rush Archives - ALL ACCESS LIVE with KEVIN RANKIN

ALL ACCESS LIVE with ANDY CURRAN

Andy Curran first exploded onto the Canadian rock scene in 1982 as a founding member of Coney Hatch. After the release of their debut album, the band’s rocket rise saw them sharing stages with Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Cheap Trick, Peter Frampton, Ted Nugent, Eddie Money , Frank Marino and Edgar Winter earning not one, but two coveted special guest slots at Toronto’s legendary Maple Leaf Gardens in a single year.

Riding that wave of success, Curran struck out on his own in 1992 with his self-titled solo debut. The album earned him two Juno Award nominations, including Most Promising Male Vocalist, which he proudly took home that year. The record spawned three Top 10 hits — “No Tattoos,” “License to Love,” and “Let Go” — making Curran and his band fixtures on MuchMusic and rock radio across Canada. Touring continued with notable shows along side Glass Tiger , Rik Emmett and RUSH.

After 18 months of relentless touring behind the album and still riding the Juno success, Curran regrouped with a new project, Soho 69, releasing Scatterbrain in 1993. The lead single “Kiss My Boots” again became a MuchMusic favourite, and his hometown show in support of the record, opening for King’s X, remains a personal career highlight.

The years that followed were a rock ’n’ roll rollercoaster ride. Curran signed with Geffen Records for his alt-rock outfit Caramel, whose debut produced the U.S. Top 10 radio hit “Lucy” and landed the band on tour with Creed, Stabbing Westward, Brother Cane, Candle Box and Econoline Crush.

When Geffen Records was eventually swallowed up by Universal, Curran went back to his roots, reconnecting with longtime friend and Juno Award winning engineer Vic Florencia to start fresh. That collaboration led to a new band featuring Simon Brierley, Randy Cooke, and Virginia Storey. Evolving through several name incarnations (Drug Plan, Trailer Park, and Leisureworld ), they ultimately signed with Artist Direct and released the single “I Can’t Quit You.” Along with “I’m Dead,” the track found strong airplay in markets like Boston and Madison, Wisconsin. Curran has often said that record remains one of his favourite collections of songs from his long and colourful career.

In addition to his own projects, Andy has co-written with some of Canada’s finest, including Kim Mitchell (Max Webster) and Gordie Johnson (Big Sugar), among others.

After stepping away from performing for more than a decade to focus on his work as A&R director for Anthem Records and SRO Management, Curran returned to the studio in 2021 . He formed the critically acclaimed Envy of None alongside his longtime friend and Rock & Roll Hall of Famer — Alex Lifeson rounded out by Maiah Wynne and Alfio Annibalini .The band’s self-titled debut drew widespread praise and was followed by the bold and atmospheric Stygian Wavz in 2025 .

Today, Andy continues to write, record, and produce . He still hits the stage for select “weekend warrior” shows with his longtime rock ’n’ roll brothers in Coney Hatch, who recently tore it up at London’s Rock The Park , Burlington’s Sound of Music Festival, and the prestigious Sweden Rock Festival.

All Access Live

A DISCUSSION AMONGST FRIENDS: THE RETURN OF RUSH

After a decade-long hiatus, Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson have decided to return to the road, enlisting phenom Anika Niiles on drums to fill the role of one rock’s arguably greatest drummers. Neil Peart will be honored in their return, and many of my friends are rabid Rush fanatics… so we’ll be gathered together in a spirited forum to discuss the return – our feelings, excitement and reflections. Join me and Rod Morgenstein, Jason Bittner, Joel Stevenett, Dan Pred and a plethora of other Rush fanatics!

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ALL ACCESS LIVE with JOEL WERTMAN

Joel’s career started in 1977 when he wrote and produced a song that became a top five record in Canada and Europe. Following this major break, Mr. Wertman made the move to Los Angeles where he joined Mushroom Records as a staff producer and writer. There he recorded and remixed for artists including Heart, Doucette and Ian Matthews. Mr. Wertman got his first taste for television as a writer with Hart to Hart and Taxi and a songwriter/producer for Happy Days and Joanie Loves Chachi.

Later in his career, Mr. Wertman held executive roles with multiple record labels including president of Eureka/EMI, Eureka/BMG, Eureka Records and Sire/Discovery Records. During his tenure, Mr. Wertman was instrumental in the careers of many artists including The Goo Goo Dolls, Heart, KISS, No Doubt, Bush, Young MC, and Tiffany, among others, officials said.

Additionally, Mr. Wertman develops and produces television programming for children.

Today, Wertman is far from Hollywood but very much involved in a media company with its hand in music and a focus on a visual future fueled by 5G just as much as ATSC 3.0.

Wertman is the President of Reach High Media Group, a Chattanooga, Tenn.-based company that is the successor to Luken Communications.

ALL ACCESS LIVE with SPOONS

Formed in 1980, an intrepid young band from Burlington Ontario would soon make “Spoons” a different kind of household word. Together with Derrick Ross and Rob Preuss, Gord Deppe and Sandy Horne would help define the sound of pop and New Wave in the 80’s, with hits including “Nova Heart”, “Romantic Traffic”, “Old Emotions” and “Tell No Lies”.

Their album “Arias & Symphonies” would go on to be named one of the 20 Most Influential Albums of The 80’s by “the Chart” Magazine, and their song “Nova Heart” was recently included in Bob Mersereau’s book “the Top 100 Canadian Singles of All Time”. Not bad for a bunch of kids from Burlington, Ontario!

Their first album, “Stick Figure Neighbourhood”, was recorded in 1981 at Grant Avenue Studios in Hamilton, Ontario, with a then unknown engineer by the name of Daniel Lanois. The album garnered rave press reviews and reached the #1 slot on college radio. But it wouldn’t be until the release of their song “Nova Heart”, produced by John Punter of Roxy Music and Bryan Ferry fame, that the Spoons became a household name. The Arias & Symphonies album, recorded at George Martin’s famous Air Studios in London, England, solidified the Spoons’ presence on the new wave music front.

With the commercial radio success that followed, the band saw themselves opening for such acts as the Police, Culture Club, and Simple Minds. A little TV show called MuchMusic had also just been launched, and the young Spoons were tailor-made for a whole new video-driven generation. In fact, the very first episode of the show began with, “Welcome to MuchMusic. Coming up we have brand new videos by Duran Duran, Howard Jones and the Spoons.” A new era was launched with those words.

A special 30th Anniversary edition of the “Arias and Symphonies” album followed, released by Sparks/Ready Records/Universal Music, complete with extensive liner notes, historical photos, and live tracks. It also saw the reunion, after twenty-six years, of the original band line-up, for an incredible sold-out release party in Toronto.

In 2019, Spoons Released a bold new album, “New Day New World”, the first studio project to be released by the Spoons in over eight years, once again Produced by Jeff Carter. Their new album plays on the band’s earlier edgy electro-80s sound and evokes the fun, pop sounds of their biggest hits while transporting them firmly into 2019. Four video singles have been released so far: For the First & Last Time, All the Wrong Things (In the Right Places), Landing Lights, and the title track, New Day New World. Three of these videos have been directed by Peter Sacco, winning multiple awards worldwide.

The retro 80s movement, now almost a decade old, shows no signs of slowing down. Not one bit. And as far as Sandy, Gord, and a lot of fans are concerned, that is a very good thing indeed.

ALL ACCESS LIVE with JOEL STEVENETT

Joel is not only a phenomenal drummer, known by many fans for his impeccable Rush tributes, but is also a first-call session drummer for video game soundtracks! We are going to chat about the importance of relationships, and how they can form a path for greatness in all things.

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