A new musical project called The Great Lakes Suite spearheaded by the Rheostatics' Dave Bidini and involving Rush's Alex Lifeson will be seeing the light of day this fall with a pair of live shows slated for November 21st and 22nd at TD Music Hall in Toronto. Tickets for both shows are unfortunately SOLD OUT as of right now, although might become available again closer to the event. The project was first introduced via an Instagram post back in early March teasing something called The Great Lakes Suite, and depicting an image of the Great Lakes region with some ethereal backing music, and a list of the people involved; Dave Bidini, Dave Clark, Hugh Marsh, and Martin Tielli of the Rheostatics, along with BNL's Kevin Hearn (also a member of the Rheostatics), Don Kerr and Alex Lifeson. Bidini clarified some more details regarding the performances in a subsequent social media post:

... This is the whole band minus Martin, who actually suggested we contact Alex, which we did before we did anything. Once he said yes, it all fell into place. We're still all very tight with each other as friends and we'll miss our buddy, but we are really excited about this recorded project, which is largely improvised and instrumental, built around voices like poets Anne Carson, Chief Stacey Laforme and Liz Howard as well as stories by Gord Downie and singing by Tanya Tagaq. Laurie Anderson also appears on the album. The show will reproduce some of this, but the idea is to largely create in the moment, set to cinematics by Nic De Pencier and Jenn Baichwall, who did our Group of 7 stuff. Very excited for people to join us on this next phase. Art is about moving ahead, not looking back, and that's what we've tried to do.

Alex had spoken a little about the project in a few of his interviews promoting Envy of None's Stygian Wavz back in March/April, describing it as a sort of musical documentary:

... I'm still working on a documentary on the Great Lakes with a bunch of people - some guys from Barenaked Ladies, from the Rheostatics. We've been working on this for a while. It's an interesting project, because we get together and we jam, and then we start pulling stuff out of those jams and then building from those. And a lot of the jams, as we progress, get better and better and better, and stand alone as parts." ...

The project also held a listening party last week and Toronto Mike wrote up this report:

Tonight I attended a live listening party for the new Rheostatics album. It took place at the Paradise Theatre and I saw a number of FOTMs from Kevin Hearn to Dave Bidini to Fergus Hambleton to Michael Phillip Wojewoda. I was sitting with Tyler Campbell, Jim Romanko and Darrin Cappe. One song was the band, with Alex Lifeson, improvising over top a spoken word piece by Gord Downie. The story by Gord stuck with me, and I just found it in its entirety. It's from the Waterkeeper Gala Toronto 2015. You can hear it at this link. As I get older, my relationship with the Great Lakes depends. I live near Lake Ontario, I kayak on Lake Ontario, I bike alongside Lake Ontario, and I camp by Lake Huron. It was beautiful hearing this Rheostatics Great Lakes project. And it was lovely hearing Gord again.

Alex Lifeson's Envy of None project is the subject of the latest cover story for V13 Media, where Alex Lifeson is interviewed about the project, their new Stygian Wavz album and more. He also chats a bit about Rush and the band's 50-year legacy:

... I'm very proud of my past with Rush. I think we accomplished a lot of things. We were never meant to last long. We were excited about the prospect of a five-record deal and about five years of touring. Back then, in the early seventies, that's longevity for an act, so to be talking 50 years later about the same thing, I don't see that our popularity has diminished in the last 10 years that we haven't worked.

It's remarkable to me that people are still even interested in Rush. There's a whole new generation of younger people, like teenagers and young adults, who are discovering Rush, which I would never have thought would happen, so that's exciting. I'm proud of that past, but I've always been a guy who likes to move forward. I don't stick around very long in any one thing. It's a bit of a curse, to be honest, but that's one of my strengths.

I'm spontaneous. When I work, usually it's four or five takes on something that are my best, and then I lose interest. It seems like a natural thing for me, but Geddy's the opposite. That's how we always worked well as a songwriting team. He was meticulous, and he'd take his time, and I'd bounce around and throw ideas out and leave the room and grab a cup of tea.

To play music like this, where I can be thoughtful about the kind of soundscape I want to create from my parts, is a joy. It's, it's such a pleasure for me to do. Not that it never was before, but somehow I have freer license." ...

You can read the entire interview online at this location.

A new book from Rush at 50 author Daniel Bukszpan titled Rush and 2112: Fifty Years is slated for release next year. The book celebrates the 50th anniversary of Rush's 2112 album, which released 50 years ago next March. From the book's description:

Celebrate the 50th anniversary of an undisputed prog rock masterpiece with this richly illustrated and highly giftable slip-cased volume.

Rush and 2112: Fifty Years tells the complete tale of the most revered prog rock album of all time with bold photography, insightful interviews and commentary, and rarely seen performance and off-stage photography.

Rush formed in Toronto in 1968 and debuted their first album in 1974. Their second and third albums received middling reviews, then 2112 shot them into the stratosphere of global rock and began a wave of successful albums as their sound continued to evolve.

Rush fans new and old can expect:

* A deep dive into how 2112 came together and why it is regarded as a masterpiece
* Track-by-track analyses of the studio cut as well as insight into the 20-minute "2112" suite and why it works
* Historical insight and analysis about the state of rock in the mid-'70s and evolving '80s, and how Rush created and sustained an unforgettable sound
* And much, much more ...

The book is slated for release on March 10, 2026, and can be pre-ordered at this location.

Maryland's Montgomery County little league baseball team the Wolf Pack competed in the little league world series, but were eliminated last week. During one of the games, catcher Grayson Greenbaum was up to bat and the announcers commented that his nickname is "Mad Dog", his favorite band is Rush, and he also happens to be Geddy Lee's cousin. Thanks to Hugh from the Cygnus-X1.net Facebook group for the heads up and screenshot.

PBS is currently running a nationwide pledge drive and have been airing Rush's Time Machine - Live in Cleveland to help out. Fans have been impressed with the hosts, who have been doing a wonderful job detailing Rush's rich history, and showing a genuine appreciation of their music. For airings in your area, check your local PBS listings.

The Toronto Star published a profile of Rush's Caress of Steel album this past week, 50 years after its September 1975 release, titled Some call it Rush's worst album, but 50 years later, it sounds like an ambitious near-miss (thanks RushFanForever):

... In December of 2023 ... Geddy Lee sat comfortably in an armchair on stage at Massey Hall across from his lifelong friend and Rush bandmate, Alex Lifeson, reminiscing on the body of work they'd created together with the late drummer Neil Peart. Leaning back and crossing his right leg over his left, Lee posed a question. "Do you remember making 'Caress of Steel?'" he asked. "When you say remember...," Lifeson responded, to scattered laughter from the crowd and Lee himself. "Do you remember how much hash oil we smoked making 'Caress of Steel?'" Lee specified. "Yeah, that was the thing then...," Lifeson admitted. ...

Two years ago yesterday, the final episode of the HBO docu-series The Anarchists (Season 1, Episode 6 - "Leaving") aired. One of the subjects of the documentary is a Rush fan named Nathan Freeman, who is shown in a Rush t-shirt towards the beginning of the episode. Later in the show Freeman passes away, and his wife mentions how she played Time Stand Still for him at his funeral as the song plays in the background, as seen in this clip:

On a much less serious note, 6 years ago this past week, Cartoon Network aired a bizarre, 15-second Geddy Lee tribute bumper commercial during Adult Swim. The 15-second bumper features some backdrop photos of Geddy while a song with the following lyrics play in the background, "This is a song for Geddy Lee of prog rock legends RUSH. You're the greatest bassist in history and you've inspired generations of guys with high voices to sing. Geddy Lee!":

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