Available December 4th, Guitar World Magazine’s “Guitar Legends” edition will be devoted to Rush. The issue will include an interview with Neil Peart, private lessons from Alex Lifeson, transcriptions and more.
Classic Rock Magazine held their third annual awards show this past Monday. The ceremony at London’s über-posh Landmark Hotel was awash with rock royalty. Winners of the Prog persuasion included:
DVD Of The Year: Frank Zappa Classic Albums
Band Of The Year: Rush
Album Of The Year: Porcupine Tree – Fear Of A Blank Planet
RushIsABand, god bless them, has posted a really cool video from 1993. It’s Neil Peart interviewing Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien for MuchMusic. Visit RIAB for more daily Rush goodness.
RushIsABand is reporting that filmmaker Sam Dunn, the creative force behind the heavy metal documentary Metal: A Headbanger’s Journey, has received the band’s blessing to produce a documentary. Playbackmag.com has just posted a story on the project:
Boutique distributor Grindstone Media is hoping to have a hit on its hands with Rush: The Documentary. The $1.5 million feature doc about the famed rock band is produced and directed by Scot McFadyen and Sam Dunn. The doc will include new interviews with some of rock’s biggest names — including members of Metallica, Nirvana and Iron Maiden — plus never-before-seen footage shot by singer Geddy Lee himself, which Grindstone hopes will attract Canadian broadcasters.
The official RUSH newsletter is reporting the trio will film a live concert DVD at Ahoy in Rotterdam, the Netherlands on October 16th and October 17th. More information will be made available soon.
Alex Lifeson, along with other Canadian celebrities, will donate paintings to be sold on eBay, to benefit The Kidney Foundation of Canada. Bidding begins November 2nd for 10 days only.
Power Windows reports that Rush is the sixth highest-grossing U.S. tour of the summer with $21 million, third among rock acts, according to USA Today. Over 38 shows, Rush had an attendance of 399,000, with 67% of seats filled. Billboard’s touring editor Ray Waddell told the paper, “RUSH is a thrilling live band. Their fans know this, and their reputation keeps spreading to new generations.”
Tool came in at No. 10, having made $17.3 million between May 1 and Labor Day.
Even without a top-heavy roster of megastars, overall concert grosses were $926.5 million, compared with $952.5 million in 2006; attendance was 18.8 million, down from 19.6 a year ago. The data is from Boxscore reports published by Billboard and analyzed by USA Today.
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