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Rush is a Band

A blog devoted to RUSH:
Neil Peart, Geddy Lee & Alex Lifeson

Thu, Dec 26, 2024

Rush Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame induction

Sun, Mar 28, 2010@4:48PM | comments removed/disabled

[Concerts On Demand: Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame 2010]

UPDATE - 4/1@4:16PM: RushFanForever got word from Alexisonfire's publicist regarding why their performance of Tom Sawyer was not included in the CBC broadcast and here's what they said:

Unfortunately, there were technical difficulties in recording the live feed of their performance. So the recorded version is not usable for broadcast :(

----- snip -----

UPDATE - 4/1@11:45AM: Jacob Moon has posted the last piece of his 3-part series describing his experience Sunday night to his website along with a bunch of great behind-the-scene photos with Rush. You can check it out at this link. And there's also this YouTube video of Moon rehearsing for his performance at last Sunday's Gala (thanks Tr1gger).

UPDATE - 3/30@9:32AM: Here's some more post-induction coverage from the Toronto Sun (thanks John H), and Jacob Moon has posted his own personal description of the event to the news page on his website (thanks Rob S) and also spoke about his version of Subdivisions in this radio interview (thanks RushFanForever).

UPDATE - 3/29@7:07PM: It looks like the CBC Radio 2 site has posted the entire ceremony to its Concerts on Demand page. No need to listen to the live broadcast of Canada Live. They have the entire show broken out into segments; just pick and choose or listen to the whole thing.

UPDATE - 3/29@3:44PM: REMINDER: The ceremony will air this evening at 7PM EST on CBC Radio 2 as a special presentation of Canada Live. You can listen online at this link.

UPDATE - 3/29@2:01PM: The Canadian Music Scene site posted a BUNCH of great behind-the-scenes photos from the cocktail reception dinner that was held for the inductees at the King Edward hotel in downtown Toronto last night prior to the Gala. You can check them out at this link (thanks RushFanForever).

UPDATE - 3/29@1:08PM: Here's a link to a Canadian Press video news story covering the event which includes an interview with Neil Peart (thanks hermy).

UPDATE - 3/29@11:04AM: Here's another article covering the event from the CTV website that includes a great photo of the guys on stage during the ceremony (thanks hermy).

UPDATE - 3/29@7:12AM: Here's some video of a CBC news story covering the event which includes a short interview with Scot McFadyen discussing the documentary. They include a few cool production stills from the film from early in Rush's career. Thanks to RushFanForever for the heads up.

UPDATE - 3/28@8:47PM: Even though the Gala just began less than an hour ago, Canada.com has already published a post-induction article complete with a photo of the boys with their award (thanks random_sample).

This evening Rush will be inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame at the Hall's 6th annual Gala at the George Weston Recital Hall, Toronto Centre for the Arts. They will be recognized for their songs Limelight, Closer to the Heart, The Spirit of Radio, Tom Sawyer and Subdivisions. Over the past week all three band members have been hitting the interview circuit to discuss the band's induction. There's this CBC video interview with Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson, a Canadian Press interview with Neil Peart, an Alex Lifeson Toronto Globe and Mail interview, a JAM! Music interview with Neil Peart and the latest is this Toronto Star interview with Geddy Lee which seems to confirm Rush's expected tour that Alex Lifeson detailed in his Globe and Mail interview:

... Lee is in lockdown mode at the moment, writing and recording material for a new album (Rush's 20th studio opus) and rehearsing for a mini-tour that involves a special diet, daily workouts with a personal trainer, and the kind of intense spiritual and mental exercises only Olympic athletes understand. ...

Geddy also expresses some thoughts on the band's upcoming induction this evening:

... "Anytime your country honours you is important, it's huge," said Lee, adding that he feels he and his bandmates have often been overlooked as songwriters. "Not that winning awards is something we think about or discuss. We just try to keep moving forward ... it's not very often we get a chance to look back at what we've created. "It's humbling, frankly, to be joining a group that includes Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen, Gordon Lightfoot and so many other great songwriters." ... "When you have a great lyric the music becomes a natural extension of the mood and content. The `music first' method is more difficult, but often more rewarding. It relies a lot on craftsmanship, and on the magic of musical inspiration and improvisation ... but the words have to match that special quality, and it's sometimes painstaking work to get that to happen." ... "I understand why no one covers our songs," Lee said. "They sound daunting. But, as Moon proved in his 'Subdivisions' video, most of the songs can be stripped back to their simplest form, and find a new life. "When we tried to write songs that are simple and uncomplicated, it didn't work. "One of our producers used to tell us, `You'd have a lot of hits if only someone else recorded them.' "

The performers at tonight's Gala will include Canadian folk singer/songwriter Jacob Moon doing his rendition of Subdivisions, Primus frontman Les Claypool will be playing The Spirit of Radio and Canadian hardcore rockers Alexisonfire will be covering Tom Sawyer. Speaking of covers, the Toronto Star article contained this interesting bit of information:

... word is out that Nelly Furtado is considering taking a crack at a popped-up version of Rush's "Time Stands Still." ...

Tickets are still available for tonight's Gala and can be purchased via ticketmaster at this link. There is a special offer for Rush fans; simply enter the pass code SONGS when requesting tickets and get a 20% discount. The ceremony will air on radio tomorrow at 7PM on CBC Radio 2 as a special presentation of Canada Live and at 4PM on Espace Musique. It also is being videotaped for a future TV broadcast.