Heavy Glow is a power rock trio from San Diego. I talked with their guitarist, lead singer and primary song-writer Jared Mullins this week. As a musician myself – approaching 40 years of age – I’m always impressed and more than a bit jealous when I speak to young turks like Jared who seem to have all their ducks in a row career-wise and are focused driven to succeed in music. My cop out is usually that I have a family to support and can’t force my them to squeak by on Ramen noodles salvation army clothes just so diddle away the hours on my music career. Talking to young guys like Jared occasionally is good antidote to this crappy attitude – it helps jolt my ass out complacency.
Anyway, I really like Heavy Glow’s music – it’s slightly edgy, mainstream enough to not require repeated listens to get into – and has an absolute affinity to early Rush music. In fact, I’d describe the band as Cream crossed with early Rush circa Fly By Night, only with a white-boy baritone blues singer.
The Vital Might is a Boston-based prog rock/punk trio. Today I speak with the Vital Might’s guitarist, singer and primary song-writer in the band – Andy Milk – hitting on several topics near to my heart:
The recording & production process
How to achieve a “big” sound as a prog power-trio
Stylistic mixing/matching in a composition: i.e. moving from grunge to pop to metal to pretentious prog – all in one song
Andy’s vocal affinities with Duran Duran’s Simon Le Bon
We also hear two full tracks – a whacked out track called Make My Day from the debut album, and a heavy late-Rush style track Phantom Spaceman from their latest album Red Planet.
Today I speak with Keyboardist Steve Mauk from the west coast prog rock band Mars Hollow.
This is the third band from the indie label 10T that I’ve interviewed. The first two – Elf Project & Fluttr Effect – were simple accidents. One band I had sought out, the other was referred to me by a friend. The fact that both were on 10T was ironic – but when I went exploring the 10T progressive/experimental catalog I discovered several other “Bands Like Rush” that would be perfect for the site. So I contact a few more of them – Mars Hollow is the first from that latest batch
Steve and I discuss the differences between the prog music scenes in Los Angeles & Mexico (guess which is the better place for prog). We also discuss the oddly traditional route they’ve taken to starting the band – recording an album with a top producer, “shopping it around”, then performing out live looking for a break.
Today I speak with Clutch – the guitarist and primary song-writer for the band Colorado-based prog rock band Red Star Revolt. The music is really original – powerful and interesting progressive rock arrangements, mixing in a tad bit of psychedelic, hip-hop and electronica. Today’s podcast is short to allow for two full tracks from the bands last self-titled album. Mid-way through we here the song Prove Me Wrong, and we close with the song Dementia.
Today I talk to Carl Shultz of Elf Project - a band that (aside from that one single up on myspace) has a sound VERY much like Rush.
I talk w/Carl about the challenges of living and working in a relative backwater area for (Progressive Rock) like suburban Albany, how Elf Project evolved out of a Rush tribute band. We even talk shop a bit about how he gets his amazing bass sound – modeled faithfully after Geddy Lee’s muscular, edgy bass sound.
Mid-way through the podcast we hear a full-length version of the band’s single Serene from their latest album Mirage. We close the podcast with another full-length track from Mirage – Lessons
Dysrhythmia is a three-piece instrumental, progressive metal band from New York City. They’ve been together for over 10 years – producing aggressive, complex – and frankly scary metal. I interviewed their primary songwriter and guitarist Kevin Hufnagel several months ago and am only now getting around to posting this. The timing is good however, since they’re embarking on a European tour in a week – here’s hoping the publicity is well-timed.
Yet again – I find this podcast veering out a bit from the mission statement to bring you “bands like Rush”. I won’t make you giggle by trying to argue for a Rush/Dysrhythmia similarity. Aside from dwelling in the same major genre of progressive rock – Rush and Dysrhythmia have little in common. The bigger point I make by including bands like Dysrhythmia in this podcast is that Rush fans who appreciate complex and challenging song structures, virtuosity and music that “grows on you” are going to appreciate lesser-known bands like Dysrhythmia. Expect more bands like this in the months ahead.
My guest today is the first unsolicited interviewee for BandsLikeRush.com. Ben Averch – a one-man progressive rock band from Seattle – contacted me directly at this website with an offer to talk. I’m glad he did because – not only is his music great – but he’s an avid, long-time Rush fan, with great stories to boot. Its quite rare to find a fellow musician who – like me – writes, performs and records his own music – and doesn’t SUCK! On the contrary, his music is not at all simple Rush “similac” or directly derivative from any other classic prog rock band, but are personal statements, with great arrangement, production, and musicianship. His songs have grown on me – they’re in my iPod – I suggest they get in yours.
Today’s interview is a special one. By special arrangement, I’ve recruited a very talented actor friend – let’s call him Fozzy – to dramatically re-enact the first – but certainly not my last – bizarre AND entertaining personal encounter to come from this podcast.
Gino Foti is an Italian-American prog rock guy from New England. He’s smart and has a way with words. And when I emailed him at his website a few weeks ago, asking for an interview with he and his band mates from instrumental rock trio Electrum, he displayed his skill at cutting a nice guy down to size.
Playful at first, his mood soon turned. He went trolling on the site and found that I had posted our email exchange. Then, like a Dark Lord wielding The Force for evil ends, he impaled me on his verbal acuity.
For example, in this podcast I stand accused me of being…
Self-pitying
A woman with a vagina
Mentally ill, and in need of a Zoloft dose increase
A disgrace to my children
What do I accuse HIM of? Missing his calling as an insult comic – that’s what.
As a friend recently told me – experiences like this are why he doesn’t publish for the world as I do. Of course its a bit disturbing to have a stalker online who hates you, but its entertaining too.
Fluttr Effect is a Boston-based prog rock band with an eclectic makeup and interesting history. Founded by main songwriter and guitarist Troy Kidwell – their music draws on some unusual elements: 70s-era prog rock textures and production, jazz & classical instrumentation and arrangement, and tinges of near-eastern folk music – and a little bit of hard-core chops & virtuosity for good measure.
I talked with Troy about the band’s origins, journey to where they are now, and his plans for the future of both Fluttr Effect and his own fledgling career as a producer and record label entrepreneur.
I knew when I started this podcast that I might be stretching it to call every band I interview a “band that sounds like Rush”. Fluttr Effect more straddles the art-rock/classical/jazz crossover areas – more than it sounds like a copy or disciple of Rush. Still, anyone who is drawn to Rush’s core greatness, which is all about great songs, interesting themes, and awesome chops – will appreciate and enjoy Fluttr Effect.
Below is an example of the type of abuse one can expect when going fishing for an interview with defunct prog rock band – without knowing its defunct.
Insulted at first, I quickly realized that Gino Foti of the ex-band Electrum is just insane, without boundaries and resentful of life. If Howard stern were a music podcaster he’d probably jump at this – so I’m publishing. As friend Marty pointed out, his rant has a neat “Take my band please”, David Lee Roth/Catskills angle. Enjoy!
from: Gino Foti
to: Ben Sommer
subject Re: Inquiry from Electrum.org
On Sun, February 21, 2010 5:11 pm, Ben Sommer wrote:
> Hi Gino – I run a podcast/blog at http://BandsLikeRush.com.
Rush??? Never heard of them… wait, is that the opening act for Lady Gaga?
> I stumbled upon your music and an intrigued to hear more about you and your band, label etc.
Intrigued to hear more about ME? Cool! Well… my first memory is when I was just a fetus… I was stuck in this small apartment for about 9 months… next door neighbor was playing one of those heartbeat sound CDs at about 90 dB all fucking day & night! I couldn’t wait to get out of that hole…
I was born in Sicily, which as you may know is an island, and I have webbed feet, but I can’t swim. Pretty ironic, if you ask me. Let’s flash forward a bit: my first toy was a Teddy Bear – like a lot of babies – except mine was anatomically correct. I still have nightmares to this day!
But that’s enough for now, let’s save the rest for the real interview, shall we? Make sure to ask me about the time I met The Dalai Lama in a strip joint in Newark, New Jersey, ok? Nice guy. Bought me a lap dance. What was the name of that Asian chick again? I want to say “Jade”… wait… Jasmin?? No. Oh, well…
> Are you interested in being interviewed on these topics?
If you want to talk about the band, I should invite the other two knuckleheads into this, since we do everything as a tri-lateral commission. Which is why we haven’t recorded a composition in almost 10 years! Not that I’m bitter… ok, maybe a little. No wonder the downfall of the Roman Empire can be attributed to the start of the triumvirate system, hmmm?
So… how do you usually conduct these interviews – by phone? Through e-mail?? Do we have any control/input on the topics that will be covered? Do you like gladiator movies? But I digress…
You know what? It might be better if you do an interview with Dave, since he also has a solo CD in the same vein as Electrum; and although he’s by far the least talented member of the group, he’s a guitarist, like yourself, so you can both jerk off while you talk about pick sizes, bridge heights, and tremolo systems, or whatever the hell it is you guitarists do when there is nobody watching.
Oh, by the way, if this is a ruse to score free CDs, you would have done better by sending me an e-mail telling me that you are the widow of a Nigerian oil baron who left his fortune to me. I am happy to say that both our releases are Out Of Print!
And if you are the widow of a Nigerian oil baron, please send me some naked pictures of yourself, ok?
BandsLikeRush.com is a music discovery podcast and blog from composer/performer Ben Sommer. Interviews with musicians and artists who's music "sounds like" Rush - the great progressive rock trio from Canada.
Contact Ben if you're in a "band like Rush" and want to be interviewed!
.
, and we close with the song 
.
from their latest album 
. We close the podcast with another full-length track from Mirage – 