Ep. 166: A Night For Neil Memorial Celebration

Nick Raskulinecz is a Grammy-winning producer who has worked with the Foo Fighters, Alice in Chains, Evanescence, and, of course, Rush. Nick produced Rush's 2007 album Snakes & Arrows and their final masterpiece, Clockwork Angels, in 2012. he joins us this week to talk about his first meeting with Geddy and Alex, share stories from the recording sessions of Snakes & Arrows and Clockwork Angels, and what it was like to perform at Rush's 2013 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. 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: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Back in episode 110, we spoke with David DeRocco, chair of the Neil Peart Memorial Task Force, about getting the project off of the ground. Now, 3 years later, sculptor Morgan MacDonald has been chosen to create the statues and fundraising for the project has kicked into high gear. We talk to David about choosing Morgan, the progress of the fundraising effort, and the lasting legacy of Neil Peart and Rush. Donate to the Neil Peart Memorial: www.stcatharines.ca/neilpeart Listen to our interview with Morgan MacDonald: https://tinyurl.com/psvssxn9 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: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week we welcome Greg Russell. Greg was a close friend of Neil Peart, and he's also the drummer of the Rush tribute band Natural Science. Greg tells us about the unusual circumstance that led to his friendship with Neil, designing Neil's first website, and working on Neil's later drum kits. Follow us on Instagram: @therushcast Follow us on X (formerly Twitter): @RushFanCast Follow us on Threads: @therushcast Email us at: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's the last of our trilogy live from Henderson Brewing in Toronto! This week we welcome back our good friend Ray Wawrzyniak to stump us with Rush trivia. We also hear Rush Origin Stories from Bing from Houston, Texas, who also fills us in on a large language model he trained on the published works and lyrics of Neil Peart; Justin from Toronto, Ontario; and Morgan, also from Toronto. Check out Bing's AI project: https://rushologist-6171.chipp.ai Follow us on Instagram: @therushcast Follow us on X (formerly Twitter): @RushFanCast Email us at: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's the second of our 3 episodes live from Henderson Brewing in Toronto! This week we interview RushCon Creative Director Jillian Maryonovich; hear Rush Origin Stories from fans Jeff from Traverse City, Michigan; Ian from Kitchener, Ontario; Nyki from Honolulu, Hawaii; David from Toronto; and Christopher from Rochester, New York; and talk with RushFest Scotland founder Steve Brown. Follow us on Instagram: @therushcast Follow us on X (formerly Twitter): @RushFanCast Email us at: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In August, the SFN team--Steve, Gerry, and Lex--recorded live from Henderson Brewing in Toronto for Rush Day 2024. In the first of 3 episodes from Henderson Brewing, we talk with owner Steve Himel about the event and Rush lighting director Howard Ungerleider, and hear some Rush Origin Stories from fans Phil from Hilton Head, South Carolina; Melissa from Orange County, California; Ray from Whitby, Ontario; Doug from Burlington, Ontario; and John from Seattle, Washington. Follow us on Instagram: @therushcast Follow us on X (formerly Twitter): @RushFanCast Email us at: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're rounding out our summer mini season with the incomparable Tyler Warren! Tyler is an incredible multi-instrumentalist and vocalist who tours with Queen + Adam Lambert, records with his band Flarelight, and has released full album covers of both Permanent Waves and, most recently, Grace Under Pressure on his YouTube channel. Tyler talks to us about falling in love with Rush, how he ended up touring with Queen + Adam Lambert, and the monumental task of playing every instrument on those amazing full album covers. You can watch Tyler's Permanent Waves cover here: Tyler Warren - Rush’s Permanent Waves (full album performance) (youtube.com) You can watch Tyler's Grace Under Pressure cover here: Tyler Warren - Rush's Grace Under Pressure (full album performance) (youtube.com) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week we welcome back our friend Max Mobley to count down our top 5 favorite Alex Lifeson riffs. Max previously joined us on episode 97 to talk about his book "Rush FAQ," episode 122 to rank our top 5 Alex Lifeson solos, and again on episode 146 as part of our Hold Your Fire Redux series to talk about "Mission." You can learn more about Max, including where to buy his first novel, "Howard & Debbie," at Fiction-MaxMobley. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week we're joined by Mike Gormley, who worked as the director of publicity at Mercury Records during the early days of Rush. After leaving Mercury, he was the artist manager for such bands as The Bangles, Oingo Boingo, and Concrete Blonde. He tells us about meeting the band, their early days on the road, and the difficulty selling the rock press on the band despite their growing popularity. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, we attempt the impossible: ranking all of Rush's original studio album tracks. And guess what? We found it was impossible. So join us as we discuss out methods and frustrations and offer our sincerest apologies to anyone who has ever published a list of ranked Rush songs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices