The Simpson Blog

Rush is coming to Halifax in summer 2013 for a July 12, 2013 date at the Halifax Metro Centre.

Now Saint Mary's University's Sobey School of Business is asking the band to add an item to its itinerary: Come talk to students about how the band takes care of business.

I saw this tweet on Twitter on Friday:

Dear @rushtheband: as great Canadian musicians and smart businessmen, we would love you to come to #SMU#Halifax and talk to our students.
— Sobey School @ SMU (@SobeySchool_SMU) January 24, 2013

Right away, I invited the author to come on Maritime Morning to talk about it. Spokesperson Charlene Boyce got back to me and we worked out a time.

So many topics could be explored. How does a band that's also a brand and also a money-making enterprise stay together for 40 years? How does artistic integrity fit in with keeping it profitable? How has a band not famous for commercial hits manage to monetize the heck out of everything? Is there a succession plan if one of the members…

Did the SMorgy cancellation leave you with a trip to Halifax but nothing to do here? If anyone is putting on impromptu shows, screenings, tweet-ups, etc. for those who are here and stranded or for the fanbase at large, please post in the comments and I'll revise the post as I get notes.

You'll want to know how to get around. Metro Transit runs the buses and ferries. Taking the ferry across the harbour between Dartmouth and Halifax is super-cheap and offers an amazing view. But to get from A to B via transit, I recommend using Google Maps and selecting the transit option.

On Twitter this afternoon, @CotB1 wrote "Due to an email delay I'm now stuck in Halifax with nothing to do. F--- you @ThatKevinSmith. Spent thousands on this god damn trip."

That dude came to Halifax all the way from Austin, Texas, to see Kevin Smith, Scott Mosier, Tell 'Em Steve Dave, Hollywood Babble-On and the rest.

He's from http://www.comingoutofthebasement.com, so I bet he'd be …

The Rush Fan Film Project has been taking YouTube clips of the Rush 2012 Clockwork Angels tour and cutting them into gorgeous HD concert videos with an aim to assembling a start-to-finish compilation of the entire show from a fan perspective.

I got in touch with the project's creator and asked if I could get in on the action. He said there were a few songs left to do, and I was welcome to take a crack at them.

My first cut of The Pass did not impress, as it was too busy compared to the rest of the tracks. The quality of the source video was also weak, and the performance on this particular night was sub-par. Still, I think parts of it look cool.



I went back to the drawing board and did a completely new cut from another night. The pacing came out much better and I think it reflects well on The Pass. A better performance, too.



This week, I did an initial edit of Middletown Dreams. Standing by for word from @RushFanFilm on how it goes over.

Hey, if you like my Rush videos or any othe…

UPDATE: Rush will play the Halifax Metro Centre, Friday July 12, 2013. It's true! Rush fan club members awoke this morning to an email announcing dozens of more shows for the Spring and Summer 2013 legs of the Clockwork Angels tour.

Just weeks after podcaster, author and filmmaker Kevin Smith, on a Rush-and-kush streak  in sunny Los Angeles, said he would try to get Rush to come to Halifax, it appears the dreams of music fans have come true.
RUSH coming to HALIFAX in SUMMER 2013 to tour CLOCKWORK ANGELS! The email from RUSH.com says: “Stay tuned for additional tour announcements for the summer dates that will resume when the band returns from their European leg in June. These will include but not be limited to Hershey, Wantagh, Saratoga, Chicago, Cincinnati, Milwaukee, Boston, Calgary, Vancouver, Portland, Salt Lake City, Denver, Kansas City, and will finally see RUSH return to Grand Rapids and Halifax for the first time in decades!"
Decades, indeed. It's been more than …

The latest episode of Under The Stairs takes me back to kindergarten.

I pull my kindergarten scrapbook out of the memory box and take you through my first year of school. See what passed for childhood achievement in 1978. Look at my coloring. Look at my drawing. Look at my alphabet and number. See how I depicted life at home.

After shooting this, I visited with my sister and witnessed my nephew making his own HD videos, complete with dot-com calls to action. He's the same age I was when I did this scribbling.

Please click "Like" after watching and make sure you're subscribed to my channel so you can get all the videos!

#SMorgy Cancelled! After slashing Day 2 and merging the 'casts into a single day due to TV commitments in LA, Kevin Smith has announced that the inaugural #SMorgy in Halifax is cancelled.
Why SMorgy was cancelled: The reason given [read it for yourself and see about refunds] is perfectly cromulent: his daughter Harley, now a 13-year-old bass player who's said of have some chops, has had her band advance to the finals in the local Battle of the Bands. In a dilemma worthy of a romantic comedy, @thatkevinsmith was forced to choose between the event that would take his brand to new heights of spectacle and respect, and the achievements of his pubescent daughter.

Kevin, as much as everyone here will miss you, the Tell 'Em Steve Dave crew, Ming, Mike, the Mrs. and Ralph Garmin -- go be a dad. The only thing I can think of that would make your fans love you even more would be seeing you be an even bigger part of that girl's life.

One tip: A band that can nail a Rush tune wil…