The Cleveland Plain Dealer has a series of articles on Rush in today's edition including interviews with Geddy Lee and with Donna Halper. The Geddy Lee interview focuses on Rush and their history with the city of Cleveland, the place where they first got their big break back in 1974 and where they have decided to film their first full length live concert DVD in the US:

... "[Cleveland] was enormous for us," singer-bassist Geddy Lee said of the early support. As a token of their undying appreciation, Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson and drummer Neil Peart are filming their concert tonight at The Q for a future DVD release. "It feels like full circle to me," Lee said, checking in by phone from a tour stop in Florida. "We realized after all these years that we've shot films in all these different locations. But we've never really shot an entire film in America. We thought, 'Well, that's just wrong.' So where do we want to shoot? And it dawned on me that it was appropriate to shoot in Cleveland, where our entire American adventure began." The band got its big break here in 1974, when Donna Halper, a disc jockey and music director at WMMMS FM/100.7, added the Rush song "Working Man" to the influential radio station's playlist. "I don't think we would've had a record deal if it hadn't been for Donna Halper at WMMS playing 'Working Man' and some other songs from our first album," said Lee, 57. ...

Donna Halper will be a special guest of the band for tonight's show. It will be Halper's first time back in Cleveland since she left WMMS back in 1975. Donna spoke with the Plain Dealer's John Soeder about how she helped discover Rush as the program director at WMMS back in 1974:

... When DJs needed a break, they would put on what was known as a "bathroom song," for obvious reasons. "As the music director, whether I had to go or not wasn't the issue," Halper said during a phone interview. "I had to think about my DJs. I was always looking for long songs that were also good songs, so they could do what they had to do." The Boston native moved here to join WMMS in 1973. The following year, a friend sent her an import record by a Canadian group that she'd never heard of. "As soon as I dropped the needle on 'Working Man,' I knew this was a perfect record for Cleveland," she said. "It was a working-class town. . . . I remember a city where Republic Steel would literally light the sky on fire at night with pollution." Phones at the radio station were lighting up, too, with requests for Rush. The buzz soon led to a record deal for the band, which singled out Halper for special thanks in the liner notes of its self-titled debut album. ...

Geddy also gives the Plain Dealer a track-by-track breakdown of Moving Pictures in this article. Here's Geddy's take on fan favorite The Camera Eye:

"For me, it didn't age very well. That's one of the reasons that it didn't make it into our show for so long. Doing the album in its entirety enabled us to revisit it. And I have to say, rather sheepishly, that I've found myself really loving playing that song every night. Sometimes when you go back and play it the way you play nowadays, you reinvigorate the song."

The newspaper also has a feature titled Why isn't Rush in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? where they speak with fan and riab reader Todd Walterspaugh, who is organizing a protest of sorts in front of the Rock Hall today at 3PM:

... To make their displeasure known, some fans plan to gather at 3 p.m. today outside the Rock Hall. Don't expect picket signs or torches, though. This promises to be more of an edgy photo op than a full-blown protest rally. Organizer Todd Walterspaugh of Galesburg, Mich., used Facebook to spread the word about the show of support for Rush. He expects 100 fans to pose for a group photo with a large banner that depicts Rush's "starman" logo mooning the Rock Hall logo, with the hall itself as a backdrop. "Rush deserves to be inducted," Walterspaugh said. "For a lot of fans, it's past due." ...

And here's Geddy's take on the whole Rock Hall fiasco:

... "From a fan's point of view, I totally get it, because there's nothing like championing your team," he said. "When you feel that there's been some injustice, you take it personally. I get that. "But for me, being in the band, it just seems unseemly to get too involved in that whole discussion. It's something that we have no control over. If it happens one day, that would be great. And if it doesn't, my life is not going to stop. It's going to carry on just fine."

Rush plays tonight at Quicken Loans Arena at 7:30PM. Thanks to Matt for the heads up.

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