Something for Nothing: A RUSH Fancast

Ep. 120: Rush Gigs: Found on the Studio Walls and In Concert Halls

The gift-giving season is upon us, and that means one thing: Rush stuff! This week we're talking to Something for Nothing alums Ray Wawrzyniak and Mark Irwin, the main contributors to Rush Gigs: Found on the Studio Walls and In Concert Halls. The book features selections of gig posters and ads promoting Rush concerts throughout the decades.

Ep. 119: My Favorite Headache, Pt. 2

We're back this week to discuss the remaining songs on Geddy Lee's 2000 album, My Favorite Headache. This batch of songs sees Geddy weighing in on some heavy topics with aplomb and, as has been par for the course for the album, a deft use of melody and songwriting. If you heard part one, this isn't a spoiler: My Favorite Headache rocks!

Ep. 118: My Favorite Headache, Pt. 1

In 2000, Geddy Lee released his first and only solo record, My Favorite Headache. Geddy wrote the music with Ben Mink, best known in Rush circles for playing the electric violin on Losing It, but handled the lyrics himself. In this episode, we discuss the first five tracks of My Favorite Headache, and we can confidently saw it doesn't hurt a bit!

Ep. 117: Top 5 Rush Albums With Michael Citro of the Michael‘s Record Collection Podcast

It's something that we've touched on in many previous episodes: what are our favorite Rush albums? And when we a list like this, we like to bring on a guest to share our pain with. This time, it's Michael Citro of the great Michael's Record Collection podcast. We were guests not too long ago on Michael's show to talk about Signals, so we wanted to return the favor! Drop a comment to tell us what you think of our favorite Rush albums lists.

Ep. 116: Different Stages, Disc 3/Hammersmith Odeon Concert

Way back in episode 93, we talked about the amazing live set Different Stages. Soon after, the emails and comments came in: what about a breakdown of the February 20, 1978, Hammersmith Odeon concert that was on disc 3 of Different Stages? So this week, we're doing one better: we're talking about the full Hammersmith concert that was included in the 40th anniversary A Farewell to Kings box set, which includes 4 more songs than the Different Stages disc. Spoiler: it's excellent!

Ep. 115: Steve Himel of Henderson Brewing

In August of this year, Henderson Brewing Company in Toronto released Rush Canadian Golden Ale. This week we speak with Henderson Brewing Company co-founder and GM Steve Himel about the first phone call with the Rush team, the rounds of beer tasting with Alex and Geddy, and the satisfaction of drinking the first beers to come off the production line. And Steve answers the question of when the beer will be available outside of Canada!

Ep. 114: Rush Origin Stories

We hear it all the time from listeners: we love it when you ask your guests their Rush origin stories. It seems that every Rush fan has a story, so this week, we hear from listeners about when they first heard Rush and how they became a fan. 

Ep. 113: Ohio State University Marching Band Director Christopher Hoch

Earlier this month, the Ohio State University marching band performed a halftime show featuring the music of Rush. Rush fans everywhere were delighted with the show. So we invited Dr. Christopher Hoch, Director of Marching and Athletic Bands at OSU, to talk about the show, the difficulty of performing Rush songs, and the positive feedback the performance received--including from the official Rush social media accounts!

Ep. 112: Steve Brown, The Stars Look Down: Songs for Neil, Vol. 2

A year ago, we spoke with RushFest Scotland founder Steve Brown about the album of Rush cover songs he put together to raise money for charity. Steve's back again to tell us about The Stars Look Down: Songs for Neil, Vol. 2. He tells us about the reception volume 1 received and we play some of the songs from the new collection.

Ep. 111: Hugh Syme

This week, we're talking with Hugh Syme, the man behind Rush's indelible album covers and art work! From Caress of Steel to Clockwork Angels and everything in between, Hugh's contributions to the Rush landscape are impossible to overestimate. Join us as Hugh recounts the process of creating Rush album covers, opines on connection between an album cover and music behind it, and discusses the new expanded edition of his coffee table book The Art of Rush: Serving a Life Sentence.

Ep. 110: David DeRocco, Chair of the Neil Peart Memorial Task Force

The Neil Peart Memorial Task Force has recently released its short list of finalists for the memorial at Lakeside Park. This week we talk with David DeRocco, the chair of the Task Force, about the process so far, the scope of the project, and when a design will be chosen.

Ep. 109: Musician Mike Massé

In our most recent episode of Rush Covers series (ep. 104), we played a version of Mystic Rhythms by singer/guitarist Mike Massé. This week we go in depth with Mike about his life, his Rush fandom, and how he approaches his unique covers. Then we play more of his Rush tunes!

And here’s the link to the fan-created pdf we talk about that contains links to every song Mike has ever performed on his livestreams: Mikemasse.com/artists.pdf

EP. 108: Clockwork Angels, Pt. 4

This is it folks. The finale episode about Clockwork Angels, wherein we discuss Headlong Flight, BU2B2, Wish Them Well, and The Garden. This episode is also the last one about a Rush studio album--which means that from now on, we're working without the net of having a studio album to talk about. Wish us luck!

Ep. 107: Clockwork Angels, Pt. 3

We're barreling toward the end of Clockwork Angels! Up this week: Halo Effect, Seven Cities of Gold, and The Wreckers. This is where our hero Owen Hardy comes face to face with the differences between his ideals and how the world is. Join us!

Ep. 106: Clockwork Angels, Pt. 2

In this week's episode, we keep on keeping on with Clockwork Angels. On the block are the title song, The Anarchist, and Carnies--three utterly fantastic songs! Join us as we wade farther and farther into this classic album!

Ep. 105: Clockwork Angels, Pt. 1

We've read your emails and tweets, so we're just gonna do it: this week we're talking Clockwork Angels! CA is an absolute masterpiece. It's as if every lesson Rush learned over their career was distilled into one album. Has any other band in the history of rock music ended their career with one of their greatest achievements? I'll answer that for you: no. We hope you enjoy this first of four episodes on this amazing album!

Ep. 104: Rush Covers, Pt. 3

It's time again for another round of Rush cover songs! Ten more artists playing their favorite Rush tunes! If you loved our previous episodes highlighting Rush cover songs--episodes 71 and 90--then we hope you'll dig this one too!

Ep. 103: Maiah Wynne, Envy of None, Singer/Songwriter

Maiah Wynne is an award-winning singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from Portland, OR, whose beautifully crafted songs have garnered her dedicated fans from around the world. After winning a mentorship with Andy Curran in a songwriting contest, the two began collaborating on songs, which led to Maiah writing lyrics and singing on the upcoming Envy of None project. Maiah tells us about her lifelong passion for music, her vast instrument collection, and, of course, working with Andy and Alex Lifeson.

Ep. 102: Brandon Dyke

Brandon Dyke has made a name for himself with mix of original progressive rock music and cover songs, most notably his acoustic takes on Rush tunes. We talk with Brandon about how Rush shaped his musical sensibilities, what goes into choosing which songs to cover, and what his teenage skateboarding friends thought of his love of Rush.

Ep. 101: Andy Curran, bassist of Coney Hatch and Envy of None

Our guest this week is bassist Andy Curran, a lifelong Rush fan who found his life inextricably entwined with the band since his group Coney Hatch was discovered by lyricist Pye Dubois and later signed to Anthem Records. Andy went on to serve as Rush's A&R guy and is currently working with Alex Lifeson and singer Maiah Wynne in Envy of None. Andy tells us about his Rush fandom, Geddy Lee's tennis tactics, and that fateful concert at Massey Hall.

Ep. 100: Top 5 Geddy Basslines With Lex Lehman

It's our 100th episode, and we're celebrating with most requested guest, the bassist who gives our podcast a touch of class, Lex Lehman! Lex joins us to talk his Rush fandom, and then we discuss five of our favorite Geddy basslines! 

Ep. 99: Max Webster's Battle Scar

We hadn't been doing the podcast for long before we received an incredulous email: you guys have never heard Battle Scar by Max Webster featuring Rush? No, we hadn't, but now we have. That's right, in this episode we listen to Battle Scar for the first time! Did we love it? There's only one way to find out. Listen!

Ep. 98: Kevin J. Anderson

Our guest this week is prolific science fiction and fantasy author Kevin J. Anderson, co-author, with Neil Peart, of the New York Times bestseller Clockwork Angels and its followup, Clockwork Lives. Kevin tells us about his friendship with Neil, gives us insight into collaborating with his musical hero, and where the bulk of the ideas for Clockwork Angels was born.

Ep. 97: Max Mobley, Author of Rush FAQ

Our guest this week is Max Mobley, a former columnist for Crawdaddy magazine and author of Rush FAQ. The book is a compendium of valuable Rush information with a focus on Rush as a live entity and is a must for every fan's bookshelf. Max's love for the band is evident as we discuss his hilarious first Rush concert experience, why the remaster of Signals is superior to the original, and how the band will be remembered.

Ep. 96: Power Windows Redux, Pt. 4

Well, we've done it! Reached the end of our Power Windows revisit! If you've been following along so far, you know that there's only 2 songs left to the album: Emotion Detector and Mystic Rhythms. But who's on hand to discuss these gems with us? You'll have to listen to find out!

Ep. 95: Power Windows Redux, Pt. 3

We're still heading down those tracks toward finishing up our revisit of Power Windows, this time with the help of one of our first guests and one of our most recent ones. On the block this time: Territories and Middletown Dreams! 

Ep. 94: Power Windows Redux, Pt. 2

Once more unto the breach, dear friends! It's part 2 of Power Windows Redux, and this time we and our special guests discuss Manhattan Project and Marathon, 2 great songs that go great together. So join us as we put some force into the flow!

Ep. 93: Power Windows Redux, Pt. 1

In 2019, we recorded our first 2 episodes with the unearned confidence of younger men. Almost 2 years on, we are older, we are wiser, and we have read your emails asking us to revisit Power Windows and do it justice. So that’s what we're doing, beginning now! For the next 4 episodes, we will be discussing 2 songs each time, this time with guests to help us make sense of one of Rush's greatest albums, Power Windows!

Ep. 92: Different Stages

Different Stages is Rush's fourth live album and the last in their 4-studio-albums-to-1-live-album release schedule. Most of the songs on the release's first 2 disks were recorded on the Test for Echo tour, with a few taken from the previous Counterparts tour. (We've left the discussion of the third disk's 1978 set for another episode.) Listening to Different Stages was a wild ride! I hope you think so too!

Ep. 91: Rush Fan Jarad Schofer, Walking Across the U.S. to Raise Money for Cancer Research

Beginning in March, Jarard Schofer set out  from Los Angeles, CA, on foot to cross the United States to raise money for cancer research. Inspired in equal parts by a friend who passed away from cancer and by Neil Peart's death, Jarad has already raised more that $25,000 with less than 30 days left to his trip. You can help by donating a symbolic $21.12 to his fundraising efforts. You can find a link to his fundraising page on his Instagram account--@jarad2112--or Venmo him directly @jarad2112.