Earlier today TeamRock.com posted the third part of their interview with Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson where the pair reflect on the history of Rush. They had posted the first and second parts back in February. In this installment they discuss the period from Permanent Waves on through Power Windows. Here's Geddy on Power Windows:
... Alex did play some great stuff on that record. Like on Mystic Rhythms. Without the guitar riff, that song doesn't work. And I really like the sound of that album. I thought it was a really strong production. There are some great songs on that record. I like Middletown Dreams a lot - you know, every once in a while we write a good melody! Overall, I thought Power Windows was a great accomplishment for us. But maybe not so much on the couple of albums after that - Hold Your Fire and Presto. On those records the keyboards were still present, but not in so positive a way. That was making the case, once again, for realigning the sound ...
You can read the entire third part of the interview here.
Rush is among a group of 180 musicians that have recently signed a petition calling on Congress to reform the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, with particular attention paid to YouTube. From Consequence of Sound:
... 180 musicians have signed a petition calling on Congress to reform the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, with particular attention paid to YouTube. Sir Paul McCartney, Taylor Swift, Kings of Leon, and Vince Staples ... U2, Pearl Jam, Rush, David Byrne, Jack White, Trent Reznor, Beck, Ryan Adams, St. Vincent, The Black Keys, Chris Cornell, Elvis Costello, Lionel Richie, Lady Gaga, TV on the Radio, Miguel, and Spoon are among the many other artists who signed the petition ... Enacted in 1998, the DMCA gives services like YouTube "safe harbor" from copyright infringement liability as long as they respond to takedown notices from rights holders. Given the sheer volume of content available on YouTube, many infringing uploads go undetected and are accessible for free to the general public. This loophole "has allowed major tech companies to grow and generate huge profits by creating ease of use for consumers to carry almost every recorded song in history in their pocket via a smartphone, while songwriters' and artists' earnings continue to diminish," the letter notes. ... the musicians say YouTube's practices have diminished the value of premium streaming services such as Spotify and Apple Music ... YouTube responded by pointing to the $3 billion in royalties paid out to artists. However, the company added that "the voices of the artists are being heard, and we're working through details with the labels and independent music organizations who directly manage the deals with us." Billboard notes that YouTube is currently negotiating new deals with major labels, including Universal Music. ...
The petition will be published as an ad on websites such as Politico, The Hill, and Roll Call and can be seen here.
Sweetwater Music's 15th annual Gearfest took place this past weekend in Fort Wayne, IN and consisted of two days of free workshops, gear demos, deals, giveaways, and more. DW Drums along with Neil Peart drum tech Lorne Wheaton were on hand with both of Neil Peart's R40 Live drum kits to answer questions, give tours, and provide photo ops for fans. Reader Ron Reed attended the event and took some great photos which you can see by clicking on the thumbnails above. The kits were one of the centerpieces of the event and were prominently on display near the entrance.
Earlier this week John at Cygnus-X1.net posted the thirteenth installment of his Rush: A Brief History of Time series where he compiles scans and transcriptions of old Rush articles, reviews, interviews, and advertisements. From Cygnus-X1.net:
... The thirteenth installment includes 239 "new" articles and advertisements; 54 from the 1970's, 39 from the 1980's, 110 from the 1990's, 1 from the 2000's and 35 from the current 2010 decade. Roughly half of the articles this time around focus on the releases of Presto and Roll the Bones, including some great, separate interviews with each of the band members.
Also included in this installment are numerous, early concert reviews from the 1970's, many of which definitely did not paint Rush, or their musical prowess, in a favorable light. ...
You can see this latest batch on John's website at this link. Also be sure to check out his chronological listing of all the collected articles from the series at the bottom of the page.
A couple of months ago Clockwork Angels/Clockwork Lives author Kevin J. Anderson along with co-editor John McFetridge released an anthology of Rush-themed stories titled 2113: Stories Inspired by the Music of Rush. Story Bundle is currently featuring an Adventure Sci-Fi Bundle that includes 2113 and over a dozen other books for just $16. You can get all the details and purchase the bundle here (thanks Will C). You can purchase your copy of 2113 for Kindle, Audible, or get the paperback edition here.
Speaking of Kevin J. Anderson, back in August 2010, on a day between two Rush concerts at Red Rocks Theater near Denver, Neil Peart and Anderson climbed Mount Evans. On that climb the pair plotted the story and characters that would become the Clockwork Angels novel and album. The climb is described in detail by Peart in the novel's afterword. To commemorate the occasion, this coming August 27th Anderson along with a group of about ten Rush fans will be recreating that climb as described in this blog post from Anderson. The climb is currently at capacity, but if you are interested in being put on a waiting list, you can contact Chris Reed at reed (at) vika (dot) com.
The June-July issue of Canada's History magazine includes a cover feature titled Hello! My name is Canada on the essence of being Canadian. The cover features a Beaver wearing a Rush (explosion logo) t-shirt as seen here. Thanks to Andy Curran for the heads up.
Former Slipknot drummer Joey Jordison was recently interviewed by TeamRock.com (thanks RushFanForever) and supplied his list of the 10 best drummers of all time, one of whom is Neil Peart:
"Another record that reminds me of that time was Rush's 2112. That record fucking blew my mind when I was young. I have to hand it to my uncle for introducing me to lots of great heavy rock whilst I was growing up, and 2112 set my heart on fire as far as thinking, 'Oh my god, how can someone play like that?' I still can't play like Neil Peart! But I give it a shot. These guys never cease to amaze me and records like that never ever get old; they only get better with age, like a fine wine."
Actor Keifer Sutherland is also a musician when he's not busy acting, and has a country band that recently kicked off a tour at Peter's Players in Gravenhurst, ON to promote his upcoming album Down in a Hole. Sutherland was born in England but grew up in Toronto, and mentions Rush in a post-gig interview with MuskokaTODaily.com (thanks RushFanForever):
... Growing up in Toronto, you had to play either Rush or Gordon Lightfoot. And I'm not going to try and sing (like Geddy Lee) - no way! ...
The College World Series is currently taking place in Omaha. During one of the games, Arizona Wildcats ace pitcher Bobby Dalbec was revealed to be a big Rush fan as seen in this graphic (thanks Kevin T). Dalbec was also drafted by the Red Sox in the 4th round of the MLB Draft earlier this month.
Earlier this month Alex Lifeson performed at the Coppinwood Golf Club's 10th anniversary party (Lifeson was part owner of the club at one time). Also in attendance were the Trailer Park Boys, Tom Cochrane, Gerry Finn (Killer Dwarfs), The Carpet Frogs (featuring former Rush and Red Rider bassist Jeff Jones) and others. They played the Rush songs Distant Early Warning, The Spirit of Radio, Limelight, Tom Sawyer and Closer to the Heart (with Bubbles from Trailer Park Boys). Alex then came out to play with Tom Cochrane on Life is a Highway and Lunatic Fringe (Alex played the solos on each song). You can see several photos and some video from the event in this post. This past week a couple of new videos from the event surfaced on YouTube. There's this vid of Closer to the Heart with Bubbles, along with this video (sub-par audio) of the band playing Tom Sawyer:
That's all for this week. Have a great weekend!
