Something for Nothing: A RUSH Fancast

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. But we've made up for it in this episode, because A Show of Hands rocks! Listen to find out more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone....

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 great Rush show. So let's rock! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 album focuses on songs from A Farewell to Kings, Hemispheres, Permanent Waves, and Moving Pictures. So relive the majesty of seeing RUSH live by listening...

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 most valued friends, and that friendship deepened their working relationship. Join us as Rob reminiscences on the life of his good friend Neil Peart--wh...

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 artistic backbone. We talk about which Rush album The Lips might cover, favorite Rush songs, and The Flaming Lips' new album, American Head. Learn more abo...

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 Yourself to Sleep To." What I'm saying is, its themes are heavy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 Rush albums! Disagree with us--if you dare! *spooky Halloween music plays* Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Join us! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 only 4 issues, and the stages the average Rush fan goes through as the band becomes a part of their personal identity. Learn more about your ad choices....

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 of some of his collection and discusses the meaning behind his favorite pieces. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 which she tells when we count down our top 3 Rush concert moments. Really, just Google her. She's the best! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit m...

This week we welcome YYNOT members Billy Alexander, Tim Starace, and Rocky Kuner to the show. We talk about not only each member's love of Rush, but how a long-distance band relationship works. (Spoiler: very well!) And we also play a few songs from the band's albums of original material, the self-titled debut and Resonance. Join us! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Steve Brown founded RushFest Scotland in 2013, and the one-day gathering has since raised over £50,000 for charity! The event moved online this year, and this Saturday, September 12, 2020 (on what would have been Neil's 68th birthday), the organization is releasing Tributes: Songs for Neil, Vol. 1. The album features covers of Rush classics by Jacob Moon, Fleesh, and others, and is available for p...

This week we're rounding out Signals with discussions of The Weapon, New World Man, Losing It, and Countdown. One of these songs is a favorite of Gerry's and another is not. Any guesses which is which? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We continue to make our way through Signals by discussing The Analog Kid, Chemistry, and The Digital Man. Is it possible that through the power of chemistry The Analog Kid became The Digital Man? No, but break down each song and once again marvel at Alex Lifeson's amazing guitar work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, we begin our discussion of Signals, one of the most divisive albums in Rush's discography. Many long-time Rush fans, upon hearing the keyboard-soaked Subdivisions, abandoned the band--or, more accurately, felt the band had abandoned them. So what to make of this watershed  moment in Rush's career? All we can do is give you our opinions, and you'll have to listen to find out what those a...

This week we talk with Joe Bergamini, author of 2012's "Neil Peart: Taking Center Stage: A Lifetime of Live Performance." Joe, an accomplished drummer, teacher, and writer, tells us about his lifetime of drumming and his relationship with Neil, first as a young rabid fan, then as collaborator on the DVD series and book of the same name, and, ultimately, as friends. Joe's insights into Neil's style...

You probably know Jillian Maryonovich from the documentary Time Stand Still, where she talked about RushCon and working in the Obama White House. This week, we delve a little deeper into how her obsession with Rush began, the impact Rush has had on her life, and where her fandom will take her in the future. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

David Calcano melded his lifelong love of music and comics when he founded Fantoons in 2012. His Kickstarter in 2015 for a collection of Rush comics and art was 100% funded in its first day and ended up raising 10 times its original goal. Since then, Fantoons has created official Rush merchandise--including the spectacular graphic novel of the making of A Farewell to Kings--and recently released a...

The week, we talk with the man who lit Rush's lighted stage for decades, Howard Ungerleider.  Howard hopped on the Rush train in 1974, when he accepted the role as tour manager to help keep life on the road running smoothly. The hats began to pile on--tour manager, lighting director, accountant--until he decided to wear just one: lighting director. Anyone who has ever witnessed a live Rush show ha...

This week we talk with John Patuto, the man who runs one of the go-to websites for Rush fans, Cygnus-X1.net. From the germ of an idea on early fan bulliten boards to the sprawling site Cygnus-X1.net has become, we cover it all. And we try to answer the question, what's the best Rush album closer of all time? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Well, here we are: the fourth and last episode of our Moving Pictures discussion. This time, we cover Witch Hunt and Vital Signs--two great songs that go great together! We hope you enjoy it! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, we continue our tetralogy (I looked it up!) on Moving Pictures with our discussion of Limelight and The Camera Eye. Is Alex's solo on Limelight the best he ever recorded? Is The Camera Eye more cinematic that Jacob's Ladder? Tune in to see what we think! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're back with more Moving Pictures, specifically, Red Barchetta and YYZ! Two great cinematic songs about different modes of transportation. So help us evade the Eyes, get far outside the Wire, and outrun the gleaming alloy air-cars by recommending Something For Nothing to a friend! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices