... "Snakes & Arrows Live" will have to hold Rush fans over for a while. The trio is currently "on a break" and "a little burnt out right now," though he has every confidence there will be another Rush album in the future.
"I think we're gonna stay quiet for awhile and then start writing -- when we're going to start writing I can't say just yet," Lee notes. "It may be in the fall, maybe the spring, maybe the following spring. But eventually we'll start writing some songs and recording them, and hopefully that will be followed up by another tour down the road a couple years from now."
This essentially squashed any plans for a 2009 tour which we were all hoping for based on the rumor that I had reported in early October. The rumor being that the band had been presented with an offer from Live Nation and were considering it. It turns out that the rumor itself was true - it's just that the band's ultimate decision was not what we were hoping for. :(
I'd first heard this rumor from an industry source back in early October. Evidently concert promoter Live Nation had put an offer to the band on the table for a 35-date tour in 2009 and the band was considering it. Not much else came of this rumor until a week or so later when Geddy and Alex were guests on VH1 Classic's new That Metal Show on October 15th. Reports from the taping stated that Geddy was asked if they would be taking a break for a while and Geddy stated I think we will be doing one more tour. Speculation abound as to what Geddy meant by these words. I now have some new information that sheds some light on all of this (although you may not like what I have to say). Apparently the band had considered the offer from Live Nation to tour in 2009 but ultimately decided to opt out, despite the money. As Geddy stated in the Billboard interview, the band is a little burnt out right now. Both Geddy and Alex want to spend more time with family while Neil wants to focus on several other endeavors including a couple of books he's working on, a possible new instructional DVD and projects related to the newly-launched Drum Channel. The band has informed all of the crew to find other work until 2011 when they should be ready to head back out. So it looks like the band will start the recording process sometime next year or early in 2010, record an album in the 2010 or early 2011 timeframe and tour in 2011 ... and we'll have to wait at least 2 years for another album/tour. And here's the killer ... the bit of very unfortunate news that I heard is that this will more than likely be their last tour. So when Geddy said one more tour it looks like that may just be exactly what he meant. This is one rumor I really hope is not true, although I have a feeling that it is. The driving force behind this decision I hear is Neil Peart, who does not want to be on the road touring at age 60 (he'll turn 60 in 2012) but would rather like to remain active as a writer and as a producer working on various projects related to drumming. Despite wanting to possibly hang up their tour hats after this next time out, the band has expressed no desire to disband or to stop putting out new music. The big question for them is how to release new music. They really don't make much money from album sales anymore. So - as I've reported before - they are therefore mulling the idea of releasing digital tracks or digital eps in lieu of albums. This is still an open question though - no decisions have been made on this front.
So that leaves us with the other rumor that the band has some kind of surprise on tap that should make us all very happy (Donna Halper's words). The exact nature of this surprise is unknown to me at this time (if it was... then it wouldn't be a surprise I guess!). However I have heard of at least one new project that the band is working on. Apparently they are working on a Classic Albums treatment for Moving Pictures. Classic Albums is a TV series made by Eagle Rock Entertainment that are broadcast worldwide (BBC, ITV, VH1, VH1 Classic etc) and also available on DVD. If that's successful they plan on possibly doing the same for 2112 and Signals.
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. I'm a bit stunned at this point - it hasn't really sunk in yet. I really hope what I've heard is not true. As always, more as I learn it.
UPDATE - 11/20@10:19AM: Amazon now has the official release date listed as Monday, November 24th. And apparently several readers have been getting the notifications from Amazon that their DVD has shipped - one as early as Monday of this past week. They may base delivery date on when the item is expected to arrive. Regardless of the whys and hows, it looks like folks will start receiving their copy over the next several days. If you receive your copy, please let us all know what you think.
UPDATE - 11/20@7:14AM: Sorry. Teaser vid links were broken. Fixed now.
The release of Rush's 3rd DVD in the last 5 years is just a few days away. The Snakes & Arrows DVD will be released early next week on both DVD and Blu-ray. The official US release date is Tuesday, November 25th although Eric from Power Windowsposted on Counterparts that all major music labels in the US have moved the traditional Tuesday release date up to Monday to accommodate the Thanksgiving holiday - which means we can likely get our hands on it a little sooner. Geddy Lee was recently interviewed by Billboard magazine and had a lot to say about the DVD:
... "With this one we wanted to focus on the playing," ... "So a lot of the camera work features the interaction between Neil (Peart), Alex (Lifeson) and myself, a lot of the details that you don't normally cover in a DVD performance. So for fans of the music who love to see what everybody's fingers are doing and how we interact back and forth with each other, that became the overriding focus on this one."
"Snakes & Arrows Live" was shot with 21 High Definition cameras during a two-night stand in October 2007 at the Ahoy Rotterdam Arena in the Netherlands -- the same shows that produced the "Snakes & Arrows Live" album that came out in April. The two releases were separated, Lee says, because Rush wanted to have something out for its 2008 North American tour and also because "we needed more time to spend on the DVD to make it more special." ... "we were playing really well and that everything in the show kind of revolves around that and there was great energy coming from us. That's what I was seeing on the screen." ...
Geddy also talks a bit about the band's future:
... Lee says "Snakes & Arrows Live" will have to hold Rush fans over for a while. The trio is currently "on a break" and "a little burnt out right now," though he has every confidence there will be another Rush album in the future.
"I think we're gonna stay quiet for awhile and then start writing -- when we're going to start writing I can't say just yet," Lee notes. "It may be in the fall, maybe the spring, maybe the following spring. But eventually we'll start writing some songs and recording them, and hopefully that will be followed up by another tour down the road a couple years from now."
This unfortunately seems to squash any rumors of the band touring in 2009. Although I'm still hearing they have a special surprise of some kind in store for us in the near future. Hopefully that rumor still holds some truth, although I have no details whatsoever at this point.
Stewart over at the National Midday Sun has posted the album cover for Rush's upcoming Atlantic-era greatest hits package, Retrospective 3. The album will be released on January 27th and come in both a CD and a CD/DVD version. The tracklist will contain one unreleased live track (Ghost of a Chance from the 2008 leg of the S&A tour) along with 13 studio tracks. The DVD will contain 10 Atlantic-era music videos along with live videos of The Seeker, Secret Touch and Resist. Also of interest are 2 remixed/remastered versions of One Little Victory and Earthshine off of 2002's Vapor Trails. Here's the album cover and the complete tracklist:
Disc: 1 (CD)
1. One Little Victory (remix) 2. Dreamline 3. Workin' Them Angels 4. Presto 5. Bravado 6. Driven 7. The Pass 8. Animate 9. Roll the Bones 10. Ghost of a Chance (live) 11. Nobody's Hero 12. Leave That Thing Alone 13. Earthshine (remix) 14. Far Cry
Disc: 2 (DVD - Atlantic-era videos)
1. Stick it Out 2. Nobody's Hero 3. Half the World 4. Driven 5. Roll the Bones 6. Show Don't Tell 7. The Pass 8. Superconductor 9. Far Cry 10. Malignant Narcissism 11. The Seeker (live) 12. Secret Touch (live) 13. Resist (live)
TAXI is a Canadian advertising agency that was founded back in 1992 in Montreal. In 2007 they celebrated their 15th anniversary and they came up with an innovative idea to both mark the occasion and give back to the community. Thus was born the 15 Below Project. Its first initiative was to create a jacket for the homeless. From the website:
The jacket would be breathable, waterproof, lightweight, and the lining would be made up of pockets throughout. And these pockets would be able to be stuffed with newspaper to provide adjustable levels of insulation from the cold. "We've survived 15 years, now we're going to help others survive the night," said Mykolyn, who enlisted long-time friend and designer, Lida Baday, to create the jacket.
Adding weight to the 15-year theme, as well as lending the project a name, is the Cold Weather Alert many cities issue when the temperature drops to -15ºC.
"It's a lifeline for people without homes. They're a pretty low-cost, immediate way to address a huge issue," said Paul Lavoie, co-founder, chairman, and chief creative officer of TAXI. "Our approach to solving problems - of any sort - has always been to question convention. This won't eliminate homelessness, but it can make a lot of people more comfortable."
On behalf of clients and staff, 3,000 15 Below jackets will be donated to people living on the streets throughout Canada and the U.S.
To raise money for the project, TAXI enlisted the help of 15 celebrities including our favorite Canadian power trio, Rush. Between now and November 25th you can bid on a package which includes one of the 15 below jackets signed by all 3 members of the band at the final stop on the 2008 Snakes & Arrows Tour; a signed tour book; a local crew pass; and a souvenir VIP backstage pass from the 2008 tour. For details and to place your bid go to this eBay link. Thanks to Skip Daly for the heads up.
UPDATE - 11/14@11:14AM: The embedded Geddy Lee My Favorite Headache video seems to have caused some issues with the post, so I removed it. You can still check it out at this link.
This past week was especially busy in terms of DVD news. We got to see a bunch of screengrabs from the DVD and learned some juicy details regarding the menu screen and the packaging. You can also download a free mp3 of 2112 from the DVD from BestBuy.com at this link. See this post for all the details. Rush also seems to be in the process of updating their official MySpace page in preparation for the release on November 25th.
Last weekend Rush fan, photographer and artist John Kane hosted a Rush-themed art exhibit at The Front Street Coffee House in Salem, MA titled Workin' Them Angels: Rush through the Camera Eye. Several members of this site were lucky enough to attend and by all accounts it was a huge success. Also in attendance was Donna Halper - the woman credited with discovering Rush. Donna gave a little speech discussing her career in radio and her special relationship with Rush. John has posted a bunch of great photos from the event at this link, and there are still some t-shirts and posters available at John's CafePress store. John also wanted me to let everyone know that he is working on a series of Rush paintings and sculptures that will be for sale soon, and there will be another event in the near future. Details to follow.
In her speech at the art exhibit Donna Halper also alluded to the fact that Rush had a special surprise in store for us in the near future but was not at liberty to divulge any details. This goes along with the vague rumor I'd been hearing that the band is working on something as well as considering a 2009 tour. Hopefully we'll get some concrete information from the band in the coming weeks. Donna also decided to become a member of RIAB and has left several comments in a few recent posts. And - as if all the planets of the Solar Federation were aligning - just a day before the art exhibit we learned that the folks at RushCon are considering Cleveland and 3 other cities as alternate locations to Toronto for 2009's RushCon. For those of you who read my Rush History 101 post from the other day you already know the relationship between Donna Halper, the city of Cleveland and Rush. But if not, go school yourself. To go vote for your city of choice [begin subliminal message] CLEVELAND [end subliminal message] for next year's RushCon, go to this link. :)
For my next poll I thought I'd mirror the RushCon poll and ask you the same question to gauge what RIAB readers think. I promise I won't fix the results! Take the poll and let us know where you prefer RushCon 9 take place.
The results of my last poll where I asked everyone whether their first copy of Hemispheres was on vinyl, 8-track, cassette or CD are in. The overwhelming winner was vinyl with over half the vote. Both cassette and cd got about 20% of the vote, and 8-track only received 2%.
We learned earlier today that Rush's appearance on VH1 Classic's upcoming new program That Metal Show will air on Saturday, December 27th. You can check out all the details and see some pics from the appearance in this post.
A couple of weeks ago I let you know that for the 3rd year in a row Alex Lifeson was participating in The Kidney Foundation of Canad's A Brush of Hope project. Lifeson along with a number of other Canadian celebrities created paintings to help bring attention to the crisis surrounding kidney disease and kidney-related illness around the globe. The winning bid on Alex's painting was $1225. Of the painting Alex states:
It was painted from a photo I'd taken at a friend's cottage in Muskoka looking out at Georgian Bay at dusk during the summer of 2006. The painting is done in acrylic and I used a sheet of paper towel fixed to the board to add texture.
Speaking of Lerxst, Alex Lifeson's Toronto night club The Orbit Room will be having their 14th anniversary party this coming Saturday, November 29th and the house band The Dexters will be playing. It's very likely that Big Al himself will be attending as he's done in recentyears past. Thanks to El Queso for the heads up.
In the latest issue of Rolling Stone magazine (issue #1065, 11/13) AC/DC graces the cover and gets a 4800 word feature story by David Fricke. Rush also gets a mention on page 16 in the Editor's Notes section. In a piece titled We (Finally) Salute AC/DC editor Will Dana discusses how up until now the magazine had overlooked AC/DC's career outside of a good review for Back In Black. Sound familiar? They go on to state:
... Recently, we stunned hardcore fans of Rush - another band we long neglected - with a lengthy feature on the group. Rushies didn't know whether to cheer or throw their calculators at us. Fricke expects the reaction from AC/DC nation to be simular. "I don't know how shocked they will be, but they'll think - What took you so fucking long?" - he says". ...
Thanks to artmac for the heads up. In case you'd missed the Rush Rolling Stone feature story (they didn't give them a cover though) you can check it out here.
The holiday special issue of Guitar Player contains a bonus photo section featuring several artists' guitar rigs, including Alex Lifeson's. Thanks to entrenous for the heads up and the scans.
Online retailer FYE is running a promotion where you can sign up to win a signed Snakes & Arrows tourbook. Just go to this link to enter. Thanks to Power Windows for the heads up.
Italian reader Luca let me know that Tsunami Edizioni will be distributing an Italian translation of the Jon Collins Rush biography Chemistry in March 2009. This will be the first such book to be made available in Italian. Che Bello!
Several readers let me know that Palladia HD is airing R30 in High-def throughout the month of November. Here's the schedule.
I've mentioned severaltimesin the past about Alex Lifeson's friendship with professional golfer Rocco Mediate. He's interviewed in the latest issue of Cigar Aficionado and he talks about his best friend on the tour, fellow golfer Lee Janzen. He states that it was their mutual admiration for Rush that made them friends; when you meet another Rush fan there is an instant connection.. Thanks to Power Windows for the heads up.
Last month Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson were interviewed by Eddie Trunk for VH1 Classic's upcoming new program That Metal Show. Eddie recently posted the complete schedule for the 8-show inaugural season along with several behind-the-scenes pictures on his website. The show with Geddy and Alex will be the last show of the season and air on Saturday, December 27th. Eddie had posted an update to his blog last month talking about the appearance. Here's an excerpt:
... Yesterday's final two shows featured Ace Frehley and Alex and Geddy from Rush as in studio guests. What a way to wrap up Season 1! I can not thank Alex and Geddy enough. The guys flew to NYC in and out on the same day just to do my show only. It's an honor to be able to call the Rush guys friends over the last few years and I am so grateful. To have artists of this caliber willing to step up for me like this is unreal. We had some fun with the guys and talked about their new DVD. They both were entertaining and very funny and seemed to have a good time. Was also cool to see Ace and Rush interact backstage. Rush opened more shows for Kiss then any band in the 70's and the stories and old memories were flowing in the halls and around the makeup room. Was just great to watch these legends interact and catch up. ...
According to some secondhand reports of the taping, they were asked if they would be taking a break for a while and Geddy stated I think we will be doing one more tour. And he said it in a fashion as to not insinuate one more tour EVER, but rather one more tour before taking any extended break. So this seems to add credence to the rumor that the band will be touring next summer. Hopefully we'll be getting some more details on this front in the coming weeks. Thanks to TMMB for the heads up.
This past weekend Rush fan, photographer and artist John Kane hosted a Rush-themed art exhibit at The Front Street Coffee House in Salem, MA titled Workin' Them Angels: Rush through the Camera Eye. Several members of this site were lucky enough to attend and by all accounts it was a huge success. Outside of the incredible photographs and artwork, the highlight of the evening was the speech given by Donna Halper - the woman credited with discovering Rush. She discussed her career in radio and how she discovered Rush as well as describing her special relationship with the band with whom she is still close to this day. She included some cryptic remarks about the band having a surprise in store for us but did not go into any details. This goes along with the rumor I'd been hearing that the band is working as well as considering a 2009 tour. Hopefully we'll get some concrete information from the band in the coming weeks. Donna also decided to become a member of RIAB and even left a fewcomments in a couple of recentposts including this one:
First, if we can get RushCon to Cleveland, I'd be delighted to help in any way. I have some unfinished business in Cleveland-- a certain former boss of mine had some very unfair things to say about me and about the band way back when... and it would be kind of amusing to go back and take part in a celebration of all things Rush. I am not comfortable discussing the incident on a blog, but sometime, we'll chat and I'll tell you the inside story of how the RRHOF got to be located in Cleveland, and other stuff like that...
Don't get me wrong-- I am not bitter, I have no scores to settle, but I do have some memories-- among the parting words from the manager of the station I worked at (WMMS) when he found that I was leaving to work in New York was that I would never succeed in broadcasting, and this person basically tried to take credit for Rush's success!!! Rush found out about it, and they stood up for me -- they said that it was me, not any other person-- and in fact, they did a concert at the Agora (I have a tape of it) where they made a point of doing a shout-out to me and thanking me for what I had done!!! I never asked them to do that-- they just did it. That is the kind of loyalty these guys have, and that is why I will be loyal to them to the end.
#22 - Posted 11/10/08 @9:31PM by donnahalper
Regarding RushCon, she's referring to how we learned late last week that the folks at RushCon are considering alternate locations for the convention this coming year. Since its inception it's been held in Rush's hometown of Toronto, but this year they are considering Cleveland, Chicago, Las Vegas and Los Angeles as alternate venues. The issue is up for a vote on the RushCon website and Cleveland is currently way out in the lead with nearly one third of the votes to the bewilderment of many it would seem. Personally I think it would be only fitting for Cleveland to be the chosen location because of its important role in the history of Rush, so I'm not surprised at all that it's winning. But after reading several comments on the variousmessageboards and on this blog, I've become aware that a lot of Rush fans have no idea who Donna Halper is and how she and Cleveland rock fans played such an important role in the annals of Rush history. A lot of folks are asking the question Why RushCon in Cleveland? Well, to put it simply it would not be a stretch to say that - outside of Toronto - there is no city more important in the history of Rush than Cleveland. To make my argument and set the record straight, here's an abbreviated bit of Rush history for you (taken mostly from Donna's own account).
Back in 1974 Donna Halper became the music director for Cleveland's groundbreaking FM radio station WMMS. While working in Boston Donna had developed a good relationship with several record promoters as she loved to play music from unknown bands and for some reason she had a particular affinity for Canadian bands. So Canadian record promoters would often send her recordings. One day Donna got a package from Bob Roper of A&M Records of Canada. In the package was an album from a Toronto band (put out on their own label Moon Records) named Rush that no Canadian labels seemed to be interested in but that Roper thought had promise. Donna listened to the album and was particularly struck by the songs Working Man and Finding My Way although didn't think much of the single In the Mood. Like many who first listened to Rush back then, Donna could hear a lot of similarities to Led Zeppelin - especially with the singer Geddy Lee. WMMS DJ Denny Sanders agreed with Donna that this band definitely had something so he played the track Working Man. This was the first airplay Rush ever received in the US. Almost immediately the phones lit up with people asking when the new Led Zeppelin album was coming out! Denny was forced to explain that it was not Led Zeppelin but a Canadian band called Rush. Everybody wanted to know how they could get a copy of the album. Over the next few days the popularity of Working Man in Cleveland skyrocketed so WMMS added Finding My Way, Here Again and even In the Mood to their playlist. Requests from record stores regarding how they could get copies of the album began to pour in. So Donna contacted Rush's management - Ray Daniels and Vic Wilson who formed Anthem Records in 1977 - to see if they could get some copies of the album to these stores. The big import record store in Cleveland at the time was Record Revolution (it's still around too - just a couple of miles from my house) and they sold out their supply quickly. While all this was going on, local concert promoter Jules Belkin couldn't help but notice all the buzz the band was getting. Donna put him in touch with the band's management and before you knew it Donna became the conduit for getting Rush music into the stores and getting the band to come to Cleveland for a concert. So on August 26, 1974 Rush played a show at the historic Cleveland Agora that was recorded for FM broadcast. Donna introduced the band at this show and Rush acknowledged her role in jumpstarting their career and thanked her for believing in them. This was not Rush's first show in the US but it probably was their first major headlining show (the picture at the top of this post is from one of their 1974 Agora shows). Bootlegs of this show are the stuff of legend these days and highly sought after by traders. Donna went on to befriend the guys in the band, becoming a self-described big sister of sorts and remains friends with them to this day. The rest is history as they say. Rush dedicated their first 2 albums to Donna which tells you how much respect they have for her and her role in them getting their big break.
So basically without Donna Halper, WMMS and Cleveland rock fans, Rush may have been delegated to the Toronto club concert circuit for the remainder of their career rather than selling 35-million-plus albums worldwide and becoming an international rock icon. As a Clevelander I'm extremely proud of the city's role in Rush history and eternally grateful to Donna Halper for giving them their break. Thanks Donna!
... Upon playing the DVD, viewers are greeted with Alex's genie head who says "Hello and welcome to the DVD, are you ready for some fun? I always am..." and "Have you adjusted your audio?" There is a full introduction including new dvd intro animation prior to the original concert intro film. While "What's That Smell" from the second leg of the tour is included as a bonus feature, the full "Plain Of Dharma" video (which served as the introduction to second set of the first leg of the tour) is included as part of the live show. Also included in the live show is the full South Park intro to "Tom Sawyer"; it is also accessible by its own chapter. The blooper reel for the production videos are said to be hilarious and worth the price of the video itself; Geddy has a very tough time following his script, and many more clips of Alex's "Plain of Dharma" video and Neil and Barbie dolls are included as well.
As far as the packaging itself, it is all cardboard digipak style, no plastic, and is normal DVD case size (in both width, height and thickness) folding out to 4 panels. One panel holds the booklet (which includes a couple pages of pictures, 3 pages of credits, and a dedication to Shelley Nott), then the next two panels hold the discs themselves (they slide into the cardboard like R30). Those three disc panels have a red lenses look at Holland windmills (also printed on the discs themselves). Other side of panels have snakeskin with arrow and names on one, and the "Working Them Angels" factory shot on the other. ...
----- snip -----
UPDATE - 11/12@9:53PM: Eric over at Power Windows has posted several additional screengrabs from the DVD in this photobucket album. In addition to the same 7 photos I posted earlier are several more concert footage screengrabs, 1 of Lil' Rush and one additional DVD menu shot. I've also added them to the slideshow.
Stewart over at the National Midday Sun has posted several screengrabs from the upcoming Snakes & Arrows DVD. There's 7 total - mostly from the behind-the-scenes footage but there's one of Geddy in concert and one of the DVD menu screen. You can see them using the slideshow viewer below. The DVD will be released on both DVD and Blu-ray on November 25th and is available for pre-order from Rounder, the Rush Backstage Club, Amazon and other online vendors. For complete details and tracklisting check out the official press release in this post.
Three months ago, Listening Post followed Stephen Colbert's lead and wondered aloud why Rush hadn't made the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame yet. We asked the readership to chime in on the snub, and it hit us back with a record 500 responses. We might have to check the math, but that might also be an overall site record as well.
His contact at the Rock Hall also agreed to field a few questions from fans. Thill scoured through all the feedback and came up with these 3 questions:
1) According to Wikipedia, Rush possesses 24 gold records and 14 platinum records, placing fifth behind The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Kiss and Aerosmith for most consecutive gold and platinum rock albums, moving an estimated total 40 million units worldwide. And although the Hall of Fame argues that sales don't count, given that Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart are consistently recognized and decorated as some of the most skilled performers on their given instruments, hasn't Rush made the commercial and professional case that it belongs in the Hall?
2) Rush is still together, while other bands, including those already in the Hall of Fame, have fragmented and ceased production. As a result, the power trio has amassed a diehard core following of early adopters, including several accomplished musicians, as well as a significant audience of latecomers. Doesn't this longevity and influence demand the band's inclusion?
3) Does Jann Wenner dislike Rush, and is his alleged dislike of the band responsible for its controversial exclusion from the Hall of Fame?
He's now waiting on the Rock Hall's responses. In case you didn't know, Rush was recently passed over yet again for inclusion in the 2009 list of Rock Hall nominees. Thanks to highwater for the heads up.
Today is the 10th anniversary of the release of Rush's 4th live album, the 3-disc set titled Different Stages. Most of discs 1 and 2 were recorded at the New World Music Center in Chicago during the 1994 Counterparts tour and the 1997 Test for Echo tour. Disc 3 is from a performance at the Hammersmith Odeon in London during the 1978 A Farewell to Kings tour. The album was certified Gold by the RIAA on December 2, 1998 and reached as high as #35 on the Billboard charts. It was compiled and released in the wake of the deaths of Neil Peart's daughter Selena and wife Jackie in 1997 and 1998 respectively. It was dedicated to their memories using the following line from Afterimage: suddenly...you were gone...from all the lives you left your mark upon. It was widely believed by fans to likely be their final album. Thankfully that was not the case! The liner notes contain the following from Geddy Lee:
Hello you,
This collection was recorded over a span of 20 years, primarily during 3 tours. Our desire was to record many shows hoping to capture some "magic" performances as naturally as possible. But, as Murphy's Law would dictate, with well over 60 shows to choose from, we found ourselves being drawn to a mere handful. We have tried not to "mess" with these tapes very much and to present something that we think represents a fairly definitive retrospective of our live work and changing sound over that period of time.
Of course, no band is an island, and so we thank our various crew members, management staff and drivers throughout the years who have been the unfailing support system that has kept us rolling, stage to stage, with great dedication and professionalism, and good humour.
But most significantly, we would like to thank our many fans around the world for their long-standing support which, to our continuing amazement, has enabled us to hang around for so damn long - despite the inherent weirdness of our music!
best wishes to all
Geddy
Thanks to Power Windows (who currently has a nifty Different Stages theme featured on his site) for the reminder.
UPDATE - 11/7@12:27PM: Quick update. I just received the RushCon newsletter and for next year's RushCon the organizers are considering having the convention in a city other than Toronto. I think this is great idea just to mix things up a bit. The potential alternate locations are Cleveland, Chicago, Las Vegas and Los Angeles and they are asking for your feedback. To vote go to the RushCon website. I highly encourage everyone to vote for Cleveland!! :) Seriously though - all local bias aside, Cleveland's WMMS radio station is where Donna Halperdiscovered Rush back in 1974; I think it would be fitting to have the convention there at least once.
A couple of weeks ago I mentioned that Rush friend and photographer Andrew MacNaughtan had 3 new autographed Geddy Lee prints available for purchase. We also just learned via the newly revamped Rush newsletter that Andrew will be donating a portion of the proceeds from each print to benefit the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. The prints include a portrait with the spotlight on Geddy and his red bass used to perform 2112, and two live shots of him performing A Passage to Bangkok and Malignant Narcissism from the 2008 tour. You can check them out at Andrew's website here.
Rush gets a mention in the latest installment of CNET TV's top 5 worst downloads. Number 3 is a download for Canadian Rock Radio and they take a jab at Rush, Triumph and ... Chilliwack?. Thanks to skin2112 for the heads up.
We also have 2 Rush gatherings happening tomorrow; the Tiles show in Lakewood, OH and John Kane's Rush art exhibit in Salem, MA. I'll be at the Tiles show and hope to see you there if you can make it. And I know several RIABers will be attending John's Rush art exhibit. It should be a fun weekend.
Reader and Phillies fan Shimer reminded me that I neglected last week to acknowledge the Phillies World Series win over the Tampa Bay Rays. Back in June Rush played the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia and for the whole second set Geddy wore a 1980 Phillies World Series shirt. I like to think that's the reason they won this year. :) Here's A pic of Ged with the shirt courtesy reader Secretly Touched.
Amazon.com has posted the entire 2112: Overture / Temples of Syrinx video from the Snakes & Arrows DVD which you can watch at this link. This is the first taste of the Atlanta show bonus footage that we've been treated to thus far. A couple of weeks ago we got to see YYZ from the DVD and on the Rush Hashanah special which aired on VH1 Classic a few weeks ago they aired 2 other video teasers from the DVD both of which are now up on YouTube; The Spirit of Radio and Far Cry. The DVD will be released on both DVD and Blu-ray on November 25th and is available for pre-order from Rounder, the Rush Backstage Club, Amazon and other online vendors. For complete details and tracklisting check out the official press release in this post. Thanks to Gary O for the heads up.
UPDATE - 11/14@9:31AM: Pictures from the exhibit at this link.
As I've mentioned several times over the past several weeks, this Saturday, November 8th from 7-9PM photographer and Rush fan John Kane will be exhibiting a collection of his Rush concert photographs at the Front Street Coffee House in Salem, MA. The exhibit is titled Workin' Them Angels: Rush through the Camera Eye and you can RSVP at rushexhibit@gmail.com. The exhibit was featured in The Salem News today in an article titled What a Rush: Salem artist honors Canadian band in photos, lecture, song. From the article:
... The show will consist of photographs from the three Greater Boston area shows on the 2007/08 "Snakes & Arrows" tour. It opens at Front Street Coffeehouse in Salem on Saturday.
"I always feel inspired at a Rush show," said Kane, a drummer. "I feel inspired to create. I feel anxious when I listen to Rush. It inspires my artwork; it inspires my life - lyrically and musically." ...
... Kane's photographed the band from front-row seats at the Comcast Center in Mansfield and the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, N.H. The framed photos consist of black-and-white and color shots of the band, during performance and in between songs.
"I wanted to show what it was like to be at a Rush show," he said. "I was attempting to show Rush on stage from a fan's perspective - showing the whole stage experience, capturing moments of each member in downtime, (during) solitary moments."
Kane's photographs, shot with a Canon Powershot 8 megapixel digital camera, also convey the arena experience of Rush's colorful laser shows. And he includes several portraits of band members Geddy Lee (lead vocals, bass, keyboard), Alex Lifeson (guitar) and Neil Peart (drums and lyrics). ...
... A triptych of portraits of Lee, Lifeson and Peart is included in "Workin' them Angels," and the framed piece is scattered with Kane's past concert stubs. None of the photos are for sale, Kane said, but he will sell fine-art posters and hold a raffle. ...
... Fans from around Boston and New England are expected to attend the show, and Kane added one woman is on her way from Minnesota....
I think I know who the woman from Minnesota is (could it be PetieLee?). In addition to the show, there will also be an after party concert with the premier Rush cover band, Lotus Land, at the Dodge Street Bar and Grill across the street from the show. Also, Donna Halper (the person who discovered Rush) will be a guest speaker and conduct a brief Q&A. To commemorate the event, John produced this poster featuring one of his fine art paintings of Rush. The poster, a limited edition of 60, will be sold at the show for $10 at the opening. He has also created a Cafe Press store where you can purchase both larger 16x20" prints and t-shirts of the image for $20 each. The event will also include a $5 raffle of some of John's photographs of Rush, and a t-shirt. The photos will be on exhibit for the entire month of November.
UPDATE - 11/5@7:31AM: We have a winner! Joe R from Cuyahoga Falls will be the recipient of 2 tickets to the show. Congrats! For anybody else going, I still have plenty of promo CDs to give out. Just let me know if you can make the show.
This Saturday, November 8th Detroit-based progressive rockers Tiles will be playing at the Phantasy Concert Club in Lakewood, OH just west of Cleveland. Tiles' most recent album Fly Paper has a number of Rush connections. Alex Lifeson plays on the track Sacred and Mundane, the album was produced by Terry Brown, and Hugh Syme did the album art in addition to playing keyboards on 2 tracks. I interviewed guitarist Chris Herin and Terry Brown regarding the album back in February. Also on Saturday's bill will be a couple of other Cleveland-area progressive rock bands; The Rick Ray Band and Slick Flux. I will be at the show and if you are in the Cleveland area I hope you can make it too. I have 2 FREE tickets to giveaway as well as several promo CDs. I'll give the tickets to the first person who emails me (you must be in the Cleveland area, we can work out a time/place to pick them up). If you can come please let me know and I'll give you a promo CD along with a RIAB bumper sticker at the show (while supplies last). Cleveland State radio station WCSB 89.3 is promoting the show and will be playing songs from Tiles and the supporting bands on DJ Keith Miller's radio show which airs tomorrow from 1-3PM. They'll also be doing some ticket giveaways. Here's the video for the Alex Lifeson collaboration track Sacred & Mundane:
Now that the the Buddy Rich Memorial Concert is in the books, Neil Peart has taken some time out to update the News page on NeilPeart.net. This update focuses exclusively on the concert, giving a detailed background and history of the show and those involved, how it developed, how Neil prepared for it and how it ultimately played out. Neil discusses at length about how he sought out the great jazz drummer Peter Erskine to help him hone his swing drumming skills. It's a very interesting read - one of Neil's best. So rather than pick and choose some excerpts to highlight, I encourage you to read the whole thing. Thanks to phreakinearl for the heads up.
For the 3rd year in a row Alex Lifeson is participating in The Kidney Foundation of Canada's A Brush of Hope project. Alex Lifeson along with dozens of other Canadian celebrities have donated paintings to be auctioned off to raise money for the charity. To check out Alex's painting titled Muskoka Dusk or to place a bid on it go here. Thanks to John at Cygnus-x1.net for the heads up.
Happy Halloween! I threw together a quick Halloween theme for the site this morning. All the red is now orange and we have Geddy, the Wicked Witch of the West up in the right corner. I'm not sure of the origins of this photoshopped image but I've always thought it was funny. The Rush Starman Pumpkin pic is courtesy reader Joy P. Plus here's another Rush-inspired jack-o-lantern which was posted over at Wired.com (thanks byteme). Cool, huh? Now ... onto the updates.
Other than the release of a teaser video of YYZ from the Snakes & Arrows DVD earlier this week, there hasn't been much news from the Rush camp as of late. Things have been eerily quiet. The calm before the storm perhaps? Hopefully they are busy mulling over the details of putting together a tour in 2009. I've also heard a rumor that the boys may be so quiet because they are working; i.e. recording a song or two. Which is certainly plausible based on earlier rumors and Alex Lifeson's musings. Now to put on my speculation hat... Let's suppose the band is still seriously considering touring next year but would like some new material to tour on. Suppose they decided to push the release of Retrospective 3 waaaay out to the end of January just to give them time to add a couple of new songs to it. This would boost sales and then they could use this release to have something to tour on. Maybe. We'll see. Again - this is complete speculation on my part. Ignore it or feel free to add some speculation of your own in the comments.
Wednesday was the 30th anniversary of the release of Hemispheres as well as the 27th anniversary of Exit ... Stage Left and the 23rd anniversary of Power Windows. Certainly a busy day in Rush history. In celebration of this momentous event, in my current poll I'm asking everyone whether their first copy of Hemispheres was on vinyl, 8-track, cassette tape or CD. So if you haven't already, please take the poll and let us know.
On Tuesday we learned that2112 will be the first in a series of officially licensed, limited edition framed gold records commemorating classic Rush albums to be made available by Photo File. Limited to an edition of only 2,500, this framed and matted depiction of the 2112 album includes a 24KT gold-plated record and an image of the album cover along with an individually numbered text plate. Framed dimensions are 18x24 inches and the manufacturer's suggested retail price is $239. To order go here.
Neel Kashkari oversees $700 billion U.S. bailout plan, still embarassed by Rush quotes on high school yearbook page.
Thanks to Mike K for the heads up and the scan.
Soundtweaker alerted me to the fact that MTV now has beta-launched a site called MTVMusic where you can watch just about any music video including 15 Rush videos. You can find a more comprehensive list right here on RIABin the music videos section.
Here's an amusing blog post by writer Jeffrey Liles where he reminisces about a Rush Roll The Bones era review he wrote earlier in his career.
A reminder that just 1 week from tomorrow on Saturday, November 8th Detroit-based prog-rockers Tiles will be playing in my neck of the woods at the Phantasy Concert Club in Lakewood, OH. Tiles' most recent album Fly Paper has a number of Rush connections. Alex Lifeson plays on the track Sacred and Mundane, the album was produced by Terry Brown, and Hugh Syme did the album art in addition to playing keyboards on 2 tracks. I interviewed guitarist Chris Herin and Terry Brown regarding the album back in February. I will be at the show and if you are in the Cleveland area I hope you can make it too. If you can come please let me know and I should be able to hook you up with some free swag at the show! Cleveland State radio station WCSB 89.3 is promoting the show and will be playing songs from Tiles and the supporting bands on DJ Keith Miller's radio show which airs Wednesdays from 1-3PM. They'll also be doing some ticket giveaways too.
And as another reminder, next Saturday, November 8th at 7PM photographer and Rush fan John Kane will be exhibiting a collection of his Rush concert photographs at the Front Street Coffee House in Salem, MA. The exhibit is titled Workin' Them Angels: Rush through the Camera Eye and you can RSVP at rushexhibit@gmail.com. There will also be an after party concert with the premier Rush cover band, Lotus Land, at the Dodge Street Bar and Grill across the street from the show. In addition, Donna Halper (the person who discovered Rush) will be a guest speaker and conduct a brief Q&A. To commemorate the event, John produced this poster featuring one of his fine art paintings of Rush. The poster, a limited edition of 60, will be sold at the show for $10 at the opening. He has also created a Cafe Press store where you can purchase both larger 16x20" prints and t-shirts of the image for $20 each. The event will also include a $5 raffle of some of John's photographs of Rush, and a t-shirt. The photos will be on exhibit for the entire month of November.
Supernatural is an American fictional TV show dealing with paranormal investigations. The 2 main characters (brothers and paranormal investigators) typically conduct their investigations posing as federal agents with the names of famous people. In last night's episode (Season 4, Episode 7: It's The Great Pumpkin, Sam Winchester) they introduce themselves as agent Geddy and agent Lee. You can see it for yourself in this YouTube video in the last few seconds of the clip. Thanks to Lerxst Is God for the heads up.
Have a safe and happy Halloween and weekend everyone!
UPDATE - 10/29@9:55AM: The Power Windows site reminded me that today is also the 27th anniversary of Exit ... Stage Left and the 23rd anniversary of Power Windows! This certainly was a busy day in Rush history.
Today is the 30th anniversary of the release of Rush's 6th studio album,
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UPDATE - 11/5@7:31AM: We have a winner! Joe R from Cuyahoga Falls will be the recipient of 2 tickets to the show. Congrats! For anybody else going, I still have plenty of promo CDs to give out. Just 
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For the 3rd year in a row Alex Lifeson is participating in 
