Back in 2013 author and music journalist Martin Popoff released Rush: The Unauthorized Illustrated History. It was his second book on Rush with the first being the 2004 Rush biography Contents Under Pressure. A new, fully revised and updated hardback edition of Rush: The Unauthorized Illustrated History was just made available and can now be ordered online here. From the Amazon description:

... Rush: The Illustrated History is a fully updated, richly illustrated history from prolific rock journalist and noted Rush authority Martin Popoff. The book follows the world-conquering exploits of Rush band members Geddy Lee, Neil Peart, and Alex Lifeson from the band's formation in Toronto to their fortieth anniversary celebration and tour. Popoff's stellar history is complemented by LP reviews from a slate of highly regarded music writers, a thorough discography compiled by the author himself, and more than 400 photographs and articles of memorabilia, from candid backstage images and live performance photography to picture sleeves, gig posters, period print ads, ticket stubs, backstage passes, and more. The result is a visually stunning and authoritative review befitting the rock band with one of the most devoted fan bases ever.

Earlier this morning the Rush Backstage Club released a signed, framed Artist Proof Limited Edition Drawing of Hugh Syme's original Caress of Steel drawing. This is the first piece of art he created for Rush, and it became the centerpiece of the Caress of Steel album cover. Unfortunately only 40 were made available and quickly sold out within about 15 minutes of being announced via the Rush newsletter!

In a recent episode of his Scarified YouTube series (episode 15), Mr. Big guitarist Paul Gilbert reminisces about touring with Rush back on the Presto tour, including meeting Geddy Lee for the first time, getting his drill caught in his hair, and getting to play In the Mood onstage with Rush. You can watch the episode online at this location. There's also this bootleg video of Mr. Big jamming In the Mood with Rush from a June 27, 1990 show at the Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View. Gilbert also mentions Rush in another episode (Episode #18) where he talks about Mike Portnoy's Cygnus and the Sea Monsters Rush cover project that he was involved in.

The June 2016 issue of DRUM! Magazine contains a feature on page 62 written by David Brensilver titled 10 Ways to Sound Like Neil Peart. You can check out a photo scan of the feature here and pick up a copy of the magazine at your local newsstand or online here. From the description:

Mix ferocious chops with endless curiosity and a lifetime of experiences, and you scratch the Professor's surface.

Last week journalist, musician and photographer David Bradley posted the first entry in his Classic Chords series to his blog, and chose Alex Lifeson's Hemispheres chord for the inaugural post. This past week Bradley chose Rush's Limelight for the 5th entry in the series (thanks RushFanForever):

... One recurring theme in Lifeson's playing is the chorused ringing sound of his big open chords where he leaves the B and high E strings open and chiming but roots the chord with the bottom strings. ... He used this to great effect in the classic "Limelight" from Moving Pictures where he descends through a B to the open A string and the E string, but keeps his pinkie on the G-string fretted at the B and lets the open B and E strings carry the harmonics. Playing an E5 like this cuts out the often dischordant G# that you'd expect in the E-major chord, and if the pitching of that open B string against the fretted B on the G-string isn't perfect you get some degree of phasing and beating as you do with a 12-string. ...

Although Rush has made it pretty clear that their days of major touring are over, that didn't stop the organizers of next year's Rock in Rio Brazil to include the band in their poll of who people want to headline the event. So if you feel like voting for Rush (not that it will do much good), you can cast your vote here (thanks Marcelo).

Anthrax frontman Joey Belladonna and drummer Charlie Benante sat down with Artisan News Service at last month's Rock N' Derby for a video interview (thanks Will C) where Belladonna is sporting a vintage Power Windows t-shirt (also seen in this Instagram photo). They ask Belladonna about the shirt at about the 7-minute mark and the pair mention how much they love Rush. On a related note, Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello recently became part of new supergroup called Prophets of Rage, and in a promo video they posted to Facebook earlier this week Morello is wearing a gray, R40 Tour Signals t-shirt (thanks Jason).

Speaking of Rage Against the Machine, Premier Guitar magazine recently asked Rage bassist Tim Commerford the following question:

If you could choose one bassist-dead or alive-for a one-day master class (and then out for drinks later), who are you spending the day with?

Here's Commerford's answer:

No question: Geddy Lee is my pick because he doesn't use one. I love his tone, his attack, and his bass lines. His growl on Moving Pictures is so inspiring. "YYZ"! I always tried to emulate him throughout my life and he just keeps getting better and better. Sorry Sid ... but you are my number one dead bassist.

The Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colorado is witnessing its 75th anniversary this year, and in celebration the Denver Post has posted a gallery of memorable moments from the venue's history. Rush has played a number of shows at Red Rocks over the last decade, and one of the featured photos (#48) is of Neil Peart at one of the band's stops on the 2010 Time Machine Tour (thanks RushFanForever).

There was a Rush reference on this past Sunday night's episode of the HBO comedy/drama Veep (Season 5, Episode 6 - C**tgate). Jonah Ryan is running for US Congress in New Hampshire and in one scene Jonah walks into his campaign headquarters where his director of communications gives him some bad news:

... Sir, as your director of communications, I need to tell you that we just got a letter from the band Rush. They said that we can't use the song "Working Man" anymore because they find you odious...

This mirrors a real-world incident from a few years back when Rush made then Senatorial candidate Rand Paul stop using the band's music in his campaign. You can watch video of the Veep Rush reference below or on YouTube here:

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