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Rush To Bask In New Recognition?

It’s been said so many times. When it comes to the subject of Canadian rock trio Rush, people either love them or hate them. I suppose it is obvious to regular readers here that I categorize myself firmly among the former.

Many Rush fans feel that the group has never received the attention and recognition that they deserve. Some fans are particularly galled by the group’s omission from the Rock And Roll Hall of fame.

Times may be changing however, according to some recent comments by guitarist Alex Lifeson.

It was reported that Rolling Stone magazine, a publication that has not had the friendliest relationship with the Canadian rockers, has sent a reporter to Canada to spend four days with the group doing interviews, which makes Lifeson wonder if they are planning a cover story featuring the group.

"If they want to do a cover story on Rush, then something’s changing somewhere,” Lifeson says.

For more on this story, see the Providence Journal.

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Tags: Alex Lifeson, Rolling Stone Magazine, Rush

40 Years And No End In Sight For Rush

The Boston Phoenix recently published and article on Canadian rock trio Rush, long one of my favorite rock groups of all time.

Although many rock fans, myself included, feel that Rush was never given the attention they deserved, they have been quite successful selling millions of albums and touring in front of their loyal fans.

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Among the interesting quotes from the Phoenix article include this one: “We’re just concerned with playing well — even after 400 years of touring, we still discuss, you know, how we sucked last night, or how can we make that one song better, or with that song that we’ve played for 35 years, how the chorus could be played better. In some ways we’re overly focused on playing well, it’s the part that makes us feel best about what we do.”

As for how the group has managed to stay together for so long and seem to get along so well, they sum it up this way: “It’s nice — we don’t always agree, but we are able to, for some reason, be ridiculously considerate of each other. I don’t know, maybe it’s because our moms brought us up to be nice boys. It’s the reason we’ve been able to keep it together, to be, you know, the last working democracy.”

Tags: Boston Phoenix, Lee, Lifeson, Peart, Rush

Original Rush Drummer Dead At 55

Founding member and original Rush drummer John Rutsey died last weekend. He reportedly suffered a heart attack while sleeping. Rutsey also suffered from diabetes, which was cited as one of the reasons he left Rush back in 1974.

Rutsey teamed up with Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee in 1968 to form Rush and performed on the group’s first album, the self-titled Rush.

After leaving Rush, Rutsey drifted away from music and became involved in amateur body building competition.

Rutsey was replaced by Neil Peart who also assumed the role as the groups primary lyricist.

Rush went on to enjoy a successful decades-long career that continues today with the group currently on the road with the second half of their Snakes & Arrows tour.

Tags: John Rutsey, Rush

News From The World of Rush

It’s stuff like this that makes me glad I’m not a lawyer. A bit of news about Alex Lifeson’s troubles with the Collier County, Florida Sheriff’s Department has come to light recently and it appears to be some good news for his son Justin, who was also involved in the New Year’s Eve 2003 incident at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Naples, FL that gave birth to years of legal battles.

It is being reported that a federal appeals court has said that a lower court judge in Florida was wrong to dismiss a negligence claim by Alex Lifeson’s son, Justin Zivojinovich, against the hotel and their security manager on duty at the time of the December 31, 2003 altercation.

That sounds like good news for Justin Zivojinovich, but then the story goes on to report that an 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel upheld the dismissal of the rest of the claims brought by Lifeson and his son - including the contention that the Collier County deputies violated their civil rights by using excessive force.

In plain English, it looks like Lifeson’s son Justin had filed suit against the Ritz-Carlton and their security manager for allegedly leading police to expect trouble when they were called that fateful night, which led to an increased likelihood that hotel guests could be injured.

A lower court later dismissed that suit along with another that was filed against the Collier County Sheriff’s Department. Although this late news does not say Justin Zivojinovich’s suit will be reinstated, that sounds like a reasonable assumption. But, like I said, I’m not a lawyer.

In other Rush news, another interview with Alex Lifeson has surfaced where he talks about the group’s experience while recording their most recent album, Snakes & Arrows.

The group was said to be quite pleased with their scenic surroundings at Allaire Studios, just outside Woodstock, New York where they worked for six weeks on the album. In fact, they found the beautiful view from the glass-enclosed studio so inspiring, it helped to fuel the creation of two of the album’s instrumental numbers, "Hope" and "Malignant Narcissism"

For more details on the groups experience while recording Snakes & Arrows, see NewsOK.com.

Tags: Alex, Court, Justin, Lifeson, Rush, Zivojinovich

Rush Guitarist Alex Lifeson In Newspaper Interview

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In an interview that was conducted by telephone just before the start of the second half of their Snakes & Arrows tour, Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson discussed a number of topics of interest to Rush fans.

There is some talk about how surprised the group was to find out how popular they were in South America after performing in Brazil a few years ago.

The group seems to be enjoying as much or more popularity today than they ever have, with more younger fans showing up in the audience and creating hope for the continuing popularity of the Canadian trio.

Lifeson also spent a little time talking about the legal problems he became involved with following an incident at a Ritz Carlton hotel in Florida back in 2003, which has still not been resolved to Lifeson’s satisfaction.

The group’s drummer, Neil Peart, also comes up during the conversation with some attention given to his lyrics, which often reveal his feelings regarding faith and religion. Frankly, I’m surprised that there does not seem to be more controversy surrounding his lyrics given the strong feelings many people have for that subject.

The future of Rush is also discussed, which included some comments that suggested the group may take a break after the current tour and may or may not tour again in the future, although Lifeson admits that there has already been some talk of another tour between him and Geddy Lee.

Lifeson also has some kind words for Foo Fighters, whom he and Geddy Lee joined on stage recently for a surprise performance in Toronto.

There’s a lot more in the interview which can be read here, and includes a link to the audio from the original telephone conversation.

Tags: Alex Lifeson, interview, Rush