Throughout their storied career, the members of Rush have received numerous accolades, awards, and recognitions. In addition to their lengthy list of musical awards and memberships in various “Halls of Fame”, Rush were the first rock band to be invested as officers of the Order of Canada. They received stars on both Canada's and Hollywood’s Walks of Fame, honorary PhDs, and, more recently, a trio of Capybara Pups housed at Toronto’s High Park Zoo were named after the band. Now, in another ‘first’ for the band, a newly-discovered trio of microbial species will be forever connected to Rush. Patrick Keeling, a professor of Microbial Evolution at the University of British Columbia recently informed me that three new species of have been formally named in honour of the members of Rush: Pseudotrichonympha leei, Pseudotrichonympha lifesoni, and Pseudotrichonympha pearti . The new species are large, single-celled organisms called “parabasalians” that live inside the guts of termites

A special guest appeared at the Big Sugar concert at the Danforth Music Hall in Toronto last night (November 24th). Alex Lifeson not only made an appearance at the show, he also performed on two songs with the Canadian rock band. Lifeson joined the band for their classic song Ride Like Hell as well as a fantastic cover of Led Zeppelin's Good Times Bad Times . Fellow Rush fan Steve Nudds , who was on hand at the concert, was able to record videos of both performances (see below). For more about Big Sugar, please visit their website at www.bigsugar.com Thanks to Joe Pesch and Steve Nudds for the news.

Fantoons, the creators of numerous, official Rush books, artwork, and other merchandise, have just announced their latest offering - a new book titled Where's Geddy, Alex & Neil? . The book retails for $21.12, and will be available in mid-December. More from the official announcement : This hardcover RUSH book is a LOT of FUN. We've crafted scenarios inspired by ALL Rush albums (studio & live) between the Rush (1st LP) until Hold Your Fire, packed with references and different levels of difficult, for everyone to have fun finding the greatest power trio on earth (whether they are Rush fans or not, everyone can play) The book is 12.5 x 9.5 inches! 38 pages and 14 Rush worlds: Rush, Fly by Night, Caress of Steel, 2112, Permanent Waves, Moving Pictures, and many more! People will be able to find Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart in their different 'fashions' through this crazy worlds that we've created for everyone to enjoy. Click HERE for ordering

In celebration of the 40th Anniversary of Rush's fifth studio album A Farewell to Kings , the band has been featured on the cover of PROG Magazine's December 2017 issue. Inside the issue, Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, and producer Terry Brown discuss - in length - the making of the classic 1977 album. Here's a snippet about the making of the album's title track: "So I'm playing the Minimoog outside and Neil's hitting the twinklies or whatever he was hitting off the front of that – he was always hitting something – and Alex is walking around this mic recording the opening to A Farewell to Kings, so it was quite fun. You can hear the Welsh birds singing in the background, unless they flew in from somewhere else – they could be accidentals, as they're called in the trade. "Farewell... was quite a different piece for us, because of the way the intro's structured, and then it comes in with a bang and there's this weird time signature going on.

Back in April, we first reported that Alex Lifeson would be appearing in the upcoming Trailer Park Boys Netflix series Out of the Park: USA . Alex also recorded a new song for the series called "Who's Got Yer Belly!?" Today, a new trailer for the series, which premieres on Friday, November 24th, was released which includes a quick snippet of Alex performing a rather interesting rendition of Rush's Tom Sawyer on his signature Gibson Les Paul guitar. Alex's appearance occurs at the 45-second mark of the trailer, which can be viewed below or directly at this LINK . Click HERE to access the show's official Netflix page. Thanks to Ed from RushIsABand for passing along the trailer link.

Over the years, Alex Lifeson has donated numerous original paintings to the Kidney Foundation of Canada's annual Brush of Hope charity auction. Last week, his painting for this year's auction fetched an impressive CAN $9,600! (US $7,574.56). Today, the Kidney Foundation has announced the availability of autographed prints of Alex's painting from last year's charity auction, titled Aquarium . From the news release: Rush Guitarist, Alex Lifeson, is a music legend. He is also an incredible visual artist. This is a rare opportunity to own one of his paintings at a very reasonable cost. Alex's original paintings regularly sell for thousands of dollars. He has been a regular contributor of original art to The Kidney Foundation of Canada's, "A Brush of Hope" project, where he receives hundreds of bids on his work. Now, The Kidney Foundation of Canada, Atlantic Branch and Canadian great, Alex Lifeson, have teamed up to produce another round of exclusive

Update: The auction has ended with the willing bid coming in at C $9,600! (US $7,574.56) Once again, as he has done over numerous years, Alex Lifeson has created a unique painting for the Kidney Foundation of Canada's annual Brush of Hope charity auction. This years painting, which Alex titled "20,000 Feet Over the Sea," is currently being auctioned off on Ebay.Ca at this LINK , and it's already off to a quick start. The auction ends on November 11th. To see a larger version of Alex's painting, click HERE or HERE . About the Brush of Hope Charity auction: Alex Lifeson, Don Cherry, Brent Butt, John Tavares, Barenaked Ladies, Alan Doyle, Mike Myers, John Meyer and Leonard Cohen are just a few of the celebrities who have taken up a brush to create an original masterpiece to help the millions of Canadians who are living with kidney disease or are at risk. Thanks to the generous support of our partners and the community, since 2006, A Brush of Hope has rais