RUSH NEWS

Thursday, January 18, 2007, Posted at 10:10 AM
Rush in LA putting final mixes on the new album

Former Max Webster frontman and longtime Rush friend Kim Mitchell is now a DJ on Canadian radio station Q107. Yesterday Andy Curran of the Toronto-based 80s-era band Coney Hatch - who is now with Rush's management - came into the studio. Kim put the following post on his blog regarding the visit:

just spoke with andy curran..with rush's management ...bands in LA mixing ...yahoo!!!!...says the band sounds 20 years younger ... totally rawked out!!! kool!!!

So he seems to be repeating the this will sound like an old Rush record theme that producer Nick Raskulinecz spoke about. The good news keeps pouring in.

If you don't know already, the rumored working title for the album is Snakes and Arrows. Also, Alex Lifeson stated in a recent interview that the album is slated for a late April or early May release; the recording process was filmed for a possible future in-studio DVD; and the tour will start in June and include North America and Europe with a break for Christmas then onto South America.

Tuesday, January 16, 2007, Posted at 08:44 AM
New album working title: Snakes and Arrows?

As was mentioned in the previous post, the working title for the new Rush album is rumored to be either Snakes and Arrows or Snakes and Ladders. To put this in the context of the rumored spiritual theme of the album, I'll provide this quote from InnerTraditions.com which is in reference to a book titled The Yoga of Snakes and Arrows.

Chutes and Ladders, the popular children's game, is derived from the ancient Hindu game Leela, or Snakes and Arrows, which charts the ups and downs of the soul's path toward reunion with the Infinite. Snakes and Arrows was designed by the seers and saints of India as a tool for understanding the relationship of the individual self to the Absolute Self. For thousands of years the 72 spaces on this game board have enabled players to chart the paths that represent the course of their lives. Each space represents a virtue or a vice, an aspect of consciousness, or a plane of reality and is accompanied by a commentary explaining its meaning. The player's progress on the board is dictated by the fall of a die corresponding to the forces of karma. Repeated encounters with the snakes and arrows on the board reveal the full meaning of the commentaries and can give shape to habitual patterns of the player, resulting in greater self-understanding and even a gradual detachment from the ego's delusions.

Monday, January 15, 2007, Posted at 09:44 AM
Alex Lifeson confirms tour and possible in-studio DVD!

UPDATE - 1/15@10:00AM: I've also just heard a couple rumors that Lerxst mentioned that the working title for the album is Snakes and Arrows or possibly Snakes and Ladders? No idea if this is for real or not. I don't place much stock in working titles, since they usually don't end up being what is used. Either way, that's what I heard. :)

Alex Lifeson recently called in to Jeff Burrows' (The Tea Party) radio show on Canadian radio station 95.1 The Rock and had some very cool news regarding the new album and the tour. I didn't hear the interview but saw the highlights posted on the various messageboards. From what I read, Alex mentioned that the new album is set for a late April or early May release - but we already knew that. And ... he said that a lot of the studio work was video taped for a dvd! As far as the tour goes, it's currently scheduled to start in June and will include North America and Europe with a break for Christmas then onto South America. So this would seem to be the first official confirmation from a band member that they will tour and, as reported earlier, they will hit South America again. What I'm particularly excited about is the possibility of a documentary-style in-studio DVD! The station is supposed to be posting the interview at some point. If/when they do I'll link to it.