Earlier this week, Rush fans across the world commemorated the life of Neil Peart on the 5th anniversary of his passing back on January 7, 2020. To commemorate the occasion, Rush tribute band YYNOT hosted their 3rd annual Bubba Bash in celebration of The Professor at the Keswick Theatre outside Philly (Glenside, PA) this past Saturday evening. The show was hosted by Cathy Rankin, and featured YYNOT along with special guests Frank Bello (Anthrax), Jason Bittner (Shadows Fall, Overkill, etc.), Jon Dinklage (Clockwork Angels string ensemble), Joe Bergamini (drum instructor, author, etc.), John Wesley (Porcupine Tree), Seven Antonopoulos (Opiate for the Masses), Randy Jackson (Zebra) and others. All proceeds from the show go to benefit Cedars Sinai Hospital, and you can send along your donation here. The band should be posting some pro-shot videos to their YouTube channel here in the coming days, as they have in years past. But in the meantime, you can check out some fan-shot video of a Closer to the Heart Drummer Showcase from the event below or on YouTube. Modern Drummer magazine posted this tribute to Neil and announced that they are now accepting applications for their annual Neil Peart Spirit of Drumming Scholarship for 2025:

... To begin the week, and in honor of Neil's life, legacy, and the lineage of great drumming, the Neil Peart Spirit of Drumming Scholarship is now accepting applications for 2025. Please look for the announcement date when applications for the 2025 scholarship will be accepted. This unique opportunity, presented by Modern Drummer, Carrie Nuttall-Peart, Olivia Peart, and Universal Music Group, honors the legendary Neil Peart, by inspiring and nurturing a young drummer with the goal of developing the next generation of drumming talent. ...

Both Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson posted tributes to Neil via their official Instagram pages, with Geddy sharing this goofy photo of Neil and Lerxst posting this photo of Neil chilling on a couch. RIP Professor.

As we first reported back in October, Neil Peart's 2004 BMW R1200GS motorcycle will be up for bidding in an upcoming Mecum Auction later this month. The Auction will take place during the 34th annual Vintage & Antique Motorcycle Auction in Las Vegas on January 29-February 1. The bike was ridden on Rush's R30 Anniversary Tour and ultimately sold to a member of the tour's road crew. The winning bidder will also receive the original purchase receipt signed by Neil, along with 2 Neil Peart drum sticks. The bike is expected to sell in the $40-$50K range. You can see photos of the bike and get all the auction details here.

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 next month on January 27th, and Rush is promoting the event as a special one-off extension of Ged's My Effin' Life In Conversation book tour:

SPECIAL GEDDY LEE EVENT - JAN 27, 2025
Charlotte, North Carolina - we will see you on MONDAY, JANUARY 27, 2025 at 7pm ET @ Sarah Belk Gambrell Center for the Arts & Civic Engagement for a special edition of GEDDY LEE: IN CONVERSATION from My Effin' Life presented by the Stan Greenspon Centre.

We will also have a special merch table with limited number of signed books and posters for sale, in addition to other specialty items, so get your tickets here before we are sold out!

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.

Rush beer partner Henderson Brewing Company have announced the date for their 3rd annual Rush Day event. Rush Day 2025 will take place in late summer on August 23rd at the Brewery's Toronto location. Although all the details have yet to be announced, past events have featured special guests, Rush Memorabilia, Rush Beer tastings, exclusive Rush merch, Rush karaoke, Rush games, and more. For all the details and to purchase tickets, visit Henderson's website at this location (thanks RushFanForever).

The uDiscoverMusic.com site posted their list of 40 Of The Best Guitar Riffs Of All Time this past week, and Rush's Tom Sawyer made the cut at #11 (thanks RushFanForever):

Alex Lifeson said that his favorite riff of all time was "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction)" from the Rolling Stones. The Rush guitarist created many of his own superb riffs, including on "YYZ" and "Tom Sawyer." Rush, who were made up of three Canadians - guitarist Lifeson, bassist Geddy Lee, and drummer Neil Peart - became one of the best-selling bands in the world. Lifeson, who started off playing Jimmy Page-inspired blues riffs, used a PRS Singlecut guitar for the distinctive distortion tone sound on the smash hit "Tom Sawyer," a song from the Moving Pictures album, about a modern-day rebel. The song featured lyric contributions from Pye Dubois of the band Max Webster. "We played that song a lot and it's a difficult song to play because it's not a traditional arrangement and has a weird opening note," admitted Lifeson.

The New York Times published an article this past week on aging roadies with the title, These Roadies Help Stars Rock 'n' Roll All Night. They're in Their 70s. Neil Peart's longtime drum tech Lorne Wheaton is interviewed for the feature and said the following (thanks Carlos T):

... Lorne Wheaton, known as Gump, has been closely associated with one musician: Neil Peart of Rush, who died in 2020. After 50 years in the industry, Wheaton recently retired, at 69; his last big drum tech gig was the long Kiss farewell tour. But it's a "loose" retirement; he retains his membership in IATSE (the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees), and still does local theater and corporate gigs in his native Toronto. Could he have ever imagined he'd work as a tech for half a century? "No, never," Wheaton said. "I didn't think I'd live to 69. Let's be honest here. You'd never really think that you're going to hit 70 and actually retire out of this business, because it does take quite a bit of savings to do that." He said that working freelance is a constant hustle, and the wear and tear of aging sometimes leads to unexpected consequences: "You do not want to pass away in your bus bunk or in a hotel room." ...

Rush mixing engineer Rich Chycki was recently interviewed for the Life in Surround podcast to talk about his experience mixing Rush's music in Dolby Atmos and everything that went into that. You can check out the interview below or on YouTube.

On this past week's episode of Rush Roundtable (#259) on the Rushfans YouTube channel, the panel discusses their favorite groups or sequences of songs in setlists over the years, focusing on material that has been released (not bootlegs):

That's all for this week. Have a great weekend!