UPDATE - 4/15@10:56AM: Reader gag2man sent these partial scans of the article which include the photos of Chris with his really cool RushCon 7 shirt. Chris is now internet famous. :)
UPDATE - 4/15@10:39AM: John over at Cygnus-X1.net pointed out that there's also a side article titled Cover band chronicles Rush's hits which profiles the Rush tribute band Chronicles. And the fan pictured/interviewed in the main article is RIAB member Chris Schneberger (aka cschnebe). Chris actually gave me a heads up to watch for this article last week. Very cool.
As any reader of this website already knows, Rush is popping up everywhere in pop culture lately. They were featured in Rolling Stone, were guests on The Colbert Report, have appeared in and been referenced in several recent movies, are getting a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, will be featured in an upcoming documentary, etc. The list goes on and on. In today's Chicago Tribune Rush is featured on the front page of the LIVE! section for an article titled Rush fans make their way out of the woodwork: After 35 years of criticism, Rush is now considered cool. The article talks about how it is now considered cool to be a Rush fan and interviews several prominent Rush fans such as TBS sports announcer Chip Caray, grandson of legendary Chicago Cubs announcer Harry Caray:
... "I'm a fan of Rush, to put it mildly. I tell people, and they go, 'Really?' which is sad. How many hate what they do? [Rush enjoys] what they do. One song goes, 'The pride of purpose in an unrewarding job.' I'm a 44-year-old who quotes Rush—so be it. I'm proud to be a fan, and I don't mind saying it. We're everywhere now." ...
and SuperBad director Greg Mottola:
... "The Rush fan is a serious guy," said Mottola, who also directed "Superbad." "He has a fervor in his eyes. I have a vivid memory of a Rush guy doing a drum solo at my high school talent show and taking more time than anyone needed. But Rush inspires that kind of … insistence. They have this unswerving integrity, and it's translated to some fans into a sort of religion." ...
The article also includes a few Alex Lifeson interview snippets:
... Alex Lifeson, Rush's guitarist, said he has noticed that fans who grew up with Rush seem "a little more detail-oriented in their professional lives." He said, in middle age, they seem disproportionately made up of engineers, chemists, economists and businessmen.
"Just yesterday I got an e-mail from an astronaut," Lifeson said. "A guy up in the space station. He brought a copy of our last album with him into space. I mean, this is amazing. You know how many Rush fans there are within NASA? A lot. I'll leave it at that. And I'm not just talking about the guys out in the field. Our fans are inside, close to the big programs. They run everything." ...
... Everyone is a nerd these days. "We've only had to wait 35 years for this to happen," Lifeson said. Tolkien is mainstream. Comic book movies are the new westerns. And the idea of an 18-minute song called "Cygnus X-1 Book II: Hemispheres" would not seem out of place on a new Kanye album. "To be honest," Lifeson said, "I'm not listening to music like I was when I was in the '70s. And when I do, you know who's really great? I'd rather listen to Radiohead. Everything else—who has the patience?"
There's also a side article titled Rush: Your Questions Answered. Thanks to PDH for the heads up.
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