March has arrived and there's still no official news regarding the release of Rush's upcoming Clockwork Angels album, although some semi-official news came out just yesterday when Amazon Japan began listing the album with a Japanese release date of May 23rd. No other details were given except that it's being released by Warner Music Japan. It's also listed on the website for Japanese music store HMV, which uses the unofficial Clockwork Angels artwork created by John at Cygnus-X1.net that's been floating around the net for months now (and that I've been regularly using). It's not yet listed on Amazon in the US, Canada or the UK though - but I suspect that it should be soon and that the release date will be around that same May 23rd date. US release dates are always on Tuesdays, so a May 22nd US release would make sense. I'm also still hoping that we'll see a single released online in the near future. There's also not been any official news regarding the Fall tour in support of the album, but I have received some unofficial news regarding at least one tour date from a reliable source. I've known for a few weeks now that the band has been putting holds on several North American venues in the Southeast and Midwest for September/October, and recently received news that a date at the Klipsch Music Center in Noblesville, IN is planned for Thursday, September 13th. Assuming this information is accurate, this means that dates are beginning to solidify, which hopefully means an official tour announcement is imminent.

We learned earlier this week that it looks like Neil Peart will once again be working with Vertical Horizon on their next album. The band is currently working on the album at Studio City Sound in Los Angeles with sound engineer Tom Weir, and apparently DW made a custom kit for Neil for use in the recording sessions according to a YouTube video from last month's NAMM show where Weir interviews John Good and Scott Donnell of Drum Workshop. Shortly after the post appeared on RIAB Vertical Horizon semi-confirmed the news via an update on their Pledge Music site:

Okay this BIG news has come out online, and it's not definite yet ... but we're working to make it happen. I won't comment publicly online about it yet, but since it's out there I wanted you to see this. Neil and I are working on the scheduling, and DW has kindly made him a new kit to try and facilitate. Thanks for your support. Matt

Neil had also made a guest appearance on Vertical Horizon's 2009 album Burning the Days, playing drums on one of the tracks along with penning the lyrics for one.

Neil Peart gets featured in the April, 2012 issue of Motorcyclist Magazine. The main feature is titled Workin' Them Angles and was written by Motorcyclist Editor and Neil Peart's friend Brian Catterson. Catterson discusses riding with Neil during the final leg of the Time Machine Tour last year in the one-page article. There's also a sidebar titled The Bike That Changed My Life where Neil talks about his BMW R1100GS:

... "In '98, this bike also carried me out of the utter darkness left by double family losses, on a 55,000-mile ride to the farthest points of North America, from Alaska to Belize. Thus it was the 'star' of the book Ghost Rider, about my journey through grief and sorrow to gradual healing. ...

John at Cygnus-X1.net has made a pdf scan of the feature which you can check out on his site here. The Workin' Them Angles piece is also now available online at the Motorcyclist website.

Neil Peart is also one of several drummers featured in Jay Bulger's documentary on legendary drummer Ginger Baker, Beware of Mr. Baker. The documentary will be featured at the SXSW film festival in Austin this month. You can watch the trailer for the film at this link although Neil Peart does not appear in it.

The New Yorker's Zev Borow posted a satirical piece on The Newer, Sexier Constitutions to the magazine's website earlier this week. The article references a new study showing that the U.S. Constitution is losing its appeal as a model for constitutional drafters because of the availability of newer, sexier and more powerful models. From the article:

Canada has ratified the first update to its Charter of Freedoms and Rights since its adoption in 1982. Based on the song "Limelight" by its most famous native sons, the prog-rock band Rush, it protects Canadians' pursuit of "the universal dream"-provided that, as the song says, citizens "put aside the alienation, get on with the fascination, the real relation, the underlying theme." Ratification was briefly in jeopardy due to a heated debate in Ottawa's House of Commons over whether singer Geddy Lee in fact sings "theme" or "spleen," but Prime Minister Stephen Harper saved the day; he cast the deciding vote after checking the correct lyrics on the Internet. Afterward Harper told a relatively (for Canada at least) anxious nation, "that's why you get an iPhone." ...

Even though 2012 has barely gotten started, NMR Distribution is already listing the 2013 Rush wall calendar on their website and have revealed the cover art. The 2013 cover uses the same artwork that was used on the Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage DVD/Blu-ray cover and has the words Rush Legacy written on it. The calendar will officially release sometime this summer and can already be pre-ordered through Amazon. The 2012 wall calendar has a Signals theme, celebrating the album's 30th anniversary, and can be ordered at this link.

Goon is a new film starring Seann William Scott that was released in Canada this past Friday, February 24 and depicts a nice but dimwitted man played by Scott who becomes the enforcer for a minor league hockey team. Rush's Working Man gets played towards the beginning of the film during a montage sequence where Scott's character is learning how to skate. Goon will get a limited US release on March 30th and you can check out the trailer here.

Speaking of Rush references in movies, the red band trailer for the upcoming Adam Sandler and Andy Samberg comedy film That's my Boy was released yesterday. In the trailer Sandler's character drives a red sports car with the Rush Starman logo as pictured in this screenshot. The film releases on June 15th. Thanks to NUReviews for the heads up.

Rush's 2112 was the featured album on the latest edition of BBC Radio 2's Sound of the 70s this past weekend. Host Johnny Walker discusses the band's history along with the history of the album, and featured some personal 2112 stories from listeners. You can listen to the program online at this link (just click on Listen Now). He begins discussing the album at about the 13-minute mark. Thanks to Gedfan and Frazer Leask for the heads up.

Canadian metal band Artok include a cover of Rush's Subdivisions on their latest CD Above Ground, released in late 2010. The cover is particularly interesting because of the vocal harmonies and the fact that the keyboards are replaced by guitar. You can watch a video of the band performing the track on YouTube below or at this link, and find out more about Artok on their website here and on Facebook.

Noisecreep posted another installment yesterday in their series from Mean Deviation: Four Decades of Progressive Heavy Metal author Jeff Wagner. In this installment Wagner explores the Sophomore slump and whether it exists in heavy metal. He takes several heavy metal bands and compares/contrasts their first 2 albums. For Rush he looks at their self-titled debut as compared to their sophomore release Fly By Night.

Easy call. 'Rush' is like Led Zeppelin and Cream jamming and eating back bacon together. It's fully capable and crammed with energy. But it's derivative. 'Fly by Night,' however, adds Neil Peart to the mix, widens the musical scope, and offers monumental songwriting efforts like 'Anthem' and 'By-Tor and the Snow Dog.' No contest here. 'Fly by Night' wins.

Reader Ian P let me know of a small Rush reference on the latest episode of ABC Family's Switched at Birth which aired this past Tuesday, February 28. One of the show's main characters - a deaf teenage girl named Daphne - is sitting in a car having a discussion with a teenage boy named Wilke. The boy asks the girl to say Wilke is the greatest bass player since Geddy Lee in sign language.

Reader Chris B sent me a vintage, Signals-era group photo of Rush along with some crew members and Le Studio employees. The photo was apparently taken just after the Signals recording sessions at a baseball field in Morin Heights, Quebec.

NomoDesign.com is a website which sells airport-themed posters and prints. The designs feature an airport's runway patterns along with its 3-letter code. They just made a Toronto Pearson International Airport design complete with YYZ letter code available for pre-order at this link (thanks Alek).

Reader OneZeroZeroOne let me know about a new book from author Kinnon McArthur titled Something To Cry About. The book is based on the true story of the author's early life in the late '60s/early '70s growing up with an abusive father, and contains a few Rush references. On page 72 the main character meets with a female attorney and notices scratched into a wooden table the words Rush 1975 . Then on page 286 he talks about his favorite band Rush:

... My favorite band, Rush, is from Canada. I first heard them at a college party in 1979 and they still perform today. They have provided the soundtrack to my life and their 2002 album, Vapor Trails, helped me get through my divorce. ...

Rush tribute band Wavelength will be playing a special show as the headliner for the closing night of the 2nd annual Niagara Music and Arts Expo on Saturday, March 10, 9PM at The Niagara Centre for the Arts. The show will benefit Project SHARE and attendees are requested to bring non-perishable food items to donate. Tickets are $15 in advance, $20 at the door, and are available at numerous locations around the Niagara Region.

Here's video of Geddy Lee's cameo in last month's CBC film Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town. Geddy Lee's character appears throughout the film sitting in a barber chair but with a towel over his head and a disguised voice. He only reveals himself at the end of the movie during the credits as shown in the video.

That's all for this week. Have a great weekend!

NOTE: Posts over 10 years old are partially archived. All comments, images and other embedded media have been removed.