Rush News

Vocalist Kelly Shaefer of the metal band Atheist has issued this update regarding their reunion album to be released in 2009: "On the new ATHEIST record we are going to record a blazing cover of the brilliant 'YYZ' from RUSH. As you all know, we have long been fans of RUSH, and we know this cover is a bit outside the box of what most metal bands do, but then again as a band we are very outside the box of what most metal bands do. And I can confirm that it will fucking destroy, and when people hear [Steve] Flynn's [drums] version of this tune. He renders me speechless. He has always claimed Neil Peart as a major influence, and so it makes perfect sense to cover this amazing piece of music." - Thanks to Blabbermouth.net for the news!

It is rumored that Rush will conclude their twenty year relationship with Atlantic Records sometime next year with a release tentatively titled RUSH: 1989-2009. This compilation album, which would fulfill the band's obligation to the label, would include tracks from 1989's Presto through 2007's Snakes & Arrows, as well as unreleased live tracks. The band is also rumored to be negotiating a future contract with Rounder Records, with whom the band released the R30 DVD in 2005. - Thanks to RushIsABand for the headsup!

Issue 10 of Bubba's Book Club is now posted on NeilPeart.net. In this issue, Neil lovingly promotes:

• The Colony of Unrequited Dreams and The Custodian of Paradise by Wayne Johnston, "two interlinked novels are mainly set in Newfoundland...around the time of World War II".
• The Alexandria Quartet by Lawrence Durrell, actually a tetraology he read "over thirty years ago, as a boy of twenty-four, and although my understanding of and appreciation for the novels is greatly enhanced by whatever I might have learned in thirty years, there is no difference in how the experience of reading these books made me feel. Exalted then, exalted now" and includes the side note "Another piece of history is told by my paperback boxed set of The Alexandria Quartet. It was given to me in the mid-'70s by lyricist Pye Dubois, with whom I collaborated on such Rush songs as 'Tom Sawyer,' 'Force Ten,' and 'Between Sun and Moon.'...Clearly I was reading The Alexandria Quartet while we were on tour, for when I opened those books recently to reread them, I smiled to see that the inside back covers were plastered with backstage passes...Dated around mid-1977, these stick-on passes show Rush opening for Boston and Ted Nugent, and headlining smaller shows with opening acts like Cheap Trick and Angel..."
  
• Zen and Now: On the Trail of Robert Pirsig and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Mark Richardson.
• A Voyage Long and Strange: Rediscovering the New World by Tony Horwitz, who "sets out to fill the gaps in his knowledge of the actual discovery and settlement of North America by Europeans".

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Rush is one of the many high profile artists to appear on the Songs for Tibet - The Art of Peace benefit album now available on both cd and iTunes. The album contains "...acoustic recordings - some original for the project and some acoustic recordings of previously released songs." Rush's contribution is an all new live recording of "Hope"; recorded May 25th, 2008, in Regina, Saskatchewan, which can be purchased separately from iTunes. For the complete tracklist, click here; for audio samples, click here.

"'This album will focus people's attention on the importance of Tibet, the gifts of its culture, and the crisis the Tibetan people are facing today,' said one of the album's organisers, Michael Wohl. The album is due for global release on iTunes on August 5, three days before the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics. It will then be available through other outlets the following week, the statement said. Wohl, from the Art of Peace Foundation, said the timing of the release was deliberate. 'We wanted to express our support for the Tibetan people and their message of peace through music, a fundamental means of expression, at a time when the eyes of the world are on China.'" - AFP News, July 22, 2008

"We also received a recording that Rush just did a few weeks back for us at a concert. Alex Lifeson did a rendition of ‘Hope’ that really breathes and let’s you appreciate the subtleties of the composition. It differs from the studio version in tempo and tone. This was a fantastic contribution on so many levels (our only acoustic instrumental)." - ArtOfPeaceFoundation.org, July 26, 2008

Neil Peart can be seen in the September issue of the American Motorcyclist Association’s American Motorcyclist magazine. In the “Snapshots” section, Neil is pictured at the AMA’s museum with his drums and bike. Later in an article entitled “Seeing Stars,” they show his bike with a brief caption. - Thanks Roger for the headsup!

Neil's motorcycle and R30 drumkit are part of the "MotoStars: Celebritires + Motorcycles" exhibit at the Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum in Pickerington, Ohio. The exhibit features "machines, memorabilia and more drawn from celebrities' favorite two-wheel adventures". Click here for pictures of the exhibit; the R30 drum kit is situated next to Neil's 1994 BMW R1100GS, with a odometer showing 163,764 km!

After the recent attention Rush received in Rolling Stone magazine and the division among fans on whether or not the article 'Rush Never Sleeps' was a favorable one or not, John over at Cygnus-X1.net decided to revisit the amazing tribute Billboard magazine did on Rush back in May 2004 in celebration of their 30th Anniversary.

"The collection of articles and tributes that appeared in that issue were heart-warming and inspirational to read and further solidified the amazing and influential career that Rush has been blessed with. So, with that in mind, I've transcribed all of the Rush-related articles that appeared in that edition of Billboard magazine. Additionally, I've scanned all the images that accompanied those articles as well as all of the tributes and advertisements for Rush that were listed. You can check them all out HERE."- Cygnus-X1.net (Thanks John for sharing!)

Originally set for release from Rounder Books on September 25th, 2007, and later rescheduled for a release on July 25th, 2008, The Roadshow Illustrated Companion has been delayed indefinitely. According to Rounder Books' customer service, there is no release date scheduled at this time, and no other information was offered.

"A stunning companion to Roadshow: Landscape with Drums, The Illustrated Companion combines eloquent text with a range of full color photographs depicting the byways, bystanders, backstage hands, and other features of Neil Peart's ever-changing landscape as he journeys by motorcycle between dates on Rush's historic 30th Anniversary World Tour. Including concert photos taken by official Rush photographer Andrew MacNaughtan The Roadshow Illustrated Companion vividly chronicles Peart's ultimate travel adventure delivering a sublimely executed treatise on the art of travel."

A recent blog at Wired.com opens with: "'You are yet to be inducted,' Stephen Colbert asked the Canadian power trio on his show in June. 'Is there any chance that your next album will be titled That's Bullsh*t?' A fair, and hilarious, question, and one with legs...I decided to ask my contact at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland if the institution would field some questions on the matter. They agreed, so here I am, Rush fans and haters, asking for your help." - Settle the Beef: Does Rush Deserve the Hall of Fame?, Wired.com, Aug. 2, 2008 (Thanks to Larry Barnes for the headsup!)

For more on Rush and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, click here.

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The 2009 Rush Calendar is already available from Amazon. This is the fourth year of Rush calendars. - Thanks to John @ Cygnus-X1 for the headsup!

Neil Peart has updated his website with the June 2008 installment of "News, Weather & Sports": "Independence Day". Neil writes about performing in Atlantic City, traveling up through New England, and includes a lengthy and hilarious interlude on helmet safety. The report opens with a short tirade on the injustice of comp tickets which are denied most hard core fans (and in this case those given to a casino's "big losers"), and at the same time Neil shows he's not as out of touch with his fans as some may think. - Thanks to Ed at Rushisaband for the headsup!

Rush is the featured artist on the August issue of the UK's Classic Rock magazine. The cover headline reads Rush. Surviving tragedy. Defying fashion. Rock's uncoolest band take on the world. Again. The seven page feature was written around the Vegas show and tells of Rush being true to their convictions and the devotion of their fans. Scans of the article are available here, thanks to Niels for providing them!