Alex Lifeson will be making an appearance at the 11th annual Toronto Sketch Comedy Festival's HELLO! THUNDER BAY! on Monday, March 7th at the Randolph Theatre. HELLO! THUNDER BAY! is an evening of comedy and music hosted by Dave Bidini of the Rheostatics. In addition to Alex Lifeson the show will feature Terra Lightfoot, David Quinton Steinberg, Tom Power, Odario Williams and others sharing their funniest stories from the road, while Canada's musically-inclined comedians such as Gavin Crawford, Jessica Holmes, and Sean Cullen, perform hilarious parody songs. For all the details and to purchase tickets visit the Toronto Sketch Comedy Festival website here.
Prog magazine posted a new interview with Geddy Lee earlier this week titled Thinking Out Loud: Geddy Lee; The Rush frontman on his voice, South Park and wine. Geddy talks about his parents being Holocaust survivors, his early influences, South Park, his love of wine, and his life outside Rush.
A live recording of Rush made for a radio broadcast in 1975 titled Beneath, Between And Behind: F.M. Broadcast 1975 will soon be available as an import and is slated for release on February 12th. Note that this is NOT an official Rush release. It's similar to the Lady Gone Electric, Spirit of the Airwaves and Rush ABC 1974 live releases from recent years, in that it is essentially a packaged release of a radio broadcast bootleg recording that's been around for many years. The particular bootlegs for this show are typically incorrectly labeled as occurring on May 15, 1975 when the show actually took place on April 7th at the Cleveland Agora and was aired live on WMMS. Also, there's yet another company/label in Europe releasing this same show as Rush: Ohio 1975 due to release as an import on April 8th. Here's the tracklisting:
1. Finding My Way
2. The Best I Can
3. What You're Doing
4. Anthem
5. Beneath, Between & Behind
6. In The End
7. Fly By Night
8. Working Man
9. In The Mood
10. Need Some Love
11. Bad Boy
If you ever wondered who portrayed the boy on Rush's iconic cover for 1985's Power Windows album, his name is Neill Cunningham, the current owner of Pandemonium Records in Toronto where he now sells reissues of the album on which he appears (the Power Windows reissue released earlier this month). The Toronto Star recently caught up with Neill to chat with him about the cover and how he got the gig:
... Originally, Cunningham became involved with the project by happenstance. His friend Marcus Pearson was working for photographer Dimo Safari, who was crafting the cover for Rush's upcoming record - a transitional, pop-leaning album awash in chilled synths - and was seeking a "skinny blond" punk for the cover. Cunningham happened to be skinny and blond ("still am") and leapt at the opportunity. "Dimo had been working with Madonna, so I was all excited at the idea I could be on a Madonna cover," he recalled. "When he said Rush, I was like, 'yeah, oh, all right. Not bad either.'" The shoot was conducted over two arduous nights in Cabbagetown, with the March wind snapping through the open window. Once captured, the photo was painted over by Hugh Syme. ...
Neill also ended up being recruited for the band's music video for The Big Money. You can check out the complete article/interview at this location and purchase the Power Windows reissue here.
Voting for the 2016 Music Express Awards opened up earlier this week (thanks RushFanForever). Rush is nominated in both the Top Canadian Group and Top Live Act categories. Voting is open from now until February 16th, and this year you can vote once per day. So go vote for Rush!
Reader Jill J let me know of a Rush mention in the January 3rd edition of the LA Times crossword puzzle. The clue for 115 Down is Rush or Cream (referring to the 2 bands), with the answer being TRIO.
Rush got a mention on KTAR-FM's (Phoenix radio) Mac & Gaydos radio program recently in regards to what they would do if they won the Powerball jackpot. They mention hiring Rush to play a concert in their backyard. You can listen to the podcast online at this location at about the 27:55 mark (thanks Greg N).
Nashville Symphony Maestro Giancarlo Guerrero was recently profiled for The Tennessean and reveals that he's a huge Rush fan:
... When Nashville Symphony Maestro Giancarlo Guerrero isn't listening to classical music, he cranks up head-banging rock 'n' roll. His favorite: veteran Canadian rock band Rush ...
He goes on to describe his experience as a Rush fan growing up in Costa Rica, and includes Rush's Xanadu on his list of all-time favorite rock tunes.
Muse is currently on tour and made a stop at the Air Canada Center in Toronto this past weekend. At one point in the show they treated the Toronto crowd to a snippet of Rush's YYZ between songs as seen here (thanks Will McD). Apparently longtime Rush roadie and tour manager Liam Birt is also working with Muse on the tour.
Dale Griffin, the drummer and co-founder of the British glam-rock band Mott the Hoople, died this past Sunday after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease at the age of 67. Griffin, playing with Mott the Hoople and later Mott, toured with Rush for several shows in 1975 and 1976. RIP.
AXS TV announced earlier this week that they have renewed The World's Greatest Tribute Bands for Season 6 which will premiere on February 17th at 10PM EST. This season will feature 10 new tribute bands including Boston-based Rush tribute band Lotus Land, who will appear on episode 6 airing March 23rd. The hour-long show is hosted by music maven Katie Daryl and features bands performing 100% LIVE from the world famous Whisky A Go-Go on the Sunset Strip.
Speaking of Rush tributes, the 2016 NAMM Show in Anaheim is going on this weekend and is featuring a series of concerts at the M3 Live Anaheim Event Center that they are calling Bashfest. The concert series kicked off last night with Hurry: A Celebration of Rush Music. Hurry consist of Sebastian Bach on vocals, James LoMenzo (Megadeth, Black Label Society) on bass, Brent Woods on guitar, Brian Tichy (Whitesnake, Foreigner) on drums, and Stephen Le Blanc on keyboards. The band opened with 2112: Temples of Syrinx and then went on to perform a number of old Rush classics up through the Signals era, with a few guest musicians jumping in at different points. You can get the full setlist with links to video in this post and check out all the videos on YouTube here. There are also a few photos on Instagram. Hurry will also be performing at a a special Monsters of Rock Cruise pre-party on Sunday, February 26th.
On this day back in 1994 Rush kicked off the Counterparts tour at the Pensacola Civic Center in Pensacola with Candlebox opening. That's all for this week. Have a great weekend everybody!!
