Transcript: "Rush'N Around" - Beat Instrumental, April 1978

My latest transcript is an extensive article from late in the Drive Til You Die tour. From the April 1978 issue of the UK's Beat Instrumental magazine, "Rush'N Around" includes all three members of Rush interviewed to discuss their touring equipment setup. Note this comment: "Alex too has been out shopping for guitars. His original Gibson double-neck was smashed in transit to New York, and he now sports a bright new white version of the guitar. His beloved 335, which he has owned since the beginning of the band in 1968, was damaged in the same accident, which is why Alex was playing his 355 instead for most of the tour." The article includes the sidebar "Rush Equipment List - European Tour 1978". - Thanks to Joe Pesch for the original article!

Transcript: "Q Reissues: 2112 Deluxe Edition" - Q, February 2013

Two years ago today, the 2112 Deluxe Edition was released.  What did you think of the overall reissue and repackaging?  Here's a transcript of a short review of the 2112 Deluxe Edition, from the February 2013 issue of Q magazine. You'll note the author has likely not read any Ayn Rand...

Rush R40 Desktop Wallpaper and Desktop Theme

Rush's R40 40th Anniversary Collection was released November 11th.  It has taken some time, but I've finally added 37 new wallpaper images to "The Rush Art Gallery" page, and in addition, I have put all the images together into one downloadable wallpaper pack and added it to the Desktop Themes for Windows page. - A huge thanks to John Patuto at Cygnus-X1 for sharing his raw scans!

Transcript: 'An Ongoing Evolution In The Rush Forward' - Hartford Courant, December 12, 1991

23 years ago today, Rush played the Hartford Civic Center on the Roll The Bones tour. My latest transcript was published the day before; 'An Ongoing Evolution In The Rush Forward' is a long lost interview with Neil Peart where he talks about some of the themes of the album, i.e. fate and chance.

Model Maker Scott Alexander comments on the Hold Your Fire street scene

A big thanks to reader Wayne Bryan who sent along this exchange with Scott Alexander, model maker of the street scene from the Hold Your Fire linernotes:

"The street scene for that cover was close to 4 feet wide. The foreground was 1:12 scale and the background, on the right, was 1:24 scale. I can't remember how long it took to build, but I built most of it in the very tiny apartment I had at the time. The foreground building was made of thin plywood and doll-house brick material that came in sheets. The diner and the building it was part of were made from standard architectural modeling materials. The car was a kit, with tail-lights lit up. The alley to the left of the foreground building was actually some other 1:12 scale fronts that had been made for a poster promoting Yamaha musical instruments. Hugh cut out the cat from some black paper and sanded the edges to give it some fur that would catch the light! The wet surface of the street was simply paint thinner poured onto the model. I really enjoyed working with 'Glugh' (Glen [Wexler, photographer] and Hugh [Syme] - pronounced "Glue". They made it up, not me!) They are both very pleasant, creative guys who only work to get the job done in the most professional way. I think they were unique in using miniatures to achieve these album covers and the results were always interesting and very striking. I miss working with them." - Scott Alexander, January 14, 2009

Transcript: "Guitar Heroes - Alex Lifeson" - Circus, January 2, 1979

Today's transcript addition is from the January 2nd, 1979 issue of Circus Weekly, which included a story featuring various "guitar heroes", including this one page segment on Alex Lifeson written by David Fricke.

Transcript: "Geddy Lee On 'The World's Most Popular Underground Band'" - Faces, May 1986

My latest transcript addition is a part one of an interview with Geddy Lee promoting Power Windows. In "Geddy Lee On 'The World's Most Popular Underground Band'", from the May 1986 issue of Faces magazine, Ged talks about the improvements made since Grace Under Pressure, and what a great experience they had recording Power Windows.

Transcript: "Rush Test For Echo Tour Resumes In May" - MTV News, May 1, 1997

Here's an interesting news update from MTV News published just six days before the second leg of the Test For Echo tour resumed on May 7, 1997: "Rush Tour Resumes In May" explains that the band was in rehearsals in San Bernadino, California, and also announces the remaining tourdates and that the Mercury Rush Remasters were to be released on May 6th.

Transcript: 'Hard Rock Cafe Glows' - Toronto Star, November 27, 2001

Thirteen years ago today, honored guest Geddy Lee threw the switch to light up the giant electric guitar outside the newly renovated Hard Rock Cafe in Toronto's Dundas Square.  City leaders hoped the renovation would be the dawn of the revitalization of Toronto's busiest intersection. Read more in my latest transcript, 'Hard Rock Cafe Glows', from the November 27, 2001 edition of the Toronto Star.

Transcript: 'Rush's Long Road To Triumph In Rio' - London Independent, December 12, 2003

12 years ago today, Rush performed at Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - lovingly remembered as "Rush In Rio". Following the release of the concert film the following year, London's "Independent" newspaper published my latest transcript, 'Rush's Long Road To Triumph In Rio', which recounts the band's history from August 1997 through that amazing night in Rio five years later.

Transcript: 'Rush Climbs Rock Of Ages' - Washington Post, May 4, 1990

Rush's Presto was released 25 years ago today, and to celebrate I've transcribed "Rush Climbs Rock Of Ages", an interview with Neil Peart from the May 4, 1990 issue of the Washington Post. Peart discusses Rush's then-15 year career, as well as the tour in support of Presto.

Transcript: 'Clockwork Angels Tour - Review' - Modern Drummer, April 2014

It has already been a year since the release of Rush's Clockwork Angels Tour live video and album.  To mark the occasion I have transcribed a short review of the 'Clockwork Angels Tour video from the April 2014 issue of Modern Drummer. Critic Asif Khan gives it 4 out of 5 stars. - Thanks to Heiko Klages for the original clipping.

Transcript: R40 Linernotes and Essay

Rush's R40 40th Anniversary Collectors Box Set was released yesterday.  Click here for the linernotes, including a new essay written for this collection by music journalist Martin Popoff. - Thanks to John Patuto for sharing the transcript!

Transcript: "Canadian Rock and U.S. Rock Similar, Peart Says" - The Grand Rapids Press, November 7, 1982

My latest transcript was published 32 years ago today, on November 7th, 1982, in advance of their Kalamazoo, Michigan appearance on the Signals tour.  From the Grand Rapids Press, "Canadian Rock and U.S. Rock Similar, Peart Says" is an exclusive interview with Neil Peart, where he strikes down the myth that Canadian rock is special, and states "what happens musically in Canada is essentially the same in the U.S...I mean if they got rid of the 49th parallel, I'd just as soon join up with the U.S." He goes on to talk about how other Canadian bands had "sold out", and also gives his critique of other drummers of the era. - Thanks to RushFanForever for providing the article.

Transcript: "Rush: Carrying The Prog Rock Torch" - Faces, July 1986

Rush's Power Windows was released 29 years ago today!  My latest transcript addition is an interview with Geddy Lee given the day after the release of Power Windows, although "Rush: Carrying The Prog Rock Torch" didn't appear in print until the following summer, in the July 1986 issue of Faces magazine. Geddy discusses the dark days during the Grace Under Pressure tour when he wasn't sure the band would continue, and how the positive recording experience of Power Windows with Peter Collins had revitalized the band.

Transcript: "A Rush Of Sound!" - Music Canada Quarterly, March 1975

Here's another fresh transcript to celebrate R40!  While the general early history of the band Rush is fairly widely known, many of the specifics have lost focus over time. Here then is an article which contains many of those early details. "A Rush Of Sound!" from the March 1975 issue of Music Canada Quarterly tells us Geddy's favorite courses in high school, that while Geddy and Neil dropped out of high school, Alex was a Grade 12 honor grad (one of his lavish jokes!), and that as has been suspected over time, "there are a number of small rather unsuccessful bar bands playing the U.S. who are also named Rush" (which might explain the ticketstub showing a Rush opening for Genesis in '73!). The writer prophetically states "'Not Fade Away'...for Rush fans this original single will become a collector's item in the years ahead", but does given the false impression that Terry Brown first came into the picture when mixing the debut single (he actually first met them during the production of the debut album).

Transcript: "Rush Release" - Melody Maker, May 5, 1984

My latest transcript is from the May 5, 1984 issue of UK's Melody Maker magazine.  "Rush Release" is an interview with Geddy Lee which opens with "Rush are in London to shoot videos for a selection of cuts from their new album, 'Grace Under Pressure'." Yeah, this was during MTV's peak. The writer goes on to describe p/g as "Simple Minds meets Led Zeppelin merging into a techno-rock U2," a description which Geddy seems to like.

Transcript: "Spirit Of Rush Reborn" - Toronto Sun, May 6, 2007

The week Snakes & Arrows was released, Geddy Lee appeared on the cover of the Toronto Sun's "ENT" Entertainment supplement. In the feature story "Spirit Of Rush Reborn: Fresh, Back-To-Basics Approach Breathes New Life Into Band", Geddy talks about the keys to making Rush sound "fresh", meeting with Nick Raskulinecz for the first time, and later finding out what a "stealth" Rush fan he really was. - Thanks to John Patuto for the transcript!

Transcript: 'Rush - Heavy Metal Makes For Platinum' - RPM Weekly, March 14, 1981

Rush appeared on the cover of the March 14, 1981 issue of Canada's RPM magazine (Canada's equivalent to Billboard). In the cover story 'Rush - Heavy Metal Makes For Platinum', the author copiously uses material supplied from Neil Peart via the Moving Pictures tourbook, but unfortunately misinterprets the content at the same time.

Transcript: "Burning For Buddy" - Downbeat, November 1994

This past Saturday marked the 20th Anniversary of the release of Burning For Buddy, Vol. I.  My latest transcript is "Burning For Buddy: Seventeen Drummers Tackle Big-Band Charts In Tribute To Buddy Rich" from the November 1994 issue of the drummer's magazine, Downbeat. The article includes comments from Neil Peart and his co-producer Cathy Rich, as well as a few comments from some of the other drummers regarding the project and Buddy Rich. - Thanks to Joe Pesch for the original article!