Geddy Lee announced via Instagram last Wednesday that he'll be making an appearance at Toronto record store Dine Alone Store TOMORROW, April 12th for Record Store Day to promote the vinyl release of his Lost Demos. Geddy will be in store from 12PM to 1PM to sign copies of the release (purchase required for signing while quantities last, 1 title per person). Here are all the details via Dine Alone Store:
* Store opens at 9am. No entry before 9am.
* "The Lost Demos" and other Geddy Lee / Rush items will be available for purchase from 9am until sold out. While quantities last.
* Signing is available to anyone that purchases one (1) copy of "The Lost Demos" or another Geddy Lee / Rush item that is bought at the Dine Alone Store on Saturday April 12.
* Only one (1) Geddy Lee / Rush ITEM per customer.
* Tickets are not required. The purchased item secures a place in line.
* Only items purchased in store on April 12 will be signed. NO personal items, or merch brought into the store will be signed.
* Once a purchase is made, customers will be given a numbered wristband, and will be required to line up in a separate line outside the store.
* Customers can still shop, listen to the live music etc. and then line up once finished shopping in order of their numbered wristband.
* All wristband holders must be in line by 11:45am on April 12.
* Leftover quantities (if available) will be put online Sunday April 13 at 10am EST.
* Remaining signed items (if available) will only be available for purchase in store, not online.
* No holds. No exceptions.
* Parking is limited: Customers park at their own risk.
Back in late 2023 in the lead up to his My Effin' Life book tour, Geddy Lee released 2 tracks from the My Favorite Headache sessions for streaming. The release was dubbed The Lost Demos and included the previously unreleased tracks Gone and I Am ... You Are. We then learned a couple of months ago that a vinyl release of The Lost Demos would be made available for Record Store Day on April 12. From the RSD website:
For Record Store Day 2025, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductee and Rush lead vocalist, bassist, and keyboardist Geddy Lee releases The Lost Demos, two previously unreleased solo songs. Lee originally recorded this pair of demos, "Gone" and "I Am... You Are", during the writing sessions for his 2000 solo debut, My Favorite Headache. With the help of producer/engineer David Bottrill, he has unearthed them for the first time, properly mixed and mastered. Commenting on the project, Geddy said "I'm excited to see these two "lost demos" released - I loved the songs when they were written and in some ways they feel as fresh and perhaps more relevant all these years later." Both songs conjure the spirit of the classic My Favorite Headache, which originally arrived on November 14, 2000.
The release will be available at participating stores on Record Store Day 2025 TOMORROW, April 12th. To find a store near you, visit recordstoreday.com.
Alex Lifeson's Envy of None project with Andy Curran, guitarist Alfio Annibalini and vocalist Maiah Wynne officially released their second album Stygian Wavz 2 Fridays ago. The album is available in many formats, including the LE Deluxe box set, colored vinyl, standard black vinyl, CD, Blu-ray, and digitally. For more details on the various album formats and what they include, visit the official Envy of None store and watch the video trailer. The band is also running a contest where the winner will get a signed, Stygian Wavz custom Epiphone Les Paul Special II guitar. You can enter to win for free with a free download of The Story, or simply just purchase the new record in any format on the EON website. The winner will be chosen at random on Friday, April 18th. The entire tracklist is as follows:
Envy Of None - Stygian Wavz
1. Not Dead Yet [03:29]
2. The Story [04:41]
3. Under The Stars [04:32]
4. Thrill Of The Chase [03:40]
5. Handle With Care [04:14]
6. That Was Then [03:46]
7. Raindrops [03:33]
8. New Trip [03:55]
9. Clouds [04:02]
10. The End [03:58]
11. Stygian Waves [03:37]
Alex Lifeson continued his interview blitz in the wake of the album's release. This past week he conducted interviews with Eddie Trunk for Sirius XM, the Interviewing the Legends podcast, Sinclair Broadcast Group, The Rockman Power Hour, and for CBC Music, Alex did a little video interview where he spoke about the 5 songs that changed his life. Here's Alex talking about Led Zeppelin's How Many More Times, and seeing Zep live in Toronto in August of '69:
... How Many More Times by Led Zeppelin - I remember going to Sam's music shop on Yonge Street. I hitchhiked part of the way. I think I took a bus the rest of the way. I remember walking into Sam's and going upstairs - I think it was on the 2nd or 3rd floor - and asking if they had the first Led Zeppelin album. And they just received 8 copies on import from the UK and I was one of those 8 people that got a copy of that album. And I raced home again and put it on and looked at the cover over and over and over again and thought ,"Oh my god one day I would love to be like this." Jimmy Page played with a bow - that blew me away. And then the three of us went to see Led Zeppelin when they they first came to Toronto for "Mighty Monday" - I think August 1969. It was at the Masonic Temple [Rockpile] and we were sitting right in front of Jimmy Page on the floor about one row of people back and he brought that violin bow out and played and I was like, "Oh my god this guy's amazing!" And instantly he became my hero. ...
Rush's Rush 50 career-spanning compilation anthology in celebration of the band's 50th anniversary released back on March 21st. Rush 50 is available in five distinct configurations, including the (1) Super Deluxe Edition ($374.98), (2) Rush Store Exclusive Super Deluxe Edition, (3) 7-LP Deluxe Edition ($249.98), (4) 4-CD Deluxe Edition ($99.98), and (5) Digital Edition ($26.49). The Rush Backstage Store exclusive edition includes an additional four bonus lithos showcasing Rush through time, newly illustrated by FANTOONS from the characters created for the graphic novel depicting the band in the '70s, '80s, '90s and 2000s. John at Cygnus-X1.net has transcribed and scanned all the artwork from the box set and made it available online here, along with the liner notes. You can secure your copy of Rush 50 via Amazon and other retailers, and get all the details regarding the different configurations and what they include, along with the full tracklist at Rush.com. More reviews for the box set continue to trickle in, including this glowing endorsement from KNAC.com:
... I've had this for a couple of weeks now and am still wrapping my head around everything. It's like reliving my youth, sitting down and looking at every word, going through every song, staring at every picture and just immersing myself in all things RUSH. In our fast paced world we live in nowadays, that's a welcome release. I can think of no better way to cherish the legacy of RUSH's music and Neil's words than by continuing to celebrate a band that was truly one in a million. "Emotional Feedback on a timeless wavelength, bearing a gift beyond price, almost Free"
RIP Professor
5.0 Out Of 5.0 Skulls☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️
This is as monumental as it gets
Grapes for Humanity is an organization that helps to raise funds to benefit humanitarian causes around the world with the assistance of the international wine community, and Geddy Lee is a member of the board of directors. This coming week the charity is hosting their 5th annual Fine Wine Auction with proceeds going to benefit the Nature Conservancy Canada, Tree Canada and local charities. The auction kicks off TOMORROW, April 12th via Waddington's, and will run through April 22nd. The auction will include several items of interest for Rush fans including almost 50 autographed bottles of wine from Geddy Lee's personal cellar, a very unique Gibson prototype guitar signed by all 3 members of Rush in 2010, and a Booze, Bubbles and the Boys from Rush dinner for 8 at Barberian's Steak House. Geddy Lee posted some more details about the specific lot numbers and other signed items that will be available in this Instagram post. For all the details and registration information, visit Waddington's at this location.
Geddy Lee announced via Instagram back in October that he would be releasing a new baseball book in 2025 titled 72 Stories from the Collection of Geddy Lee. A special, limited-edition version of the book was briefly made available around Christmas at the Rush Backstage Club. That edition is autographed, and comes encased in a red cloth-bound slipcase which includes an exclusive, custom-made Geddy Lee baseball, created specifically for this project. A standard version of the book will also be made available this summer, with an expected release date of June 16th. And if you missed out on the special edition last year, they will be making it available again, and are now taking pre-orders. You can pre-order the standard edition here. Geddy had written the book itself over a year ago and presented it as part of a package given to the winning bidders in a baseball auction that included much of Ged's extensive collection. John at Cygnus-X1.net has posted an excerpt from the book's Introduction and made it available online here.
Stern Pinball announced this past week that they'll be removing their popular Rush pinball machine from active production, and produced this video celebrating the machine:
What a RUSH! It's been an incredible run for this award winning, game of the year. To help celebrate its inclusion into the Stern Vault, fly by night with the team and watch as they do a deep dive gameplay to give this game its proper limelight. ... As part of the Stern Vault Program, Rush will be removed from active production and will remain in the vault for a minimum of two years without any guarantee of returning. ...
Here a fun, new animation from FANTOONS which shows a Rush-themed Space Invaders-type video game:
On this past week's episode of Rush Roundtable on the Rushfans YouTube channel (episode #270), the panel examines what they believe are Geddy Lee's top 5 vocal performances throughout his career:
