Alex Lifeson and Maiah Wynne were recent guests on Lakeshore Public Media's Midwest BEAT podcast with Tom Lounges to talk about their Envy of None project and the band's new Stygian Wavz album. The pair share the story of how the project came about, and discuss a few of the tracks on the new album, including Not Dead Yet, The Story and Handle With Care. Stygian Wavz released back in late March and is now available for purchase. You can listen to the entire interview here or wherever you get your podcasts.
See the Good is a new celebrity-amplified global anti-hate campaign created in partnership with The Raoul Wallenberg Centre For Human Rights that promotes commonalities without asking people to choose sides. The campaign launched in January, and Rush's Geddy Lee is one of the many celebrities involved. See the Good creates and shares emotionally resonant stories about people on a mission to make the world a better place, and they've already raised over $300K towards their $500K goal to ensure the organization is the most visible and effective campaign against hate. Geddy was featured in a video last month where he tells the story of Doctor Nikolai Amosov, who invented the antithrombotic artificial heart valve in 1965, which would have saved the life of Geddy Lee's father, who died that same year. Earlier this week Geddy posted another video where he tells the story of Israeli inventor Haim Shtalryd, who created Baby Sense - the first monitor of its kind to watch over sleeping infants and help prevent Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). You can learn more about the campaign by watching this introductory trailer, and visiting their website at seethegoodnow.com.
Rush has followed up their November release of The Albums: 1989-1996 vinyl box set with a similar release covering the band's 2002-2012 period. Rush: The Albums 2002 To 2012 released back on June 6th and is now available to order. The set contains Rush's 3 studio albums from that time period, each on 2 LPs, along with one LP containing their 2004 Feedback EP, for a total of 7 LPs. You can get all the details, and purchase one of the sets at this location.
Rush's Alex Lifeson and his Envy of None bandmates are a few of the many artists included on a star-studded tribute to Canadian rockers Triumph. Magic Power: All Star Tribute to Triumph officially released back on June 6th and is now available to order via Amazon and other retailers. In addition to Alex Lifeson, some other artists performing on the album are Heart's Nancy Wilson, Slash, Sebastian Bach, Twisted Sister's Dee Snider, Anthrax's Joey Belladonna, Mickey Thomas of Starship, Styx keyboardist/singer Lawrence Gowan, Journey drummer/vocalist Deen Castronovo, Tesla's Jeff Keith, former Chicago bassist/singer Jason Scheff, Night Ranger's Jack Blades, and Bon Jovi guitarist Phil X. Alex Lifeson along with Envy of None's Andy Curran and Maiah Wynne contribute a rendition of Triumph's Blinding Light Show off Triumph's self-titled 1976 debut album, which you can listen to on YouTube and other streaming services. The album is available to purchase on CD, Double vinyl and on digital streaming.
Rolling Stone posted a best album list earlier this week that favors bands with longevity - such as Rush. It's a list of the 50 Best 10th Albums of All Time - studio albums only. Only bands that have been around long enough to produce 10 albums are eligible, so that limits the playing field significantly. Rush's 10th studio album was Grace Under Pressure, which came in at #41 on the list:
An outspoken contingent of Rush fans look down at the group's mid-Eighties albums when Alex Lifeson's guitars took a backseat to Geddy Lee's synthesizers. To these people, 1984's Grace Under Pressure marked a key turning point since it's their first album without producer Terry Brown since their 1974 debut, and Lifeson is mixed so far down that his guitar is sometimes barely audible. But fans willing to leave 2112 and Motion Pictures in the past recognized that Grace Under Pressure is a remarkable collection of songs that tackled subject matter as serious as the Holocaust ("Red Sector A") and the death of band associate Robbie Whelan ("Afterimage"). Rolling Stone's Kurt Loder was underwhelmed ("If you like Rush, you'll love it; if not, then Grace Under Pressure is unlikely to alter your assessment of the band as a lumbering metal anachronism"), but time has been kind to Grace Under Pressure. It's a document of a band at a turning point, unafraid to try new things even if it means alienating some of their core followers.
Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson took to Instagram this past Sunday to post a video message wishing all the dads out there a Happy Father's Day:
The popular YouTube reaction channel The Charismatic Voice with professional opera singer and vocal coach Elizabeth Zharoff featured an analysis of Rush's Limelight this past week. This was the 5th Rush song that Zharoff has tackled on the channel - she has featured The Spirit of Radio, Tom Sawyer, 2112, and Xanadu on past episodes. In addition to her really enjoying the song, she provides a lot of interesting commentary on the music, lyrics and Geddy's voice in particular. You can check it out below or on YouTube here.
RushFanForever dug up an interesting bit of Rush trivia as revealed in a 2014 interview clip with former Max Webster front-man Kim Mitchell. Mitchell explains in this clip how the audience noise on Rush's The Spirit of Radio was actually taken from a Max Webster live show recording - the same show recorded for the Max Webster live album Live Magnetic Air. For more vids of old interview clips like this, Rush pop culture references and more, subscribe to RIAB's new YouTube channel:
Today is a bittersweet day in Rush history. Back in 1998, Neil Peart's wife Jacqueline Taylor succumbed to cancer just 10 months after the tragic death of their daughter Selena. But today is also the 49th wedding anniversary of Geddy Lee and his wife Nancy Young. Happy anniversary Ged and Nancy. Here are Geddy's comments on the wedding from My Effin' Life:
... So, at the Hyatt Regency on June 20, 1976, Nancy and I tied the knot. It was a small wedding, attended almost entirely by our friends, plus our parents and one couple from each of their families. Alex, Neil and John Rutsey all at the same table (that was weird to see), along with my crew guys and the best man, my longtime pal Oscar. Nancy and I wrote our own vows and walked down the aisle to Satie's Gymnopédie No. 3. I didn't get high, but everyone around me did I remember them sneaking outside to smoke up). I think it was a joyous event, though you wouldn't believe it from the tense look on my face in the wedding photos. Lighten up, dude ...
That's all for this week. Have a great weekend everyone!
