RUSH’S GEDDY LEE CONFIRMED FOR SEASON 14 PREMIERE OF VH1 CLASSIC’S FLAGSHIP SERIES “THAT METAL SHOW,” DREAM THEATER’S JOHN PETRUCCI WILL MAKE HIS DEBUT AS GUEST GUITARIST

Thatmetalshowlogo Kicking off what’s guaranteed to be the best season of That Metal Show yet, Rush’s Geddy Lee has been confirmed for the debut episode of VH1 Classic’s centerpiece in original programming. He will be making his second appearance on the acclaimed hard rock/heavy metal talk show, hosted by Eddie Trunk, Don Jamieson, and Jim Florentine. Geddy Lee returns to the show to promote the highly anticipated Rush R40 Live 40th Anniversary Tour that will kick off this summer. The tour will visit 34 cities throughout North America and tickets are currently on-sale for select markets. The episode will premiere on Saturday, February 21st at a new broadcast time of 9:00PM ET/PT, repeating at 11:00PM ET/PT the same evening.

“Back when TMS was first born Geddy & Alex were nice enough to fly to New York and be a guest in our very first season. I’ve always had a great relationship with the Rush guys and it meant so much to me they were willing to support something I was doing that at that point hardly anyone had seen or heard of,” states host/co-producer Eddie Trunk. “Amazingly almost seven years have passed and we’re now about to debut our 14th season of ‘That Metal Show’ and I couldn’t be more honored to welcome back Geddy to the set to celebrate 40 plus years of Rush and the return of TMS!”

Known for having the best musicians in music perform each week on That Metal Show, the Season 14 premiere will continue the trend with John Petrucci of Dream Theater making his first-ever appearance on the debut episode. The 7-string guitar virtuoso has been someone the show has hoped to have on for some time now. Dream Theater is currently working on their new album, which they hope will be out later this year.

Season 14 of That Metal Show will consist of 12 all-new episodes and will be shot at Metropolis Studios in New York City on Tuesday nights for broadcast that Saturday. Audience tickets for upcoming tapings are now available via Gotham Casting at gothamcasting.com/gothamrsvp. Upcoming guests will be announced in the near future.

Season 14 will also mark the return of some notable segments including Metal Modem, TMS Top 5 Rank, and Take It Or Leave It. The popular Stump The Trunk segment will also be returning as audience members go out of their way to test Eddie Trunk’s vast knowledge for a chance to win a prize and see everyone’s favorite Ms. Box Of Junk, Jennifer, who is also returning for the new season. Fans can watch previous episodes and other exclusive bonus clips at ThatMetalShow.VH1.com and on the new VH1 app.

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25 Responses

  1. Wow what a let down. At least for me. I have never been a fan of Rush. Just cant stand their music or Geddy’s voice. But I’m sure lots of people will be excited about this. As much as I dislike Rush I will still tune in and can’t wait for the new episodes! Glad to finally have TMS back!

    1. Sure hope you weren’t one of the ones expecting Eddie Van Halen. The probability of that ever happening are slim and none.

      Curious to see who the rest of the guests are going to be. I’m hoping we won’t be subjected again to Zakk Wylde, Mike Portnoy, or any other recycled past guests. TMS needs to shake things up.

    2. Well, everyone has an opinion. Personally, Rush was one of my most influential bands, even the synth era.

    1. Rush hasn’t been an opening act since some of the dates on their ’77 Farewell to Kings tour. They’ve headlined for the past 38 years, and for the last half of that, they’ve had no opening band.

    2. Sometimes I think people who maybe aren’t into Rush don’t realize how successful they’ve been, and for how long. They were never THE worldwide “band of the moment” or even “band of an era” like Zep, Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, etc. Obviously those bands have longevity too, but they had stretches of time where they “ruled the world” so to speak. Rush was never that band, the closest they came was probably the years around Moving Pictures. But, they’ve been steadily filling arenas ever since they reached that level in the first place. They may not have the biggest fan base, but it’s been big enough to sustain them at a high level and has to be among the most loyal there is. Never had to resort to package tours or downsize venues, as Nick said they haven’t had an opening act since the Counterparts tour in ’93/’94. Even now, all three members (unchanged since ’74 or ’75!) into their 60’s, they still play close to a 3 hour show! I can understand people who don’t like Geddy’s voice (but he hasn’t been that ultra high, shrill screamer for a loooooong time), or just don’t “get” them musically, but you have to admire and respect their endurance, musicianship, and professionalism.

    3. I remember the stories they told about opening for KISS from the documentary on them, and just figured that they had done some other interesting opening slots like most bands, but I could be wrong. I believe they also opened for Uriah Heap at some point.

    4. Oh, sure – yes I bet they did. I just meant that I don’t think they’ve opened for anyone since probably the late 70’s. Unless you count things like festival shows where they may have played before other acts, but I don’t really consider that sort of gig “opening” where there’s a dozen bands playing before the final band of the day.

    5. 1st concert I attended was Max Webster opening band,Styx special guest and Rush headlining 1977. Also Rory Gallagher opened for Rush on the Signals tour in ’82.

    1. So much for the people who think I would let Portnoy only on because he is a friend. As I said so many times I never let that stuff impact booking decisions. All comes down to schedule and the artists schedules and if they want to do it. Thanks for watching.

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