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Ray Danniels on 40 years of managing Rush in new Celebrity Access interview

Wed, Mar 11, 2015@9:59AM | comments

Ray DannielsAs CEO of SRO/Anthem, Ray Danniels has been managing Rush for over 40 years now and will be honored with the 2015 Walt Grealis Special Achievement Award at the 2015 Juno Gala Dinner and Awards ceremony this coming Saturday, March 14th. The award recognizes individuals who have made a significant impact on the Canadian music industry. Danniels recently sat down with Larry LeBlanc of Celebrity Access for an extensive interview to discuss the Award, Rush, and his 40-year career in the music business. At one point Danniels is asked about Rush's upcoming R40 Live tour and whether Rush will tour again in the future:

... Somewhere between possible and probable. There are some of us who would keep going forever, and there are some of us who wouldn't. So it's a process of working that out. And what somebody thinks today may not be what they think in a month. ... I am focused on making this as good as it can be, and then seeing where we are. I did not want to do a farewell tour. There was no one in the band who wanted to do that because there is nobody who thinks it is that final or thinks that they won't make music or do something. But I will tell you this. I am probably not going to be able to get a band full of 65 year olds out again on the road--which is what would happen next time with any potential tour--they all would be 65-ish. Neil is as much an athlete as he is a musician, but with these 2 1/2 and 3 hour length sets, I don't know if it possible to keep up with that (physical) demand. And they each want to go out on top in every single way. From their status....well, that is more me-the status-than it is them; and still having the ability to be at their best. To play at the level that they have been able to play. ...

Ray also has a lot to say about recent deals with Roadrunner Records and Ole, the current state of the music industry and how Rush fits in to it all. It's a very interesting and informative interview, and you can read the whole thing online here (thanks RushFanForever).

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