedy, I Love You, Man.

The article/interview which is titled A Show of Hands can be read in its entirety via this LINK.

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