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 one month from today 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.
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. The new album was recently featured in a Goldmine article where Herin lists off the 10 albums that changed his life, one of which is Rush's 2112 (thanks RushFanForever):
It bursts out of the speakers and cannot be ignored. I became an immediate fan upon first listen and bought the back catalog. Alex Lifeson's Townshend-like chording was perplexing at first, but introduced me to expanded chord voicings. I could've never imagined someday Alex would make a couple guest appearances on my songs.
The album is available on digipack CD and streaming, and you can order it online here.
A new book on Rush from author Richard James released last week as part of Sonicbond Publishing's On Track series (thanks Rinus). The 160-page paperback book is titled Rush 1973 to 1982: Every Album, Every Song, and is currently available for purchase at this location.
On this past week's episode of Rush Roundtable (#258) on the Rushfans YouTube channel, the panel discusses Rush songs that should have, or could have had solos:
That's all for this week. Happy Holidays everyone!!
