Rush's Fifty Something tour will kick off in Los Angeles in 4 months from tomorrow on June 7th, and finish up towards the end of the year on December 17th in Vancouver. That's probably not the end of the story though, as additional legs outside of North America are rumored to be in the works. The band is currently busily prepping for the tour, so there's been little word from either Geddy or Alex in the new year so far. Although Geddy did take some time out last month to chat with Music Radar for an interview (that has since been taken down) and was asked about the possibility of fans hearing any new Rush music on the tour:
... "My intent, before we got into this celebration of Rush's history, was to put some music together ... Now, I assumed I would be doing that on my own, not with Alex, but when we started jamming, I started seeing the possibility of doing something with Alex - but all of that went on hold now because there's too much work. There's too much work to do for this tour to even think about that. But if we manage to survive the tour, and go back to Canada and have a rest, who knows what'll happen, but I suspect some music will eventually come out. ...
He also did not rule out involving new drummer Anika Nilles:
... Yeah, especially if Anika can still stand us! [Laughs] It would be fun to see what she can do in a creative situation," says Lee. "Like, that would be fun. But it's all speculation until it isn't, so ...
Speaking of which, drummer Mike Portnoy is interviewed for the new issue of Metal Hammer magazine, and took some time out to respond to rumors that he was on tap to join Rush following the death of drummer Neil Peart in 2020, something he denies:
... I read Geddy's book [My Effin' Life], and he mentioned about all the drummers kind of offering themselves to them and how much it turned him and Alex off ... I did send my condolences to Geddy and Alex after Neil passed, but I never once tried to throw my hat in the ring for Neil's gig. I realize that's a sacred role that should only ever be filled if Geddy and Alex choose for it to be so. And sure enough, here we are with them choosing to finally do so, which has been really incredible. ... If Rush hypothetically ever approached me with it, of course, I would have done it with the utmost respect and honor. But frankly, I'm kind of relieved they didn't. First of all, filling Neil's shoes is going to be impossible. If anybody ever thought Mike Mangini [Dream Theater drummer from 2010-2023] filling my shoes was tough, try filling Neil Peart's shoes! And I came back home to Dream Theater, which is where I belong. So if, hypothetically, if they had approached me with this reunion that they're doing, it would have put me in an incredibly awkward position because of the timing of it all. ...
Last month Rush announced the release of their long-anticipated 40th anniversary Grace Under Pressure box set. The set will feature a brand-new Terry Brown album mix commissioned by Rush, the first-ever release of the complete concert film and album of the September 21, 1984 Maple Leaf Gardens show, and liner notes from Geddy Lee reflecting on the album over 40 years after its release. Physical editions of the set will be available as a Super Deluxe version only, either with 4-CDs or 5 LPs. In addition, a Super Deluxe Digital Edition and a Dolby Atmos Digital Edition will be made available, along with the Grace Under Pressure Tour: Live in Toronto 1984 being made available to video DSPs. Rush has also posted the previously-unreleased video for Kid Gloves from the set to YouTube, and you can check it out at this location. The set will release on March 13th with pre-order/pre-save links available here. You can get all the details in this post.
Toronto-based guitarist David Barrett hosted an all-acoustic guitar summit this past weekend with special guest Stephen Bennett. Barrett is good friends with Rush's Alex Lifeson, who produced Barrett's David Barrett Trio back in the early 2010's. It's not clear if Big Al attended the Summit itself, but he did take some time out to have dinner with Barrett and Bennett this past week as seen in this Instagram post:
Drummer Rod Morgenstein (Winger, Voices Of Extreme) recently sat down for an interview on Detroit radio station WRIF's Talkin' Rock with Meltdown, and spoke a bit about Rush and Neil Peart. Rod toured with Steve Morse in the mid-80s when they opened for Rush, before he joined Winger:
... "Winger happened in 1988. So I'd never been on a tour bus. And when we got to know, Neil, Alex, and Getty fairly well. One day, they just put out the offer. They said, Hey, if, if one night as we travel to the next city, any of you guys want to come on the bus with us, you're more than welcome. So I traveled, you know, on their tour bus, which was just the three of them and their tour manager. And got that whole experience for the first time in my life. They're three of the nicest gentlemen, forget the musicianship, or in addition to just being the musicians that they are. They went out of their way to make us, as their support band, feel special." ...
He also relayed several stories involving the late Neil Peart:
... "I have so many Neil Peart stories because, you know, I got to spend a fair amount of time with him, too. He shunned being in the spotlight. He was, I don't want to say he was a shy human being. He just didn't want to have to, um, just sort of talk gibberish or things of non-importance to him. ... So, a typical day on the road with Rush back then, again, I'm telling you, it's 40 years ago, Neil, in later years, he got into the motorcycle. But when I met him, he was riding his bicycle. He was a serious cyclist. And if the next show was within 150 miles, he would not go on the tour bus after the show to the next city. He would sleep in the town that we played and get up at the crack of dawn to get on his bicycle and pedal upwards of eight hours to the next city. So I would typically be in the arena throwing a baseball with Geddy Lee. And then, uh, and you would see this figure come riding into the arena, and then the bike would be put down and then it was time for their soundcheck. So they would do their soundcheck and then immediately following the soundcheck, a local French tutor was waiting for Neil to give him a one-hour lesson in conversational French. Because I, you know, sadly, he lost both his wife and daughter within the same year or within a year's time back in 97 and 98, I think. But his daughter was a young girl then, and they lived in Toronto, and his daughter learned to speak French as well as English. So Neil wanted to be able to converse with his daughter in both languages. So he would do that. Then they would do their two-plus-hour show. And then after the show, Neil would, he'd hang out for a little bit, and then he'd excuse himself to the bus because he was in the midst of writing his first literary work. So that was a typical day in the life of Neil Peart." ...
Classical-Music.com posted an article this past week where they list off rock's 27 most polarizing voices, one of which is Rush's Geddy Lee, who came in at #10 on their list:
High-pitched, sharp, and intensely expressive, there's no mistaking the Rush frontman's voice. Early Rush albums amplified its shrill, virtuosic quality, thrilling prog fans but challenging casual listeners. From Moving Pictures (1981) onward, Lee subtly toned down the extremes, coinciding with Rush's shift toward more grounded, concise songwriting. The vocal refinement matched the band's move from sprawling, fantastical prog epics to tighter, lyrically relatable tracks, making his signature timbre slightly more accessible while retaining the idiosyncratic energy that defines his voice. It's still unmistakably Geddy.
Eagle-eyed reader Dave S let me know of a Rush reference in the Canadian hockey comedy show Shoresy (Season 1, Episode 3 - Know Your Role), which aired on May 27, 2022. At one point in the show, Shoresy is scrolling through his phone to see who's coming to the next game and one text comes through from someone called p.bunny2112 as seen in this screenshot.
The latest episode of the Something for Nothing podcast featured an appearance by former Skid Row vocalist and longtime rabid Rush fan, Sebastian Bach. Hosts Steve and Gerry chat with Baz about his Rush fandom, including being the number 2 member of the Rush Backstage Club, the demo he recorded for Alex Lifeson's 1996 solo album, and the Rush album with a strange title he bought at a used record store. You can listen to the show below or wherever you get your podcasts:
12 years ago today, back on February 6, 2014 - US retail giant Walmart launched a new ad campaign aiming to put the spotlight on the company's initiative to invest $250 billion over 10 years towards creating new manufacturing jobs in America. One of the TV commercials in the ad campaign was titled Working Man and depicted video of US factory workers while Rush's Working Man plays in the background. Here's the full, 60-second version of the commercial:
That's all for this week. Have a great weekend!!
