Rush is a Band

A blog devoted to RUSH:
Neil Peart, Geddy Lee & Alex Lifeson

Fri, Apr 17, 2026

Updates and other Rush stuff

Fri, Apr 17, 2026@9:53AM | comments

Rush's Fifty Something tour kicks off in less than 2 months from now on June 7th in LA. The band hit the PR circuit over the past few weeks to promote the tour and their new lineup featuring drummer Anika Nilles and keyboardist Loren Gold, including a cover feature in the latest edition of PROG magazine. The cover includes a photo of Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee with their double-neck guitars, with a tagline reading, RUSH are back and they're loving every minute of it, along with the featured quote, "We're an overnight sensation, 50 years in the making". The feature includes a new interview with Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson titled Making Memories, where the pair discuss the chain of events that led them to their decision to dust off their instruments and hit the road once again. Also included is an article titled The Curious Case Of Roger Kneebend!: Revisiting Grace Under Pressure which explores the making of the band's Grace Under Pressure album, one of the band's more challenging to record. The Making Memories interview also addresses Ged and Al's lifelong friendship, as demonstrated in this short excerpt that Guitar.com posted earlier this week where Geddy Lee blames Alex Lifeson for introducing him to marijuana:

"... [Lifeson] was the one who introduced me to it," Lee says. "I was playing in this other band whose drummer was a Who freak - he dreamed of being in The Who. Me and Al were hanging out... and he gave me my first joint. I got so fucking stoned." Unfortunately, it was only after getting thoroughly high that the penny dropped - Lee had somewhere to be. "Suddenly I went, 'Shit, I have to go to rehearsal!'" he says. Aware that he had been the one to corrupt Lee, tempting him to get stoned in the middle of the day, Lifeson offered to walk with Lee to his rehearsal. "Al came with me, and we were walking in slow motion across the park," Lee remembers. "I got to the guy's house, and he looked at me and went: 'Look at your eyes, man. Are you stoned?' He was freaking out like you'd expect your parents to freak out." "I was like, 'This is a bummer, man! Al, this guy's a drag!'" Lee laughs. "I said, 'I gotta go home. How do I come down from this stuff?' And [Lifeson] went, 'You gotta drink Coca Cola. It brings you down.' So, yeah, we kind of bonded over marijuana." While Lee adds that he's "never touched the stuff since", it's a comment clearly made in jest. ...

Grapes for Humanity is an organization that helps to raise funds to benefit humanitarian causes around the world with the assistance of the international wine community, and Geddy Lee is a member of the board of directors. The organization is currently running its 6th Annual Grapes For Humanity Charity Wine Auction, which kicked off yesterday and will go through this coming Wednesday, April 22nd. Several items of interest to Rush fans are up for bidding, including dinner with Alex and Geddy at Toronto's Barberian's Steak House, a signed guitar, a Rush Limelight VIP ticket package for their August 13th Toronto show, and more. You can check out all the items up for bidding at grapesforhumanity.com.

Mojotone and Lerxst Amps have have teamed up for a new contest where the winner will get a fully loaded, tour-ready pedalboard powered by Voodoo Lab and packed with iconic Lerxst tone. The premium pedalboard setup includes the Lerxst By-Tor, Snowdog, ATWAS, and a top-secret pedal that launches on May 7th. To enter the contest, you just need to sign up for the Mojotone Newsletter, and like Lerxst Amps on Facebook. The contest will run through May 21st with a winner being announced shortly after. You can all the details at the mojotone website here.

Canadian record producer and promoter Donald K. Tarlton (aka Donald K. Donald) passed away this past Monday at the age of 82. He promoted many concerts and Canadian musicians under the name Donald K. Donald, including Rush, who took some time out earlier this week to post the following Instagram tribute alongside an image of an early Rush show that Donald promoted:

Very sad to hear of the passing of Donald K. Donald... He was the consummate and classic old school promoter. Always telling stories, working the room but with a broad smile and ready for a laugh...and he knew his business. We loved working with Donald in Quebec and beyond, and we have a boatload of great memories of Rush and him together. He was unique and will be sorely missed. RIP Donald and thank you 🙏

Candlebox guitarist Peter Klett was recently interviewed for a feature in Guitar World magazine and he spoke a bit about when the band opened up for Rush in the '90s:

...[opening for Rush] was our favorite tour by far. The guys were super generous and hung out with us all the time. When you go out on tour with a band that you've looked up to for decades, and they hang out with you like you're one of them, it's quite an experience. Those were our first large arena shows; we were quite nervous. But when we walked out onto the stage for that first show, we knew we had gotten somewhere. There were cool little things, like an end-of-tour golf party, where I got to borrow Geddy Lee's shoes! ...

Bassist Tony Levin is currently out on tour with StickMen, and recently posted a photo of himself out on the road reading Geddy Lee's My Effin' Life (thanks Greg S):

Guitarist Paul Gilbert was the latest guest on the Something for Nothing podcast, and chats with the hosts about his love of Rush, what it was like opening for them with Mr. Big, and his new album, WROC. You can listen to the show below or wherever you get your podcasts:

Fifteen years ago this past Wednesday, back on April 15, 2011, Rush filmed their concert at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland on the Time Machine Tour for their first live concert video shot entirely in the US. Several fans gathered at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame before the show to protest Rush's exclusion from induction (this error has since been rectified) as seen in this photo.

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

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