Exclusively available on the Snakes & Arrows MVI Edition is "Rush: The Game of Snakes and Arrows", a 45-minute documentary on the making of the album.
MVI (Music Video Interactive) was a DVD-based means of packing audio, video and interactive visual content onto one disk, developed by Warner Electra Atlantic as a means to combat the mp3 download market by presenting an album digitally with exclusive additional content.
Besides the aforementioned documentary, the Snakes & Arrows MVI also includes the full album in 96kHz/24 bit hi-resolution stereo as well as 5.1 surround sound; the album bio written by Neil Peart; the lyrics and digital booklet; the ability to create your own mobile ringtones of all the tracks on the MVI; and other digital extras including a photo gallery, wallpapers, IM icons, and poster.
Go behind the scenes to get a backstage look at what it takes to present the legendary band RUSH during the 2008 Snakes & Arrows Concert Tour. It may appear to be one of the most exciting and glamorous jobs in the world – but being a roadie with a top-rated world-famous rock and roll band can be a grueling marathon of 18 hour work days, on an easy day. A bad is actually a couple of days, 40 hours spent hauling gear, assembling huge stacks of speakers, lifting them a hundred feet in the air, tuning instruments for demanding musicians and being cut off from every lover, friend and relative you have.
This series takes you to the show you never see when you take your seat for a concert by the legendary band RUSH. All the backstage secrets are revealed.
This DVD includes 5 parts on two discs including:
NTSC 16:9 – 2 discs – 250-minutes
September 11, 2009 High Fidelity HDTV Media Inc - All Rights Reserved
The two albums by Rush covered in this film illustrate the changing nature of the band through the 70s and into the 80s.
2112, released in 1976, was Rush's breakthrough. The title track, which filled the whole of side one on the original LP release, was a defiant expression of the music the band wanted to make despite pressure from their record company to move them in a more "commercial" direction. It was a gamble that paid off with Platinum sales and which laid the foundations for the sequence of albums that followed with thoughtful lyrics covering many themes and multi-layered virtuoso music that few other bands could even dream of producing.
Moving Pictures, released in 1981, saw Rush channel their intellectual complexity and well-honed musical skills into a series of shorter, more easily-accessible tracks. The result was the biggest selling album of their career and a set of songs including "Tom Sawyer", "Red Barchetta", "Limelight" and the instrumental "YYZ" that became radio staples and remain fan favorites to this day.
This Classic Albums program contains exclusive interviews with band members Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart along with exclusive performances, archive footage and an in-depth examination of the original multi-track tapes with the band and producer Terry Brown.
Contains over 54 minutes of additional interviews and exclusive footage not included in the broadcast version
Running time: 112 mins approx. (main feature 58:08, Special Features 54:22)
Cinema Strangiato is an edited version of the R40 Live concert film, with "exclusive new interviews with Tom Morello, Billy Corgan, Taylor Hawkins, producer Nick Raskulinecz, violinist Jonathan Dinklage" interspersed between songs.
This one night only world-wide theatrical event was held August 21, 2019, followed by a "Director's Cut" showing on September 9, 2021. Not released on home video.
"The Holy Trinity of Rock returns to the big screen on Wednesday, August 21, when the first 'Annual Exercise in Fan Indulgence' Cinema Strangiato brings Rush fans together in movie theatres worldwide. Featuring R40+, this global fan event will give audiences a special look into some of the best performances from R40 LIVE, including songs such as 'Closer to the Heart', 'Subdivisions', 'Tom Sawyer' and more, as well as unreleased backstage moments and candid footage left on the cutting room floor. R40+ also includes unseen soundcheck performances of the fan-favorite 'Jacob's Ladder', exclusive new interviews with Tom Morello, Billy Corgan, Taylor Hawkins, producer Nick Raskulinecz, violinist Jonathan Dinklage and more. As a special bonus, fans will get a glimpse into the madness and passion that went in to the making of Geddy Lee's new book, Geddy Lee's Big Beautiful Book of Bass - featuring a brand-new interview from the man himself."
"The Holy Trinity of Rock returns to the big screen on September 9, 2021, when Rush: Cinema Strangiato - Director's Cut brings Rush fans together in movie theatres once again worldwide – this time to celebrate 40 years of Moving Pictures. This global fan event takes an alternate “director’s cut” of 2019's feature, giving audiences a special look into R40 LIVE, with a revamped setlist including new additions of bonus tracks "One Little Victory" and “Red Barchetta” as well as "Cygnus X-1 / “The Story So Far” featuring Neil's final recorded drum solo masterpiece. Additional favorites include songs such as “Animate”, “Closer to the Heart", "Subdivisions", and “Tom Sawyer" along with backstage moments and candid footage left on the cutting room floor. The Director’s Cut also includes soundcheck performances of the fan-favorite "Jacob's Ladder", exclusive interviews with Tom Morello, Billy Corgan, Taylor Hawkins, producer Nick Raskulinecz, The Trailer Park Boys, violinist Jonathan Dinklage and more surprises."
This 2 DVD set (previously available on 4 VHS video tapes) contains 4 1/2 hours of incredible performances by 11 of the world's greatest drummers, together with the Buddy Rich Big Band. Disc 1 was recorded in Los Angeles on October 14, 1989, and contains the sessions from Los Angeles on October 14, 1989 and includes Louie Bellson, Gregg Bissonette, Dennis Chambers, Dave Weckl, Vinnie Colaiuta & Steve Gadd (2 tracks each). Disc 2 was recorded at the Ritz Theater in New York City on April 8, 1991, and contains the sessions from New York City on April 8, 1991 and includes Neil Peart, Marvin 'Smitty' Smith, Steve Smith (3 tracks each), Omar Hakim (2 tracks), and Wil Calhoun (1 track). Special features include 3 rare Buddy Rich performances and a photo gallery.
Alfred Publishing, 1999 (VHS)/2006 (DVD), 270 minutes
In May of 1994, Neil Peart undertook a recording project which will forever stand as the ultimate tribute to Bernard 'Buddy' Rich. He and Buddy's daughter, Cathy, invited eighteen of the most respected drummers in the world to New York's Power Station studio, and for two weeks, each day, two or three world-class drummers would perform with the Buddy Rich Big Band. To quote Neil Peart: 'I'll never forget those two weeks at the Power Station. I'd walk in excited every morning, wondering what's going to happen today?' The result of this monumental project (released on CD by Atlantic Records) was some of the most exciting music ever put on tape. This DVD contains preparation for the recording, final takes, interviews with the drummers about Buddy, candid footage of the control room during play back, and more, all tied together by Neil Peart's beautiful commentary. This 2 DVD set (previously available on 4 VHS video tapes), features: Kenny Aronoff, Gregg Bissonette, Bill Bruford, Billy Cobham, Steve Ferrone, Steve Gadd, David Garibaldi, Omar Hakim, Joe Morello, Rod Morgenstein, Neil Peart, Max Roach, Simon Phillips, Ed Shaughnessy, Marvin 'Smitty' Smith, Steve Smith, Matt Sorum and Dave Weckl. A photo slide show is included as a bonus feature.
Alfred Publishing, VHS (1996), DVD (December 11, 2006), running time 5+ hours.
Three discs with almost five hours of content! Featuring Neil Peart, Chad Smith, Tommy Igoe, John Blackwell, Terry Bozzio with Efrain Toro, Nick Rich, Peter Erskine, Will Lee, and Jeff Berlin. These artists pay tribute to Buddy Rich, one of the greatest drummers of all time. With an all-star big band, they play not only Buddy classics but also their own hits. Over two hours of concert footage, plus almost two hours of rehearsal and backstage footage memorialize this historic drumming event.
DVD produced by Neil Peart and Don Lombardi
Drum Channel, June 3, 2009, 286 minutes
Filmed in 1970 or '71, this reality film contains the oldest known recorded performance of Alex Lifeson (on video, no less!). In the film, Alex performs "Run Willie Run", a Rush original written in 1969, on acoustic guitar with an unknown co-star providing the vocals. In another scene he plays a Hendrix tribute ("Star Spangled Banner") for a group of the kids. Although Alex doesn't speak much in the film, in a scene late in the film he argues with his parents over his decision not to go to college, and discusses his girlfriend/future wife Charlene and their young son Justin (a clip from this scene was included in Beyond The Lighted Stage).
"It was ten kids living on a farm together for ten weeks and the interaction between them, and the cameras were always on, like reality TV before reality TV. Allan King was the filmmaker and he had made a few films like that...I auditioned for it and there were about three hundred kids who went up for it. It didn't turn out the way Allan invisioned it would. We weren't very interesting so nothing really happened with it. It kind of flopped as an idea. It shows up on TV occasionally; I've seen it, it was on a few months ago. I was going through the channels, and there I was and it was really shocking. It was nineteen-seventy. I was seventeen at the time." - Alex Lifeson, "Closer To The Art", Classic Rock, October 2004
"Your parents just want the best for you. My parents came from Yugoslavia after the Second World War with nothing. They lived through horrendous times for six years before coming to Canada as refugees. They wanted me to be a dentist or lawyer or engineer. A profession that was a good paying job for your whole life. My father worked three jobs for most of his life. If he needed something, he worked for it and he instilled that in me. That movie was a film called, Come on Children, it was by a Canadian filmmaker, Alan King. He filmed it in the cinema verité style, which is similar to what reality programming is now ... He filmed it very much as a fly on the wall. The premise of that film was getting 10 kids from all parts of the city to move in together to a farmhouse for three months and film everything that happens ... I was one of 350 kids that auditioned for it that got it. Halfway through, our parents came up to see what was going on, so during lunch that's where I had that conversation with my parents about where I wanted to go in my future. I look back, and it's a typical 17-year-old rebellious kid who just wants to make music and doesn't see the point of studying geography and algebra when you're not going to use those things. I've changed my tune a bit ... but my point was, when you're focused on something creative, why must you be held down? I just wanted to go and I wanted to play and it worked out." - Alex Lifeson, Toronto Sun, April 4, 2025
Featuring a Rush soundtrack, this half-hour film combines themes and ideas from many Rush songs, particularly "The Body Electric" and "2112". In the order played, the soundtrack includes excepts of: "Red Sector A," "Hemispheres Pt. V.," "2112 Overture," "Cygnus X-1 Pt. 3," "Different Strings," "Jacob's Ladder," "The Fountain of Lamneth Pt. VI," "Xanadu," "The Body Electric," "Working Man," "Hemispheres Pt. V.," "Marathon," "Hemispheres Pt. VI."
"It was a tremendous thrill for me. I've been asked on a couple of occasions to sing National Anthems, and I always was holding out to throw the first pitch - I thought that would be more fun than actually 'working'. But when they called and asked me to do the All Star Game, especially at Camden Yards, such a beautiful place and such a special game, and I'm big baseball fan as a lot of people know. So it was a great thrill for me and it was probably the most nervous I'd ever been before doing a concert. And I was appreciative of somebody from one of the networks before I went on that it was going live to like 80 countries, and they told me that just before I walked out. Which was a nice thing to be reminded of before you go to sing acapella at a microphone!" - Geddy Lee, "Rockline", January 24, 1994
"It was so weird, it was so nerve wracking. I don't know whether the lady who told me that 80 million people were watching was the reason I was nervous, but going out there accapella just to sing to this echoey environment was definetly not easy. But it was thrilling to turn around and see all these great ball players, having to wait for you to finish!" - Geddy Lee, WMMR Interview, December 18, 2000
"Bubbles is so devastated about not getting tickets to the RUSH concert that Ricky decides to bring Alex Lifeson (played by Alex Lifeson) to the park to perform a private concert." One scene of the episode was filmed during the October 22, 2002, Vapor Trails concert at Toronto's Air Canada Centre, as actor Mike Smith, who portrays Bubbles on the Nova Scotia, Canada, based comedy series, was filmed playing the part of a Rush roadie. As he walked on stage to hand Alex a new guitar, Geddy told the crowd "he is a new guy."
The final scene of the episode features Alex and Bubbles playing "Closer To The Heart" on acoustic guitars.
"I was a bit nervous up there. I mean, it's dark, and I can't see, and I'm stepping over cables and stuff...Alex is a big fan of the show...Alex came to us and asked to do a cameo. The director was like, 'No, but why don't we write a whole episode based around you?' And he was totally into that. So we flew him out to Halifax and we shot with him for three days and had really great times. He's a really amazing person." - Mike Smith ("Bubbles"), TorontoStar.com, October 28, 2002
The "Brown Album" portion of the DVD has an area called "Horrible Swill" which contains an interview of the band performed by one "Big Al", wearing black rimmed glasses and fake crooked teeth. In addition, the "Attic" area contains a "pictures" section which includes a photo of Les Claypool and Geddy Lee fishing. Yet another scene backstage has Les showing off his bass which is autographed on the headstock by Geddy Lee, as he points at it and says "Geddy Fucking Lee!"
Known to be Rush fans, Primus included the intro to "YYZ" in two of their tracks, "John The Fisherman" and "To Defy The Laws Of Tradition", released on separate albums in 1990 and included on They Can't All Be Zingers: Best of Primus. Primus toured with Rush on the Roll the Bones and Counterparts tours, and bass player Les Claypool also performed on one track of Alex Lifeson's solo project, Victor. For their 2000 Antipop tour they sold a concert t-shirt with artwork similar to the 2112 cover. Their third DVD, Blame It On The Fish, includes a 30-min. mockumentary set in 2065, where a 102 year-old Les Claypool reminisces about the band, and mentions Rush and/or Geddy Lee on three separate occasions.
A documentary celebrating fans of Lord Of The Rings, the documentary includes an interview with Geddy Lee.
"Geddy Lee, bassist and lead singer for the seminal rock group Rush, has granted an exclusive interview to the producers of the feature documentary, Ringers: Lord Of The Fans. His heartfelt comments on the power of J.R.R. Tolkien's stories make it easy to understand how the world of Rock & Roll was forever changed by The Lord of the Rings. The fine connections between these two art forms is sharply drawn by Mr. Lee, as he explains the wonderful influence of Middle-earth on his early songwriting..." - TheOneRing.net - September 29, 2004
"As the scope of the film broadened to include the worlds of music and fantasy literature, efforts to secure interviews with the best and brightest of those worlds were met with 'Yes, I'd love to!' from all quarters...Rock legends Geddy Lee (RUSH) and Lemmy Kilmister (Motorhead) quickly came on board, explaining first-hand how the Rock scene shifted under the weight of Tolkien's high-fantasy influence....The heartbeat of RINGERS is in its Rock soundtrack, and the director wanted nothing less than wall-to-wall music. [Editor Arnaud Gerardy] carefully edited to the rhythm of Led Zeppelin's 'Ramble On' and RUSH's 'Rivendell'..." - TheOneRing.net, January 10, 2005
"When it came to making the movie the producers thought it would be appropriate, in view of everything that's been going on in Florida, that I play the role of a cop in the movie. Gord Downey from The Tragically Hip and I play partners. Geddy and I are also a part of the Big Dirty Band on the soundtrack. What song did we do? 'I Fought The Law', that was kind of appropriate too." - Alex Lifeson, Classic Rock, July 2007
Neil Peart voices a miniature of himself (a watermelon seed) who plays the drums. The film's website featured an animated music video of the Hunger Force performing in concert with Neil Peart on drums.
"'I'm a cheap device for exposition,' Neil Peart says over the phone from California, establishing two things straightaway. One: he knows his function in his role in the Aqua Teen Hunger Force movie. Two: He's a comedy buff, who goes on to explain that he's quoting an old SCTV parody of Fantasy Island. Absurd decisions typify the Aqua Teen creators...So when looking for big names to lend a voice to their show, they asked not for an animation veteran but instead for the drummer for Rush. "We get lots of offers over the transom, of course - lots of things that someone would like us to be involved in, or to buy from them," says Peart, clearly in a lighthearted mood. But when it came to this movie, 'Somebody in the office had an open mind.'...he's a watermelon seed who plays the drums, and he gets to perform a supernatural ritual called the Drum Solo of Life...'My solo (in Rush shows) is nine minutes long, so I just gave them a bunch of 30-second clips to choose from that sounded spiritual.'" - Toronto Star, April 15, 2007
Neil Peart makes a cameo appearance in this comedy about one man's quest to prove his worth by winning an "air-drumming" competition. The film includes a flashback scene where young Power is inspired to become a drummer after hearing "Tom Sawyer" on the radio, and adult Power's bedroom is plastered with Rush and Neil Peart posters, and during one of the more hilarious scenes onlookers criticize Power for daring to air drum Neil Peart "without a stool". The coup de grâce comes at the end of the film, when Neil Peart himself has a rare cameo as the judge of the final air drumming competition; he must judge the performance of the most difficult air drumming song ever: "Tom Sawyer". The DVD holds over 60 minutes of bonus features including a 25 minute interview and Power drum-off with Neil Peart.
I Love You Man director and co-writer John Hamburg is a long time Rush fan, and used to play Rush covers in his band. When writing the script, he chose Rush as a bonding device for the lead characters played by co-stars Paul Rudd and Jason Segel. The film is full of Rush sightings, including a scene which takes place at a Rush concert with a cameo by the band. The film also includes a scene where Jason Segel and Paul Rudd perform "Limelight", a performance which is included on the I Love You Man Soundtrack, along with the original Rush versions of both "Limelight" and "Tom Sawyer". A source close to the band reported the concert scene was filmed the week of May 11, 2008, while the band was in L.A. during the second leg of the Snakes & Arrows tour. Check out this extended 4:13 clip of Rush performing "Limelight" for the film, with additional footage not found in the final release.
"When I met (the band) and I was explaining the scene to them, I was so hypersensitive that they would enjoy themselves and not feel as if we were making fun of them because we were not at all. So I was explaining it to them, like, 'Jason and I are dancing around and we're really, really excited, and Rashida [Jones], her character is weirded out by us but she's kind of bored because we're totally ignoring her. So that's what's going on in the scene. We're way into it and she's kind of bored.' And Geddy Lee said, 'So it's just like any one of our concerts.' (laughter)" - Paul Rudd, ComingSoon.net, March 19, 2009
"I would say probably my favorite scene thus far is when we go to a Rush concert, and I'm trying to be down because I love my husband, and I want to support him in his endeavor. But Rush is just, as much as they're really great music, they're not 'geared' towards women necessarily, so I feel left out very quickly even though I try to join in - to the point where they're being super intimate with each other and, without even knowing it, Paul is physically pushing me out of the scene. Which made me laugh very hard...we've been listening to the same song for two days straight, and the thing that's good about it is that it's really complicated. And I feel like most songs, you'd want to shoot yourself in the head after two days straight of listening to it. But I still like hearing it, because there's all these, like, weird changes in time signature; it's like weird and cool. I actually do like it. And the guys [from Rush] are like the coolest guys I've ever met. That makes it easier to like them, per se." - Rashida Jones, ComingSoon.net, June 8, 2008
"It was a blast, we just played the same song over and over again. It came at a tough time, because we were on tour and that was our day off. It was nice that it was such fun, because we were pretty beat." - Geddy Lee, Entertainment Weekly, March 20, 2009
Alex Lifeson is one of an all star cast of actors and musicians who appear in this Canadian vampire rock and roll comedy film which premiered at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival. Lifeson has a cameo as a U.S. border officer; click here for a collage of Lifeson's scenes. The film's trailer can be seen here.
"Alex Lifeson should just fuckin' quit Rush and be an actor, he's so funny. He did all these little things, like playing with the typewriter and other subtle things that were so funny. I kept saying, 'Dude, be an actor!'" - Writer/Director Rob Stefaniuk, Now Magazine, September 9-16, 2009
"It goes way back to when we first started. The show came out and no one really liked it, everyone thought 'What is this cheap garbage?' Trailer Park Boys was a slow-burn: the audience had to get used to the characters and it's shot on a Handycam. It looks really cheap and people didn't realize that was by design. But once they got past that and tuned into the humour, they got it. But we didn't realize it: we thought, 'Oh my God, no one's getting our stuff.' Then I heard from a friend who said, 'There's a very prominent rock star who's a big fan of Trailer Park Boys. Can I give him your email?' So Alex sent me the sweetest email, saying 'I love the characters; I find the show very, very funny. Great work, congratulations. Alex Lifeson.' We sent emails back and forth, and I found that Alex is an actor in his own right: he's really good at sketching characters and I think that's why he appreciated the show. I find musicians tuned into our show long before most other people did. Musicians have an unusual sense of humour. I asked Lifeson to appear on an episode - called 'Closer to the Heart' - wrote the script and sent it to him. He came to town and the very first scene we did with Alex was in a car and we started improvising. Wells hit him with, 'Why don't you play your big, fancy f*****g guitar or whatever it is the f??k you do!' and Lifeson loved it. Because you could go one of two ways: one is a Rush love-in, or you can flip it. And Ricky doesn't get it; he thinks Alex is from April Wine. So I asked Alex if he wanted to play a cop in the first film, and he said, 'Sure.' And we wanted to bring him back for the 2nd film and I thought, 'How do we put a twist on that? Maybe he's in disguise.' We shot that scene in one night and he was wonderful. I never get past the fanboy thing. One time I was at his house at 3 am banging on pots and pans in his kitchen and I think we woke his wife up. But I admire Rush so much and, in particular, Alex. He doesn't make you feel that way; he makes you feel comfortable, but he's such a shining artist that I had to look at my feet sometimes." - Director Mike Clattenburg, Suite.io, September 25, 2009
"Of course, there's the de rigueur appearance by Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson, here playing a drunken, undercover cop posing as a transvestite in a gay-prostitute alley (centered around a Chip Wagon that serves alcohol -- man, Halifax is one weird town). The character may indeed be the same cop Lifeson played in the previous Trailer Park Boys movie, showing his true colours." - Edmonton Sun, September 25, 2009
"Peart admits that when he was approached to be part of Drum Solos Week, his initial reaction was, 'I don't know...it's not really my thing. But then I thought, Hey, a drum solo on TV - sounds great! I'd be very honored to be the ambassador to drum solos.' Only now there's the TV time factor, and it's got Peart's fertile mind running in circles. The show's producers have asked the renowned sticksman to keep the razzle-dazzle down to 'three, maybe four minutes,' says Peart. 'My regular live drum solo is about eight and a half minutes, so I decided I'd have to do a mental edit, accelerate the changes and minimize the improvisational parts and so on. At the rehearsal, during my first attempt, I had it down to about four minutes and 50 seconds, and the producers were giving me these worrisome looks.' Peart's second run-through was more acceptable: 'I got it down to about four minutes and two seconds...So all I have to do tonight is play that four-minute-and-two-second version of the solo, settle down and play the tempo and the end properly, and I'll be happy.'" - MusicRadar.com, June 7, 2011
After Bubbles, Ricky and Julian recreate and lip synch Rush's classic video for "Closer To The Heart", Bubbles learns he won a Rush internet contest to determine their greatest fan when Alex Lifeson sends a video confirming Bubbles and three friends will be flown to Dublin in Rush's jet to see the band. The movie later includes a partial live performance by Bubbles of "Closer to the Heart" and "Limelight", and during the credits Rush's original video for "Closer to the Heart" plays along side the Trailer Park Boys lip synch version.
Produced by Fadoo productions and broadcast one night only on Sportsnet in Canada, this documentary about baseball collectors featured Geddy Lee. Click here for the trailer.
"The Mind of the Baseball Collector looks at the addictive world of sports memorabilia collecting. The past comes to life through the collections and stories of: rock legend Geddy Lee, eclectic collector and lawyer Allan Stitt and the Guinness Book of World Records holder of the most autographed baseballs, Dennis Schrader."
"From Banger Films, the people that brought you the Rush: Beyond The Lighted Stage documentary and the TV show Metal Evolutions, comes an all-new docu-series profiling the biggest icons in hard rock, heavy metal and classic rock. Rock Icons premieres Saturday February 21st at 10/9C, immediately following the That Metal Show?s season 14 kick-off, and takes you backstage with in-depth, intimate portraits revealing who these rock stars really are. Each 30-minute episode is jam-packed with exclusive interviews and never-before-seen footage with featured artists and the key people who helped shape their careers. The series premiere goes beyond the limelight with Geddy Lee, lead singer and bassist extraordinaire of Canadian progressive hard rock legends Rush. Find out how his remarkable musical talent and drive was influenced by the early passing of his father and why he is determined to live every bit of his life to the fullest. Future episode will chronicle the lives of metal god Rob Halford of Judas Priest, former Guns N' Roses guitar hero Slash, Nikki Sixx of Motley Crüe and more. Between Rock Icons and That Metal Show, VH1 Classic is the place to be on Saturday nights for all things rock so don't forget to tune in starting February 21st!" - VH1.com, January 28, 2015
"We did a feature length film on Rush, right? And now we're doing a half-hour feature on Geddy Lee. We sort of sat there and said, what else are we going to talk about, we've already covered so much. As we started to talk about it and do more research, what we started to embrace was not only the Geddy Lee that's in Rush but who he is outside of Rush. What does that tell us about his personality? So even though I spent hours with Geddy and the other guys in the band making Rush: Beyond The Lighted Stage, going down with him into the 'bass room' of his house where he's got, literally, the history of the electric bass all on his walls, and to sit with him as he actually pulls basses off the wall and play them and talk about the history of the instrument - I still have these moments where I'm like, this is amazing. Because I started playing bass because of my love for bands like Rush and Iron Maiden. I mean, I wanted to be Geddy Lee and Steve Harris when I was 12. I still really get a big thrill out of spending time with these guys because they come to respect the work that we do and so it's very comfortable. We can just sit down on a very one to one basis and talk about things in a fairly transparent and relaxed way. And I think? let's just say I've had worse day jobs." - Sam Dunn of Banger Films, VH1.com, February 12, 2015
"I got the idea for the video after I ruptured a disc in my back and needed emergency surgery. As someone who often goes under the knife, I've always been a bit overwhelmed by the process, paperwork, approvals and costs. Luckily, I have insurance, but it got me thinking about all the people in this country who can't afford medical treatment. I read an article recently that said there are over 40 million uninsured people living in the States, which is insane. I talked my doctor into letting me shoot the surgery, then explained the concept to Tom (Morello), who was totally into the idea. And of course, you can't talk about universal health care without bringing Canada into the conversation, so I called Geddy (Lee) and Alex (Lifeson) and asked if they'd be part of it and was blown away when they said yes. And all that footage of my back being opened up is real, no joke." - Tim Commerford, Blabbermouth.net, June 1, 2015
In episode "2112", season 4, episode 6, "A neighborhood fire leads to Mouch (Christian Stolte) being offered tickets to a Rush concert; the family 51 helped save was that of a roadie from the band. This leads to Mouch, Casey (Jesse Spencer), Otis (Yuri Sardarov) and Herrmann (David Eigenberg) meeting the band backstage."
"The co-creators of 'Chicago Fire' light up like a five-alarm fire when talking about Tuesday's episode featuring the legendary rock band Rush. 'We've been friends with the Rush guys for years,' Michael Brandt said. 'They're hilarious. Total hams. They did us a favor.' Two-thirds of the Canadian trio - lead singer Geddy Lee and guitarist Alex Lifeson - guest star in Tuesday's installment, titled '2112,' the name of the band's fourth album. The storyline involves Rush performing a concert in Chicago. A few lucky Firehouse 51 fans snag free tickets to the show. 'We've been thinking about [having them on] for four years, so the fact that they finished their last tour and said that they would do it is awesome,' co-creator Derek Haas told me during an interview Monday at NBC press day in Chicago...The initial plan for the episode focused more on race cars than rock stars. 'We originally were approached by NASCAR to do a crossover episode,' showrunner Matt Olmstead said. 'We explored it. As oftentimes happens ... logistics got the best of everybody. So we had to pull that storyline. Instead of getting tickets to a NASCAR event, why not have the firefighters get freebies to a concert, Olmstead suggested. 'Derek's like, "Rush! It's gotta be Rush!"' Olmstead said. 'Thus began the whole process of clearing rights to music. Those guys [Haas and Brandt] wrote the Rush substitute storyline in about five minutes. That came from deep, deep, deep. Lifelong dream realized for those two guys.'" - TVTrippin.com, November 12, 2015
Geddy Lee plays a coachman, named Tom Sawyer, in the episode "Devil Music" (season 15, episode 21). When his coach is damaged, he has this conversation with Murdoch: