Rush is a Band

A blog devoted to RUSH:
Neil Peart, Geddy Lee & Alex Lifeson

Thu, Mar 28, 2024

Updates and other random Rush stuff

Fri, Oct 19, 2007@9:40AM | comments removed/disabled

Only 6 more shows left on the 2007 leg of the Snakes & Arrows tour; Rush will hit 2 dates in Germany over the weekend, then it's Italy, Norway, Sweden and they'll finish off in Helsinki, Finland. The big news this week was the official confirmation of the rumors that Rush would be filming the shows in Rotterdam. They did indeed film both shows so hopefully sometime later next year we'll see another live Rush DVD released. There has been a lot of discussion regarding the fact that the venue was not full either night. From the reports I've heard there is a good explanation for this. Per the band's decision, the second ring of the Ahoy was closed both nights in order to get a better sound for the audio recording and to even out the crowd for both nights. The first night they took long shots using remote cameras on Geddy's side and in front of the stage. The second night there were several cameramen on and in front of the stage taking close-ups. Filming this way prevents obstructions by cameramen on the DVD.

So now that we're on the subject of live DVDs, I thought for this next poll question I'd ask you which of Rush's live DVDs/Videos is your favorite. So take the poll and let us know. Last week I asked you what you thought the next MoFi Ultradisc Rush recording should be. Hemispheres eked out the win with 23% of the vote; Vapor Trails was a close second at 20%. Rounding out the top 5 were A Farewell to Kings (17%), Grace Under Pressure (11%) and Power Windows (7%).

We all got a bit up in arms about Blender magazine's list of worst lyricists where Neil Peart came it at #2. John Dolan - a senior critic at Blender - was interviewed on CBC Radio's As It Happens last week regarding the list. If you want to listen to how much of a tool this guy is, go to this link and click on Part 1 of the program - the interview occurs at about 17:40. Dolan was disappointed that the interviewer didn't ask him about Neil Peart being on the list - saying in his whiny little voice at the end of the interview, I can't believe you didn't bring up Neil Peart - he's number 2!. At the end of the interview, one of the show's hosts - Carol Off - voices her displeasure with Neil being on the list. Apparently she went to school with Neil who sat behind her in 9th and 10th grade english class! Thanks to cschnebe for the link.

The Rush Backstage Club is running another contest. This time the prize is a copy of Snakes & Arrows autographed by all three band members. To enter the contest go to this link. Thanks to Figerade for the heads up.

If you've been following the site lately you know that Alex Lifeson makes a guest appearance on Detroit-based prog-rockers Tiles upcoming 5th album, Fly Paper. Alex performs on the track Sacred & Mundane. Last week Tiles revealed via their website that a promotional video for the song will be filmed in the upcoming weeks and should be released close to the late-January release of the album. Huge Syme has created the artwork for the album which you can check out here. Hugh makes an appearance on keyboards on the track Crowded Emptiness as well as the recently added surprise 9th track Passing Notes.

Reader gag2man alerted me to a Rush sighting in Chicago's Red Eye newspaper. In a short interview with Billy Corgan of The Smashing Pumpkins he remarks on the popularity of bands by saying the following:

We grew up in Chicago in the '70s not realizing that the Canadian rock band Rush was not huge all over the world, but they were massively big in Chicago. So when they came to Chicago it was like God was coming down.

Like God was coming down ... I really like that; I can certainly relate. Billy is a huge Rush fan and has stated numerous times how much of an influence Rush has been on his music.

Rush gets yet another mention in this article dissing the Rock Hall's latest list of nominees.

There are many, many deserving rock bands that have been overlooked by the HOF. Two fine examples, in my opinion, are the Monkees and a little Canadian trio called Rush. ... Over a 30 year career, Rush has amassed a huge following for its heavy, yet cerebral sound. Songs such as “Tom Sawyer” and “New World Man” have become radio staples. I have nothing against Donna Summer. The “Queen of Disco” has a wonderful voice and scored many a well-derserved hit on the dance charts. But the idea that the moan behind the disco hit “Love to Love You, Baby” may be in the HOF and not Rush makes me think the hall has lost its way.

Hear, hear! And gungaddin pointed me to this article pointing out a number of bands who should be in the Rock Hall and are not. Rush is one of the bands mentioned of course.

XHAIL alerted me to this article at Ultimate Guitar which compairs Fender to Gibson. Rush gets an interesting little mention:

... Incidentally, Gibson developed the humbucker at the same time as Gretsch, and implemented said humbucker in 1957 with the Les Paul. Since then, Gibson’s name has often been associated with America and classic rock n’ roll tone. In fact, Geddy Lee of Rush once told guitarist Alex Lifeson that the only guitar he should ever play is a Les Paul, because it offers the best rock n’ roll tone, in his ears. ...

Reader cabalaska let me know that in the latest issue of Paste magazine, there is a section on the last page containing part two of a New Rock Lexicon feature. One of the words described is Geddicorn defined as follows:

GEDDICORN: a beautiful but possibly mythical creature--a woman who goes to Rush concerts without coercion from a male significant other.(named for bespectacled Rush frontman Geddy Lee.)

Portland's 102.9 WBLM recently posted their top 20 albums of all time as voted on by listeners; Rush's Moving Pictures made an impressive showing coming in at #18. Thanks to billsrhythm for the heads up.

Reader Daren B was recently digging through his old cassette tapes and uncovered this beauty. It's an old cassette tape of Power Windows with the album painstakingly reproduced to fit on the tiny 2"x3" tape. Very impressive. He writes about it in his blog in this post. Apparently he also has a Grace Under Pressure cassette somewhere too.

That's all for now. Have a great weekend!

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