ABOUT
"Amazing musicians, very talented, true artists! And as such, are able recreate the "Feeling, Sound, and Soul" of Rush... They play with power and intensity.
I've been in the entertainment industry since the early 80's, and can say without hesitation, these guys are the real deal, the instruments and effects are even correct and from the complete Rush era!"
- Aron Bacs -
BAND HISTORY
1989 - PRESENT
Rushour and it’s members have played the music of Rush for more than 30 years. The inception of the Rush tribute group Rushour started back in 1989. In the early 80’s, RUSHwas at the peak of their popularity with the release of the live recording “Exit Stage Left” and the studio album “Moving Pictures”. Radio hits such as “Tom Sawyer” and “The Spirit of Radio” were instant hits of the day. Teenagers of this era with musically adventurous minds were instantly captivated by the awesome sounds they heard. This was the case with the members of RUSHOUR as well.
As budding young musicians in the early 80’s, it was known that RUSH was considered the best of the best. RUSH defined the upper echelon of rock music fans of this generation. A generation of musicians were influenced by RUSH and in our case, RUSH was the only music we were inspired enough to emulate with attention to all of the details. After a few years of hard work and spending many hours transcribing RUSH by ear RUSHOUR was formed.
The first booked Rushour show was on April 9th, 1989. (remember, these were the days before the internet and basically no available information on mysterious bands like RUSH). The group began doing small shows paying tribute to RUSH and showcasing original RUSH influenced music in the central Florida area. In 1993 RUSHOUR started to collaborate with central Florida agents and began traveling to perform shows in cities throughout Florida. In 1994 the band signed on with a national agency and began performing tribute shows nationally. The band reformed a few times during this time period and continued to actively do shows until approximately 1999- when crossover band members of RUSHOUR, "2112" and "Counterparts" RUSH tributes took a much needed break.
In 2002, RUSHOUR reformed again and began doing RUSH tribute shows in the central Florida area. The 2002 reformation led to the band temporarily changing it’s name to “Toronto Airport”. At this time, the band also won a tribute band contest to perform at the International RUSH convention “Rushcon” in Toronto, Canada. In fact, the band has traveled up to Toronto to perform at “Rushcon” three time; in 2003, 2004 and 2006. After a huge resurgence in Rush tribute shows, the band took another much needed break in 2010.
In 2016 Rushour reformed again and has been performing consistently at Live Music Clubs, Casinos, Music Theaters, Live Outdoor Festivals and specialized live music venues such as the House of Blues.
MEET THE BAND
CHAD KULSCAR - BASS/ LEAD VOCALS
BASS GUITAR, KEYBOARD SYNTHESIZERS SAMPLER PEDAL SYNTHS
Chad has been working as a professional musician since the mid 1990’s. He has performed primarily as a bassist and vocalist, although he sometimes doubles on other instruments.
His roots are in rock music, but he also enjoys performing Jazz, Funk, Pop, Fusion, Dance and Country music.
Chad has toured nationally and regionally with RUSHOUR (A.K.A. "2112" and “Toronto Airport”), The Richard Jaymes Band, and The Pat Travers Band.
He has also worked throughout the eastern United States with many variety and dance bands as well as his long stint with British Revolution at Walt Disney World’s Epcot and he has entertained internationally with Norwegian Cruise Lines.
SEAN GHANNAM - GUITAR/ VOCALS
ELECTRIC GUITAR, BASS PEDAL SYNTHESIZERS, SAMPLER PEDAL SYNTHS
Sean has always had a sincere love of music. He started learning the guitar at age 7. In his early years he connected emotionally with the popular music based TV shows of the times, such as Hee-Haw and The Lawrence Welk Show. In grade school he played the alto saxophone and played the guitar in the high school jazz band. When Sean turned 14 he got more into the hard rock music of the day.
The first time he heard Rush, he knew there was something special about their music. Rush’s music and Alex Lifeson’s playing style and sound became his obsession and he started playing in bands in his late teens covering Rush and other progressive rock music.
Sean became a professional musician in his mid 20’s and started to perform nationally in 1994. Sean has consistently worked with many professional groups performing diverse genres of music for over two decades. He would be influenced by Jazz Fusion music in is 20’s and later in life; more traditional jazz styles -studying with jazz fusion pioneers, Bill Connors and Larry Coryell.
Sean was featured in Guitar Player magazine in May 2008. In August 2009 Sean was contacted by jazz legend Michael Henderson, bassist for Miles Davis in his fusion era from 1970-1976 (and formerly the touring bassist for Stevie Wonder in 1970). Sean was asked to perform in his "Electric Miles" supergroup which was to play at Ronnie Scotts famous jazz club in London and start a worldwide tour.
Sean has a natural passion for playing the music of Rush, even after decades of being a fan and studying Alex Lifeson’s style, sound and music equipment.
REED HAYES - DRUMS
ACOUSTIC DRUMS, PERCUSSION, ELECTRONIC DRUMS
DRUM SAMPLES, MIDI DRUM TRIGGERS
Reed's life as a drummer started at age 13 when his brother played him the Rush album "Exit Stage Left”. After that, he knew he wanted to be a drummer. Reed learned how to play that music as close to perfect as he could and it set the standard of music that would follow. He soon had interest in jazz, fusion and other styles of music and he started working and recording with other musicians of the same interest.
Then came the opportunity to play in a Rush tribute band. That led to touring and performing for Rush fans who were sometimes skeptical of the band’s abilities to deliver. He found it challenging and fulfilling to win them over! Reed later decided to take a break from the Rush tribute band and venture into other work, doing corporate work for Disney and Universal Studios along with private weddings and convention gigs. He also kept a full schedule of writing and recording original music as a solo artist, as well as collaborating with other musicians.
After a long break from the Rush tribute band, Reed was excited to get back in the groove of playing tribute to his favorite band.
The Rush tribute "RUSHOUR" reformed and went out as "Toronto Airport”, doing high profile gigs and performing at the international Rush convention "RUSHOUR" in Toronto, Canada. Reed later became a semi-finalist in the 2012 Roland V Drum Competition, performing and being judged by some of the world’s leading drummers such as "Thomas lang" and Johnny Rabb".
Since then, Reed has kept a steady work schedule playing gigs as a drummer for hire in various bands in central Florida. He stays busy in his home studio doing many recording projects- including audio recordings as well as video projects and he loves playing back in the Rush Tribute Band "RUSHOUR”!
