Although the 2007 tour is over, there's a lot on tap for Rush fans in 2008 and beyond. A new Rush documenatary with a 1.5 million dollar budget is in the works, a live DVD of the Rotterdam shows is planned, and Rush will be touring for another 3 or 4 months next Spring/Summer! So which of these are you looking most forward to? Take the poll and let us know.

I've received a lot of kind emails from folks lately thanking me and the site for the tour coverage. I just wanted to say a big You're Welcome! and that I couldn't have done it without the great support of all my readers sending me links and providing information. I've really enjoyed it ... and the best thing is that the coverage will continue this Spring! Folks have also asked about different ways they can help out the site. Just visiting, spreading the word and sending me cool links/info is enough for me. But if you want to do more you can click on the Google ads, purchase items through the Amazon links or donate directly via PayPal. And if you donate, you'll get a RUSH IS A BAND bumper sticker as a Thank You.

In the last poll I asked which was your favorite of Rush's 5 live DVDs/Videos. The overwhelming winner with over half the votes was Rush in Rio. R30 received a quarter of the votes while the rest were split among the older 3 offerings.

The Rush tribute band documentary aired on E! in Canada last Sunday. Several readers who saw it had positive things to say. In addition to following a couple of Rush tribute bands around, Alex and Geddy were both interviewed and feel that tribute bands are the ultimate compliment to a band. The special can be viewed online in most countries (unfortunately not the US) at this link.

Ross Halfin teased us all month with his diary updates from the European leg of the tour. If he's to be believed, Rush played a lot of interesting stuff during their soundchecks. In his latest update Ross gave up on the soundcheck reports since nobody believed him. :)

Just in time for Christmas, Guitar Center is selling a Neil Peart Signature Snakes & Arrows snare drum. Details in this post.

Speaking of Neil, I recently came across video of Neil's interview with Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien from 1993. You can check it out here. And tomorrow marks the 13th anniversary of Neil's appearance on Politically Incorrect. If you've never seen that video you can check that out here.

Rushfest 8 will take place at the Blackmore Rock Bar in São Paulo, Brazil tomorrow. Details in this post.

Bidding is now open for the Kidney Foundation of Canada's A Brush of Hope charity project. The auction will run through November 12th. Just as he did last year, Alex Lifeson is participating in the project. You can bid on Alex's painting at this link. Thanks to july141789 for the heads up.

In last Sunday's Washington Post Magazine there was a feature on Bobby Standridge - creator of the now famous A Digital Man Neil Peart YYZ video. Bobby talks about his background and how the popularity of the Digital Man video gave his career a boost. Thanks to JayBird for providing the link.

Reader Tony A let me know that the Permanent Waves Gold Ultradisc release date has been pushed from November 6th to the 20th. You can preorder it here.

There's a new contest up at the Rush Backstage Club. This time you could win a limited edition, hand-numbered poster from the Snakes & Arrows tour autographed by all three members. The contest closes on November 15th and you can enter at this link.

Music columnist and long-time arts reporter for CBC Television, Bob Mersereau, recently released a book on The Top 100 Canadian Albums which included Rush's 2112, Moving Pictures, and A Farewell to Kings. The book also included a list of the top 10 Canadian drummers as compiled by Neil Peart. Reader Paul D purchased the book and has provided us with Neil's list:

1) Gary Peterson - The Guess Who
2) Jerry Mercer - Mashmakhan / April Wine (Lorne Wheaton once worked with Jerry)
3) Whitey Glan - Mandala
4) Skip Prokop - Lighthouse
5) Graham Lear - Georges Olivers Natural Gas and later doing Gino
Vanelli recordings
6) Dave Cairns - Leigh Ashford
7) Danny Taylor - Nucleus
8) Martin Deller - FM
9) Gary McCracken - Max Webster
10) Johnny Fay - The Tragically Hip

1 through 7 are from the 60s, 8 through 10 the 70s. Neil Peart also is quoted saying Really, there were so many great drummers around Southern Ontario in those days that I am surprised I didn't just give up. Good thing he didn't!

Ted K let me know that Guitar Edge Magazine released a special Fall issue highlighting their list of the 100 greatest guitarists. Alex Lifeson made the cut at # 96.

Jess of the Rush to Fight AIDs project wanted to thank everyone for all their help with her little charity project which was a HUGE success. She left a message on her blog which I'll relay here:

Hello everyone--

As all you Rush fans already know, the last show of the 2007 Snakes and Arrows tour was today. I think we can all agree that it was amazing in every way, and this break for the band is WELL deserved.

I've updated the text on the site to reflect the end of the tour, so please check it out. The Rush to Fight AIDS has a big future, and I want all of you to be part of it.

Now, more than ever, I encourage you to spread the word to your friends. For one thing, the holidays are here, which is a time of need for millions of people around the world. Secondly, the Rush tour will be starting back up at some point (hopefully sooner rather than later), and I think it would be great to have a huge, unified effort to greet the beginning of the tour.

I'm thrilled at what we have all been able to do for S-CAP--just think about what we can do for the entire continent... or world... if we spread the word.

Thanks to all of you for your continued support and inspiration...

Thanks Jess!!

Several readers emailed me about this sad bit of news about how the pilot of Enola Gay - immortalized in the Rush song Manhatten Project - has passed away.

For Halloween Jason Lymangrover over at the AllMusic blog penned a humorous post about backmasking and Satanic messages in songs. Rush's 2112: Grand Finale is featured:

Originally: “We have assumed control/We have assumed control/We have assumed control.”

Backmasked Message: “Rush is with Satan/Rush is with Satan/Rush is with Satan.”

Rush is with Satan... hee hee. :) Thanks to fenderjazz over at Counterparts for the heads up.

Reader marathonman noticed that Rush is mentioned in this article on the merging of mp3 players and cellphones.

Dirk pointed me to this feature on the Discovery Channel's website where Mike Rowe - host of the show Dirty Jobs - presents his top ten artists featured in his iPod. Rush comes at #2!

Guitarist Magazine UK interviewed Alex Lifeson for their December issue at the Birmingham show earlier this month. The magazine had also run a Meet Alex Lifeson competition in the September issue and took the time to introduce Lerxst to the winner Terry Stanners - who also received a Hughes & Kettner Switchblade 100 combo. You can read the story at the Hughes & Kettner website. Thanks to RedSectorA for the link.

Here's one from the archives: back in 2000 Canadian comedian Friendly Rich taped a documentary for CBC Radio's Outfront. It analyses Rush fans and Friendly's own obsession with Geddy and the boys. You can listen to it at this link. Thanks to Fiat for digging this up.

And here's an interesting Rush-related eBay item that was recently up for auction. It's an old hunting license from 1921 with the license number ... 2112. It went for $65! Rush fans will buy anything. :) Thanks to 1-2-bucklemyshoe for the link.

That's all folks - have a great weekend!

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