Something for Nothing: A RUSH Fancast

We've seem Rush's Fifty Something Tour 4 times--twice in New York and once each in Philadelphia and Toronto--and we have opinions! It's no surprise that, this being a Rush podcast, our reviews are positive, but how positive? That's for us to know and you to find out by listening! Follow us on Bluesky: @rushfancast Follow us on Instagram: @therushcast Follow us on X (formerly Twitter): @RushFanCast...

Payton Rose Velligan is in "Weird Al" Yankovic's band, but more germane to us is that she's a huge Rush fan. Her video singing all of Hemispheres in a bathroom in Missouri has tens of thousands of views and her appearance on Tiny Desk Concerts with Weird Al made her an instant icon. Payton joins us to talk about discovering Rush, finally seeing the band live, and her upcoming shows with her tribut...

Geddy Lee sounds better than has in years, and it's due to Mitch Seekins. Mitch tells us all about helping Geddy get in vocal shape leading up to the Fifty Something Tour and how he continues to work with Geddy from show to show. You can learn more about Mitch's services at www.mitchseekinsvocalstudio.com. Follow us on Bluesky: @rushfancast Follow us on Instagram: @therushcast Follow us on X (form...

Our second episode episode from Rush Day 2026 at Henderson Brewing finds us chatting with a trio of great guests: filmmaker Dale Heslip, chef Bruce "Fenchie" French, and keyboard tech Tony "Jack Secret" Geranios!  Follow us on Bluesky: @rushfancast Follow us on Instagram: @therushcast Follow us on X (formerly Twitter): @RushFanCast Follow us on Threads: @therushcast Email us at: therushcast@gmail....

Our third straight year recording live from Henderson Brewing's Rush Day in Toronto was a great success! This episode we talk to Rush fans from around the world about seeing the band for the first of 4 sold-out shows at the Scotiabank Arena the night before. We're also joined by CFNY's Ivar Hamilton and perennial guest Ray Wawrzyniak, who returns to stump us on Rush trivia!  Follow us on Bluesky:...

You've heard the whispered tales of memorabilia and appetizers in the Fifty Something Tour's Xanadu Lounge, and we have the inside scoop! Longtime friend of the pod Ray Wawrzyniak tells us about curating the exhibit and his Xanaduties as docent on many tour stops. We also welcome back Steve Bown and Paul Beaulieu to talk about the upcoming RUSHFest Canada at the El Mocambo in Toronto on August 6!...

Friend of the podcast David Calcano of Fantoons returns this week to tell us about his involvement in the 50 Something tour. I won't spoil it in the description in case you're still avoiding the setlists, but suffice to say Fantoons made a real cool video for a classic Rush tune!   Follow us on Bluesky: @rushfancast Follow us on Instagram: @therushcast Follow us on X (formerly Twitter): @RushFanCa...

This week, we talk with Kevin Comeau, guitarist, bassist, and keyboardist of the Canadian progressive rock duo Crown Lands. Kevin and his bandmate, drummer and singer Cody Bowles, are unabashed Rush devotees, a fact reflected in their ambitious multipart epics. Join us as Kevin discusses the best way to learn Rush songs, working with his musical heroes on their new tour, and Crown Lands latest alb...

Rush is back! Kicking off the Fifty Something tour with 4 shows at the Los Angeles Forum, Rush ripped through a different set each night. Our LA correspondent, Mark Irwin, went to all 4 shows and delivers his report. Plus, the results of our setlist contest!  

This week we're joined by one of our generations greatest bassists, the legendary Billy Sheehan! With us this week is also our resident bassist, Lex, who is such a huge fan we had to let him in on the interview action. Billy tells us about opening for Rush in the '90s, jamming with Neil and Alex during soundcheck, and his latest band, The Fell. Follow us on Bluesky: @rushfancast Follow us on Insta...

This week, we're holding a contest: guessing what songs Rush will play at the first 4 shows of the Fifty Something tour in Los Angeles in June! We've set up a form where you can choose 38 songs you think will make an appearance in any of those LA shows.  Each song you can choose from has a point value attached to it, from 1 for the songs Rush has played most often to 15 for the songs they've never...

This week we have our first guest who was recommended by two former guests of the pod, Ron Lipnicki and Brian Colburn! Sean Faust joins us to count down the top five songs we hope Rush plays on the upcoming Fifty Something Tour! Sean is a regular on the New Jersey music scene, playing in the Bon Jovi tribute band Slippery When Wet, formerly in Money For The Toll, and doing solo acoustic shows. He'...

Back in January of 2024, Steve appeared on an episode of My Weekly Mixtape, a great podcast from our friend Brian Colburn. The episode was alliteratively called "The Spirit of Rush: 20 Songs That Define a Band That Defied Definition." Brian and Steve build an amazing mixtape that is perfect for diehards and new fans alike. Enjoy! Follow us on Bluesky: @rushfancast Follow us on Instagram: @therushc...

For decades, Paul Gilbert has been tearing it up in bands like Racer X and Mr. Big and on his own solo material. Paul joins us this week to talk about his love of Rush, what it was like touring with them with Mr. Big, and his new album, WROC. Go to www.paulgilbert.com to learn more about the album and buy a copy. Follow us on Bluesky: @rushfancast Follow us on Instagram: @therushcast Follow us on...

40 years ago, we attended our first Rush concert. It's difficult to measure the impact of that show–and RUSH–on our lives. That's why, to celebrate this concert milestone, we asked the 2 other guys who went to the show with us to reminisce about that night: Tony Joslin and Ron Lipnicki. You might remember Ron from episode 79, where he talked about the band's influence on his career as a drummer. T...

Dan Barracuda has a knack for dissecting songs that makes difficult music theory seem easy. Across his social media presence, you can find Dan breaking down what makes songs by your favorite artists tick--including Rush! So we asked him to join us this week to unravel the mysteries of what makes Alex Lifeson such a distinctive guitarist and why Rush sounds like Rush! Places to find Dan: www.danbar...

Cory Marks is a North Bay, Ontario, singer, songwriter, guitarist, and drummer who cites two seemingly disparate seminal influences on his music: Merle Haggard and Rush. To him, they're both outlaws who bucked conventions and stayed true to their spirit, something Cory does with his unique blend of country and rock. Cory is a second-generation Rush fan--the band played at his dad's highschool!--an...

Back in December, Steve and I appeared on The Carr Stereo Podcast to talk--as unbelievable as this might sound--about Rush! Terrie Carr is not only a New Jersey rock radio legend, having worked at the iconic WDHA as program director and midday host for decades, she's also a huge Rush fan. She jumped into her new podcast venture in 2025, and when she wanted to talk Rush, she knew we would answer th...

Sebastian Bach, formerly of Skid Row, is a huge Rush fan--so huge that he was member number 2 of the Rush Backstage Club. Sebastian joins us this week to tell us the amazing story of how he secured that place in the Backstage Club, the demo he recorded for Alex Lifeson's 1996 solo album, and the Rush album with a strange title he bought at a used record store. His most recent album is Child Within...

Raf Bagdasarian and Dan Fiden are lifelong friends who share a deep love of Rush. On the first season of their podcast Backtracking, they poured over the Rush discography. This week, Raf and Dan join us to geek out on all things Rush. Check out Backtracking--now finished with its second season, covering American Music Club--wherever you get your podcasts. Backtracking: https://podcasts.apple.com/u...

And now for something completely different: an episode of the podcast Primus Tracks in the feed! Primus Tracks hosts Josh and Frankie invited Gerry to discuss Rush's influence on Primus, the general excellence of both bands, and how easy it is to kill a good party vibe by throwing on a Rush or Primus song.  Follow us on Bluesky: @rushfancast Follow us on Instagram: @therushcast Follow us on X (for...

Branding expert Andris Pone joins us this week to examine the branding of Rush's Fifty Something Tour. Andris first joined us way back in episode 123 to talk about his article "He Lived The Lives of 10 Men: Lessons I've Learned From Neil Peart." Now he joins us to give his unique perspective on how Geddy and Alex are navigating their return to the stage. Follow us on Bluesky: @rushfancast Follow u...

This week, we're doing something we haven't done in 3 years: a Rush covers episode! But we're doing something different this time. We decided to focus our attention on one song, perhaps the most famous of all Rush songs, Tom Sawyer! We serve up 10 different versions of this classic tune, in styles ranging from bluegrass-flavored jazz to 8-bit arcade antics. So catch the mystery, catch the drift, a...

We've been talking a lot about our frustration with Ticketmaster, so we thought it would be interesting to talk to someone who could answer our questions about the ticket-selling world. Dean Budnick, co-author of "Ticket Masters: The Rise of the Concert Industry and How The Public Got Scalped," is that person. Dean tells us about the beginnings of Ticketmaster, how they became the juggernaut they...

It's our 200th episode, and what better way to celebrate than by having one of our favorite guests back for some Jedi-grade trivia! Ray Wawrzyniak, the preeminent collector of all things Rush, joins us to answer some of the toughest Rush trivia our listeners could muster. And Lex is here too, so you know it's a party! How did Ray do? You'll have to listen to find out! Follow us on Bluesky: @rushfa...