RUSH: 'The Documentary' To Premier At TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL In NYC

According to a posting on the RUSH fan site http://RushIsABand.com, "Rush - The Documentary" — the long-awaited RUSH documentary produced by Scot McFadyen and Sam Dunn of Toronto, Ontario, Canada's Banger Films Inc. — will receive a red-carpet premier at the Tribeca Film Festival in in New York City on Saturday, April 24. All three members of RUSH — singer/bassist Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson and drummer Neil Peart — will be on hand for the event.

Dunn and McFadyen were interviewed last year by Classic Rock magazine's Jerry Ewing about the first-ever feature film documentary on Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart.

"Geddy had been in [Dunn and McFadyen's previous documentary] 'Metal: A Headbanger's Journey' and we were thinking about other bands we could work with," explained McFadyen. "We felt that RUSH had always been overlooked by the critics so we met them on tour and they liked what we said. We started working on it, then IRON MAIDEN came about so we took a break to do that and raised the financing for the RUSH film. We've started on it now and done a load of interviews so now we're editing with a load of archival footage."

"We've been lucky. Not only have we had access to [RUSH management] SRO's archives but also Geddy, Alex and Neil's own personal archives," enthuses director Dunn. "I was just at Geddy's house this week. Going through his personal collection of memorabilia. I dug up some gems I don't think RUSH fans have ever seen so we're hoping to offer something new."

As RUSH fans themselves, Dunn admitted this made him feel like a kid let loose in a candy store.

"Well, Geddy's definitely the premier band archivist," Dunn said. "He has a massive collection of photographs and clippings. We even got our hands on Neil's handwritten lyric sheets from back when they were making 'Fly By Night', '2112' and 'A Farewell To Kings', and I don't think they've ever been seen before."

Rocknrollcola

PINK FLOYD Win EMI Court Battle

According to The Press Association, PINK FLOYD have won a ruling at the High Court which will bar record company EMI selling single downloads from their concept albums.

The band was apparently successful over a challenge on the level of royalties paid by the record company but this part of the judgment was held in secret.

Chancellor Sir Andrew Morritt accepted arguments by the group that EMI was bound by a contract forbidding it to sell its records other than as complete albums without written consent.

RNR

Genesis Comments On Gabriel's Non Attendance For The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Induction

From Billboard:

Peter Gabriel's Genesis bandmates are giving him the benefit of the doubt for bowing out of next month's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

Gabriel will not attend the March 15 affair because it conflicts with orchestra rehearsal dates for his upcoming European and North American concerts to promote his new album, "Scratch My Back." "(Gabriel) rang up and said, 'Look, everyone's going to say I'm trying to snub you and all the rest of it,' " Genesis keyboardist Tony Banks tells Billboard.com. "I said, 'Well, just tell them we didn't want you to come, so we're snubbing you!'

"No...I mean, it's a fair enough thing. It would've been lovely if he could've come, but I understand his problem," Banks adds.

Guitarist/bassist Mike Rutherford says Gabriel was "very keen" about the induction and feels the singer's absence is "a very legitimate excuse. I know he would (come) if he could, but it's just the wrong timing."

Gabriel's decision has effectively scuttled any hopes of Genesis performing at the ceremony, though a full complement of Genesis members will be there, including: drummer-turned- frontman Phil Collins, who's still rehabilitating from spinal surgery and is unable to play; guitarist Steve Hackett, who left the band in 1977; and longtime touring members Chester Thompson and Daryl Stuermer. "I think at my age, any accolade is enjoyed," says Rutherford, who turns 60 in October. "It's nice to be inducted into something."

Neither Banks nor Rutherford expect the induction to inspire any sort of renewed Genesis activity, however. The group last toured in 2007 and has not discussed anything further, although Banks notes that "we never rule it out." But he adds that he "can't see us doing any writing again, but in terms of just (playing live), it's always a possibility. "

Rutherford, meanwhile, says that "the last tour was a nice kind of moment; it made us appreciate the band and each other as human beings. It kind of reminded us how much fun we'd had. And you never know what will happen; it depends on who's standing in five years' time or something like that."

The Genesis members are staying busy on their own, however. Besides Gabriel's project, Collins is recording an album of Motown songs that's due out this fall; he's also slated to receive the Johnny Mercer Award from the Songwriter's Hall of Fame on June 17. Hackett is collaborating on a project with Yes bassist Chris Squire, while Banks, who issued a remastered and expanded version of his 1979 solo debut "A Curious Feeling" last year, is working on a classical piece. Rutherford, meanwhile, has reactivated Mike & the Mechanics with British singer Andrew Roachford, among others, and expects to have a new album finished by May.

PINK FLOYD Goes To Court In Royalty Row With EMI

The Associated Press reports:

PINK FLOYD has begun legal action against music label EMI Group Ltd. over the way royalty payments are calculated in the digital era.

The group's lawyer, Robert Howe, told the High Court that the band was disputing the way royalties for online sales are worked out.

He said the group also wants a ruling on whether EMI can sell tracks "unbundled" from their original albums.

Howe said the band's contract prohibits selling tracks "otherwise than in the original configuration of the Pink Floyd albums." EMI claims the rule applies only to physical albums, not the Internet.

Pink Floyd signed with EMI in 1967 and became one of its most lucrative acts.

Tuesday's hearing was the start of what is expected to be a lengthy legal battle.

Further updates to follow.

Former/Current Members Of THE GATHERING, EPICA, ANATHEMA To Perform At 'Concert For Chile'

Former THE GATHERING singer Anneke van Giersbergen and her new band AGUA DE ANNIQUE, Simone Simons (EPICA) and Danny Cavanagh (ANATHEMA) are among the artists who will perform at the Concert for Chile benefit concert on March 24 at De Melkweg in Amsterdam, Holland. Anneke says, "Yesterday I announced the news on national TV at Dutch talkshow 'De Wereld Draait Door'. I also played a very short version of 'Sunny Side Up', which will be my new single with all profits going to Chile as well."

She adds, "My female lighting technician, Eveline, is originally from Chillan - Chile. Part of the funds raised through the concert and the single will be used to help out the orphanage were she was taken care of as a baby."

RNR