UPDATE - 4/3@8:12AM: Check out Cherry Beach Sound Senior Staff Engineer Inaam Haq's list of music credits (thanks RushFanForever).
UPDATE - 4/2@6:26PM: Based on the pics in the Pearl Drummers Forum post, a couple of readers have speculated that the studio could be Cherry Beach Sound in Toronto.
UPDATE - 4/2@4:05PM: User Chief Pronto at the Pearl Drummers Forum posted some pics last night from the studio that Rush is currently recording in. There are several photos of Neil's Snakes & Arrows kit and a couple of other miscellaneous shots - none with any people in it though. He won't say where the studio is, but he did mention that Alex is engineering the sessions. He promises more pics and info once they are out of the studio. Thanks to DigitalMan745 for the heads up.
The big news of the past week was Rush's induction into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame Sunday night and all of the coverage that went with it. In the run up to the induction we were treated to a bevy of interviews from the band where they revealed several details about their plans for the next 2 years, including 2 tours and a new album. The induction ceremony itself was a huge success and widely covered in the press. Audio of the program along with several great photos were posted to the CBC Radio 2 website on Monday at this link. Jacob Moon's inspired performance of Subdivisions was one of the big highlights of the evening. Moon describes the experience in detail complete with behind-the-scenes photos on his website here. For all the details on the Gala and the induction check out this post.
On Friday an interview with Alex Lifeson appeared in the Toronto Globe and Mail where Lerxst mapped out the band's plans for the next 2 years:
... We were off for a year and a half, and now it's just pouring. Everything is totally crazy and there's not a minute left in the day. We've got these half-dozen songs, and we'll probably go in the studio and work on a couple of them and see how it goes, perhaps release something - and I say perhaps - and then we plan on being on the road in the middle of June. Ideally, we'd like to showcase a couple of these songs on the tour, come off tour in mid-October, go back in the studio and continue writing, then record through late this year and early next year, and then release the album in the spring of 2011 on a slightly more substantial tour. This [year's] tour will probably be about 45 dates. Most likely summer, 2011, would be more like 70. ...
Then Neil Peart chimed in with this interview with JAM! Music where Nick Raskulincz gets confirmed as co-producer for their next album:
... the band is about five songs into the record with co-producer Nick Raskulinecz, from 2007's Snakes and Arrows, but won't talk about the sound or how or when the tunes will be released or subsequent tour plans. "I stopped in Toronto a couple of weeks back and went over to Geddy's house and listened to what they've been working on from my lyrics and it's very exciting, we've got probably five very good songs there," ... "So we were saying, 'Well, I kind of just want to keep working on this and finish the record.' But on the other hand we were thinking, 'Well, something we haven't done since the '80s is write new songs and go out and play them.' It's interesting to be so deeply involved in songwriting right now with this honour coming up. It kind of puts a fresh observation on it for me." ...
Not to be outdone by his bandmates, Geddy Lee contributed the following in a short audio interview with Sandra Miller of Akron's 97.5 WONE on Tuesday:
We're kind of looking at a kind of a 2 year plan. A little bit of writing now, getting a couple of tracks down. Playing some songs in the summertime on tour that people are not familiar with as well as bringing back a whole range of older songs. And getting quickly back into the studio again and finishing the album and see what the impact of that is.
The combination of the information from these interviews adds up to a busy next couple of years for Rush and their fans. An official announcement from the band regarding the tour is expected soon. Given that it now looks like the tour is slated to kickoff in Albuquerque on June 29th, the announcement almost has to come sometime in the next couple of weeks with much of the speculation focusing on this coming Monday, April 5th. On Wednesday evening 96 Rock out of Albuquerque announced on the air that Rush would be in town on June 29th and the Albuquerque Journal confirmed the venue as the newly dubbed Hard Rock Casino presents The Pavilion. Since last Friday I've also heard a tentative date of August 9th for the Shoreline Amphitheater show, early October Florida dates at both the Cruzan Amphitheatre in West Palm Beach and the Tampa Ford Amphitheatre in Tampa Bay, a September date at the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh, and a mid-August date at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre. Check out this post for the complete list of tentative/rumored tour dates. Whether Rush will be releasing any new material prior to the tour is still an open question. From last week's interviews it's clear that they will be recording at least a couple of the 5 or 6 songs they already have written with Nick Raskulinecz. But it sounds like they are waiting to see the finished product before making a decision on whether to release them or not.
The long-anticipated Rush documentary Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage will have its US and world premier at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City on April 24th while the Canadian premier will occur at the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival in Toronto on April 29th. For my annual April Fool's joke yesterday I broke the news that the documentary would be shown in 3D complete with a 3D trailer. :) I hope everybody enjoyed the joke and had a good laugh about it. Last year's April Fools joke also focused on the documentary. Ironically I claimed that the filmmakers had dug up some old pre-1974 live footage of the band - which at the time seemed pretty far-fetched... but ended up coming true! I guess the joke was on me. Anyways, I can now report some real news about the documentary. Rush.com finally posted a news item about the documentary and confirm that most of Rush will be in attendance at the April 24th premier (thanks hermy):
Zoë Vision, in association with Banger Films, is thrilled to announce the premiere of the documentary, "Rush: Beyond The Lighted Stage" at The Tribeca Film Festival on April 24.
Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson, along with the documentary's filmmakers, Scot McFadyen & Sam Dunn (whose filmography also includes: "Iron Maiden: Flight 666," "Metal, A Headbangers Journey" and "Global Metal") will all be on hand in New York to celebrate the release of this much-anticipated film.
I had originally heard that all 3 members would make it, but 2 out of 3 ain't bad I guess. Also, there was a CBC news story covering the band's Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame induction over the weekend which includes a short interview with Scot McFadyen discussing the documentary. They showed a few cool production stills from the film from early in Rush's career (see thumbnails).
In case you weren't already aware, you can follow Rush is a Band on Twitter at this link and on Facebook at this link. As of a few days ago the site now has over 1000 followers on Twitter and over 1500 Facebook Group members! A big thanks to everyone who has joined. I'd also like to take some time out to thank everyone who generously donated to the website last week; it is greatly appreciated. You should receive your RUSH IS A BAND bumper stickers soon if you haven't already. To get a sticker of your own just make a donation to the site. Thanks for the support!
The new Rush greatest hits compilation Time Stand Still: The Collection was released by Spectrum/Universal in Europe on March 23rd. It contains 13 tracks from Rush's Universal Records era (through Hold Your Fire).
Reader rosmakloma pointed out that Neil Peart is featured in the 2010 DW Drums calendar which you get as a free PDF download at this link. Neil is featured for October.
A couple of weeks ago I'd mentioned how RIAB reader and Brigham Young University English professor Patrick Madden (Pat) has published a book of personal essays called Quotidiana (University of Nebraska Press). It is just recently available at Amazon and other booksellers. Its chapters cover a wide variety of subjects, from laughter to fatherhood to the nearly infinite nature of nature, but one unifying theme is the influence of Rush on the author. Half the essays are peppered with Neil Peart's lyrics in conversation with the author's life. Pat used so many lyrics, in fact, that he had to get Neil's permission (it was graciously granted). The book's third essay, Remember Death (those who deciphered the skull-and-femur Morse code message in their Roll the Bones tourbook will recognize this phrase), is especially Rush-related. It chronicles the author's epiphany one summer day in 1981 when his friend placed headphones on his head and played Tom Sawyer. From there, it builds a meditation on death through the lens of Rush. One of the tropes prominent in the essay is the vocabulary Pat learned from Rush lyrics. The essay itself intentionally includes dozens of "Rush words." Pat and the University of Nebraska have produced a PDF of the Remember Death pages for RIAB readers, along with a contest. Read Remember Death, noting all the "Rush words" you find (hint: there are between 50 and 100; they're mainly from the albums through Hold Your Fire). Send your alphabetically organized list in an email to Pat at pcmadden3@yahoo.com with RIAB Vocabulary Contest in the subject line before Monday, April 12th. The person who identifies the most Rush words will win a signed copy of Quotidiana plus a vinyl New World Man single (with an otherwise unreleased live version of Vital Signs on the back; according to several sites, this is the only time, other than their 1973 self-released 45, that Rush has ever released a single that does not appear on a full-length album). Two runners up will win one vinyl 45 each, of either The Big Money (b/w Middletown Dreams) or Time Stand Still (b/w High Water). Each winner will also receive a RIAB bumper sticker.
Elizabeth Patterson of Nova Scotia's Chronicle Herald recently wrote this informative review of Chris McDonald's academic study of Rush's music - Rush, Rock Music, and the Middle Class: Dreaming in Middletown - which was released late last year.
The Zeitgeisty Report posted their list of the Top 10 BEST and WORST Drummers In Rock & Roll earlier this week. Not surprisingly, Neil Peart made their BEST list. Here's what they said:
I remember reading in an interview where Peart said that he found simple straight-ahead drumming to be boring. At the time, I found Rush to be boring because I viewed their music as too preconceived, too formulaic in its drive to be technically proficient...but the years have revealed a certain level of genius and "serving the music" in Peart's playing. I would simply urge anyone who disagrees to listen to the album Moving Picture, which ranks as one of the most note-perfect rock albums of all time. You may not like Rush, or Geddy Lee voice, or the fact that the band was never ever considered cool, but you've got to admit that Peart fits Rush like a glove and they are a better band for it.
Rocker Joan Jett caused quite a flap a couple of months ago when in several interviews she accused Rush of ridiculing her all-girl 70s band The Runaways when they opened for Rush back in 1977. Jett was making the interview rounds promoting the just-released biopic film The Runaways. Last week her former bandmate Cherie Currie entered the fray, reiterating Jett's comments in a recent CTV article. Curie also goes off on the boys in several recent interviews including this one on Elliot in the Morning which you can listen to at this link at about the 3:30 mark (thanks Dan). There's also this video interview and this one. She especially picks on Geddy, saying that he's ugly and he screams and looks like a grandmother. Very classy of her. The Runaways actually attended a party in Rush's honor in December of 1976 as pictured here but didn't tour with them until a couple of months later in February of 1977 where the alleged incident(s) would have taken place.
Power Windows reported earlier this week that the 1965 concert film The T.A.M.I. Show has been remastered and reissued on DVD. This is relevant to Rush in that Neil Peart mentions the film in his book Traveling Music on page 130:
... Another movie around the same time was a much stronger musical influence on me - in fact, in retrospect, it was the influence. The T.A.M.I. Show, or Teen Age Music International ...
Reader RushFanForever sent me this fan-made YouTube clip of a recent Geddy sighting in New York City. The fan ran into Geddy and his family at Sammy's Romanian Steak House on the lower East Side. The poster claims (you can't actually hear the conversation) in the video description that he asked Geddy Lee about remastering Vapor Trails and Geddy said We're actually already doing that now, as we speak!. It's not at all clear when this video was taken so he could have been referring to the 2 remastered tracks that appeared on Retrospective 3. Power Windows had a bit of fun with the whole Vapor Trails re-masters saga for his annual April Fools joke yesterday.
RushFanForever dug up this old Geddy Lee MuchMusic interview on YouTube. Geddy talks with Marc Carpenter about the Power Windows album. You can check it out at this link.
Al P pointed me to this USA Today story about a California based band of 9-year-old kids called The Thrashers. One of the members is named after Geddy Lee.
RushFanForever alerted me to country rocker Shooter Jennings's (son of the late Waylon Jennings) recently released album Black Ribbons. What's interesting about it is that it's a concept album that has been described as a mix of progressive rock and country. Jennings cites Rush and particularly the album 2112 as an influence in this recent interview
Toronto's Q107 is running a survey to determine the Top 107 Classic Rock Songs. Among the 100s of songs listed in the survey are 11 Rush songs, but you can only vote for 10. Go vote for Rush! Thanks to tg for the heads up.
Apparently professional wrestler Bill Goldberg is a Rush fan according to this recent Twitter post from Goldberg. Thanks to Phil R for the heads up.
In case you missed it yesterday, here's the 3D Rush documentary trailer:
Have a great weekend everybody!
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