Alex Lifeson, along with Mojotone , have created an exact replica of the custom amplifier Alex has in his guitar rig, and are now making it available to the general public. From the press announcement: Fans of Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson and his stunning guitar tone finally have the opportunity to get their hands on one of Lifeson's most prized pieces of gear. After working with engineers at Mojotone, one of the leading custom amp builders in North America, Lifeson is putting his name on an exact replica of the custom amplifier used in his guitar rig. Dubbed the Lerxst Omega, the amp will be available to the public immediately. The Lerxst® Omega amplifier was created by Mojotone based on a vintage Marshall amp Lifeson used in the studio while recording the band's latest album, "Clockwork Angels." With select modifications made to the circuitry and an overwhelming attention to aesthetic detail, this 25/50 watt amp is a marvel in the world of modern sound amplificati

MusicRadar just posted their list of the 60 best bassists all of time which was based on a reader poll. In it, Geddy Lee came in at the #2 spot. From the list : It's Geddy Lee. The Rush man has inspired thousands to pick up the bass guitar, and many of the other bassists in this rundown cite him as an influence. A leading frontman, songwriter and a remarkable bass talent, it's no surprise he remains perennially popular with you guys. John Taylor of Duran Duran fame came in at the #1 spot, garnering an impressive 30% of the total votes. Rush fans, naturally, are asking for a recount. :-) You can check out the entire list at this LINK . Thanks to Ed from RushIsABand for the news.

During their visit to New York City, which included a stop at Q104.3 Radio Station for a sit-down with DJ Jim Kerr, both Geddy and Alex also stopped by the VH-1 studios for a chat with Carrie Keagan on her Big Morning Buzz show. During the interview, which lasts about five minutes, Alex and Geddy applauded the ladies of Heart for getting inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. They also chatted about beginning rehearsals for the induction ceremony performance as well as the continuation of their Clockwork Angels tour. The complete video interview segment can be viewed via the player below or directly at this LINK . TV Shows - Full Episode Video - Reality TV Shows Thanks to GeddyWannaBe for the headsup.

Geddy Lee sat down with Jim Kerr of New York's Q104.3 this morning for a nice 18-minute long interview where various topics including Rush's induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Baseball and more were discussed: RUSH seems to be more popular than ever before and Geddy Lee is thrilled by it, saying "It's kind of true and it's very gratifying, I have to say. At this tender age we feel like we have a lot to do and a lot of places to play. It's great fun, I have to say." Geddy went on to chat about RUSH's "Clockwork Angels Tour," his hope that the Toronto Blue Jays can compete this year with the tremendous off season that they had acquiring star players and how proud he is of his kids, one of which has a PhD. RUSH will finally be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in April and it seems like the fans had a lot to do with getting them in. You can view the interview below or directly at this LINK . Also check out the &qu

Though not formally announced by the band, the lineup for this year's Ottawa Bluesfest has been announced and includes an appearance by Rush on July 8th. Given that the band is scheduled to perform at the Copps Coliseum in Hamilton, Ontario on July 6th, a stop at the Bluesfest seems perfectly reasonable from a logistical point of view. This isn't Rush's first appearance at the Bluesfest. They also performed at the festival back on July 11th, 2010 as part of their Time Machine tour. Early bird ticket sales, which provides a discount on the festival pass, begins today at 10:00am EST. Complete information, including VIP tickets and pricing, is all available at capitaltickets.ca . For more information on the Bluesfest itself, click HERE . And for a complete listing of all Rush Tour dates for the 2013 Leg of their Clockwork Angels tour, click HERE . Related News Stories [ Rush Announce Additional Clockwork Angels 2013 Tour Dates - Pre-Sale Begins Today! - Februar

Update: Though it started a bit later than expected and experienced a technical glitch or two, the live chat with Geddy and Alex was exciting to watch, if not terribly informative in content. Numerous questions were fielded during the chat from fans across the globe. The question about "What's next for Rush?" came up more than once: Alex: I don't know. We take one day at a time...still have the Clockwork Angels tour to do. It all depends. Geddy: We need to take a short break from the touring world and recharge our batteries...that will be the time when we decide what we do next. That doesn't exactly bode very well for an R40 Tour...but there is time yet. Both also commented on how "thrilled and exhilarated" they've been over the critical reception of Clockwork Angels . Other questions that were asked focused on favorite songs the guys like to play, the negative side of touring and, more specifically, when the Clockwork Angels Tour DVD was e

Back in January, we reported - and then later debunked - the news indicating that Rush's Clockwork Angels Concert film was to be released in May of this year; right in the middle of the band's 2013 leg of their ongoing Clockwork Angels tour. Today, Eric from Power Windows is indicating that the release date is now tentatively scheduled for a September 24th release date. Rush filmed two consecutive tour dates last year in preparation for the Live DVD - November 25th in Phoenix and November 28th in Dallas. Based on reports, the Dallas show is expected to be the primary show for the DVD while the Phoenix show will be used for the inclusion of other songs not played in Dallas and any additional filler and/or corrections needed. At this point, until an official announcement comes out of the Rush camp, the September 24th release date, while seems reasonable, should be treated as rumor. We'll have more news as it becomes available. Thanks, of course, go out to Eric

Billboard Magazine recently posted their list of the Music's Top 40 Money Makers 2013 where they ranked Rush at the #28 spot with over $8.7 million in revenue last year: With or without recognition from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Rush fans are tremendously loyal, turning out en masse for tours and ponying up for records, the latter to the tune of more than 500,000 physical units in 2012. These guys are perennials. Taking the top spot was Madonna who raked in over $34 million in revenues. You can check out the entire Top 40 list which includes several other Canadian acts via this LINK . Thanks to reader RushFanForever for passing along the news.

Earlier this month, all three members of Rush signed a Geddy Lee Jazz Bass that was then auctioned off for the Fender Music Foundation . About the organization: The Fender Music Foundation is a music charity funded by people who want to change the state of music education, people who believe music is an integral part of society and want to make music more accessible to everyone. The donations we receive allow us to provide instruments to school music classrooms, after school programs and music therapy programs. We select programs that are in-need, ongoing, sustainable and give more people the opportunity to make music. According to DNJournal.Com, the signed bass guitar ended up raising over $10,000! "Escrow.com handled the sale of a black Fender Geddy Lee Jazz Bass Guitar autographed by the Rush bassist and vocalist, Geddy Lee himself, along with fellow band mates Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart (all three of whom will be on hand when Rush is inducted into the Rock and Roll Hal

Nominations for the upcoming 2013 Juno Awards, the Canadian equivalent of the Grammy Awards in the US, have just been announced. According to the Juno website , Rush has received nominations in two categories; Group of the Year as well Rock Album of the Year for Clockwork Angels . You can check out all of the nominations via this LINK . Last year, Rush was nominated in the category of Music DVD of the Year for their Time Machine 2011: Live in Cleveland concert DVD but unfortunately lost out to Feist's Look At What The Light Did Now . The 2013 Juno Awards Ceremony will take place at Regina's Brandt Centre on Sunday, April 21st and will be broadcast on CTV. Thanks to Ed from RushIsABand for passing along the news and congratulations to Rush for earning these deserving nominations!

Rush have just announced fifteen additional dates (including the previously announced Hamilton and Halifax shows) for their Clockwork Angels tour across North America during this summer, with the initial pre-sale beginning today . From the band: ADDITIONAL DATES ANNOUNCED INCLUDING CITIES NOT PLAYED IN OVER A DECADE! RUSH TO VISIT 20+ CITIES THROUGHOUT NORTH AMERICA IN 2013 Pre-sales for newly announced shows begin TODAY, TUESDAY FEB 19th at NOON! RUSH Clockwork Angels Tour will visit an additional 15 cities from June to August across North America, following the previously announced spring dates. The second leg will begin in Hershey on June 21st and complete in Kansas City on August 4th. The new dates are: Jun-21 Hershey, PA Giant Center -- On Sale Mon. Feb. 25 Jun-23 Wantagh, NY Nikon at Jones Beach Theater -- On Sale Mon. Feb. 25 Jun-25 Saratoga, NY Saratoga Performing Arts Center -- On Sale Mon. Feb. 25 Jun-28 Chicago, IL First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre -- On Sale Mon

For numerous years, the makers of DW Drums have published an annual magazine called Edge . In their latest, tenth issue for 2012-2013, Neil Peart is featured on the cover of the magazine and also wrote an accompanying article titled Gearing Up For the Road ; a commentary about Neil's preparations for Rush's Clockwork Angels tour. From the article: "...on June 25th I started my drum rehearsals at the Drum Channel studio with my tech, Lorne "Gump" Wheaton. Geddy once joked that I was the only musician he knew who "rehearsed to rehearse," but I like to be prepared - and as we'll see, I need the workout. Gump and I would have three-and-a-half weeks to work on the songs, smooth out any technological problems, and dream up some new solo ideas. This is my favorite part of the touring process because I begin the day at home with my family, then have a challenging and satisfying hard day's work, and end up at home cooking the family dinner and sleep

RushCon, the largest North American gathering of Rush fans, have just announced the initial details surrounding their 2013 - dubbed RushCon13 - event: RUSHCON 13: JULY 5th - 7th, 2013 TORONTO Happy February Rush Fans! We come with great news! We are happy to announce that our 13th annual convention will be this summer, in Rush’s hometown of Toronto! We are still working out the details, but part of this year’s RushCon package will be a round-trip caravan to the Hamilton Rush Concert, on Saturday July 6th. We are also planning many other awesome events! The concert ticket presale for the Hamilton, ON begins Tuesday, February 19 at noon local time with tour packages password protected for you for the first 24 hours. The password for this presale is 2013Rush. Please note: concert tickets are NOT included in any RushCon package. All attendees are responsible for acquiring their own concert tickets. This ticket sale is through Music Today and RushCon has no control over ticketing.

Rush have just posted the following announcement regarding their long-awaited return to Halifax, Nova Scotia and Hamilton, Ontario: RUSH is excited to announce that after 26 years, they are returning to Halifax, Nova Scotia to perform as part of their Clockwork Angels Tour, on FRIDAY JULY 12 at the Halifax Metro Centre. They are also pleased to announce a return to Hamilton, Ontario on SATURDAY, JULY 6 at Copps Coliseum. Both shows will have a pre-sale begin Tuesday, February 19 at noon local time with tour packages password protected for you for the first 24 hours. Visit http://www.vipnation.com/programs/rush---clockwork-angels-tour/ Password will be 2013Rush You can also visit rush.musictoday.com/Rush/calendar.aspx for the Fan Club pre-sale that begins Tuesday, February 19 at noon local time and ends Thursday, Feb 21 at 5pm local time. For those that are American Express card users, there will also be a Front of the Line pre-sale available for the Hamilton show. Please v

Update (07/30/2013): Both the Calendar and Tour Poster are now available for ordering at Amazon.com. Thanks RIAB! Though we are barely into 2013, NMR Distribution has officially revealed the artwork for the 2014 Rush Wall Calendar. Not surprisingly, the subject matter of the cover-art reflrcts Rush's debut album which will celebrate its 40th anniversary next year. Accordingly, the sub-title of the calendar reads "40th Anniversary". In addition to the Wall Calendar, NMR also revealed a reproduction of a 24"x36" Rush tour poster from August 14th, 1974; the first date Rush played with Neil Peart on drums which took place at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh. Though no official release date has been posted, expect the calendar to be available in the late summer with pre-ordering options available potentially in late spring. The 2014 Rush Wall Calendar will be the 11th consecutive calendar authorized by the band. To view the artwork from all of the previous

Rush's long-time lighting and stage director Howard Ungerleider was recently interviewed by PLSN (Projection, Lights and Staging News) for their February 2013 issue: “For Rush’s latest album, Clockwork Angels, science fiction writer Kevin J. Anderson expanded drummer Neil Peart’s lyrics into a novel that depicts a colorful world of Steampunk, lost cities and a protagonist caught between the forces of chaos and order. For the live concert experience, Howard Ungerleider’s lighting design, or “choreography,” dances with video elements during the three-hour show.” Howard also reveals that he had the chance to listen to Clockwork Angels in full prior to its release in order to help him with the overall design of the show: “Designing a new Rush tour is a process where I don’t receive a lot of information from the band until the 11th hour most of the time. This 2012-13 tour was a little bit different, because I was able to listen to the album before it was mixed. Alex (Lifeson) would pl

The Chicago-based rock duo known as Local H has released a five-song EP today called The Another February . The fourth track on the EP is a cover of Rush's 2112 I. Overture and II. Temples of Syrinx . Last year, Local H was playing 2112 as part of their live set. On December 21st, in celebration of International Rush Day , the band decided to release the studio version of the track on SoundCloud . A digital version of the EP is now available on both iTunes and Amazon . The individual track can also be purchased separately at both locations (Click iTunes - Amazon ). You can also listen to the track via the embedded player below. Thanks to Ed from RushIsABand for passing along the news.

Rik Emmett, the guitarist from that "other" Canadian power trio Triumph, was recently interviewed in Glide Magazine where he praised Alex Lifeson: What can you share about Alex? He’s a lovely guy. You know, he’s a sweetheart and originally upon meeting Alex and spending time with him, you kind of get the impression that he’s almost even a little shy and a little bit reserved but then the more you get to know him the more you realize he’s very much like a renaissance man, like he has a tremendous artistic ability. I don’t know if you are aware of the fact that he can oil paint and his paintings are really good. And of course he is a connoisseur of wine and he can fly planes. I mean, the guy is unbelievable. He’s got all these renaissance man qualities so that if you sit down and you start to get in a conversation with him that has any depth you start to realize he can hold his own in any intellectual kind of thing. You know, that’s more impressive than ever because of cours

Several weeks ago, Ultimate Classic Rock began an online event where rock’s biggest bands met up in a series of single-elimination polls to determine the genre’s true champions. As the poll progressed through the weeks, it received attention from the band itself who periodically posted a 'Vote for Rush' message on their Facebook and Twitter feeds. With the backing from the band, Rush easily defeated Lynyrd Skynyrd, Aerosmith and most recently Van Halen (58 to 42%) in their three matches. On the other side of the fence, Guns N' Roses were "were giant-killers" as they defeating the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin and, in a close battle, the Beatles (50.3 to 49.7%). So it came down to Rush vs. GnR. And while GnR shot out to an early and impressive lead, Rush fans united to propel their band to an ultimate victory. In the end, Rush edged out Guns N' Roses by a score of 56.73% to 43.27%. Congrats to Rush - and their fans - for pulling off this impressive w