A new interview with Rush's Alex Lifeson is featured in the June 2024 edition of Guitarist magazine where Lerxst talks about his current gear setup, why he's ditched wireless for cable, and his current offering of gear at Lerxst Amps. John at Cygnus-X1.net has transcribed the article and made it available online here. When asked about using his Lerxst Amps in the context of playing live, Alex brings up his Envy of None project, which is due to release their 2nd album sometime this year:

... "I'm not playing live much any more, but I did use the Omega on the last couple Rush tours. I'm probably using my Omega for the new Envy Of None material, more than anything else. I'm comfortable with it and I know what to expect. The Envy Of None stuff is some of my favourite guitar playing. Maybe it's because it's so current. Maybe it's because it's so freeing. For me, it's liberating. Because I mean, very few solos. I don't know if there are any solos to speak of, so it's a whole different approach. It's not Rush and I love it.

"Because of that fact, I got to explore other things. I learned how to make my guitar sound so unlike a guitar. That was a really cool challenge and such a creative endeavour for me. This material for the second album is definitely Envy Of None and you can't miss it because of Maiah [Wynne's, vocalist] voice, but the material is awesome. It sounds so good. It's really going to be great.

"So yeah, I have my go-to gear in the studio and I like to work fast. I can't sit still and I'm always on the move. I'm very impulsive and everything happens really quick in the studio. I think I get bored. Geddy is the complete opposite. He's very methodical. He has to try everything before he knows what doesn't work. Whereas when I'm working on my solos, after those first five or six takes, I lose interest. It drives me crazy, but at the same time, that's the best that's gonna come out of me. That's been my observation of my playing and the way I work, whether I like it or not." ...

Despite Geddy Lee's My Effin' Life: In Conversation spoken word tour ending this past December, Ged has decided to do a special one-off show at the Grand Théâtre de Québec as part of the Quebec City Summer Festival on July 13th. The event will take place in the 500-seat Salle Octave-Crémazie room, and 148 VIP tickets that include an autographed copy of his memoir will be made available. Tickets are $57 CAD ($140 VIP) and went on sale last Friday at this location. There aren't a lot of details yet, but from the information available, it looks like the show will be similar to Geddy's prior appearances, with a guest interviewer, Fan Q&A and fans receiving a copy of the book. Geddy made a post to Instagram last week with the following message:

This July I'm gonna pop into one of my fave parts of my 🇨🇦 "home and native land" - Quebec City - for an intimate convo about "My Effin' Life"... as part of the annual @festivaleteqc.

Saturday July 13, 2024 @grandtheatreqc
Special edition of My Effin' Life In Conversation
Tickets on sale tomorrow April 26 via feq.ca at 10am ET...

Congratulations are in "order" for Rush friend and collaborator Ben Mink, as the longtime Canadian writer/producer was officially granted the Order of Canada at the Order of Canada Investiture Ceremony yesterday in Ottawa. Ben played electric violin on Rush's Losing It and worked with Geddy Lee on his 2000 solo album My Favorite Headache. From the announcement (thanks RushFanForever):

For decades, Ben Mink has been a standout in Canada's music industry, both onstage and behind the scenes. A multi-instrumentalist, composer and producer, he has amassed a body of work that has garnered many prestigious accolades, including multiple Grammy, Juno and Leo awards. He has consistently lent his wide range of talents to Canada's top artists, including Rush and k.d. lang. He has also lectured at universities in Canada and in the United States, sharing his extensive knowledge of his art with future generations.

A new Rush tribute project called Rush for Cover has been in the works for the past couple of years and was finally released last week. The album features nine, new interpretations of classic Rush songs by an international cast of independent, underground artists (none of whom are trios themselves), and is a tribute album created by Rush fans for Rush fans. The album is available on opaque creamsicle and opaque sky blue vinyl along with a limited digital release, and you can order yours at rushforcover.com. A corresponding charity auction took place last month in the lead up to the release with all proceeds going to the Glioblastoma Foundation, The V Foundation for Cancer Research (founded by ESPN and legendary basketball coach Jim Valvano) and the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network. The auction included several unique items including the original painting used for the cover of the album by fan and artist Kelly Drew, a one-of-a-kind test pressing of the album signed by all of the artists, a stack of original Rush vinyl (including a sealed, original pressing of Clockwork Angels, various promo 12"s and original 45s). You can learn more and order the album at rushforcover.com.

The RushRash podcast posted several new episodes over the past month, and you can catch up on any you've missed at this location or wherever you get your podcasts. Some of the guests they've featured include Len Roberto (author of A Simple Kind Mirror: The Lyrical Vision of Rush and Ffej Herb (drummer for Rush tibute band Solar Federation), along with podcasters Scott K. Haskin, and Sean "SeanGeek" and Todd "FastFret" McGinity.

This past Wednesday, May 1st was the 17th anniversary of the release of Rush's Snakes & Arrows album. Here's a performance of Far Cry from the band's 2007 tour in support of the album:

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