Over the past week, Rush has been playing shows throughout the United Kingdom, with their final UK stop occurring tonight at the SECC in Glasgow, Scotland. During Rush's stay in the UK, Geddy Lee has been wearing his interview hat as he discusses the band's return to England and Scotland with several newspapers. Up first is the article The real reason Rush are still rocking 40 years on from The Herald Scotland . In this piece, Geddy talks about numerous topics including the Clockwork Angels album and tour, Rush's recent induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and the "essence of Rush": "We're an unusual band, and our sound isn't palatable for every taste," says the singer and bassist. "We're not the kind of band you can put on in the background while preparing dinner and drinking a glass of Chardonnay. We're a strange animal and I understand why we polarise people." There is truth in the fact that Rush are unl

A limited-edition custom Geddy Lee Fender Squire Jazz Bass Guitar with a "Clockwork Angels" theme is currently being auctioned off for the Arts Enter Cape Charles center. From the auction listing: This guitar is a Limited Edition Fender Squire Jazz Bass made for promotional purposes for the 2012/2013 RUSH Clockworks Angels tour. It is the Fender Squire version of a Geddy Lee signature model Fender Jazz Bass and is one of only 10 made. It has a pickguard with the "Clockwork Angels" tour logo laser cut into it and has a wood burnt RUSH logo on the back of the headstock. The bass was signed by the three members of RUSH - 2013 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees - Geddy Lee, Neil Peart, and Alex Lifeson on April 11, 2013 at Mark Etess Arena in Atlantic City, New Jersey immediately following sound check. The bass was restrung and intonated by Geddy Lee's personal instrument technician Skully and includes a genuine Fender Strap. This bass was donated to Arts

The latest update from Neil Peart and his "News, Weather, and Sports" website blog is now online . This May 2013 entry is titled The Sweet Science and, as one may have expected, a significant portion of the entry focuses on Rush's induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Neil first reflects back on the "surreal" events surrounding the ceremony: Following my own pre-tour preparations at the local Y, and at Drum Channel’s studio (two-and-a-half weeks of playing along with the recorded versions of the show, tuning up my technique and stamina), I joined the Guys at Work (Alex, Geddy, and our crew) at a warehouse in the San Fernando Valley. That was when things started to become surreal. On our last day in the warehouse, we were joined by Dave Grohl and Taylor Hawkins from the Foo Fighters, and our mutual coproducer Nick “Booujzhe” Raskulinecz. They wanted to rehearse their spoof of us from . . . thirty-six years ago. By now, the televised show in a

New York City's classic rock station Q104.3 is currently sponsoring a contest to name the 'Ultimate Rush Fan'. Open to residents of the New York Tri-State area only , the prize package includes a pair of front-row tickets to the June 23rd Jones Beach (Long Island, NY) concert, a Meet & Greet pass and a custom Geddy Lee Clockwork Angel’s bass guitar. To enter the contest, you just have to tell Q104.3 in 140 characters or less why you’re Rush’s Biggest Fan and they’ll provide you a custom URL to get your friends and family to vote for you for the chance to win. Click HERE to enter the contest. Now, the shameless plug portion of this news story. As I am a resident of the NY Tri-State area, I humbly ask that people cast their vote for me (Click HERE to vote). In the event I do emerge victorious with your help, I plan to turn around and offer up the custom Geddy Lee Bass guitar in a Cygnus-X1.Net contest. Keep in mind you can vote for your favorite 'Ultimate

It's been nearly two years to the day since Rush toured the European continent; their last run of dates occurring during their Time Machine Tour in 2011. Tonight, the wait for European fans is over as Rush will take the stage at the 'Arena' in Manchester, England. Rush's European leg will be relatively short; spanning a mere ten dates through England, Scotland, Holland, Germany, Sweden and finally Helsinki, Finland on June 10th. The band will then return to North America on June 21st and continue the final leg of their successful Clockwork Angels tour with eighteen dates across the U.S. and Canada. For a complete list of the tour dates on the Clockwork Angels tour, click HERE . And for those who prefer to be spoiled, you can check out all the set list changes during the tour via this LINK . For all the fans attending the European shows, have a great time! Related News Stories [ Rush and the Jersey Shore - First Leg of the 2013 Clockwork Angels Tour Ends T

It was back in April when the news broke that Rush's original drummer and co-founding member John Rutsey would be excluded from the band's induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Most fans found the news incredulous, citing that without John, there may very well never have been a band to induct. However some fans assumed Rutsey would be mentioned during the band's acceptance speech. Unfortunately, at least explicitly, that wasn't the case. Now, during an Alex Lifeson conversation with Chad Smith , the reasoning behind Rutsey's exclusion is somewhat explained: Lifeson: Yeah, I think if John was still around, I think an invitation would have gone to him, for sure. He's not, and it's nothing really to do with his family or anything. We did have another guitar player in the band. Smith: When? Lifeson: '71? Smith: What?! Lifeson: Yeah, Mitch Bossi. Smith: Mitch Bossi? Lifeson: Yeah, he was in the band for … Smith: The Mitch Bossi

Ahead of Rush's ten-date European tour which begins on May 22nd in Manchester, England, the British musician website MusicRadar.Com will be interviewing both Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson on Monday, May 20th and they are asking fans to submit questions for the event. From the MusicRadar.Com website: Have you got a burning question that you've always wanted to ask Alex Lifeson or Geddy Lee, but you never thought you'd get the chance to ask? Well, here at MusicRadar, we're in the business of getting you as close to your musical heroes as possible, and it doesn't get much closer than this. We'll be sitting down with the legendary Rush duo on Monday 20 May, and we're giving you the opportunity to have them answer your questions. The only stipulation is that you keep your questions focussed on the music and how they've made it - be that songwriting, recording, touring or gear - and we promise that we'll put the best questions to Geddy and Alex for you.

It has been a little less than a month since Rush was formally inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (Click HERE for pictures from the ceremony). The induction ceremony, which took place at the Nokia Center in Los Angeles, California, was not televised live but rather recorded for an HBO special presentation. That presentation is now set to air this Saturday, May 18th on HBO at 9pm EST. It will also air on HBO throughout the month, and will be available on HBO on Demand on May 19th. According to the HBO Listing , the special will run for nearly 3 hours compared to the nearly 5 hours that spanned the original ceremony. Obviously for Rush fans, the hope is that little or no Rush-related content is edited out of the aired presentation. A behind-the-scenes promotional video for the ceremony can be viewed below. Thanks to Carl Shelden for passing along the link of the promotional video. Related News Stories [ Time Stand Still: Rush Inducted into the Rock & Roll Ha

The Apple iTunes store has just released two digital-only Rush album collections spanning every studio and live album through 2007's Snakes & Arrows . In the first collection, Rush The Complete Mercury Years , the $79.99 package reflects all of the studio albums from Rush's debut piece in 1974 through the band's third live release A Show of Hands . This set also reflects the new 2112 Deluxe Edition as well as the "Working Man" 'vault edition' from 2008. The second collection, dubbed Rush: The Studio Albums 1989-2007 includes the studio albums from Presto through Snakes & Arrows , including Rush's EP Feedback . Neither Different Stages or Snakes & Arrows Live are included in this $49.99 collection. Each set is only available in digital form and have been mastered for iTunes . No word yet on the addition of any new artwork for these compilations.

Update (05/12/2013): Here's a LINK to the photos I snapped off in Atlantic City -- from the first row! Enjoy! Rush will take the stage tonight at the Mark G. Etess Arena located inside the Trump Taj Mahal Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey. This marks the second time the band has performed in Atlantic City; the first came during the Snakes & Arrows tour back on July 4th, 2008 . That show also took place in the Etess Arena. With tonight's show, Rush will end the first leg of their 2013 Clockwork Angels Tour . The band will break for 11 days before resuming the tour in Europe. The European leg will consist of ten dates between May 22nd and June 10th. The tour will have stops in England, Scotland, Holland, Germany, Sweden and Finland. Click HERE for a complete list of concert dates on this leg of the tour. By all accounts, the first leg of the Clockwork Angels tour has been nothing short of spectacular. All three members appear to be enjoying themselves immensely

A press release from MusicRadar.Com yesterday announced that a new podcast series with Red Hot Chili Peppers' Chad Smith will feature Alex Lifeson as the first guest. The poscast, which is titled In Conversation , will premiere next Monday, May 13th. From the press release : Multiple award winning and Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame inductee, Smith hasn't lost sight of what it's like to be a fan and last month, a few days before the legendary Canadian trio Rush were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, he indulged his inner prog rocker and joined iconic guitarist Alex Lifeson for a laugh-filled, leisurely dinner at the Sunset Marquis in West Hollywood, California. "The invisible interview -- that's what I call it," says Smith. "Friends, thoughts, information -- why do you do what you do? Admiration, respect, insight and maybe a surprise." In Conversation is not a traditional interview; it's an insight into the personal and professional

Last night, the fifth annual Revolver Golden Gods award show took place in Los Angeles where each of the members of Rush were nominated in the categories of "Best of" for their respective instruments. Unfortunately, Geddy, Alex and Neil all came up short. The results: Geddy lost the "Best Bassist Award" to Corey Taylor of Stone Sour & Slipknot Alex lost the "Best Guitarist Award" to John 5 of Rob Zombie and as a solo artist Neil lost the "Best Drummer Award" to Arejay Hale of Halestorm Rush are no strangers to the Golden Gods Awards. Last year, they were awarded the Ronnie James Dio Lifetime Achievement Award ; an award that Neil accepted in person on behalf of the band. As Rush are currently on tour, none of the band members were in attendance at the award show last night. Thanks to RushFanForever for the news.

Toronto Blue Jays fans who attend the team's May 2nd game against the Boston Red Sox at Toronto's Rogers Centre will have the chance to win an autographed baseball by none other than Geddy Lee; an avid baseball and Blue Jays fan (not to mention a season ticket holder). The give-away is part of the Rock & Roll Music Night: Rogers Centre will be rocking when we kick-off the first of 3 music nights with Rock & Roll! Be sure to visit us "Backstage" in our 200 Level Outfield starting from when gates open at 5:30 p.m. Fans will have the opportunity to take part in fun activities, enjoy rock & roll music and win great prizes! Don't forget to wear your best rock & roll look! For more information, click HERE .Thanks to Eric from Power Windows for the news.