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Showing posts from October, 2014

Alex Lifeson Talks About Rush's Long-Lost Song "I’ve Been Runnin"

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With the upcoming release of Rush's R40 Box Set this November 10th, Radio.Com took the opportunity to sit down with Alex Lifeson to discuss the release and, in particular, the bonus disk which includes some rare and never-before-seen Rush performances: Tell me about the song “I’ve Been Runnin'”; not only had I never heard it, I’d never heard of it. John wrote the lyrics back then. Geddy and I would generally write the music. Sometimes we would have band rehearsals and it would be all three of us, but it was always difficult to work out songs like that. It was easier for us to work on the music together and then teach it to John and go from there. We still do that with Neil [Peart], in fact. John did write the lyrics in those days for the most part. It was so weird when he didn’t want us to use his lyrics on the first album when we started to record it. It was a very strange time for us, just before he left the band. But to be honest with you, I’d totally forgotten about “I’

Neil Peart's Time Machine / Clockwork Angels Tour Kit on Display at Just Drums in Toronto

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Update: Click HERE for a fantastic photo gallery of Neil's kit from this event. Roland Canada has just announced that Neil Peart's drum kit from Rush's Time Machine and Clockwork Angels tour will be on display at Just Drums in Toronto on November 15th. Neil's long-time drum tech, Lorne Wheaton, will be on hand at the event: ...Get your picture taken with Neil's kit, chat with Lorne, and learn how this Hybrid Kit all works. Join Roland Canada V-Drums Specialist Darren Schoepp at 1pm and 3pm for an Interactive Presentation that includes the history of Neil Peart and V-Drums, a detailed look at the technology of the Time Machine Kit, and a Q&A session with Darren and Lorne. Come see an exclusive custom TD-30KV Steam Punk themed V-Drums kit honoring Neil, and check out many other custom V-Drums finishes. Additional Experience: hands-on Hybrid kit demo stations, V-Drums test drive zone, one day V-Drums Contest, V-Drums Specialists demonstrations, and in-store

Alex Lifeson Participates in the 2014 Kidney Foundation's "A Brush of Hope" Charity Auction

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Update: Click HERE to access the auction of Alex's painting. As he has done numerous times in the past, Alex Lifeson has once again created a painting which will be auctioned off for this year's A Brush of Hope charity auction, an event sponsored by The Kidney Foundation of Canada . Last year's self-portrait submission fetched an impressive $7,600 at auction and given the subject matter of this year's entry , the bidding could certainly exceed that impressive mark. The 2014 Brush of Hope Masquerade Gala and silent auction took place last night at the Fredericton Convention Centre in Fredericton, NB. The live eBay auction kicks off today, October 31st at 12PM and will run through Sunday, November 9th. For the latest up-to-date information on the auction and other news, please make sure to follow A Brush of Hope's Facebook Page . Thanks to Ed from RushIsABand for passing along the news.

Geddy Lee to Perform in "An Evening Of Who Music" Benefit Concert

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The Who's Facebook Page has just announced an upcoming benefit concert in support of the Teenage Cancer Trust . According to the announcement , Geddy Lee will be among some of the "...best artists in the world all performing Who classics..." that evening: An evening of music in aid of Teenage Cancer Trust The house band for the evening is The Who's band featuring Simon Townshend, Zak Starkey, Pino Palladino, Billy Nicholls, Frank Simes, Loren Gold and John Coury, and they will be joined onstage by some of the best artists in the world all performing Who classics. Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder, Liam Gallagher, Ricky Wilson from the Kaiser Chiefs, Manic Street Preachers’ James Dean Bradfield, Geddy Lee from Rush , The Strypes, Brody Dalle, Tom Odell, Amy Macdonald, Andy Burrows and Rizzle Kicks as well more to be announced soon, have chosen their favourite WHO songs to perform in aid of Teenage Cancer Trust. The concert will take place on November 11th at the O2 Shepher

Grapes Under Pressure 3 Charity Event Update: Message from Geddy Lee and Photo Gallery Now Online

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Over the past month, both Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson were busy supporting the Grapes For Humanity charity organization, whose main focus is to provide a better quality of life for victims and survivors of disasters. Earlier this month, there was a charity auction that contained numerous Rush related items. The auction was a tremendous success and raised thousands of dollars for the cause. Geddy Lee recently posted a message at Rush.Com thanking all those who participated in the auction: On behalf of Alex, myself and the entire GUP team I'd like to say a huge ginormous THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH to all of our fans, friends, and followers who took the time and spent their hard earned money to support this Grapes Under Pressure 3 Ebay auction in support of Grapes for Humanity Canada. Your money will go a super long way to help rebuild health care facilities in the Philippines that were damaged or destroyed in the Haiyan Typhoon. You have helped a lot of people! Thank you all for

Miniature Replicas of Neil Peart's "Hockey Theme" and "Time Machine Tour" Drum Kits Now Available from Axe Heaven

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Over the years, Axe Heaven has produced a number of hand-crafted miniature guitars and drums from a variety of rock stars including a great collection for Rush. The company has just announced two new entries into their Rush collection - both replicas of two of Neil Peart's drum kits. The first miniature reproduction is of The Hockey Kit used by Neil Peart to record his version of "The Hockey Theme" for TSN's NHL broadcasts. Similar to the original, The Hockey Kit features the logos of the original six NHL teams. The second miniature reproduction is based on the kit Neil used during Rush's Time Machine and Clockwork Angesl tours. Click here to view the kit in more detail. Each AXE HEAVEN® ornamental replica drum set is about a 1:4 scale and is individually handmade from solid wood & metal parts. Each bass drum is approximately 3.5” in width and comes complete with all the parts shown (minimal assembly required). These beautifully handcrafted min

Geddy Lee Featured in "The Mind of the Baseball Collector" Documentary

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Airing on Monday, October 13th at 7pm on Canada's SportsNet is a documentary titled "The Mind of the Baseball Collector" which features, among other baseball collecting enthusiasts, Geddy Lee: The Mind of the Baseball Collector looks at the addictive world of sports memorabilia collecting. The past comes to life through the collections and stories of: rock legend Geddy Lee, eclectic collector and lawyer Allan Stitt and the Guinness Book of World Records holder of the most autographed baseballs, Dennis Schrader. "The Mind of the Baseball Collector" marks the final edition in a series of baseball documentaries produced by Fadoo Productions ; the same production company behind some of the more recent Rush concert films. Geddy's love of baseball is well known. In 2008 he donated nearly 200 autographed baseballs to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and, more recently, he purchased the film rights to Dave Bidini's Baseballissimo . A short trailer for th

Far and Near: An Interview with Neil Peart

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In connection with the release of his latest book, Neil Peart recently sat down with Phil Simon for an interview that has now been published in the Huffington Post : From a very early age, I've been a fan of the Canadian trio Rush. I recently had a chance to sit down with Neil Peart, the band's longtime drummer and lyricist. A prolific writer, Peart has just published Far and Near: On Days Like These, his latest collection of observations and stories. He was kind enough to send me a signed copy and I've been poring through it. Like his other texts, one not need to be a Rush fan to appreciate Peart's story telling. It's a beautiful text, rife with interesting photos, anecdotes, and factoids, as well as the occasional political commentary. For instance, the 2013 government shutdown of national parks nearly derailed Peart's travel plans. Click HERE to read the entire interview. Additionally, before conducting the interview with Neil, Phil was asking fans for

Neil Peart News, Weather, and Sports Update - October 2014 - "Science Island"

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After skipping over September, Neil Peart has returned with a new update to his "News, Weather, and Sports" website blog with an October 2014 entry titled Science Island . Neil begins this entry talking about his time spent in the Laurentian Mountains of Quebec; a location he has vacationed in for thirty-four years (and counting) of his life. He reveals that his favorite spot in the world is Lac St. Brutus, a lake which has four major islands, each about an acre in size, one of which Neil owned for a number of years: "...For all of August (the heart of summer, just as February is the heart of winter) I was fortunate to be at the lake, with Carrie and Olivia joining me for two weeks in the middle. (Leaving a solitary “reading week” on each side—hurray!) Nearly every day, five-year-old Olivia and I liked to venture out on the lake in our small electric boat, or in my sleek rowboat, and we often stopped at that little island. While pulling the boat up on the rocky shore,

Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson Donate Numerous Items for Grapes Under Pressure 3 Charity Ebay Auction

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Rush.com recently announced that Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson have once again donated some incredible Rush-related items for the Grapes for Humanity Canada charity organization: "...Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson will launch the most rock memorabilia on eBay as part of their Grapes Under Pressure 3 initiative in support of Grapes for Humanity, an organization that helps to raise funds to benefit humanitarian causes around the world with the assistance of the international wine community. Included in this auction will be a wide range of rare, vintage & autographed Rush items! We’ve already unveiled Geddy’s shoes worn on the R30 tour and the awesome 1980’s era Rush road case. These items and more start rolling out at 6pm ET until 10pm ET tonight, so check back in to see what other goodies get revealed and make your bid! The auction closes in 10 days on October 13. View the GUP3auction items here: www.ebay.ca/sch/grapes4humanity and BID!. ALL proceeds will be directed to G

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