Article Contributed by Jason Schneider Media
Published on October 19, 2025
Veteran Vancouver rocker Rich Hope follows the announcement of his upcoming album Live At The ANZA Club with another fiery preview: a blistering rendition of The Long Ryders’ 1984 classic “Looking For Lewis & Clark,” now available on Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music.
Rich shares, “‘Lewis & Clark’ found its way into the set list sometime after 2010. All of us in the band are big fans of the ’80s cowpunk scene, so this song is a natural banger to play. It didn’t matter who we played it for, or whether they knew the song or not, everybody loved it. And it’s fun to play a cover at the end of the night, especially one that gives us as much of a charge as it does for the audience.”
For two nights this past April, Rich Hope ruled Vancouver. Setting up shop at the ANZA Club on W. 8th Ave, he and his band tore through a career-spanning set of blues-rock and Americana. The highlights are now preserved on what’s become an increasingly rare artifact — the live album.
Featuring some of Canada’s finest musicians, the lineup includes City & Colour’s rhythm section Leon Power and Erik Nielsen (who co-produced the album alongside Howard Redekopp), Scott Smith on electric and pedal steel guitars, and Darryl Havers on keyboards.
Devoted fans will recognize “It Come Alive” from Rich’s 2018 album I’m All Yours, along with “The Ballad Of Black Eyed Suzy” and “Can’t Get No Lovin’” from his 2013 EP. His 2009 classic “Whip It On Ya” returns in full force, as does “3 Minute Song,” originally recorded by his late-’90s band John Ford and later covered by Big Sugar on Hit & Run (2003).
Live At The ANZA Club feels both like a retrospective and a rebirth. Rich’s journey began in Edmonton with his first band The Taxicrabs—a name gifted by Country Dick Montana of The Beat Farmers—before moving to Vancouver in the late ’90s. He’s since shared stages with The Flamin’ Groovies, The Black Crowes, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Charles Bradley, Social Distortion, and Rev. Horton Heat.
Despite decades of recording and touring, Rich’s spirit remains grounded:
“I’m just the same guy playing music that I have always been. I have always loved playing live and putting on a show with my friends. So I guess that doing this live album is where I am in the evolutionary process. My main goal was to capture something like Jerry Lee Lewis’s Live At The Star Club—loose, reckless and joyful.”
