Alex Lifeson's Envy of None project with Andy Curran, guitarist Alfio Annibalini and vocalist Maiah Wynne, will be releasing a new album in the Spring of 2025, and earlier this week they released a second single from the album titled Under the Stars, including a video which you can check out below or on YouTube. They had previously announced the album release back on Halloween with the debut of a video for the album's first single Not Dead Yet. From the announcement:
We're back today with Under The Stars! Speaking on the single, songwriter and bassist Andy Curran said, "Alf & I toiled over this one for months and really felt, even at its rough demo stage that we had something special. We left a ton of space for Maiah in the verses and there's such a cool mood shift when the chorus hits. Joe Vitale's drum track and percussion added an almost trance like vibe and the icing on the cake, is an unmistakable "Alex" guitar solo. I'm a romantic at heart and the message here is universal. Soul mates, "two against the world!"
The track is currently available for streaming on all the major platforms as listed here. There are no details on the album itself as of yet, other than their plan to release it in the Spring of next year. More information as we learn it.
The Stan Greenspon Holocaust and Social Justice Education Center in Charlotte, NC will be hosting Rush's Geddy Lee for a community commemoration of International Holocaust Remembrance Day next month on January 27th. From the event listing:
... the Stan Greenspon Holocaust and Social Justice Education Center will host its annual International Holocaust Remembrance Day event with a unique program that will mark the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp. A highlight of the evening will be a moderated discussion with Geddy Lee, renowned musician, author, and descendant of Holocaust survivors. The conversation will delve into Lee's personal family history, his reflections on the enduring lessons of the Holocaust, and his perspectives on how art and music can play a role in preserving history and combating hate. ...
The event will take place on Monday, January 27th at 7PM at the Stan Greenspon Holocaust and Social Justice Education Center in Charlotte, with tickets available here.
Longtime Iron Maiden drummer Nicko McBrain announced his retirement from touring last week, and played his last concert with Iron Maiden Saturday night in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Words of encouragement, congratulations and support have flooded in from fans and fellow musicians over the past week since the announcement, including this Instagram post from Rush's Geddy Lee:
I want to tip my hat, and congratulate one of Rock's most talented and truly iconic drummers, Iron Maiden's Nicko McBrain, on his recent retirement from touring. One of the warmest and friendliest dudes I've ever had the sincere pleasure to spend a bit of time with. What a career mate! Well done Nicko!
McBrain suffered a paralyzing stroke in 2023, recovering enough to continue performing after extensive therapy, but ultimately decided to retire after the grind became too much for him. He will remain a member of the Iron Maiden family despite no longer touring with the band. Maiden will return to the road in May 2025 for their upcoming 50th anniversary tour with new drummer Simon Dawson, a former session drummer and Steve Harris's rhythm section partner of the past 12 years with his side project British Lion.
Neil Peart's Silver Surfers coffee table book officially released last month and is now available for purchase. The book features photos of Peart's extensive Silver Surfers classic car collection, which was sold at Gooding & Company's 17th annual Pebble Beach Auction back in the summer of 2021. Sports Car Digest posted a review of the book this past week, saying the following:
... Gorgeous images of the cars (curated by Neil himself and later by his wife Carrie) accompany his warm, personal story of building the collection, the friends he made along the way, and what it was like to be behind the wheel of these classics. Neil's final work is a heartfelt tribute to the cars that meant so much to him and the passion for the road that fueled his life.
Back in October of 2022, Overtime Angels sponsored a concert in Neil Peart's hometown of St. Catharines called A Night for Neil, and they've produced a double CD of the concert which will finally begin shipping next week. The first CD contains all the music from the Memorial portion of the show through the first part of the celebration segment with tribute band Permanent Waves. The second CD includes the entire Solar Federation set featuring their amazing rendition of the The Necromancer in its entirety. You can get all the details and order your copy of the CD online here. They also recruited Rush album artist Hugh Syme to create a special edition NP50 t-shirt commemorating Neil's first concert as The New Guy with Rush at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, PA on August 14, 1974. The t-shirt is also now available to purchase online here.
Guitarist Chris Herin of Detroit-based prog rockers Tiles officially released his debut solo album Hiding In Plain Sight last month via The Laser's Edge, and one of the guest musicians on the album is Rush's Alex Lifeson. Alex plays on a track titled Second Ending which also features vocalist Matthew Parmenter of Detroit-based band Discipline. Some other notable guests on the album are Doane Perry, Michael Sadler, Peter Frampton, Kim Mitchell, and Crown Lands. Tiles has several connections with Rush, most notably their producer - former Rush producer Terry Brown - who also produced Hiding In Plain Sight. Brown introduced Lifeson to the band's work back in the 2000s and Lifeson ended up guesting on their 2008 Fly Paper album, adding guitar tracks to the song Sacred and Mundane. Rush album artist Hugh Syme also did the album's cover, as he did for most of Tiles' previous albums. Videos for a few of the album's tracks are available on YouTube, including The Darkest Hour, Warning Signs, and The Heart of You. Herin and the new album were recently featured in a Guitar Player article which asks the question, Who is Chris Herin and why are Peter Frampton, Alex Lifeson and Martin Barre playing lead guitar on his new album? From the article:
... The guests, meanwhile, came from a combination of "my associations and Terry [Brown]'s connections," according to Herin, and the two "recruited people and kind of aligned them with the style of songs and what we felt would be suitable for their contribution." Lifeson says Brown contacted him during April 2019 and delivered his work by September of that year. "Chris is a well-rounded player, and his songwriting has a nice balance of instrumental and vocal pace that accommodates atmospheric layers of instrumentation," Lifeson says. "It was a pleasure for me to add to his work." And Herin was happy to showcase what he felt was some different kind of playing from Lifeson on "Second Ending." "He's not playing a solo and he's not playing power chords," Herin notes. "He's doing acoustic guitars and a whole tapestry of atmospheric soundscapes, and they sound really, remarkably beautiful." For his part, Lifeson explains that, "I prefer to keep a relatively low profile when I'm guesting on another artist's work and look to provide a fuller background to their arrangement. I concentrated on the choruses and layered electric and acoustic guitars with an ambient approach." Herin says he's planning to create some alternate mixes "that focus on Alex's soundscapes and texture and will be a different experience to the entire band approach." ...
The album is available on digipack CD and streaming, and you can order it online here.
The new Trailer Park Boys movie Standing on the Shoulders of Kitties had its Canadian premiere last Friday in Toronto, and Rush's Alex Lifeson made an appearance as seen in this Instagram photo from filmmaker Mike Smith (aka Bubbles). Over the past two decades Lifeson has made several guest appearances in the Trailer Park Boys TV shows, movies and live shows, starting with his infamous cameo in the original Trailer Park Boys Season 3 episode Closer to the Heart, where Ricky and Julian kidnap Alex.
Megadeth bassist David Ellefson was recently interviewed for The Pick and spoke at length about his Rush fandom, as transcribed in this Blabbermouth article.
On this past week's episode of Rush Roundtable (#256) on the Rushfans YouTube channel, the panel continues their Snakes & Arrows song discussions with Spindrift:
That's all for this week. Have a great weekend!
