It's hard to believe, but 2011 stands to be just as epic of a year for Rush as 2010 was. The Rush documentary Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage is nominated for a Grammy Award and the band kicks off their 2011 Time Machine Tour in late March where they'll be filming their April 15th show in Cleveland for their next live DVD - the first ever full-length US Rush show to be filmed for video release. So it's likely we'll see a live DVD release later in the year along with the band's Clockwork Angels album, although it's possible we'll have to wait until early 2012 for that. New tour, new live DVD, new album ... what more could a Rush fan ask for?! Bring on 2011!
Something else we could potentially see in 2011 is another reissue of Rush's entire back catalog. This was mentioned briefly in a Prog magazine article earlier this year but no details were given. From what I've been hearing lately, this will coincide with the release of Clockwork Angels and include Rush's entire catalog up through and including Vapor Trails.
The first thing we'll be looking for in the New Year is the official announcement of cities/dates from Rush regarding the summer portion of the 2011 Time Machine Tour. So far we know that the band will be hitting New Orleans, Austin, Los Angeles, Vancouver and several other cities in the West/Southwest but we don't have any specific dates/venues yet. There's also a rumor going around that Rush will be playing a June 4th date in Barcelona based on this listing at eventful.com. I've been informed by Rush's management that this rumor is false and that there will be no Barcelona date unfortunately.
We are very proud to be nominated for this film. Rush has been nominated for seven Grammys in the past and never won. So we are hoping to bring this one home for the boys.
We also learned just yesterday that the documentary was the number 2 bestselling music video of 2010 according to Neilsen SoundScan, and the bestselling overall for a rock band with 118K units sold.
"With the Moving Pictures portion of the show out of the way - not to mention Peart's obligatory but still jaw-dropping rotating-kit drum solo - Rush get even more sneaky, denying us the 'woah woah!' last-verse acceleration of 'Closer to the Heart' by suddenly downshifting into a slower arrangement; later in the encore, they apply a oompah-loompah polka intro to 'La Villa Strangiato' and, most radically, perform the first half of their 1971 Sabbath-worshipping screed 'Working Man' as an after-hours blues-club swing. Taken individually, these digressions may just seem like random joking around, but collectively, they teach a valuable lesson about maintaining one's inspiration and vitality 40 years into a career. Whether your job is working the customer-service line at a call centre or singing some of the world's most beloved rock anthems to arena crowds of 16,000 every night, you're eventually going to get sick of doing the same thing day-in, day-out. By taking such great liberties with their most famous songs - and investing newer material like the literally explosive set closer 'Far Cry' with a force that belies their pushing-60 ages - Rush effectively ensure this latter phase of their career amounts to something more meaningful than mere classic-rock karaoke."
Coincidentally, I just finally received the attendance figures for this show from reader Heiko. You can check them out in the tour section.
Rush's 1981 classic Moving Pictures album will be the subject of an hour-long In The Studio with Redbeard rockumentary radio show which will air this upcoming week and also be available for listening online this coming Monday, January 3rd. The show will feature interview segments with all 3 members of Rush presumably from past In The Studio interviews where they discuss the album. Moving Pictures is the centerpiece of Rush's Time Machine Tour where they play the entire album front to back. The album will celebrate its 30th anniversary on February 12th of next year. Judging by past In The Studio album anniversary shows, it's not expected that any new interview segments will be included in the program but it should be a good listen nonetheless. You can listen to a short preview segment at the In The Studio website.
Prog-rock and heavy metal were fused more brilliantly than ever on this conceptual effort, which proved to be Rush's breakthrough album. Spanning one full album-side, the 20-minute title track presented a harrowing portrait of a world in which individual expression is crushed at every level. Alex Lifeson's metal riffs gave the music a hard edge that distinguished it from the flighty tendencies of Rush's British prog-rock counterparts. Today, many of the album's themes seem prescient.
The Peacemaker: L.A. Gang Wars is a new five-part A&E mini-series which chronicles street gang mediation in South Central Los Angeles. The series is executive produced by rapper/actor Ice-T who also recorded the show's theme song which include a sample of Rush's Tom Sawyer. Thanks to Power Windows for the heads up.
Best 2010 song by a three-man Canadian power trio: Rush - Caravan. Since any Rush song would by default go near the top of my yearly lists, I carved out their own category. Long after their contemporaries are playing third stage at the local Corn Dog festival, Rush are more popular now than ever. "Caravan" features one of their best in-song jams, proving they still have it, and then some.
Earlier this year Ben Sommer launched his music discovery podcast and blog Bands Like Rush where bands that have some kind of connection or similarity to Rush are interviewed. Ben happens to also be an accomplished musician himself and recently released his very own album of edgy, political prog rock titled America'd which you can check out at this link. Ben also promises to have many new Bands like Rush podcasts in the new year. Thanks Ben!
Rush's Time Machine Tour has made Pollstar.com's list of the Top Tours of 2010. It was number 40 on the list of the Top 50 Worldwide Concert Tours, grossing about $32.1 million; and number 26 on the list of the Top 50 North American Tours, grossing around $26.4 million. Rush will be bringing the Time Machine Tour to Europe in 2011 along with several US and Canadian cities that were missed on the 2010 leg. Thanks to Tony R for the heads up.
It's quiet in Rush-land this Christmas Eve as many of us settle in and wait for Santa to arrive late this evening with sacks full of Rush swag for all of us good little Rush fans (the naughty ones will receive lumps of coal and Justin Bieber CDs). This past Tuesday we celebrated International Rush Day - the 21st day of the 12th month or 21/12 as written in many parts of the world. The occasion has become an unofficial Rush holiday in recent years. Thanks to everybody who helped celebrate and attended the Facebook event I'd created. Also thanks to Ray M for creating that cool logo.
Rush's 1981 classic Moving Pictures album will be the subject of an hour-long In The Studio with Redbeard rockumentary radio show which will air the week of January 3rd and also be available for listening online. The show will feature interview segments with all 3 members of Rush presumably from past In The Studio interviews where they discuss the album. Moving Pictures is the centerpiece of Rush's Time Machine Tour where they play the entire album front to back. The album will celebrate its 30th anniversary on February 12th of next year. Judging by past In The Studio album anniversary shows, it's not expected that any new interview segments will be included in the program but it should be a good listen nonetheless. You can listen to a short preview segment at the In The Studio website.
Alex Lifeson participated in the 6th annual Andy Kim Christmas Show last week at The Mod Club in Toronto, ON. All proceeds went to the Regent Park School of Music. Several other prominent Canadian bands/musicians performed including Ron Sexsmith, Divine Brown and Platinum Blonde. Readers State of Grace and rear view mirror were lucky enough to attend the show and took several photos and uploaded a couple of videos to YouTube. If you're on Facebook you can see the photos at this link, and check out the videos in this post. Reader Andrew W also attended the show and reports that the songs Alex performed on were (in order) Shoot Em Up Baby, Santa Claus Is Coming to Town, Sugar Sugar and Rock Me Gently. He posted some photos online which you can check out at this link and also posted videos of Alex's performances on Santa Claus is Coming to Town and Sugar Sugar.
It was great being on tour with Rush. I really loved hanging with those guys and getting to know Alex Lifeson a bit. They're such pros, man. I learned a lot about touring and how to put on a show from watching them and their whole crew. They're seasoned veterans. Watching their entire operation was pretty eye-opening.
Thanks to RushFanForever for the heads up.
Reader/blogger Jaybird of Jaybird's Jottings has graciously named yours truly the Blogger of the Decade! I'm not sure that I necessarily deserve that honor, but it's very flattering nonetheless. Thanks Jay! :)
RushFanForever let me know that Crawdaddy Magazine's Max Mobley has posted his year-end list of the most noteworthy items in music, gear, and technology from the past year. It's called The Year in Riot Gear! and includes Rush at the top of the list:
1. Prog goes Mainstream Not just prog, Canadian power-trio prog. The band Rush suddenly became cool in 2010. And it only took 42 years. Their amazingly successful (and, don't forget, pricey) summer tour bucked the 2010 Music Industry trend of a dismal summer touring season. That is so Rush-the ying to the music industry's smelly yang. The interesting thing is, Rush did not change their music or style in order to find a larger audience. A larger audience discovered the merits of progressive music as delivered by three Canadians who don't take themselves too seriously. They still make the music they want to make, and it still totally sounds like Rush. Don't ask me to explain it, though the lack of modern big name rock bands of serious integrity and quality plays a role. And though they are on a big label, their ethics are indie all the way. Rush's success-derived from intense, active musicianship, lyrics that are not about pussy or drugs or guns, and songs that take several listens to find the hook-gives hope to those of us worried that rock 'n' roll had become a digital parlor trick that only required three fingers and one thumb to master. That's a good sign for all you musicians out there. And a serious backlash against the formulaic drivel that the industry mistook as art instead of commerce.
A couple of weeks ago the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announced its slate of inductees for 2011 which of course excluded Rush. Rush also didn't make the cut on the first ballot for the website The People's Hall - which aims to create a fan-based alternative to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. However, they are up for selection on the second ballot which is now open for voting. Thanks to George for the heads up. And while on the subject of the Rock Hall, DJ and Rush fan Eddie Trunk has a poll up on his website which asks the question Now that Alice Cooper is finally going in the Rock Hall, what overlooked artist should be next? Rush is one of the options and is currently trailing behind KISS. So go vote for Rush! Thanks to zapfan for the heads up.
RushFanForever let me know about a motorcycling book that was released this past summer by Lee Klancher called The Devil Can Ride: The World's Best Motorcycle Writing. It includes a story from Motorcylist Magazine's editor-in-chief Brian Catterson called Rockin' and Rollin'... Rollin'... Rollin', where Catterson shares his story of riding with Neil Peart from concert to concert during the Vapor Trails tour.
A friend of mine pointed me to this online interactive Map of Metal which diagrams the genealogy of heavy metal music in the form of a map. If you click on Progressive Metal Rush's Bastille Day is featured as one of the early examples of the genre. You can check out the map at this link.
Dean and Ashley Bobisud, the owners of Neil Peart's first Slingerland drum kit which he used from Fly By Night through 2112 have sent out their 2nd annual Chromey Christmas Card. This year's card shows a drumming-themed Christmas tree posed behind the kit along with a Christmas tree decoration parts list. You can check out the card at Andrew Olson's site at this link and I've also included it below.
A 2010 Chromey Christmas Greeting
We'd like to thank all the fans and drumming community for your help and support during the past year. We may have provided the opportunity to see and play this historical drum kit, but this kit really belongs to you, the fans. You're the ones who have made this a success.
Wishing all of you Happy Holidays and prosperous New Year,
- Dean & Ashley Bobisud
This vintage Chromey Christmas tree consists of the following parts...
(1) 7' Douglas Fir Christmas Tree (Sorry, they sold out of Willow trees!) (1) 20" Green 8 Lug Tree Stand Base (12) KSA Style 2 1/2" Copper Wrap Ornaments (12) KSA Style 2 1/2" Chrome Ornaments (6) Regency Style 3 1/2" Chrome Ornaments (30') Blue & Silver Chrome Garland (100) Traditions Vintage C9 Lights with Multi Color Ceramic Bulbs (24) Promark 747 NP Drumsticks (12) LP Brass Bar Chimes (1) 7" Starman Tree Topper
And Last But Not Least - Complimented By...
(1) 1974 Chrome Slingerland Drum Kit Once Owned and Used by Neil Peart of Rush
Rush's 1981 classic Moving Pictures album will be the subject of an hour-long In The Studio with Redbeard rockumentary radio show which will air the week of January 3rd and also be available for listening online. The show will feature interview segments with all 3 members of Rush presumably from past In The Studio interviews where they discuss the album. Moving Pictures is the centerpiece of Rush's Time Machine Tour where they play the entire album front to back. The album will celebrate its 30th anniversary on February 12th of next year. Judging by past In The Studio album anniversary shows, it's not expected that any new interview segments will be included in the program but it should be a good listen nonetheless. You can listen to a short preview segment at the In The Studio website. Thanks to Mark for the heads up.
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Free video lesson from Drum Channel's Neil Peart Master Class
FREE Neil Peart Lesson 9 - Neil performs his warm-up routine
Watch Neil as he performs his warm-up routine in Lesson 9 from his Drum Channel Master Class, Frontiers of Composition and Articulation.
Neil has shaped the world of drumming for thousands of drummers and his Master Class is an amazing drum jam, a conversation with world-renowned teacher Freddie Gruber, and an introspective look into the creative concepts of one of the most iconic musicians of our time. His class will equip you with creative concepts and applications to expand your musical vocabulary. Neil shares what he has learned in the areas of composition and articulation in what may be one of the most entertaining, educational and articulate lessons you will ever take.
UPDATE - 12/21@7:09PM: Thanks to Ray MMark G for the cool International Rush Day logo.
UPDATE - 12/21@12:43PM: By complete coincidence, internet talk radio program Used Bin Radio will have former Rush engineer Adam Moseley as a guest on tonight's program. Moseley assisted in the engineering/mixing of both Hemispheres and Permanent Waves at the legendary Trident Studios in London. You can tune in online at this link tonight from 7-10PM PST (10-1 EST). Thanks to RushFanForever for the heads up.
Today is the 21st day of the 12th month - often written as 21/12 in many parts of the world. The occasion has become a sort of unofficial Rush holiday in recent years. What better excuse do you need to listen to Rush all day long, watch Rush DVDs, wear Rush paraphernalia, etc.? To make it especially significant, do something extra special at exactly 9:12PM this evening; 21:12 in military time. The event also coincides with the Winter Solstice (First Day of Winter) and a rare total eclipse of the moon which took place early this morning, where the Earth sat directly Between Sun & Moon (thanks to RUSHnATL for making that connection). For all the folks on Facebook: I created an event for International Rush Day here. Happy International Rush Day!
General ticket sales for all 13 dates on the Eastern US/Canada portion of Rush's 2011 Time Machine Tour are now well underway. Some great seats still remain for most of the shows including VIP ticket packages which will get you a seat in the first 15 rows along with a bundle of Rush swag. A few readers who have purchased the VIP packages have asked me how and when they'll receive their package of swag. Good question! On the last tour the redemption process was a big fiasco so hopefully history won't repeat itself and things will run more smoothly this go-around. To give you an idea of the hoops folks had to jump through to get the merchandise for the last tour, check out this post from back in July. If you can't get the seats you want through the regular channels, there are always the various ticket broker sites and eBay. And you can also check the have/need tix threads on the tour page. Things should be relatively quiet on the tour front until after the New Year when Rush should be announcing specific dates and ticket sale information for the Southern/Western US/Canada leg of the tour which will kick off in June. Now that tickets for all of the 13 North American dates so far have gone on sale, I thought for my next poll I'd ask everyone which show(s) they'll be attending. Take the poll and let us know. In my last poll I asked everybody which of the non-Moving Pictures songs that they thought Rush should drop from their 2011 setlist. Stick It Out was the clear winner (loser?) with over 22% of the vote. The only other track that came close was Faithless with 17%. You can view the complete results here.
Last year a documentary from filmmaker Paul Miil titled The Big Story of Small Potatoes was released. The film explores the Niagara music scene of the late 60's and early 70's of which Neil Peart played a major part. Neil Peart was not interviewed for the documentary but Jimmy Johnson, who later became a guitar tech for Alex Lifeson, is interviewed. The film also makes reference to several bands that Neil played in including JR Flood - which has their song Giant Killer included on the soundtrack. The film's website also includes a list of several other bands that Neil purportedly played with. According to an interview with the filmmaker the film was originally intended to focus on Neil Peart but later increased in scope as he conducted his research. The entire film has been uploaded to YouTube and can be watched in 4 parts at this link. It's also available for free download for smartphones at this link.
Enter Music Publishing are publishers of drum and percussion magazines worldwide including DRUM! Their annual Drummies readers poll has been gaining in popularity year after year and in 2010 had over 6500 drummers cast ballots, and for the fourthyearin arow Neil Peart won Drummer of the Year. Next year Enter Music Publishing will have its 20th anniversary and in celebration will be launching a Drummies Hall Of Fame. Neil Peart along with 10 other famous drummers who have won 5 or more total Drummie awards will be inducted in January of next year. You can get all the details in the press release at this link.
Neil Peart is a rock god! Unfortunately, the lead singer of his band is Geddy Lee. This is a deal breaker for me personally. But who am I to stand in the way of Canada's great progressive-rock juggernaut? Induct 'em!
... I was never a huge Rush fan, but when I was a preteen growing up in Kanata [a suburb of Ottawa], I remember having some kind of epiphany while they were playing that song at the roller disco, with the lights flashing and the music really loud. And later, I'd be in these campfire sing-along situations, and someone would say, "Selina, why don't you sing something?" I just hated that, and it was always uncomfortable, so the way to kill the campfire sing-along was to do The Spirit of Radio, because nobody could play along! ...
While on the subject of Rush covers, Canadian thrash metal band Sacrifice included a cover of Rush's Anthem on the Canadian release of their 2009 album The Ones I Condemn. The track was also included on a recent limited release 7" vinyl split with Canadian thrash punk band Propagandhi who covers Corrosion of Conformity's Technocracy on the flip side. You can listen to the track on YouTube at this link. Thanks to Andy D for the heads up.
There was an indirect Rush reference on a recent episode of CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory (Season 4, Episode 10, The Alien Parasite Hypothesis). In the show's opening sequence the character Sheldon asks his friends what the best number is
Raj: 5,318,008.
Sheldon: Wrong. The best number is 73. You are probably wondering why. 73 is the 21st prime number, it's mirror, 37, is the 12th, and its mirror, 21, is the product of... hang on to your hats, 7 and 3. Ha ha... did I lie?
Howard: We get it, 73 is the Chuck Norris of numbers.
Sheldon: Chuck Norris wishes... In binary, 73 is a palindrome, 1001001 which backwards is 1001001, exactly the same. All Chuck Norris backwards gets you is Sirron Kcuhc.
So they indirectly link the numbers 2112 to 1001001 - which is in the chorus of Rush's The Body Electric. You can watch a video of the exchange at this link (thanks RUSHnATL).
Reader Mark K alerted me to a new wiki at wikia.com dedicated completely to Rush. They have a good bit of information compiled already. If you want to check it out or even help contribute just go to this link.
Alex Lifeson has been using his downtime between tours to help out a few charitable causes. He's teamed up with Toronto's Carparelli Guitars and last month signed a Carparelli S3 guitar that will be auctioned off to raise money for Autism Speaks Canada. And he also just recently signed the Jim Warren Freedom charity guitar for Carparelli. This guitar was painted by surrealistic fantasy artist Jim Warren and has also been signed by The Beach Boys and Kris Kristofferson. After receiving a few more signatures it will be auctioned off in February in support of War Child. Both auctions are still currently unannounced, so stay tuned for details. And Dean Markly Strings has generously donated a package of guitar strings to a charity auction for Y&T bass player Phil Kennemore who is battling metastatic cancer. The package includes a 12-pack of Alex Lifeson LTHBV Signature Series Strings signed by Alex himself. You can bid on the item at this link. Alex also participated in the 6th annual Andy Kim Christmas Show Wednesday night at The Mod Club in Toronto, ON. All proceeds went to the Regent Park School of Music. Several other prominent Canadian bands/musicians performed including Ron Sexsmith, Divine Brown and Platinum Blonde. Readers State of Grace and rear view mirror were lucky enough to attend the show and took several photos and uploaded a couple of videos to YouTube. If you're on Facebook you can see the photos at this link, and I've grabbed a few of the best ones which you can see by clicking the thumbnails above. Here's the grand finale performance of Andy Kim's hit Rock Me Gently:
That's all for this week. Have a great weekend everyone!
Another interview with Alex Lifeson from wine expert Mark Oldman
In an exclusive interview inside his home wine cellar, RUSH's legendary axeman Alex Lifeson tells Mark Oldman about the week-long winemaker internships he and bandmate Geddy Lee did at Joseph Phelps Winery and at Turley Wine Cellars. He fondly recalls how during crush he and Geddy were so covered in grape juice that they were mistaken for Napa locals at a nearby eatery.
You can watch the video below or at this link. Thanks to Laura R for the heads up.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
The Big Story of Small Potatoes documentary now on YouTube
Last year a documentary from filmmaker Paul Miil titled The Big Story of Small Potatoes was released. The film explores the Niagara music scene of the late 60's and early 70's of which Neil Peart played a major part. Neil Peart was not interviewed for the documentary but Jimmy Johnson, who later became a guitar tech for Alex Lifeson, is interviewed. The film also makes reference to several bands that Neil played in including JR Flood - which has their song Giant Killer included on the soundtrack. The film's website also includes a list of several other bands that Neil purportedly played with. According to an interview with the filmmaker the film was originally intended to focus on Neil Peart but later increased in scope as he conducted his research. The entire film has been uploaded to YouTube and can be watched in 4 parts at this link. Here's part one:
The documentary is also available for free download for smartphones at this link. Thanks to RushFanForever for the heads up.
Pictures and video of Alex Lifeson at the Andy Kim Christmas Concert
UPDATE - 12/20@3:48PM: Reader Andrew W also attended the show and posted some photos online at this link. He also reports that the songs Alex performed on were (in order) Shoot Em Up Baby, Santa Claus is Coming to Town, Sugar Sugar and Rock Me Gently.
UPDATE - 12/17@8:11AM: Here's a review of the concert from Spinner Canada (thanks RushFanForever).
As I'd mentioned a few weeks ago, Alex Lifeson performed at the 6th annual Andy Kim Christmas Show last night at The Mod Club in Toronto, ON. All proceeds went to the Regent Park School of Music. Along with Lerxst, several other prominent Canadian bands/musicians performed including Ron Sexsmith, Divine Brown and Platinum Blonde. Readers State of Grace and rear view mirror were lucky enough to attend the show and took several photos and uploaded a couple of videos to YouTube. If you're on Facebook you can see the photos at this link, and I've grabbed a few of the best ones which you can see by clicking the thumbnails above. Here is a video of Alex performing with Andy:
And here's the finale performance of Kim's hit Rock Me Gently:
UPDATE - 12/15@9:54AM: Reader Mark W just let me know of yet another charity auction that Alex Lifeson is involved with. Dean Markly Strings has generously donated a package of guitar strings to a charity auction for Y&T bass player Phil Kennemore who is battling metastatic cancer. The package includes a 12-pack of Alex Lifeson LTHBV Signature Series Strings signed by Alex himself. You can bid on the item at this link.
Alex Lifeson has been using his downtime between tours to team up with Toronto's Carparelli Guitars to help out a couple of worthy causes. Last month he signed a Carparelli S3 guitar that will be auctioned off to raise money for Autism Speaks Canada. And he also just recently signed the Jim Warren Freedom charity guitar for Carparelli. This guitar was painted by surrealistic fantasy artist Jim Warren and has also been signed by The Beach Boys and Kris Kristofferson. After receiving a few more signatures it will be auctioned off in February in support of War Child. Both auctions are still currently unannounced, so stay tuned for details. Alex will be supporting yet another charitable cause tomorrow evening when he participates in the 6th annual Andy Kim Christmas Concert where all proceeds will benefit the Regent Park School of Music. Thanks to RushFanForever and Power Windows for the heads up.
Monday, December 13, 2010
Pro-mark's Neil Peart mobile app now available for free download
The Neil Peart application and mobile website has been available to anyone who purchases a pair of his limited edition Time Machine Tour PW747W, but we're in the Christmas spirit, and want EVERYONE to join in on the fun!
All you have to do is text RUSH to 247365 or scan the QR code on the label of any LIMITED EDITION PW747W and you'll get a link to the mobile site along with an opportunity to download the Pro-Mark Neil Peart mobile app! Of course, standard text message rates will apply, and if you're on a limited data plan, keep your eye on the amount of data you're transmitting! ...
... The Neil Peart App Home Page is your portal to everything Neil on the Time Machine Tour! See up close photos, diagrams and lists of Neil's custom gear from DW, Sabian, Roland and Pro-Mark. Get updated band and touring news straight from the Rush website! With the app and mobile site, you'll be able to see exclusive videos taken ON STAGE during sound check. See up close footage of Neil playing your favorite Rush songs!! More videos will be posted in the next couple of weeks, so keep coming back for more. ...
Rush gets a quick mention in the most recent issue of Rolling Stone Magazine in a short article titled Canada to Earth: Party Like It's 2112! The article focuses on how it was a big year for Canadian pop culture with the success of Canadian pop singer Justin Bieber, Canadian rapper Drake and the Rush documentary Rush Beyond the Lighted Stage. You can check out a scan of the article here and read a transcription below.
Canada to Earth: Party Like It's 2112!
They come from the land of the ice and snow: the Canadian Invasion
Damn you, Canada! Is there no end to your cultural domination? The Dirty North had a heck of a year, giving the world the hottest new rapper, the hottest teen heartthrob and that totally awesome Rush documentary. Drake scored one U.S. radio smash after another, dropping his long-awaited debut album, Thank Me Later, while becoming Canada's most exciting hip-hop success story since Snow unleashed 12 Inches of Snow. His Ontario homey Justin Bieber stole the hearts of America's young ladies, with bangs that fluttered teasingly over his eyebrows. Biebermania reached the point where Kim Kardashian got death threats after paparazzi snapped her and Bieber frolicking on the beach. And the Rush flick Beyond the Lighted Stage got rerun on VH1 so many times, it became a weekend-afternoon hangover staple. All that's needed now is for Bieber to do an album of Rush covers. He better hustle, though, while his voice is still as high as Geddy Lee's. Today's Justin Bieber, he gets high on you!
Thanks to Dave T for the heads up and the scan.
Rush's Caravan makes Amazon's 100 Bestselling Songs of 2010
Pre-sales for 10 of the 13 dates on the Eastern US/Canada portion of Rush's 2011 Time Machine Tour kicked off earlier this week and finished up over the last day or so. Regular ticket sales for Nashville, Madison Square Garden, and Hamilton began earlier this morning at 10AM. Regular ticket sales for Greensboro, Louisville, Toledo, Cleveland and Montreal will kick off tomorrow with Florida and Chicago starting on Monday. After that things will quiet down until after the New Year when Rush should be announcing specific dates and ticket sale information for the Southern/Western US/Canada leg of the tour which will kick off in June. All we know about this portion of the tour so far is what was mentioned in a Rush.com newsletter that went out a couple weeks ago:
... The tour also returns to North America in June with performances in select markets that will include cities such as New Orleans, Austin, Vancouver and a very special return play in Los Angeles - more information on these dates and more soon! ...
As a tribute to the US city that first played their music, Rush confirms that the Cleveland performance of their Time Machine show on April 15th at the Quicken Loans Arena will be filmed for full-length release. Cleveland is remarkable for being one of the very first US cities where the band performed, in addition to being the first city to provide American airplay. This will be a must-see event for Rush fans in Cleveland - and for everyone able to make the road trip as it is will also mark the first live full-length filming on US soil ...
Classic Rock Magazine's January 2011 issue is a special 156-page edition dedicated to last month's Classic Rock Awards where Rush was given the Living Legend Award. Geddy Lee along with John Paul Jones, Ronnie Wood and Imelda May grace the cover and there's a feature story on Rush where Geddy Lee is interviewed. Geddy talks about the Moving Pictures album, the band's upcoming UK tour and a range of other subjects. You can check out the article by clicking on the thumbnails above.
Speaking of Geddy, rock journalist/author Greg Prato recently released a new book titled MTV Ruled the World: The Early Years of Music Video which features interview segments with Geddy Lee and several other famous rock musicians. Prato has interviewed Rush in the past including this recent Geddy Lee interview for Rolling Stone. Geddy's quotes appear throughout the book on a variety of MTV-related topics, including stories behind the videos for Tom Sawyer, Subdivisions, Distant Early Warning and The Big Money. The book is 427 pages long and priced at $24.99, but is currently on sale for $22.49. You can view samples from the book and order a copy at this link.
Music supervisor PJ Bloom of Fox's hit musical TV show Glee was recently interviewed for Vanity Fair magazine and had the following to say regarding who he dreams of featuring in a future episode:
... Personally, I'd also love to see the '80s hair-band episode, the punk-rock episode and, of course, the Rush episode-but then who wouldn't want to see the New Directions sing "Tom Sawyer"?! ...
That's been an urban myth for years. It's not my voice on 'Subdivisions' by Rush but I continue to get credit. I've tried to dispel it but won't go away.
... "We all shared Jacob Moon's performance of Subdivisions quite a long time ago and sent it to each other, 'Hey have you seen this?' because it's such a beautiful cover. The imaginative way that he uses the little cassette player to get my voice in there. It's superb." ...
Thanks to Power Windows for the information and the links.
Canadian magazine Macleans recently posted an article to their website called Second Life: Newsmaker Comebacks where they highlight celebrities who have made a recent comeback, and Rush is featured on their list:
The rock group has been performing since 1968, but the 2010 documentary Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage (in which Gene Simmons calls them "crazy Canadians" for their clean-living style) introduced them to a broader audience. The film was a success on the festival circuit, inspiring the band's Time Machine Tour, where they mostly played hits from their long career.
Comeback? They never went away! Thanks to John at Cygnus-X1.net for the heads up.
Speaking of John over at Cygnus-X1.net, he's holding his 4th Annual Holiday Rush Contest in celebration of the holiday season and the amazing year that was 2010 for Rush fans the world over. As in years past, he'll be giving away a great prize package filled with Rush goodies including the Rush documentary Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage, the 2112 and Moving Pictures Classic Albums DVD, the Time Machine Tour tourbook, a 2011 Rush Wall Calendar, the Caravan/BU2B CD single, a custom Cygnus-X1.NetCX1 Logo Stein and one mystery gift. For more information and to enter the contest click here. The contest will end on or about December 24th with a winner being announced shortly thereafter. Thanks John!
Speaking of contests, there's a new contest at the Rush Backstage Club where you could win a Moving Pictures-themed 2011 Rush Wall Calendar. The contest runs through December 22nd and you can enter at this link. Thanks to hermy for the heads up.
VH1 will be airing a documentary special on rock groupies this coming Wednesday, December 15th called Let's Spend the Night Together. One of the groupies featured in the special is Connie Hamzy. Hamzy was on Howard Stern's radio show Wednesday promoting the documentary and mentioned the boys from Rush:
... Connie said there was one drummer who got away: "I haven't had Neal Pert. That I regret." She has, however, banged the other two guys in Rush. ...
Well... 2 out of 3 ain't bad I guess. Thanks to Doug B and Tony H for the heads up.
Author and Rush fan Kat Lively will soon be releasing a book titled Dead Barchetta, which is a work of fiction with several Rush tie-ins including a main character who is a musician nicknamed Lerxst. The book was part of a recent RushCon auction where the winning bidder was written in as a character in the book. Dead Barchetta will release on December 21st (International Rush Day) and you can find out more about the book and pre-order your copy at this link.
Rifftrax.com is a website produced by the stars of Mystery Science Theater 3000 which creates downloadable audio commentaries to play over movies. During the Rifftrax for the recent film Twilight: Eclipse there's a part where Edward says There's no rush. and Kevin Murphy replies with, Yes there is. They toured this year!. Thanks to Mark Stench II for the heads up. Rush references are a regular occurrence with Rifftrax just like they were with Mystery Science Theater 3000.
Reader Jim P works for the Canadian National Railway and when he went into work recently he noticed a new locomotive that will be of particular interest to Rush fans. It's a red locomotive made by GE that has a big number 2112 on it. Cool!
Between Sun & Moon is an online handcrafted jewelry store with Rush-inspired merchandise owned and operated by Rush fan and rushisaband reader Katy. Each uniquely handcrafted piece is named for and inspired by the lyrics of Rush. Even if your recipient isn't a Rush fan, you can't go wrong with unique handmade jewelry and a personalized gift message. The Holidays are right around the corner and - as she has done several times in the past - Katy is offering Free US Priority Mail shipping with any $30 purchase to rushisaband readers; Just select Standard Mail and email Katy after you place your order using the code RUSHISABAND. Place your order by December 20th to ensure delivery by Christmas Day. But don't delay ... all pieces are one of a kind!
Reader Dogman let me know that Geddy Lee made Music Radar's list of the 30 greatest lead singers of all time, coming in at #19. You can check out the entire list at this link.
Boy Genius Report recently reviewed the new Blackberry Playbook and used some Rush to demonstrate the music app (thanks Scott P). You can check out the video review at this link where the reviewer plays some Tom Sawyer from Rush in Rio at about the 45-second mark.
Inspired by watching the Grammy-nominated Rush documentary Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage on their tour bus, New Orleans based alt-rockers Better Than Ezra recently paid tribute to Rush at a live performance last Thursday night at the Potawatomi Bingo Casino in Milwaukee, WI. The band took a couple of minutes out of their set to play snippets of a few Rush songs including Limelight, The Spirit of Radio, Freewill and Red Barchetta. They apparently did something similar at their recent Minneapolis and Chicago shows as well. You can watch some bootleg video of the tribute below or at this link.
That's it for this week. I wish everyone good luck in purchasing Rush tickets. Have a great weekend!
Between Sun & Moon is an online handcrafted jewelry store with Rush-inspired merchandise owned and operated by Rush fan and rushisaband reader Katy. Each uniquely handcrafted piece is named for and inspired by the lyrics of Rush. Even if your recipient isn't a Rush fan, you can't go wrong with unique handmade jewelry and a personalized gift message. The Holidays are right around the corner and - as she has done several times in the past - Katy is offering Free US Priority Mail shipping with any $30 purchase to rushisaband readers; Just select Standard Mail and email Katy after you place your order using the code RUSHISABAND. Place your order by December 20th to ensure delivery by Christmas Day. But don't delay ... all pieces are one of a kind!
Geddy Lee and Rush featured in latest Classic Rock Magazine
UPDATE - 5/18@5:47PM: John at Cygnus-X1.net has transcribed and scanned the article and made it available online at this location.
Classic Rock Magazine's January 2011 issue is a special 156-page edition dedicated to last month's Classic Rock Awards where Rush was given the Living Legend Award. Geddy Lee along with John Paul Jones, Ronnie Wood and Imelda May grace the cover and there's a feature story on Rush where Geddy Lee is interviewed. Geddy talks about the Moving Pictures album, the band's upcoming UK tour and a range of other subjects. You can check out the article by clicking on the thumbnails above. Thanks to Tony for the heads up and the scans.
Monday, December 6, 2010
Rush 2011 Time Machine Tour pre-sale info and open thread
UPDATE - 12/10@9:28AM: Regular ticket sales for Nashville, Madison Square Garden, and Hamilton kick off at 10AM!
UPDATE - 12/8@9:07PM: Forgive the lack of updates - I've been traveling. Just a quick reminder that there are several 10AM-5PM pre-sales for various shows tomorrow; Live Nation, Radio and venue pre-sales. The Live Nation pre-sales will have a password of TRIBUTE it looks like. If I have any info on the other pre-sales you can find it on the tour page. Also check the comments for info from other readers. Good luck!
UPDATE - 12/7@9:50AM: Louisville is finally listed at Music Today although it has a status of TBA, so it's possible tickets for that show won't go on pre-sale right at 10AM. Stay tuned. 10 minutes to go!
UPDATE - 12/7@9:37AM: In less than 25 minutes, pre-sales begin for shows in Florida, Greensboro, Louisville, Toledo, Cleveland, Hamilton and Montreal. Nashville and Chicago are Central Time so they will start one hour later at 10AM CST. Louisville is still not listed at the Music Today site, but it should be by 10AM. If you have questions about how any of the pre-sales work, be sure to check out the ticket sales and pre-sales guide.
UPDATE - 12/7@9:04AM: Apparently there will be AMEX Front of the Line pre-sales for the Canadian dates in Montreal and Hamilton. The Hamilton show is still not listed at Ticketmaster however. Thanks to hermy for the heads up. As of right now, all shows are listed at Music Todayexcept Louisville for some reason. There's still no word on Rush VIP packages for the shows in Cleveland, Montreal and Hamilton.
Multiple pre-sales for Rush's April 10th show at Madison Square Garden in New York along with general ticket sales for the Hershey, Detroit and Baltimore dates began earlier this morning at 10AM. Music Today fan pre-sales for the remaining 9 North American dates will kick off tomorrow morning at 10AM. Music Today has been slowly adding dates to their site since earlier today and as of this post have Greensboro, Nashville, Toledo, Chicago, Cleveland, Hamilton and Montreal listed. By tomorrow morning the Florida and Louisville dates should also be listed. Rush VIP and CITI Cardmember pre-sales are currently listed at Ticketmaster for the dates in Florida, Nashville, Louisville, Toledo and Chicago. Greensboro has the Rush VIP pre-sale listed but not the CITI Cardmember one, and the Hamilton show is not yet listed at Ticketmaster. Ticketmaster does not handle ticket sales for Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland or the Bell Centre in Montreal, so it's not yet clear whether any VIP packages or CITI pre-sales will be available for these shows. I don't see why they wouldn't be available, but as of right now I'm unable to find any confirmation one way or the other. I'm hoping that the Rush.com newsletter will send out an email with more details sometime later tonight or early tomorrow, although they didn't send anything out for the MSG pre-sale this morning so I'm not counting on it. I will keep this thread updated with new information as we learn it. Remember to check the tour page for up-to-the-minute updates and see the ticket sales and pre-sales guide for general information on how all the pre-sales work.
UPDATE - 12/6@9:20PM: The Nashville and Montreal shows are also now listed at Music Today as going on fan pre-sale tomorrow at 10AM.
UPDATE - 12/6@5:25PM: The Cleveland show is also now listed at Music Today as going on fan pre-sale tomorrow at 10AM.
UPDATE - 12/6@4:43PM: They have finally started listing a few more dates as going on fan pre-sale tomorrow at 10AM at the Music Today website; Greensboro, Toledo, Chicago and Hamilton are now listed.
Multiple pre-sales for Rush's April 10th show at Madison Square Garden in New York begin this morning at 10AM. Music Today is running the fan pre-sale which is accessible via this link, and Ticketmaster will be running the Rush VIP and CITI cardmember pre-sales which are accessible at this link. Check out the ticket sales and pre-sales guide for general information on how all the pre-sales work. General ticket sales for the dates in Hershey, Detroit and Baltimore also get underway this morning at 10AM. Yesterday Rush.com posted the news that the April 15th show at Quicken Loans in Cleveland would be filmed, and that fan pre-sales for this date will commence on Tuesday. It's assumed that fan pre-sales for the remaining North American dates will also begin at 10AM Tuesday although there has not yet been an official announcement, nor are any of these dates yet listed at the Music Today website. Ticketmaster now has 7 of the 10 remaining North American dates listed with Rush VIP and CITI Cardmember pre-sales indicated for most of these as beginning Tuesday at 10AM; the only date missing is the Hamilton show on April 19th. Ticket sales for the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland and the Bell Centre in Montreal are not handled by Ticketmaster. I'm still anticipating that the Rush.com newsletter will send out an email with more details sometime today or early tomorrow. I will keep this thread updated with new information as we learn it. Remember to check the tour page for up-to-the-minute updates and see the ticket sales and pre-sales guide for general information on how all the pre-sales work.
As a tribute to the US city that first played their music, Rush confirms that the Cleveland performance of their Time Machine show on April 15th at the Quicken Loans Arena will be filmed for full-length release. Cleveland is remarkable for being one of the very first US cities where the band performed, in addition to being the first city to provide American airplay. This will be a must-see event for Rush fans in Cleveland - and for everyone able to make the road trip as it is will also mark the first live full-length filming on US soil. Tickets for Cleveland go on sale on Saturday, December 11th with pre-sales for Rush fan-club and CITI cardmembers beginning December 7th. Shows for Ft Lauderdale, Greensboro, Nashville, Louisville, Toledo, New York, Chicago, Cleveland, Hamilton and Montreal all go on-sale this week. Visit the tour section for all the details!
So there you have it. No need to wonder any longer about whether Rush will be filming a Time Machine Tour date for a DVD release; it's official. As they mention, this will be the first full-length live filming in the US, and - I know I'm biased - but they couldn't have picked a better location. As expected, tickets will go on pre-sale this coming Tuesday, December 7th. There's still no official confirmation, but it looks like the remaining dates will also go on pre-sale on Tuesday; all except the Madison Square Garden show of course - which goes on pre-sale tomorrow. I'm still anticipating that the Rush.com newsletter will send out an email with more details sometime later tonight or early tomorrow morning. I will open up a thread in the morning for MSG pre-sales regardless. Remember to check the tour page for up-to-the-minute updates and see the ticket sales and pre-sales guide for general information on how all the pre-sales work.
UPDATE - 12/6@9:21PM: The Nashville and Montreal shows are also now listed at Music Today as going on fan pre-sale tomorrow at 10AM.
UPDATE - 12/6@5:25PM: The Cleveland show is also now listed at Music Today as going on fan pre-sale tomorrow at 10AM.
UPDATE - 12/6@4:44PM: They have finally started listing a few more dates as going on fan pre-sale tomorrow at 10AM at the Music Today website; Greensboro, Toledo, Chicago and Hamilton are now listed.
UPDATE - 12/5@10:59PM:Rush.com just posted the following news item to their website confirming that the Cleveland show will go on pre-sale Tuesday, December 7th and that the show will be filmed!
RUSH TO FILM CLEVELAND PERFORMANCE
As a tribute to the US city that first played their music, Rush confirms that the Cleveland performance of their Time Machine show on April 15th at the Quicken Loans Arena will be filmed for full-length release. Cleveland is remarkable for being one of the very first US cities where the band performed, in addition to being the first city to provide American airplay. This will be a must-see event for Rush fans in Cleveland - and for everyone able to make the road trip as it is will also mark the first live full-length filming on US soil. Tickets for Cleveland go on sale on Saturday, December 11th with pre-sales for Rush fan-club and CITI cardmembers beginning December 7th. Shows for Ft Lauderdale, Greensboro, Nashville, Louisville, Toledo, New York, Chicago, Cleveland, Hamilton and Montreal all go on-sale this week. Visit the tour section for all the details!
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General ticket sales for Rush's 2011 Time Machine Tour dates in Hershey, Detroit and Baltimore get underway tomorrow at 10AM while at the same time pre-sales for the show in Madison Square Garden will begin. Music Today now lists the Madison Square Garden fan pre-sale as starting at 10AM tomorrow, along with Ticketmaster listing the Rush VIP and CITI Cardmember pre-sales for that show to begin at that same time. Ticketmaster now has 7 of the 10 remaining North American dates listed with Rush VIP and CITI Cardmember pre-sales indicated for most of these as beginning Tuesday at 10AM; the only date missing is the Hamilton show on April 19th. It's assumed that Music Today fan pre-sales for these dates will also commence at 10AM Tuesday although they are not yet listed at the Music Today website. Ticket sales for the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland and the Bell Centre in Montreal are not handled by Ticketmaster so no information regarding pre-sales for these dates have yet been released, although judging by the on-sales dates, fan pre-sales will likely start this coming week as well. I'm anticipating that the Rush.com newsletter will send out an email with more details sometime tonight or early tomorrow. I will keep this thread updated with new information as we learn it. Remember to check the tour page for up-to-the-minute updates and see the ticket sales and pre-sales guide for general information on how all the pre-sales work.
Rock journalist/author Greg Prato recently released a new book titled MTV Ruled the World: The Early Years of Music Video which features interview segments with Geddy Lee and several other famous rock musicians. Prato has interviewed Rush in the past including this recent Geddy Lee interview for Rolling Stone. Geddy's quotes appear throughout the book on a variety of MTV-related topics, including stories behind the videos for Tom Sawyer, Subdivisions, Distant Early Warning and The Big Money. The book is 427 pages long and priced at $24.99, but is currently on sale for $22.49. You can view samples from the book and order a copy at this link.
Better Than Ezra pays tribute to Rush at recent live show
Inspired by watching the Grammy-nominated Rush documentary Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage on their tour bus, New Orleans based alt-rockers Better Than Ezra recently paid tribute to Rush at a live performance Thursday night at the Potawatomi Bingo Casino in Milwaukee, WI. The band took a couple of minutes out of their set to play snippets of a few Rush songs including Limelight, The Spirit of Radio, Freewill and Red Barchetta. They apparently did something similar at their recent Minneapolis and Chicago shows as well. You can watch some bootleg video of the tribute below or at this link.
The first round of ticket pre-sales for the North American leg of Rush's 2011 Time Machine Tour kicked off earlier this week. Music Today fan pre-sales for the dates in Hershey, Detroit and Baltimore began at 10AM Wednesday and ended a short time ago while Rush VIP pre-sales and CITI Cardmember pre-sales began at 10AM Wednesday and will end later this afternoon at 5PM. Pre-sales for the date in Rotterdam also ran last week and general on-sales began earlier today. There are also various venue-sponsored, Live Nation and radio pre-sales going on today as well. If anyone has password info for these, let us know. It looks like the password MOVING works for the Detroit show (thanks craigl), there's a venue pre-sale for the Hershey date using a password of HERSHEY (thanks Professordrums) and the Live Nation pre-sale password for all 3 dates is TRIBUTE (thanks lilvictory). I'll keep updating the tour page as I get more information.
Although they haven't been officially announced yet, Music Today pre-sales for the remaining 10 dates should run next week starting on either Monday or Tuesday. Ticketmaster has Rush VIP and CITI Cardmember pre-sales already scheduled to commence Tuesday of next week (Monday for MSG) for several of the dates, and should have them all listed in the next few days. To say that the pre-sale process can be a bit confusing is a vast understatement. Therefore I've put together a ticket sales and pre-sales guide which attempts to explain the differences between the various pre-sales, how they all work and what you need to know to participate. You can check it out at this link. And remember to stay tuned to the tour page for up-to-the-minute information on all of the various pre-sales.
Although we now know the dates/cities where Rush will be playing in North America before heading on to Europe in May, many questions remain regarding the post-European, June portion of the 2011 tour. From the Rush.com newsletter that went out late Sunday night:
... The tour also returns to North America in June with performances in select markets that will include cities such as New Orleans, Austin, Vancouver and a very special return play in Los Angeles - more information on these dates and more soon! ...
From what I've been hearing, this run of June dates will begin in New Orleans, move west to Texas and California and then up north to end up in Vancouver. It doesn't look like there will be any further Eastern US dates although it's possible that another show in the Midwest or Southeast would be added before the New Orleans show. I'm also hearing that the specific cities/dates will not be announced until after the New Year. What Rush means by that special return play in Los Angeles line is anybody's guess. There's a lot of speculation that this could mean they'll be recording a show, but I honestly don't have any concrete information at this point. It also looks as though Atlantic Canada, France, Spain, Australia, etc. will once again be left out of Rush's tour plans this go-around. This hasn't dissuaded Atlantic Canadian reader rushrulz from trying though; he has a petition to try and get Rush to play in Atlantic Canada which you can check out and sign at this link.
Official Rush photographer and pyrotechnical wizard John Arrowsmith wanted me to let everyone know that he's uploaded a new batch of black and white photos from the Time Machine Tour to the Rush.com Multimedia: Rush on the Road section.
The long-awaited Rush and Philosophy book from Open Court Publishing's popular Culture and Philosophy book series will be released this coming May and is now available for pre-order at this link. Longtime Rush and philosophy author Durrell Bowman along with Jim Berti are the co-editors of the 288-page anthology which is is divided into 4 sections containing 16 essays with a complete title of Rush and Philosophy: Always Hopeful, Yet Discontent.
Reader andy1027 let me know that Alex Lifeson is featured in the January, 2011 issue of Guitar Player magazine for a feature titled 10 Things you Gotta Do To Play Like Alex Lifeson.
Neil Peart's original Slingerland drum kit (which he used from Fly By Night through 2112) was put up for auction on eBayback in 2009 and ended up being sold for over $25,000 to Rush super fan Dean Bobisud. With the help of Michael Lowe of NeilPeartDrumsticks.com, Bobisud restored the kit to playable condition and since then has been touring it around the country to share it with fans and raise money for charity. Dean and the kit are the subject of a recent Triblocal article which you can check out at this link.
Nearly 2 years ago Canadian folk singer/songwriter Jacob Moon posted a video of himself performing a one-man, acoustic version of Rush's Subdivisions to YouTube which caused quite a buzz in the Rush fan community. Rush themselves were also impressed and asked Jacob to perform the song when they were inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame earlier this year. Filmmaker Ron Kebic put together a short documentary on the recording of the song titled Behind the Subdivisions which was screened at the 2010 Hamilton Film Festival last month. Kebic sits down with Moon to discuss the inspiration for the video and the technical challenges involved in putting it together. You can watch the video at this link. Thanks to RushFanForever for the heads up. Speaking of RushFanForever, Jacob Moon put on a show in Abbotsford, BC last Friday and RushFanForver was there pimping the website as seen in this photo. Jacob forgot to bring his hand held tape recorder which he uses to say Subdivisions in the chorus of the song, so he employed the services of RushFanForever to do the honors.
In the latest installment of his music discovery podcast and blog Bands Like Rush, Ben Sommer talks to Robert Pashman of New Jersey based prog rock band 3rdegree. 3rdegree's music is an interesting blend of jazz-pop, hard rock and prog. The podcast includes 2 tracks from the band and you can listen to it or read a transcription at this link. To find out more about 3rdegree check out their website here.
RushFanForever let me know that MusicRadar.com posted a feature to their website last week titled Live rigs of the rich and famous where they feature photos and videos of famous guitarists' stage setups, including Rush's own Alex Lifeson. They have a video from back on the 2007 leg of the Snakes & Arrows tour where Alex walks through his setup. You can check out the video below or at this link.
That's it for this week. Stay tuned to the site for pre-sale information and have a great weekend!
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage nominated for Grammy Award
UPDATE - 2/11@12:05PM: The winner in this category will be announced during the pre-telecast ceremony which takes place Sunday, February 13th from 1-4PM PST at the Los Angeles Convention Center. The pre-telecast will be streamed live at Grammy.com and the winner in the Long Form Music Video category is traditionally one of the last to be announced. Rush has been nominated 6 times in the past in the Rock Instrumental category, losing each time. This is their first nomination in the Long Form Music Video category. In a Winnipeg Free Press article yesterday it was confirmed that none of the members of the band will appear at the ceremony although filmmakers Sam Dunn and Scot McFadyen will be in attendance. From the article:
... We tried to bring the band and (drummer) Neil (Peart) said the last time he came to the Grammys - he's only been once - it was the worst day of his life," McFadyen said during a party at the Canadian consul general's residence on Thursday. "So he said he's never coming again."...
..."We're proud to be category 109 of 109 categories," Dunn joked.
The directors of "Metal: A Headbanger's Journey" and "Iron Maiden: Flight 666" were dressed casually for the swanky soiree, pairing sport coats with T-shirts and sneakers on a balmy L.A. evening. They acknowledged that they stood out a bit.
"This event's a little more formal than what we're used to dealing with," Dunn said.
Added McFadyen: "The invite said 'business attire,' and we were like: 'Should we just wear our sweat pants - like what we wear to work?'"
The duo will square off against some other highly regarded films at the Grammys, including movies about the White Stripes, Blur and the Doors, so they weren't necessarily optimistic about their chances of winning.
"We're not holding our breath," McFadyen said.
But they can't deny the allure of helping Rush secure its first Grammy.
"If we could bring it home for those guys, that would be amazing," Dunn said. "It would be amazing for us and I think for the band as well."
No Distance Left To Run Blur Will Lovelace, Dylan Southern & Giorgio Testi, video directors; Thomas Benski, Laura Collins & Lucas Ochoa, video producers (Parlophone/EMI)
When You're Strange (The Doors) Tom Dicillo, video director; John Beug, Jeff Jampol, Peter Jankowski & Dick Wolf, video producers (Eagle Vision)
The Greatest Ears In Town: The Arif Mardin Story (Arif Mardin) Doug Biro & Joe Mardin, video directors; Doug Biro & Joe Mardin, video producers (Nunoise Records)
Rush: Beyond The Lighted Stage Rush Sam Dunn & Scot McFadyen, video directors; Sam Dunn & Scot McFadyen, video producers (Zoe)
Under Great White Northern Lights The White Stripes Emmett Malloy, video director; Ian Montone & Mike Sarkissian, video producers (Third Man/Warner Bros.)
The ceremony will take place on February 13th at 8PM and air on CBS. Thanks to Mark Stench II for the heads up.
There's no doubt about it; 2010 was an epic year for Rush. The year started out quietly and then exploded in the Spring with the announcement of a new tour, the premiere of the long-awaited Rush documentary Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 24th, the announcement of the band's next studio album Clockwork Angels, the release of 2 new tracks from that album on June 1st and the big Time Machine Tour kickoff in Albuquerque on June 29th. On top of all that the band received a number of major accolades including induction into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame on March 28th and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on June 25th.
The Summer of 2010 was dominated by Rush's highly successful Time Machine Tour which made its way across the US and Canada from June through September, ending in October with a 4-date South American run. Come Fall, the Classic Albums 2112/Moving Pictures documentary premiered on VH1 Classic with a DVD release shortly thereafter, the band was featured on VH1's Greatest Music Artists of All Time list, 2112 was showcased as the centerpiece of the Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock video game, the band was featured in a major CNN interview with John Roberts, and a Rush t-shirt was featured in an AT&T high speed internet commercial. The band was showered with even more accolades towards the end of the year when they were named the Legend of Live at the 2010 Billboard Touring Awards on November 4th, and received the Living Legend award at the Classic Rock Awards on November 10th. They then capped off the year by announcing a 2011 leg of their Time Machine Tour which would include a European stint along with several US and Canadian cities that were missed on the 2010 tour. 
As I'd mentioned above, the Rush documentary Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage is up for a Grammy Nomination for Best Long Form Music Video. Filmmakers Scot McFadyen and Sam Dunn were recently asked about the nomination and said the following:
Rush's 1981 classic Moving Pictures album will be the subject of an hour-long In The Studio with Redbeard rockumentary radio show which will air this upcoming week and also be available for listening online this coming Monday, January 3rd. The show will feature interview segments with all 3 members of Rush presumably from past In The Studio interviews where they discuss the album. Moving Pictures is the centerpiece of Rush's Time Machine Tour where they play the entire album front to back. The album will celebrate its 30th anniversary on February 12th of next year. Judging by past In The Studio album anniversary shows, it's not expected that any new interview segments will be included in the program but it should be a good listen nonetheless. You can listen to a short preview segment at the In The Studio website. 
Rush's 2112 made Gibson.com's list of The 10 Greatest Concept Albums of All Time coming in at #9:
Earlier this year Ben Sommer launched his music discovery podcast and blog Bands Like Rush where bands that have some kind of connection or similarity to Rush are interviewed. Ben happens to also be an accomplished musician himself and recently released his very own album of edgy, political prog rock titled America'd which you can check out at this link. Ben also promises to have many new Bands like Rush podcasts in the new year. Thanks Ben!
Rush's Time Machine Tour has made 
It's quiet in Rush-land this Christmas Eve as many of us settle in and wait for Santa to arrive late this evening with sacks full of Rush swag for all of us good little Rush fans (the naughty ones will receive lumps of coal and Justin Bieber CDs). This past Tuesday 
The 
UPDATE - 12/21@7:09PM: Thanks to Ray M 
General ticket sales for all 13 dates on the Eastern US/Canada portion of Rush's 2011 Time Machine Tour are now well underway. Some great seats still remain for most of the shows including VIP ticket packages which will get you a seat in the first 15 rows along with a bundle of Rush swag. A few readers who have purchased the VIP packages have asked me how and when they'll receive their package of swag. Good question! On the last tour the redemption process was a big fiasco so hopefully history won't repeat itself and things will run more smoothly this go-around. To give you an idea of the hoops folks had to jump through to get the merchandise for the last tour, check out 
UPDATE - 12/14@8:38AM: Here's the 
Rush gets a quick mention in the most recent issue of 
Speaking of Geddy, rock journalist/author Greg Prato recently released a new book titled 
Author and Rush fan Kat Lively will soon be releasing a book titled 
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UPDATE - 12/10@9:28AM: Regular ticket sales for Nashville, Madison Square Garden, and Hamilton kick off at 10AM!
Rock journalist/author Greg Prato recently released a new book titled 
Reader andy1027 let me know that Alex Lifeson is featured in the January, 2011 issue of 
