As a follow-up to his 2011 book FAR and AWAY: A Prize Every Time , Neil Peart and ECW Press will be publishing Far and Near: On Days Like These . The book currently has a release date of October 14th, 2014. Whether navigating the backroads of Louisiana or Thuringia, exploring the snowy Quebec woods, or performing onstage at Rush concerts, Neil Peart has stories to tell. His first volume in this series, Far and Away , combined words and images to form an intimate, insightful narrative that won many readers. Now Far and Near brings together reflections from another three years of an artist’s life as he celebrates seasons, landscapes, and characters, travels roads and trails, receives honors, climbs mountains, composes and performs music. With passionate insight, wry humor, and an adventurous spirit, once again Peart offers a collection of open letters that take readers on the road, behind the scenes, and into the inner workings of an ever-inquisitive mind. These popular stories, ori

According to a press release from earlier today, the Music Rights Management Company ole has purchased Core Music, the 40-year home of Rush’s music publishing, and will manage the music publishing affairs of the band for the foreseeable future. From the press release : Says ole Chairman and CEO Robert Ott, “ole is very honored to have been chosen by Rush to manage their incredible living legacy and to be a partner in their ongoing creative journey in music publishing. ole looks forward to working hard to ensure that Rush’s music continues to find new and wider audiences.” Geddy Lee, singer/bassist of Rush, said, “We are pleased with the news of Core Music's deal with ole and happy that our publishing will be handled by a Canadian company with worldwide expertise.” “With the changing times in the music business, the responsibilities of a publisher have become much more complex. This deal will allow me to devote my time and energy to managing the live touring and recording as

As most fans know, Geddy Lee has a passion for many things in life beyond music. His love and appreciation of wine has led the Rush front man to amass a collection of over 5,000 bottles. Another one of his passions is, of course, baseball. Geddy can often be seen attending the home games of his beloved Toronto Blue Jays, and he has an impressive baseball collection as well. One of Geddy's most prized possession is a rare, autographed baseball which includes the signatures of many major league baseball players who are part of the 3,000 hit club. As the New York Yankee's short-stop Derek Jeter is also among that exclusive club, Geddy is attempting to get his signature, as well as Ichiro Suzuki's autograph, added to the baseball. An article from the St. Louis Post-Dispath explains: A baseball that might be unlike any other in the world is visiting Busch Stadium this week in hopes to add to more signatures to the elite group already on its hide. The owner of the ball

It's been several years since a Rush album or video has been certified Gold or better from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) . The last time any Rush album or video was recognized was back in September of 2010 when several concert films and the band's Beyond the Lighted Stage documentary were awarded numerous Gold and Platinum certifications. The four-year drought ended earlier this month when the organization awarded five new certifications to the last two Rush concert films that were released. On May 14th of this year, Rush's Time Machine 2011: Live in Cleveland concert film received a Gold, Platinum and 2-X Platinum certification while their last concert film (to date) Clockwork Angels Tour received a Gold and Platinum certification. According to the RIAA, a GOLD certification equates to 50,000 video unit sales while a PLATINUM certification equates to 100,000 video unit sales (both within the United States). If you're interested in seei

While Rush may be taking a well-deserved break in 2014, Rush fans the world over are continuing to celebrate the music of their favorite Canadian band by holding Rush Fan Conventions throughout the year. This past Saturday, RushFest Scotland held their convention at the at the Dreadnought Rock club in Scotland. The full day convention was filled with Rush-themed events culminating in a 2-hour set from Scotland's premier Rush tribute band Moving Pictures . The convention also had a charity auction which raised an impressive £3,134.58 for the MacMillan Cancer Support . For more information and pictures from the event, check out the official RushFest Scotland website and Facebook Page . The next fan convention taking place this year is RatCon 2014 ; a smaller, more intimate convention that is limited to 100 guests. RatCon has been around since 2009, with the previous conventions taking place in Maryland. This year's convention, which will take place on July 11th and 12t

Though Rush had been performing live as a group for six years, the band never ventured south of the Canadian border until they were invited to join a number of other groups for a music festival at the North Side Drive-In in North Lansing, Michigan. The music event, which took place on this date in 1974, was supposed to be massive, with thousands expected to attend. Unfortunately, due in part to unfavorable weather conditions, only about 1,300 people showed up. Among the other bands who performed that day was Liverpool; a Beatles cover band that was also managed by Rush's then (and current) manager Ray Danniels. In celebration of Rush's 40th Anniversary of their first concert date in the U.S., DJ Duran Martinez from Classic Rock 94.4FM posted the following article about the concert and presents and old concert photo from the event that was uncovered by Rush fan Wayne Rood. Wayne and Duran have asked that other fans converge on the old drive-in theater today, located on

Update (05/21/2014): The SACD version of Presto is now set for release on June 17th. It can be pre-ordered at Amazon.Com via this LINK . Audio Fidelity has just announced the pending release of the fourth Rush album in their SACD (Super Audio CD) format. This time around, Rush's first album during their Atlantic Record days Presto will receive the audiophile-approved treatment. While no release date was stated at the Audio Fidelity website , the album's retail price was listed at $29.99 Previous SACD treated Rush albums include Hemispheres and Counterparts , both of which were released last year and Roll The Bones which was first made available in 2011. The SACD format, or Super Audio CD was first introduced back in 1999 as a successor to the audio CD; claiming to offer a better audio dynamics, more channels (e.g. surround sound), and a longer playing time than a standard CD. While the format never gained much traction, a small market still exists, serving the au

On the heels of last week's release of the 40th Anniversary re-release of Rush's debut album , Rush has re-entered the Billboard Top 200 Album Charts at position #127. When the band's debut album was first released, it peaked on the charts at position #105 and remained in the Top 200 for a total of 13 weeks, although its not clear if those 13 weeks were consecutive. About the re-issue: The Re-discovered vinyl is encased in a 12 x 12 high quality box. Pressed on audio-phile 200 gram vinyl on the Direct Metal Mastering process, this is the highest quality vinyl currently available. This release contains a re-production of the original 1974 Canadian retail poster (only 500 were ever originally printed) and individual Moon Records publicity photos of Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson & original drummer John Rutsey. This release also contains a first time ever Rush Family Tree, tracing origins of the band dating back to 1965 and a memorabilia collage of early Canadian and U