Back in the summer of 2021, Neil Peart's extensive classic car collection - dubbed the Silver Surfers by Neil himself - was sold at Gooding & Company's 17th annual Pebble Beach Auctions. Just before the auction, it was revealed via an announcement at Rush.com that this collection of classic cars was the subject of a coffee table book that Neil Peart was working on prior to his untimely passing 4 years ago. Since that initial announcement very little additional information had surfaced, until this past December when the book's release date was posted on Amazon. Then earlier this week Rush revealed the cover and a few more details via the official Rush newsletter:

For Neil Peart, cars were a lifelong passion, and in his final literary creation, he writes about his beloved Silver Surfers collection; the joy of collecting these exquisite, rare, and important sports cars, and the myriad ways that they brought him great joy. Silver Surfers is an homage to these cars that meant so much to him, and to the passion of the road that fueled his life.

He first traces the roots of his auto obsession, taking us back to where it all began, with a 1969 Lotus Europa; through the cars he bought when the band first made it big, and even his first "family car," before taking us on a tour of the Silver Surfers themselves-a rare collection of some of the most iconic sports cars from the 1960s. From a 1964 Aston Martin DB5 to a classic 1963 Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray, each is a gorgeous silver (with the exception of one: a black 1964 Shelby Cobra whose patina Neil loved so much that he wrote, "I am not going to paint it").

"The title Silver Surfers for my collection of cars occurred to me while driving my DB5 up and down the Pacific Coast Highway. Because it felt right to me, I guess - the idea that I was just one of the wave riders... In search of natural peace, I often drove out that way and up in to the Santa Monica Mountains. Out past Malibu to Ventura County, I'd weave along barren ridges of rock and vegetation, the ocean always on one big side... The waves were slow and gentle, or churned out a powerful, rolling rhythm..." - Neil Peart

Silver Surfers is a stunning coffee table book which is a departure from Neil's previous literary works. As with his previous writings, it contains a compelling, detailed and at times, humorous narrative, yet the images take center stage. These beautiful images, many of which Neil personally curated, accompany his warm, personal story of how he built the collection, the joy he felt when driving them, and the many friends he made along the way.

The foreword, written by Neil's wife, Carrie Nuttall-Peart, provides an additional, personal perspective in to Neil's passion for cars, and the extraordinary influence they had on his life.

Silver Surfers is the final work of Neil Peart's prolific, legendary career, and is sure to become a cherished collector's item for decades to come. It is Neil's parting gift to those who loved him, but also for those who share a passion for automobiles. ...

The book comes in at 96 pages and is slated for release on May 7th with pre-orders available here. You can check out an image of the cover here.

Geddy Lee's hugely successful My Effin' Life spoken word book tour spanned 19 shows across the US, Canada, and UK this past November and December, and is the subject of a cover feature in the latest edition of Pollstar magazine. The feature includes interview snippets with Geddy Lee, Gerry Barad (VP of booking at Live Nation Global Touring), IAG's Adam Kornfeld (agent representing Geddy), UTA's Neil Warnock (agent representing Geddy in the UK), and Meg Symsyk of Rush's management. Here's an excerpt where Geddy talks about how the tour came together:

... "I was really amazed how well it all came together," Lee said, explaining the concept for a conversational environment "still in keeping with my attitude towards production, you know. I had to have some bells and whistles for fun." A component of that was a special (and secret) guest host each night, which meant super fans like Paul Rudd, Jack Black, Soundgarden's Kim Thayil, Les Claypool, Matt Stone, Melissa Auf der Maur and still others making for a unique experience each night. Adding to the surprise, Rush co-founder/guitarist Alex Lifeson was the special guest host on the final date in both North America and the UK, much to the delight of fans. "Most importantly, the second half of the show would be an interchange between myself and fans," said, Lee, 70, explaining that while he did a more traditional meet-and-greet signing setup to coincide with the release of "Geddy Lee's Big Beautiful Book of Bass" coffee table book in 2019, that environment didn't offer the best experience for fans or himself in a post-COVID, socially distanced world. He credits "invaluable" manager Meg Symsyk with helping put together the tour, along with his brother Allan Weinrib who has been part of previous Rush projects. ...

The article also addresses the possibility of more music from Geddy, and this year's Rush 50th anniversary:

... the occasion of "R50" - 50 years since Neil Peart joined Rush, in time for the band's second album, Fly By Night - does not go unnoticed. "When the band is ready to share what they would like to do to celebrate R50, they will let everyone know," Symsyk says. Lee himself says he is eager to work on new music, although what that means appears to still be taking shape. "Right now, I'm sort of trying to figure out what the next steps for me are. I'm not sure that I want to do more of these things," he says, referring to the speaking engagements. "They were fascinating and I enjoyed every minute of it, but talking about my life as a career? I'm not so sure I want to do that. I have some big decisions to make and I'm pondering," he adds. "I would like to get back to writing music and see where that takes me. I would like to do some things in music before I shut the door on that option. So I just need some time now. I spent almost three years working on this book and the last two months were fairly intense traveling every day and being in all these different cities and talking so much. I just need a period where I'm not talking so much, and doing more thinking than talking."

To commemorate the 4th anniversary of the passing of Neil Peart last month, Rush tribute band YYNOT hosted their 2nd annual Bubba Bash in celebration of The Professor at the Keswick Theatre outside Philly (Glenside, PA) on Saturday, January 6th. The show was "In Celebration of Neil Peart", and featured YYNOT along with special guests Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater, etc.), Frank Bello (Anthrax), Jason Bittner (Shadows Fall, Overkill, etc.), Jon Dinklage (Clockwork Angels string ensemble), Joe Bergamini (drum instructor, author, etc.), John Wesley (Porcupine Tree), Seven Antonopoulos (Opiate for the Masses), and more. All proceeds from the show go to benefit Cedars Sinai Hospital, and you can send along your donation here. The show was professionally filmed, and the band has just released the first pro-shot video from the event; a performance of YYZ with special guest Mike Portnoy. You can watch that video below or on YouTube. You can also check out some videos from last year's inaugural event on YYNOT's YouTube channel here, and be sure to follow them on Facebook and Twitter for all the latest updates. YYNOT's Tim Starace and Billy Alexander were guests on this past week's episode of the RushRash Podcast where they chat with hosts Chaz 'n Schatz about how Bubba Bash 2024 went down. You can listen to the discussion below or wherever you get your podcasts:

Classic Rock magazine posted an article this past week where they list off The 10 best Led Zeppelin songs that aren't by Led Zeppelin, and Rush's Working Man is included at #9:

With visionary drummer Neil Peart not yet in the fold, Rush's lacklustre debut saw the band taking a joyride in Zeppelin's hot rod, blending hard rock posturing with bluesy undercurrents. On Working Man, Geddy Lee's vocals soar with a Plant-like fervour, while the guitars do a high-wire act reminiscent of Page. One year later, with Peart on board, they released Fly By Night and commenced their ascendancy into the Pantheon of Prog.

On the latest episode of Rush Roundtable (#215) on the Rushfans YouTube channel, the panel continues their Test For Echo album discussion with the track Time And Motion. They'll be dropping the next episode tonight at 6PM, where they'll tackle Totem:

That's all for this week. Happy Groundhog Day and have a great weekend everybody!!