Something for Nothing: A RUSH Fancast

Two lifelong friends discuss the albums of their favorite band, RUSH. A part of Pantheon Podcasts.

Music
Music Commentary
Music History
101
Ep. 80: Steve Holmes of House of Drumming
Of late,  we've had a string of great drummers on the podcast to discuss Rush and Neil Peart in particular. This week we talk with yet another great drummer: Steve Holmes, founder of HouseOfDrumming.com, a resource for drummers the worldover. Steve h...
57 min
102
Ep. 79: Ron Lipnicki, Former Overkill Drummer
Ron Lipnicki is a drumming beast, having spent a decade keeping time for thrash-metal pioneers Overkill as well as recording and touring with Hades and Whiplash--and he's a childhood friend of ours. In fact, Ron was with us when we saw Rush for the f...
48 min
103
Ep. 78: Artist Charlie Roy
Charlie Roy is fast becoming a familiar name among Rush fans for his dynamic paintings and sketches of Alex, Geddy, and Neil. Roy's artwork captures the feeling of seeing Rush live, something every fan has been missing for years. Join us as Charlie d...
47 min
104
Ep. 77: Dale Heslip, Director of the Documentar...
Joining us this week is Dale Heslip, director of "Rush: Time Stand Still," the moving documentary chronicling the band's final tour. Dale takes us behind the scenes of the R40 tour, discusses how the tour's concept came to be, and tells us what it wa...
54 min
105
Ep. 76: Vicki Flier Hudson of The Spirit of Rus...
Our guest this week is Vicki Flier Hudson, the lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the popular Georgia-based Rush tribute band The Spirit of Rush. Vicki has also authored three books, with her most recent being "The Winter Garden," a book of poetry d...
55 min
106
Ep. 75: David Calcano, "Neil Peart: The Illustr...
Our pal David Calcano is back for his second appearance on the podcast, and this time we're talking about Fantoons' new "Neil Peart: The Illustrated Quotes." We ask David the origins of the book, and then Steve and Gerry read our favorite quotes and ...
57 min
107
Ep. 74: Brian Hiatt, Senior Writer at Rolling S...
Brian Hiatt has written more than 65 cover stories during his 16-year tenure at Rolling Stone, including Rush's 2015 cover story--the band's first for magazine. Brian also wrote "The Spirit of Neil Peart," which was published on the one-year annivers...
66 min
108
Ep. 73: Richard Houghton, Author of "Rush: The ...
Author Richard Houghton's new book, "Rush: The Day I Was There," is an oral history of the band from a unique perspective: that of the fans. The book contains first-person accounts of Rush concerts: the effort it took to get there, the effect the sho...
49 min
109
Ep. 72: Jacob Moon
After we wrapped up our episode on Rush covers,* we thought, "Why don't we talk with the man who performs some of greatest Rush covers?" An email or two later, and voila, we have Jacob Moon on the podcast! Jacob breaks down his various Rush covers an...
72 min
110
Ep. 71: Rush Covers
One test of a great song is how well it survives translation to another genre, and we all know that Rush has written some great songs. That's why this week we've compiled 10 of our favorite Rush covers, from the expected to the ones out of left field...
49 min
111
Ep. 70: Donna Halper
In 1974, Donna Halper, then music director of WMMS-FM in Cleveland, OH, dropped the needle on a record by an unsigned band called Rush, and in that instant, she became the reason why we're all Rush fans. Donna has been our most-requested interview, s...
49 min
112
Ep. 69: Alexander Hellene, Author of Dreamers &...
This week we talk with Alexander Hellene, author of the new book Dreamers & Misfits: The Definitive Book About Rush Fans.  Alexander created a survey to find out who the typical Rush fan is. What did he discover? That's what we're here to find out!
49 min
113
Ep. 68: Ryan Reed, Contributing Editor at Spin ...
Ryan Reed is a contributing editor at Spin Magazine and is a regular contributor to Rolling Stone and sites like Pitchfork and Ultimate Classic Rock. In an article for the latter site, Ryan put his Rush fandom to the test by ranking all 167 original ...
62 min
114
Ep. 67: A Show of Hands
This week, we talk about Rush's third live album, A Show Of Hands, which chronicles songs from Signals, Grace Under Pressure, Power Windows, and Hold Your Fire. It's a fantastic album, one that perhaps we didn't give enough credit to when it came out...
60 min
115
Ep. 66: All the World's a Stage
This week, we're covering some more live Rush: All the World's a Stage. This is Rush's first live album, recorded at Toronto's Massey Hall on the 2112 tour. ATWAS is loud, fierce, and brash, just like any great concert should be--but especially a gre...
61 min
116
Ep. 65: Exit...Stage Left
The true test of any band is how well they perform live, and RUSH always got a perfect score. Exit...Stage Left is the band's second double-vinyl live album and captures the boys on the Moving Pictures tour. With the exception of two tracks, the albu...
57 min
117
Ep. 64: Rob Wallis of Hudson Music on His Decad...
Rob Wallis worked with Neil Peart for 30-plus years on instructional videos that brought Neil's meticulous compositions to life for aspiring and practiced drummers everywhere. Over the years, Rob became part of Neil's "inner circle" of trusted and mo...
45 min
118
Ep. 63: Steven Drozd of The Flaming Lips
Our guest this week is Steven Drozd, multi-instrumentalist songwriter for the endlessly creative and innovative band The Flaming Lips. Steven first got into Rush with Caress of Steel when he was 6 years old, and the band's music helped form his artis...
54 min
119
Ep. 62: Grace Under Pressure, Pt. 3
This is it. The Return of the Jedi of our Grace Under Pressure episodes, wrapping up the trilogy. This time under the microscope: Kid Gloves, Red Lenses, and Between the Wheels--the last of which is to us a contender for "Best Rush Song to Cry Yourse...
52 min
120
Ep. 61: Grace Under Pressure, Pt. 2
This week we continue our chronicle of Grace Under Pressure with discussions of Red Sector A, The Enemy Within, and The Body Electric—a trio of songs that plumb the depths of human, and android, experience. This one gets a little heavy at times.
50 min
121
Ep. 60: Grace Under Pressure, Pt. 1
Grace Under Pressure falls in-between Signals and Power Windows, so it can sometimes feel that it gets lost between those two polarizing albums. But this week, we're here to say that Grace Under Pressure deserves its place among the greatest of great...
52 min
122
Ep. 59: Martin Popoff, Author of "Limelight: Ru...
Author Martin Popoff previously appeared on episode 37, and he's back to talk about his latest book, Limelight: Rush in the '80s. This is the second book in Popoff's Rush trilogy, and it covers--no surprise--the albums Permanent Waves through Presto....
51 min
123
Ep. 58: Derek Bacharach, Creator of the First R...
Derek Bacharach was a Rush-crazed teenager when he decided he wanted to share his obsession with as many people as possible. Thus was Rushology born in March of 1986! We talk to Derek about how the zine started, why it came to an abrupt end after onl...
44 min
124
Ep. 57: The Ray Wawrzyniak Collection
To say Ray Wawrzyniak loves Rush is the understatement of understatements. Ray has dedicated most of his life to the band, and the fruit of his labor is his staggering collection of Rush memorabilia. Ray, our first two-time guest, takes us for a tour...
55 min
125
Ep. 56: Terrie Carr, Program Director of 105.5 ...
Terrie Carr is a legend in rock radio in New Jersey, and is currently the Program Director of and midday host on 105.5 FM WDHA, in Cedar Knolls. She's a huge Rush fan, has interviewed Geddy Lee twice on air, and is chock full of cool stories--some of...
59 min