With the release date of Rush's forthcoming Clockwork Angels Tour concert film rapidly approaching (it's due out on November 19th), the Rush Backstage Club along with Rush.Com have just announced a special, limited edition deluxe package version of the concert film. From the Backstage Club: The Rush Clockwork Angels Tour - Limited Edition Deluxe Package is a Rush.com exclusive available from Rush Backstage Club. Packaged in a LP size casebound portfolio book, this limited edition set contains the Rush Clockwork Angels 3 CD set, DVD (2 disc) and Blu-Ray (1 disc). In addition, this package contains a 36 page tourbook unique to this set. This release is strictly limited and each unit is numbered out of 5000. The special edition lists for $99.99 and, as indicated above, is limited to a run of just 5,000 copies. Those not interested in the deluxe edition can still pre-order the standard editions via the links below: 2-disc DVD Blu-Ray 3-disc CD Thanks to GeddyWannaBe fo...

Update (11/04/2013): The auction is over and Alex Lifeson's self-portrait fetched an amazing $7,600 for charity! Congratulation to the winner! Alex Lifeson has taken to the canvas again, painting an interesting self-portrait which he has donated to the Kidney Foundation's 2013 A Brush of Hope Charity Auction. Alex has been participating in the annual auction for several years now, with the exception of last year due to the timing of the Clockwork Angels tour. Lifeson's artwork, along with the donated works from dozens of other Canadian celebrities, will be auctioned off to raise money for the Brush of Hope charity. The auction, which is being held on Ebay.ca is now underway and will run through November 3rd. To access the auction for Alex's painting, click HERE . And to view a larger version of Alex's painting, click HERE . Additional information on the Kidney Foundation can be found HERE while specific information on the A Brush of Hope charity event i...

It's been about nine months since the last update to Cygnus-X1.Net's Rush: A Brief History of Time ; an ever-increasing archive of articles, interviews, reviews and advertisements about Rush that span every decade from the 70's onward and collected from the world over. In this eleventh installment, 98 new articles and advertisements have been added; 14 from the 1970's, 50 from the 1980's, 15 from the 1990's, 6 from the 2000's and 13 from the current 2010 decade. This installment includes what may be the earliest mentions of Rush in Billboard Magazine - from 1973! Heavy emphasis on the release of Power Windows is reflected within many of the 80's articles while some insightful interviews with Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson about their respective solo albums is also included. Below is a sample of this eleventh installment. To check out the entire segment, click HERE . To check out all eleven installments of Rush: A Brief History of Time, including a ...

What do you get when you combine Dancing With the Stars with Ice Hockey? The answer is simple - you get Battle of the Blades ; a Canadian figure skating reality show from the CBC that brings two very different styles of skaters together: hockey players are paired with prominent figure skaters to perform figure skating routines. This past Sunday's show had figure skater Amanda Evora and her Ice Hockey partner Scott Thornton perform to Rush's classic song Closer to the Heart . The following YouTube Video Clip has the pair discussing the song selection and also includes their performance to Closer to the Heart . For more information on Battle of the Blades and to vote for Amanda and Scott, click HERE . Thanks to Ed from RushIsABand for the news.

While nothing has been officially announced yet, it appears that Rush's upcoming Clockwork Angels Tour DVD will make its theatrical debut on November 18th. The concert film showed up on a listing for several Goodrich Quality Theaters ; a chain of 30 movie theaters, headquartered in Grand Rapids, MI. Additional listings are also available on MovieFone as well as Fandango , however showtimes are still not available. We'll have more information on this news as it becomes available. The Clockwork Angels Tour Video will be released on November 19th and can be pre-ordered via the links below: 2-disc DVD Blu-Ray 3-disc CD Thanks to Joe Pesch for the news. Related News Stories [ New VH-1 Interview: Rush’s Geddy Lee Talks About New Live Recording - October 17th, 2013] [ Clockwork Angels Tour Video Premiere - 'The Garden' Now Online - October 17th, 2013] [ Rush's Clockwork Angels Tour DVD Coming November 19th - Pre-Order Today! - September 16th, 2013] [ ...

VH-1 has just posted a new interview with Geddy Lee where Rush's frontman discusses the band's upcoming Clockwork Angels Tour DVD . From the article: since the release of 1976’s All The World’s A Stage, Rush has been thrilling fans with their live albums which have come out at regular intervals throughout their long career. The recent Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame inductees have used these recordings as bookends to their many different musical eras and to put their unparalleled musicianship on full display. The band is now poised to release the Clockwork Angels Tour which features performances from their 11 month 2012 tour which featured songs from the acclaimed album of the same name and rarely performed classics from their past. Rush singer and bassist Geddy Lee sat down with VH1 to talk about the new album and what place live records hold in the Rush legacy. To read the entire interview, click HERE . The Clockwork Angels Tour Video will be released on November 19th and ca...

Update: (10/28/2013): Click HERE for the track premiere of 2112. Rush have just released a preview of their upcoming Clockwork Angels Tour Video . The preview track is a stellar version of The Garden . Rolling Stone Magazine has also released the video premiere with an accompanying article at this LINK . From the article: When Rush hit the road last year to support their new album, Clockwork Angels, they decided to do something they'd never done before: invite additional musicians onto their stage. The new material had been recorded with a string section, and they wanted to do the album justice by bringing an eight-piece string ensemble on the road. The tour – which featured a ton of 1980s tunes the band hadn't played in ages – was a huge success, and they recorded a show in Dallas for a DVD and CD that hits shelves on November 19th. (Click here to pre-order the DVD.) Here, you can watch an exclusive preview clip of the band playing "The Garden," the grand fin...

Update: Jacob has uploaded the entire version of Limelight . Click HERE to have a listen. Back in 2008, Canadian musician Jacob Moon performed an acoustic version of Rush's classic single Subdivisions on the rooftop of the Staircase Theatre in Hamilton, ON. The video performance quickly went viral among Rush circles and garnered universal praise. Jacob included his version of Subdivisions on his album The Loop . Jacob's has been working on his next release, titled Fascination , which will include another Rush cover; Limelight . A preview clip of Jacob's performance of this seminal Rush classic has just been made available on SoundCloud . Limelight was recorded with The David Barrett Trio, a band who worked with none other than Alex Lifeson in the production of their debut album. There is a video discussion between Jacob and David about the recording of Limelight and working with Rush's guitarist. To pre-order a copy of Jacob's Fascination CD, please ...

Rush's sound engineer Richard Chycki, whose work includes Snakes & Arrows album and the release of Moving Pictures 5.1 , discusses working with the band, as well as numerous other acts, in a new interview posted at MusicRadar . Richard had this to say about working with Rush: “I got a call from Rush’s management in 2004 when they were doing a charity event in Canada. I was asked to do the recording and mixing for the TV broadcast. We had a lot of chemistry. They’re all really funny guys. We spent the time just laughing our faces off. "A few months later, Al Lifeson asked me to mix their new R30 DVD. In the nine years since then, we’ve had 26 platinum and gold sales awards for all of the DVDs and albums we’ve done. Their main mantra at this point is to continue putting out music for their fans – they have done everything. “The first time I really got to know Neil [Peart] was on Snakes And Arrows. He was warming up on his kit and I was setting up microphones. When the...

Rush.Com have just announced that the final track from their Clockwork Angels album “The Garden” will be released as a special 10" Picture Disc single on Black Friday (November 29th). From the announcement : After a successful campaign last year for Record Store Day, Rush is again partnering with independent retail for an exclusive 10” picture disc for Black Friday – November 29th. The 10” includes two versions of “The Garden” – the closing track from 2012’s Clockwork Angels. Side A features the studio version from the album, while Side B includes a live version of the song with the Clockwork Angels String Ensemble taken from the upcoming live release Clockwork Angels Tour. Designed by Crankbunny (Norma V. Toraya), the 10” features artwork from her stunning animated screen projections shown during the performance of The Garden during the Clockwork Angels tour. This special 10” will be limited and available only for this special celebration of independent music retailers. F...

Update (10/20/2013): In its second week on the charts, Vapor Trails Remixed has dropped precipitously, landing in the #137 position on the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart. The release of the remixed version of Rush's Vapor Trails has propelled the album back on to the Billboard Charts , coming in at #35. When Vapor Trails was first released back in 2002, the come-back album for the band peaked at position #6 on the charts. Vapor Trails Remixed also landed on the #9 spot in Billboard's Top Rock Albums chart, #9 on Billboard's Tastemaker Albums chart and #3 on Billboard's Hard Rock Albums chart. In other Vapor Trails Remixed news, David Bottrill, the man behind the remixed version of the album, discussed the process in this interview with PopDose . Haven't ordered your copy of Vapor Trails Remixed yet? You can do so via the links below. Vapor Trails Remix Vapor Trails Remix (Vinyl 2-LP, 180 gram) Thanks to Michael Lynch for the news. Related News S...

Rolling Stone Magazine has just posted a new interview/article with Geddy Lee titled Geddy Lee Dives Into Rush's Video Timeline . In the article, Rush's front man chats about some of the band's most memorable music videos and fashion statements. From the article: Geddy Lee is the first to admit that Rush do not have a great track record when it comes to making music videos, and their track record of picking stylish haircuts and outfits also leaves a bit to be desired. A few weeks ago, he sat down with Rolling Stone to discuss Rush's new live DVD and their future plans. Towards the end, we took out an iPad and showed him 10 Rush videos on YouTube. Sometimes, he looked a little horrified at his videos and haircuts, but he had a lot to say about all of them... The article includes links to various YouTube videos, including some great earlier videos for Working Man, Anthem, La Villa Strangiato and more. To read through the entire article, click HERE .

DrumsForCures, Inc. DRUMSTRONG , an organization that sponsors events which raise awareness and funds for cancer programs globally, is currently holding a special charity auction. The item being auctioned off is a 14" drum head which was mounted on Neil Peart's original 1974 chrome Slingerland kit (affectionately known as "Chromey"). This head is not only autographed by Neil himself, but also by 18 celebrity drum artists who played on this drum head at PASIC in Indianapolis in 2009. The auction runs through October 16th. Bids for the drum head can be made via this Ebay Page . Thanks to Tom Bronkema for the news.

The November 2013 issue of Classic Rock Magazine includes a one-page feature on Alex Lifeson in the magazine's Heavy Load: Heavy Questions for Heavy Rockers column. The very atypical interview touches upon a variety of topics including Alex's religious beliefs (or lack thereof), drugs, his run-in with the police during his infamous New Years Eve party in 2003 and more. One Rush-related question was asked: What, to you, are the worst songs that Rush ever recorded? Tai Shan [from 1987's Hold Your Fire ] is one of the worst, easily. And Panacea [part of the epic The Fountain of Lamneth from 1975's Caress of Steel ]. It was an attempt at something that really didn't work out. It was ... innocent. You can read the entire article at this LINK . Thanks to Ed from RushIsABand for the news and article scan.

A new six-part documentary titled Walk the Walk will be airing on Global TV on Saturday October 12th at 10:00 pm. This special series focuses on the work being done by community heroes; celebrating their efforts by surprising each of them with a very special gift; a visit from one of Canada's Walk of Fame superstars. Neil Peart will be one of those heroes, visiting Karl Sloman. From the Walk The Walk Facebook page : NEIL PEART & KARL SLOMAN Saturday October 12th - 10:00 p.m - Global TV Karl Sloman is a drummer and music teacher who is innovative and giving. He broke the world record for continuous drumming by playing for 60 hours to benefit a Children’s Care Centre. Karl is passionate about teaching special needs students and leads a band of disabled musicians called Train Wreck. He invents and builds specialized electronic instruments for his students to play. Neil Peart, drummer with the band Rush, is one of Karl’s biggest influences and heroes. Neil is widely rec...

Over the years, Rush have been awarded numerous Gold and Platinum certifications from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for their millions of album sales within the United States. The band also received similar awards from the Music Canada Association as well as the British Recorded Music Industry (BPI) . While it has been quite a number of years since Rush have received any new album certifications from the RIAA, though they have received several for their video sales, the band has received a few new certifications from Music Canada and the BPI. On June 27th, their latest album Clockwork Angels received a GOLD certification from Music Canada, indicating sales of at least 40,000 units. Then on July 22nd, the BPI awarded a SILVER certification for 2112 , indicating sales of at least 60,000 units in the U.K. as well as a SILVER certification for their compilation album The Spirit of Radio: Greatest Hits . The BPI also awarded a PLATINUM certification (sa...

Sound engineer Any VanDette, who was responsible for remastering most of Rush's back catalogue, discusses both the new Studio Albums 1989-2007 box set along with the remixed version of Vapor Trails in a new interview posted at The Masterdisk Record . From the interview: Q: Can you compare the experience of re-mastering the Mercury catalog to the Atlantic albums? Andy: Being the cutting edge technology band that Rush is, they were one of the first to embrace digital recording. Pushing the envelope to record 44.1 Khz 16 bit in the late 80′s seems a little short sighted today, but that probably felt pretty close to the cutting edge then. Early digital sounded very clear, but also very thin. I wish there had been analog safety copies of “Test for Echo”. Q: Which do you think improved the most? Andy: Well… “Vapor Trails” of course. I see why they had a hard time remastering the original mixes. So much of their energy is in the bottom octave 20-40Hz. You can roll it off, but...