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!--and he joins us this week to talk about the indelible influence Rush has had on his life, the transcendent power of live music, and his latest album, "Sorry For Nothing, Vol. 2."

Go to www.corymarks.com for tour updates and links to all of his music.

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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 the call. 

Follow The Carr Stereo Podcast:

Apple Podcasts:  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/carr-stereo-podcast/id1841510749

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/24wSY55Bzh1BJE1SpEKdYT?si=cAfjHEbfQMSlmrvgW4l5Ow

YouTube: https://youtube.com/@terriecarr-f4d?si=2Fkbh0zyD8OGlCBk

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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 The Man, which you can buy from his website (www.sebastianbach.com) and is available to stream anywhere.

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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/us/podcast/backtracking/id1723399651

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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. 

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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.

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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, and listen today!

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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 are, and what the future holds for concert goers.

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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!

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The moment we were all waiting for happened this week: Tickets for Rush's Fifty Something Tour went on sale! OK, there were 3 different sales in the span of 7 days: the Citi Bank credit card presale, the artist presale, and the general sale. This week Steve and Gerry talk about the frustrating ticket-buying process, why Ticketmaster has been ruining the fan experience for decades, and how we fared in our quest to see our favorite band.

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