The Digital Rush Experience

At the beginning of each new tour, we get lots of emails asking where people can get, download, or buy a particular recording cataloged at the DRE.  People post “reviews” asking for someone to email them the show.  Some emails are nicer than others…  We’ve had email accusing us of hoarding recordings.  We’ve had others send us their mailing address with the instructions “send all recordings”.  Still others run bots against the DRE convinced we have all the recordings hidden on the site for download.  The list goes on and on… 

So now that we have a blog, we figured it was time, once and for all, to write the definitive “How do I get a recording” guide so we have something we can point all of those people asking for perpetuity.

First, let’s review the basic premise of the DRE: 

The DRE does not sell or condone the selling of live recordings. 

Period.  Pretty simple.  Cut and dry.  OK, so if I shouldn’t buy recordings, where do I get them?  Ah, that leads to the second half of basic premise:

Any of the releases listed at the DRE are available for free trade via mail or free download via high speed internet.

Free?  Did you say free?  Well, nothing in life is truly free.  But a bit of effort and some common courtesy, you can easily obtain the recording you seek.  If you see a recording that is listed on the DRE for sale on eBay or somewhere else, don’t buy it!  Why would you now that you know you can get it for free???!!!  Right…

The first thing we recommend you do is join one of the many Rush message boards…  DRE Newsgroup, The Alien Shore, Counterparts, The National Midday Sun, Rush Tour Fourm, The Rush Forum (there is a more complete list on the right hand side of our main blog page here).  These message boards have sections dedicated to trading.  That is where you want to look.  People will post the list of shows they own, people will ask for shows they need (nicely).

Since you’re new to this, most traders will gladly do what is known as a Blanks and Postage (B&P) trade.  You send blank media and return postage to the traders and they return the media with the show you want on it.  There are also shows circulated from one person to another called vines or weeds.  You request the original discs, once you receive them you make a copy and then send the originals to the next person in line.  Pretty simple, huh?  Remember, common courtesy goes a long way here (aka. no one wants to deal with a jerk).

With the advent of high speed internet, there are new ways to get shows which cut out the use of snail mail.  There are several sites using peer to peer file sharing software where people share Rush shows frequently.  Sites like Dime a Dozen, Traders Den, Boot City all use Bit Torrent.  The Rush DC Hub uses Direct Connect and is dedicated to sharing Rush (mostly).  All of these sites use shared bandwidth to help propagate shows.  So if you grab a show from one of these sites, you should leave your connection open (Bit Torrent) or put the show up for share (Direct Connect) so others can take advantage of your bandwidth to get the shows they want.

That’s it - and it didn’t hurt a bit, did it? 

Remember, after you get that recording you seek, make sure you stop back into the DRE and leave a review!  Don’t forget to support Rush buy purchasing ALL of their commercially available releases!!  We want them to continue making new music and touring for as long as possible!!

PS.  I would be remiss in this posting if I did not mention our friends at Power Windows and Rush is a Band.  Both of these sites are fabulous sources of up to date information on all aspects of Rush.

Our resident live Rush trading expert Ron has provided a new Snakes and Arrows chapter for his Rush ROIO guide here.  He provides some fresh detailed reviews of the first available shows from the tour.  He will be updating this chapter periodicly throughout the tour… 

Ron has also been working on an update for the entire guide since many shows have been released since his last major revision in 2004. 

Today the Digital Rush Experience, the most complete up-to-date archive of information on digital live recordings of Rush, officially launches a new Logo Store at Cafe Press.  The store contains approximate 100 unique items with new updated DRE logos (artwork by Nephronic).  Items for sale include shirts for Baby, Kids, Jrs, Men and Women in a variety of colors, sizes and styles.  In addition, we also are offering hats, mugs, stickers, buttons, magnets, postcards, prints and posters.  We even have a barbeque apron, mouse pads and baby bibs!  Cafe Press frequently publishes discount coupons that are easily found using your favorite internet search engine.

All proceeds from sale of items at the DRE logo store (up to $3.00/item) will be donated to the Epilepsy Foundation.  Epilepsy is a medical condition that produces seizures affecting a variety of mental and physical functions. It’s also called a seizure disorder. A seizure is caused by a brief, strong surge of electrical activity involving part or all of the brain. When a person has two or more seizures without a clear cause (e.g., alcohol withdrawal), it’s considered to be epilepsy.  Seizures can last a few seconds to a few minutes. They can have many symptoms, from convulsions and loss of consciousness to some that are not always recognized as seizures by the person experiencing them or by health care professionals: blank staring, lip smacking, or jerking movements of arms and legs.  The Epilepsy Foundation promotes a global research agenda that will result in new treatment options to reduce and eliminate seizures, side effects, and other consequences of epilepsy.

Crazyrunner, the administrator of the DRE, will provide a matching donation to the Epilepsy Foundation (up to $1000) for all profits generated by the DRE logo store.  In December of 2004, Crazyrunner’s six year old daughter was diagnosed with epilepsy after several seizures.  “I never really understood what epilepsy was and the scope of it until my daughter began having seizures.  As much as modern medical science understands about the human body, we know very little about the operation of the brain and what makes it function and malfunction.  Her seizures always start during the night; they literally are her “monster under the bed.”  As a parent, your only options are to play lab rat with your child by trying different medications, with horrific potential side effects, to find something that holds back the seizures but allows them to function as normally as possible.  The biggest problem is there is no definite long term prognosis; the seizures could stop tommorow and never return or they could become a life long disability.”

In conjunction with the launch of the logo store, the DRE is also launching a new blog.  Crazyrunner says “The blog, based on WordPress, will allow us to keep fans up to date as new releases are made available and as we make further improvements to our site.  Users will be able to subscribe an RSS feed and leave comments to blog entries.  Our blog is not intended to be a complete Rush information source like Rush is a Band or Power Windows or a message board like the DRE Newsgroup, The Alien Shore or Counterparts.”

The DRE would like send a special thanks to Nephronic, Rush0212, RUSHnATL and Simple Man Productions for all of their ongoing help and support.

Any questions, comments should be sent via email to digitalrushexperience AT yahoo DOT com.

About the DRE:  First launched by The Digital Dan in April 1999, the DRE has become the largest archive of information on digital live recordings of Rush.  We currently have information and artwork on over 1100 fan releases.  We are also home to Ron’s Rush RoIO Review which is the most complete source of information for all known live recordings of Rush (digital and analog).  The Digital Rush Experience live recording database is a user driven site.  It requires input from website users in order to stay current with the trading scene.  If you’ve produced a recording or know of one that is circulating but not in the DRE database, please take the time to enter it into the website.  The DRE does not sell or condone the selling of live recordings.  Any of the releases listed at the DRE are available for free trade via mail or free download via high speed internet.  In September 2006, Crazyrunner took ownership of the DRE from The Digital Dan and moved the site to a new server.  Crazyrunner continues to run and improve the site.  He does not ask for any donations for his time, effort and expenses.  It is his way of giving back to the fans of the greatest band in the world.