Show Notes
This week, Chaz and Schatz welcome another seriously infected Rush fan into the Haggis Shack, and this guy's got a collection that might require its own ZIP code! Straight outta Bayonne, New Jersey, Mike Zwarycz joins the boys to talk about a lifelong obsession that began when a young Mike heard "Fly By Night" blasting from a record store while riding his Schwinn. One song, one bicycle, and a lifetime of incurable Rush Rash! But Mike isn't your average collector. We're talking original tour itineraries, rare memorabilia, recording documents from Hold Your Fire, and an extraordinary cassette containing unfinished recordings from Presto. How did he acquire these treasures? Let's just say a chance encounter with the belongings of Alex Lifeson's longtime guitar tech, Jimmy Johnson, led to one hell of a discovery! Along the way, we remember fellow collector Joe Pesce, discuss Mike's involvement with Bubba Bash and the Rush tribute community, explore his spectacular Rush-themed man cave and arcade, and discover how his son helped reignite his collecting obsession. Meanwhile, Schatz reports from another Rush-infested weekend in Cleveland, Chaz's computer attempts to end the podcast prematurely, and Mike discovers that appearing on Rush Rash may be more technologically challenging than operating a 1989 cassette deck. THIS WEEK'S TRACK: "SECOND NATURE" — HOLD YOUR FIRE (1987) The boys turn their attention to "Second Nature," exploring its layered production, synthesizers, arrangement, and the musical decisions behind one of Hold Your Fire's more contemplative moments. AND OF COURSE, THE USUAL NONSENSE... Plus, our sponsors, Corey Morrissette's Boneless Podcasting Network roundup, and enough Rush-related digressions to fill another tour itinerary. It's rare recordings, remarkable friendships, rock-and-roll archaeology, and a Jersey boy with a serious case of the Rash. Grab yourself a big-ass cup of Peart Family Coffee, fire up the old cassette deck, and join Chaz and Schatz for another journey through the Rush catalog, one cut at a time! Go scratch that itch! HOT DAMN, EH! 🇨🇦 SCHATZ'S SCRATCH LIST - RUSH TRIBUTE BANDS Scratch your itch to hear RUSH music played live by going to check out any of these great RUSH Tribute Bands - these bands are keeping the community and the music alive - the most current, curated, and rockin' list of RUSH Tribute Bands in the world! Yeah! Click here: Schatz's Scratch List (And say it 5 times fast!)
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More from Rush Rash with Chaz N Schatz
Chaz and Schatz spin The Professor's Modern Drummer Magazine free floppy record! SCHATZ'S SCRATCH LIST - RUSH TRIBUTE BANDS Scratch your itch to hear RUSH music played live by going to check out any of these great RUSH Tribute Bands - these bands are keeping the community and the music alive - the most current, curated, and rockin' list of RUSH Tribute Bands in the world! Yeah! Click here: Schatz's Scratch List (And say it 5 times fast!)
This week, the Haggis Shack welcomes back Rob Silverberg of Midwest RushFest, along with first-time guest Chris Schneberger, for a gathering of Rush obsessives who've spent an extraordinary amount of time, money, and gasoline following three Canadians around the planet. And now, apparently, they're doing it all over again. Rob and Schatz have just returned from Cleveland, where Rush's latest shows and RushCon provided another excuse to reunite with the extended Rush family. From Toronto to Chicago, Philadelphia to Cleveland, the boys get into the ever-changing setlists, the joy of hearing songs they never expected to hear again, and the fascinating question of what Rush does when there's only ONE night in town. Then Chris takes us down a particularly spectacular Rush rabbit hole. There's the story of Chromey, Neil Peart's legendary original Slingerland drum kit, its unlikely rediscovery, and how Chris helped bring it back into the world for fans to experience. There's also Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage, in which Chris actually appears—and Rob's old Rush license plate somehow winds up hanging on Ray Danniels' wall. Along the way, we get Geddy Lee encounters, RushCon memories, Anika Nilles' increasingly entertaining onstage antics, the enduring legacy of John Rutsey, and the wonderful absurdity of recognizing people from a documentary about your favorite band. And THEN... there's the wheel. THIS WEEK'S SONG: Time and Motion — Test for Echo (1996) The wheel serves up one of Rush's heavier, more intricate late-period compositions, and the room gets down to business. Chaz, Schatz, Rob, and Chris dig into the song's muscular arrangement, shifting rhythmic landscape, Geddy's layered vocals, and the contrast between its crushing riffs and surprisingly melodic passages. Why didn't this one survive longer in the live set? How fast is it REALLY? And just how many times did Rush actually play it? The answers involve two drummers, a little competitive guessing, and the kind of statistical obsession only Rush fans could turn into entertainment. MEET OUR GUESTS: Rob Silverberg — Midwest RushFest Follow Rob and keep up with Midwest RushFest: Chris Schneberger — Rush fan, drummer, Chromey historian, and Beyond the Lighted Stage alumnus Connect with Chris on Facebook. So grab yourself a big-ass cup of Peart Family Coffee, pour a couple of fingers of something worthy of the Professor, and settle into the Haggis Shack for another celebration of the music, the memories, and the people who make this ridiculous little obsession so damn special. One cut at a time. A whole lot of life in between. Go scratch that itch. HOT DAMN, EH! SCHATZ'S SCRATCH LIST - RUSH TRIBUTE BANDS Scratch your itch to hear RUSH music played live by going to check out any of these great RUSH Tribute Bands - these bands are keeping the community and the music alive - the most current, curated, and rockin' list of RUSH Tribute Bands in the world! Yeah! Click here: Schatz's Scratch List (And say it 5 times fast!)
Chaz and Schatz spin Blinding Light Show, a Triumph cover by Envy of None, Alex's "other" band! SCHATZ'S SCRATCH LIST - RUSH TRIBUTE BANDS Scratch your itch to hear RUSH music played live by going to check out any of these great RUSH Tribute Bands - these bands are keeping the community and the music alive - the most current, curated, and rockin' list of RUSH Tribute Bands in the world! Yeah! Click here: Schatz's Scratch List (And say it 5 times fast!)
Come, join Chaz and Schatz on your very own VIP experience with Ray Wawrzyniak! Ray is a Rush historian, collector, author, podcaster, and longtime fixture in the Rush community. And lately, he’s added another line to the résumé: life on the road with Rush. After twelve shows on the current tour—and counting—Ray joins the boys fresh from Montreal to talk about his unlikely gig as docent of the Xanadu VIP Lounge, what it’s like watching this version of Rush night after night, and what you begin to notice when you’ve seen Geddy, Alex, Anika and Loren do this thing you never thought you'd ever even see again at all. But with Ray, the story goes back much further. There’s the Rush collection. The tour books. The artifacts. The stories behind the artifacts. The people he’s met along the way. His decades spent documenting the band and its history. And now there’s Why Rush Matters, his new podcast with Jeff Myers—because apparently what the world needed was another Rush podcast. We agree. Then Chain Lightning puts Ray’s encyclopedic Rush brain to considerably less scholarly use. THIS WEEK’S SONG Earthshine. The Vapor Trails heavyweight gives Ray plenty to work with. The guys dig into that enormous riff, the difficult road the song took during the making of the album, its place in Rush’s return after tragedy, and the lyrical thread Ray hears connecting “Earthshine,” “Spindrift,” and “Seven Cities of Gold.” And when it comes time to decide whether “Earthshine” is living in the limelight or being wished well? Ray does not require much deliberation. Plus Schatz’s Scratch List, our sponsors, Corey Morrissette with the Boneless roll call, and a whole lot of Rush conversation with a guy who has spent a lifetime collecting not just the stuff—but the stories. Why are we here? Because we’re here. Roll the bones. Listen to Ray's Podcast here: Why Rush Matters! GO BONELESS Certified boneless in the state of Ohio by the Boneless Podcasting Network. Go Boneless. Boneless Makes a Better Podcast. SCHATZ'S SCRATCH LIST - RUSH TRIBUTE BANDS Scratch your itch to hear RUSH music played live by going to check out any of these great RUSH Tribute Bands - these bands are keeping the community and the music alive - the most current, curated, and rockin' list of RUSH Tribute Bands in the world! Yeah! Click here: Schatz's Scratch List (And say it 5 times fast!)
The wheel sends us back to 1985 for Platinum Blonde’s “Crying Over You” — featuring a guest solo from Lerxst himself. It hit #1 in Canada. It came from an album called Alien Shores. And about three seconds into Alex’s solo, Chaz hears something VERY familiar. Did Alex Lifeson just “Beat It”? Chaz hears Eddie Van Halen. Schatz calls bullshit. The actual “Beat It” gets dragged into evidence, the guitar solos go head-to-head, and a simple spin of the wheel becomes an entirely unnecessary investigation into whether Lerxst was tipping his hat to Eddie, ripping him off, or doing absolutely nothing of the sort. It’s RushRash911. SCHATZ'S SCRATCH LIST - RUSH TRIBUTE BANDS Scratch your itch to hear RUSH music played live by going to check out any of these great RUSH Tribute Bands - these bands are keeping the community and the music alive - the most current, curated, and rockin' list of RUSH Tribute Bands in the world! Yeah! Click here: Schatz's Scratch List (And say it 5 times fast!)