UPDATE - 9/29@4:02PM: Geddy posted a teaser for his upcoming spoken word book tour to Instagram earlier today, and fans are wondering what that music playing in the background is. Could it be some new music from Ged?? hmm...
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Geddy Lee's long-awaited memoir My Effin' Life will be released in less than 2 months via Harper Collins, and is currently available for pre-order via Amazon and other retailers. Geddy Lee announced last Friday that he'll be conducting a spoken word In Conversation tour in support of the book starting this December in the UK with North American dates to follow. From the announcement:
... The evening promises to be an extraordinary experience, a once-in-a-life-time event. After the curtain rises, Geddy Lee will give his fans a peek into the very fabric of his life: from a deep reflection into his family and childhood, to a steep dive into the history of Rush; from the determined pursuit of music, to the personal memories of his life-long friends and band-mates Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart.
Joined on stage by a special guest interviewer, Geddy Lee will be reading key passages from his forthcoming book My Effin' Life; he will then share thoughts and stories taken from his experience. Fans will then have the chance to participate in a special Q&A, with Geddy Lee answering their questions directly.
"Writing this book has meant spending so much time living in the past. I've never lived my life looking anywhere but forward, which is why I resisted doing this kind of thing for so long. Being in a band all those years was reassuring because it was an ongoing thing. It felt like it was forever. There was always unfinished business: the next record, the next set design, the next tour. It's been the theme of my life. But you need a lot more determination to proceed in the world of music without the comfort of your bandmates, and I can only hope that finishing this book will release me to return to what I do and love best." - Geddy Lee ...
The UK tour will kick off in Wolverhampton on Sunday, December 10th and end in London on December 18th, with tickets on sale NOW at this location. Each UK ticket purchased will include a copy of the book via the tour partner Waterstones. For a full list of dates and ticket purchase information, visit Rush.com. The book is slated for release on November 14th, and will be available in hard cover, on kindle, and as an audiobook (CD version available). Rush mailed out a newsletter update this past week reminding folks about Geddy's book tour, and also mentioning that Half Time Beverage is now shipping Rush beer worldwide.
The work of Rush album artist Hugh Syme is currently on display at the Clark Gallery at the Honeywell Center in Wabash, Indiana in an exhibit titled Hugh Syme: Improbable Reality. The exhibit kicked off earlier this week and will run through November 5th, with a public reception this coming Wednesday, October 4th where Syme will mingle with guests, participate in a moderated Q&A, and sign an exclusive, limited-edition print of his Somewhere in Indiana piece, available for purchase that evening for $89. He will also sign up to two personal items related to his work. Reception reservations are recommended and you can submit your reservation request at this location.
Alex Lifeson and Epiphone released a new Ruby Alex Lifeson signature Les Paul Custom Axcess earlier this year, as detailed in this video where Lerxst shows off the new guitar. Stuart Williams recently reviewed the guitar for Guitarist magazine and had the following to say:
... There's no doubt this iteration of Alex Lifeson's Les Paul has a lot to offer. The problem is that there's no getting away from the fact that a couple of years ago, Rush fans could pick up a similar guitar - admittedly with less visual appeal - for a lot less money. At the time of writing, there are some brand-new Standard models still available in retailers, with used prices heading skywards. Which begs the question, does the existence of the Standard add to the Ruby red face of the Custom by being too good for too little money? Or is the Custom a victim of increased component and material costs, wars and global inflation? Whatever the reasoning, if you can live without the piezo and take the Alex Lifeson Les Paul Custom Axcess at face value, it's a great guitar. It all depends on how big an 'if' that is for you.
Goldmine magazine posted an article on The Top 20 last albums by legacy artists, ranked earlier this week, and Rush's Clockwork Angels made the cut at #16:
Rush's 19th album, Clockwork Angels, turned out to be the band's last due to the brain tumor death of Neil Peart, lyricist for the band and often cited as the greatest drummer of all time. But none of that was on the cards when the guys boldly announced their first full concept album ever, a record that also turned out to be their heaviest in decades and blessed with a bashing, booming live feel. To be sure, the story was a little hard to follow (requiring explanatory text beyond the lyrics), but the songs became fan favorites after the band's commitment to them on the subsequent tour. Final track, "The Garden," lives on with most impact as a heartbreaking and philosophical last song of a storied - and no more so than on this album - career.
Far Out magazine published an article this past week featuring 10 musicians that drastically changed their image, and Rush's '80s-era shift to a more keyboard-dominant sound on Grace Under Pressure is included at #8:
... While fans may have loved the gargantuan songs that made up their 1970s material, Grace Under Pressure ushered them into the 1980s with squelchy synths galore. While the band had toyed with synthesizers in the past, this was the first time they deliberately tried to make more commercial music, with no song going past the ten-minute mark. Although the progressive side of their fanbase was disappointed to see them going in a (then) mainstream direction, the band created the most emotional music of their entire career on this album as well. Compared to the flowery tales that Neil Peart would write on earlier projects, songs like 'Distant Early Warning' and 'Red Sector A' are dripping with melancholy, detailing the harsh realities that face humanity, be they in the past or present. Even though the synthesizers may sound cold, Rush's beating heart is still present across every track.
Yardbarker published an article this past week where they feature
25 drum solos, fills, breaks and intros that everyone should know, and 3 Rush songs were included; Tom Sawyer at #13, La Villa Strangiato at #8, and YYZ coming in at #3:
The studio version (from 1981's Moving Pictures) of this instrumental captures Peart's greatness on various levels - most notably, some time-intense fills. However, it's the version from the masterful live effort Exit... Stage Left that grew Peart's legendary status. The added drum solo near the halfway mark of that 7-minute, 44-second rendition is one Rush fans of any era can agree is special.
The popular Professor of Rock YouTube channel posted a video this past week on "the opening note that capsized radio", where he profiles Rush's Moving Pictures album with particular focus on the opening track, Tom Sawyer. You can watch the video on YouTube here.
The theme of the latest episode of Rush Roundtable on the Rushfans YouTube channel was Creating a Rush-Themed Restaurant, where the panel each comes up with their own Rush-themed restaurant with Rush-themed names, food items, and other goodies.
Today is the 47th anniversary of the 1976 release of Rush's first live album - All the World's A Stage. Happy anniversary!! That's all for this week. Have a great weekend!!
