For the gathering fans of Rush who are convening for this most unlikely 50th Anniversary tour, the music has brought incredible memories and emotions. And mainly for dudes and bros. Leonard Raskin and Nestor “review” the second night in Philly and discuss the allure and passion of music bringing people together in song. And how to have a good time even if Beavis and Butthead are seated behind you during “Closer To The Heart.”
Nestor and Leonard reflected on a recent Rush concert in Philadelphia and discussed why live music remains uniquely meaningful to them.
Concert Takeaways
- Leonard said the performance exceeded expectations, praising Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, and the replacement drummer for playing at an unusually high level for artists in their 70s.
- Both agreed the show felt inspiring and youthful, with Nestor emphasizing that the band’s standards and professionalism made the experience worth the ticket cost.
Why Music Matters
- They contrasted concerts with sports, arguing that great live music delivers a more reliable emotional payoff and stronger nostalgia than games do.
- They discussed how legacy acts can disappoint when diminished, but agreed Rush succeeded because the band would not perform unless it could still meet a very high bar.
Open Questions
- What is the best concert either of them has ever seen?
- Will Nestor move forward with plans to document and share his larger concert history and music stories more formally?
- Bring Ravens scratch-off tickets to the 28th anniversary celebration at Koco’s on Wednesday and be prepared to distribute them as giveaways. (@Nestor Aparicio)
- Compile a project between now and December documenting how many concerts have been attended and capturing related recollections, and plan to share these stories with listeners next year. (@Nestor Aparicio)
- Develop a special holiday radio segment celebrating approximately 35 years in radio/music, tied to the station’s 28th anniversary celebration. (@Nestor Aparicio)
- Look up and verify the current ages of the Rush band members (including Geddy Lee) to confirm the conversation point about their ages. (@Nestor Aparicio)
- Watch the Rolling Stone interview featuring Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson to learn more about their lives and the band.
Rush concert review
- Nestor and Leonard recapped attending the Rush show in Philadelphia.
- Leonard described the performance as incredible and highlighted the energy, musicianship, and crowd response.
- They noted the audience skewed heavily male and older, with many longtime fans reconnecting with the music.
Value of live music
- They discussed how concerts can make audiences feel young again and create a stronger emotional return than sports.
- Nestor stressed that seeing veteran artists is most rewarding when they still perform at a truly high level.
- They compared Rush favorably with other legacy acts that no longer deliver the same quality live.
Music storytelling project
- Nestor said he plans to use AI and his archive of ticket stubs, stories, interviews, and memorabilia to document his concert history.
- He intends to share more music-related stories publicly as part of a broader anniversary-era project.
Raskin Global message
- Leonard briefly connected the discussion to Raskin Global’s mission of helping clients use money to pursue their version of the American dream, including travel, experiences, and other life goals.
Nestor Aparicio 0:01
Welcome home. We are WNST AM 1570 Towson, Baltimore. We’re Baltimore positive. Might sound a little more like KRP here, and I’m going to get my Doctor Johnny fever going because we’re going to do some rock and roll. It is our 28th anniversary. A few pieces of business we’re going to be celebrating on Wednesday at Koco’s. I will have the Ravens scratch-offs to give away. I am going to be celebrating my reinvention. Baltimore Magazine gave me a Best of Baltimore Award in Ron Cassie and Max Weiss, who are not strangers around here. And I put together all sorts of props. I spent the whole weekend going through all sorts of things in search of my rush ticket stub from the Capitol Center in 1980. Leonard Raskin’s about to join us here. Yeah, you’re not coming at the Koco’s on Wednesday. I want to say thanks to GBMC as well as our partners at Farnham and Dermer, the Comfort guys for putting us out on the road. But you’ve been a long-term sponsor. Last week, I’m at Fishmonger’s Daughter, where Damie has finally gotten the Fadlies brand to Catonsville, Dennis Collazos, who isn’t a sponsor anymore because Koons Ford got sold a year and a half ago to out of town folks, and so if you know a car dealer, I am in the mood for a car dealer. So lender, if you have one in your Rolex, but also you know I had Bill Cole out, I had Foreign Endurma, had Zach out. I haven’t had you out for a crab cake. It just been a while, but but I ran into you and I bought you a vanilla milkshake. A
Leonard Raskin 1:23
vanilla shake at the
Nestor Aparicio 1:24
hockey rink where the Flyers play, which I know you’re allergic to. Yeah, it was kind of
Leonard Raskin 1:29
weird being.
8
Nestor Aparicio 1:30
But Getty Lee and Alex Lifeson rolled through just 90 minutes, and we mean 90 minutes because we got back in a hurry after the the concert on Sunday night. You’ve waited a while to see Rush. I think you’ve seen them before. I I gotta I gotta get into the link because we’ll talk money and finances and all that. But this is what you do when you have 176 extra dollars lying around, right? And you find the tickets on sale on Ticketmaster three days before, and really good seats too. Yeah, and we had us we had us a little night in Philly on Sunday.
Leonard Raskin 2:04
Absolutely. So hanging out at like you said Flyer Center, it was it was quite the show. I I expected a good performance. I did not expect incredible. It was incredible. It’s incredible,
Nestor Aparicio 2:21
isn’t it? The
Leonard Raskin 2:22
dudes are rocking like like I’m 18. I walked into the.
Nestor Aparicio 2:27
How can he sound this good? I
Leonard Raskin 2:29
don’t know. I walked into the arena, and it was it was. I think everybody there. So I took a survey of the place. I’m looking at the place, and I think it was. You tell me. I think it was 8020 men, dude.
Nestor Aparicio 2:46
More and and are you? We walked in the little entrance over on the Broad Street side. I always walk into that building the same way. There’s that giant escalator that comes down into that atrium area, and right there, Brian had to pee. I went with Brian Poole, my my middle school buddy. I’ve known Brian since 1979. He was gifted and talented. I was a kid from Dundalk, and and you know John Allen. We all grew up together. Like all my my bunkies or my guys, 45 years later. Right, we went to the moving picture show in May of 1981, Kel Neck went with the United States. It felt just
8Leonard Raskin 3:24
like 82, 81. It’s it. They, I’m telling you, they. So so as I’m saying, I’m. I walked in. I looked around and I said to myself, “Here is all the people who wanted to see Rush in 80, but couldn’t afford it, or didn’t go, or maybe some of them did go, but I felt young. I felt young, a young 61, because there were people there older than me watching the show, singing right along.
Nestor Aparicio 3:55
How um, how many times have you seen Rush?
Leonard Raskin 3:58
This is this is only two.
Nestor Aparicio 4:00
Oh, you’ve only seen him one other time. Yeah, this is
Leonard Raskin 4:02
this is it. I know you’ve been like 1000 times or something.
Nestor Aparicio 4:06
Well, and that’s where this crazy anniversary thing, and you’re a sponsor around here, and I made a couple of pretty big sponsor pitches last year. It’s unreal. A friend of mine asked me how many. First off, my friend said I saw the best concert ever, and I’m like, “What? Death Cab for Cutie? And I’m like, “Okay, I mean, you had a great time. Alan McCallum loves Death Cab for Cutie, and I, you know, kind of moody, kind of cool. Like I would go see them at Rain Lake Hell tonight. They were Merryweather. Yeah. But nonetheless, I she said to me, “But like, what’s your what’s the best concert you’ve ever seen? And I’m like, woo, hold on. There’s and she’s like, and I’m like, well, I’ve seen 1000s of concerts. That’s really hard for me. And she’s like, 1000s, and I’m like, 1000s. Yeah, and I’m like, okay, and it inspired. Me and all of this-is there anything like seeing Alex and Getty do this at this level? It’s incredible. The word is inspiring. It is
Leonard Raskin 5:09
unreal. Absolutely, it is
8Nestor Aparicio 5:11
inspiring.
Leonard Raskin 5:12
Yeah, I was watching. I was watching Alex. It’s like he’s 20, like 20 something, 30. I mean, these guys
Nestor Aparicio 5:22
went to this Austrian health. Yeah,
Leonard Raskin 5:25
yeah. These guys are playing. My God, like they’re just young, and that’s the thing. There, I don’t know. They’re what 75.
Nestor Aparicio 5:34
I’ll get their ages up because somebody. I think Getty 73. I think I’ll look it up. But I wanted to tell you this about the men women ratio. Yeah, yeah, the P when we got there? Because we were boozing in the parking lot, trying to set having some cheesesteaks, and he’s like, “I got to go to the bathroom, and I’m like, “Well, the bathroom, the the men’s room that I know is behind the hockey goal, behind the behind the the stage. It’s a huge men’s room. There’s never a line. I’m like, “Let’s just go. He’s like, “No, no, we’ll go right here, and I looked up. It was one of the little tiny bathrooms, right at like the 15 yard line of the hockey rink. You know, red, sure, sure, a blue. Sure. Yeah. So I look. We go in the pee, and I swear to God, we walked in, and they were all stalls. There were no urinals.
Leonard Raskin 6:16
Right.
Nestor Aparicio 6:17
There were 10 stalls on the left, 10 stalls on the right. Dude’s coming in, tiny little. It’s a bathroom behind a regular section. Okay, yeah,
8Leonard Raskin 6:27
yeah.
Nestor Aparicio 6:27
And I looked, and I went into the stall, did my business, and you know, come out and met Brian outside. I’m like, dude, that’s a women’s room. They, they, they literally a Velcro sign.
Leonard Raskin 6:40
Yep.
Nestor Aparicio 6:40
I looked. I was gonna video it. I like they put a Velcro sun. They closed the women’s room and made it a men’s room. So that’s the lead story. When you said how many dudes were there, I’m like in that hockey rink. I know that’s not a men’s room because I walk in there all the time.
Leonard Raskin 6:58
Right. It
Nestor Aparicio 6:58
was a men’s room for Rush on Sunday night. That’s something
Leonard Raskin 7:01
because it was easily 70 80% and I’m thinking to myself for a minute. I’m just thinking, why is that?
8Nestor Aparicio 7:08
Can you see my stubble like growing in here? I literally on Sunday, you know, I’ve been working real hard in my AI, and I’m doing this, and I’m going to tell you about my rock and roll thing because I’m really excited about it. You sponsor me, and you clearly, the rock and roll bug hit you with Rush. It’s hit you with Billy Joel, with Depeche Mode, and the things you like. But I didn’t shave because I’m like, there aren’t gonna be girls there to look at me shaving for. Yeah, I just like
Leonard Raskin 7:33
I just was stunned, and and the age, of course. Again, as I said, people were. It was it was like we were all in a time warp. 18. There
Nestor Aparicio 7:43
was a beautiful 18-year-old female behind me jamming with her dad. They were hysterical. It has to be. And her dad was air drumming, and they looked like in South America. There was a gal
Leonard Raskin 7:55
next to us that had to be there with her father. Same thing. She was screaming and singing along, and I’m thinking, yeah, he he plays this in the car, and she gets to listen, so she gets to come. Man, but
Nestor Aparicio 8:08
this girl loved Red Barchetta, and I’m like, I like you. That’s it. But you like Red Barchetta? We can get on. But we had Beavis and Butt Head behind us. We had the two biggest a holes ever. And we had people that were
Leonard Raskin 8:21
screaming and singing and and air guitaring. I should have moved to my real
Nestor Aparicio 8:24
seats. I mean, like there was a point when Brian looked at me and he’s like, “They’re never gonna shut up, and they drank more. Oh God! And dude, it was. What did you go to
8Leonard Raskin 8:34
the show? What are you going to the show for? They were
Nestor Aparicio 8:36
tatted up. They were literally like Beavis and Butt Head. The one guy knew all the words to the song. The other guy took him, and they had a bromance, and they did the whole “I love you, man” all night long. Oh man, you’re having the best time. Yeah, it’s awesome seeing you. It’s awesome seeing you have this much fun. It’s awesome. And meanwhile, Getty’s like singing closer to the heart,
Leonard Raskin 9:02
right? And
Nestor Aparicio 9:03
I’m like, shut the up. We had the worst two humans behind us. They were horrific. You gotta
Leonard Raskin 9:13
hit them. You gotta just. They
Nestor Aparicio 9:14
were horrific. Horrific. Like, what
Leonard Raskin 9:17
do you go for? Like the one guy’s having a great time. Let them have a great time. Shut up! Shut
8Nestor Aparicio 9:22
up!
Leonard Raskin 9:23
No, it was, it was outstanding. They were they were playing. If this guy scream,
Nestor Aparicio 9:29
this is awesome! One more time! I know how awesome it is. Shut up!
Leonard Raskin 9:36
Right, right. And and drummer girl rocked.
Nestor Aparicio 9:40
Oh my God! Isn’t she something?
Leonard Raskin 9:42
She, from the first note to the end of the encore, she she worked hard. I think she worked harder than anybody else on the stage. I mean, Getty jumped around a little. Certainly moved around a little, but you know, he’s he’s. Drumming and singing, she is working hard from first note to close, and she was incredible. She was really so. Anybody
Nestor Aparicio 10:11
listening, this Leonard Raskin’s here. He manages money, including mine and my wife’s. You can find him at Raskin Global. We talk about the American dream. This is the Canadian. Yes. By the way, your boy’s gonna bomb Canada and run Russia out of the country before it’s all over. But let’s let’s get into the psychology of this because I don’t want to go through the politics of this because clearly Getty’s on my side. But in a general sense, you’re really excited about it. It’s the morning after the show. You spent a couple 100 bucks. You went up. I bought you a a milkshake. I had a burger. We had some beers. We had some cheesesteaks. We listened to music. I got to spend an evening. Brian was so excited. My buddy, you know, yeah, eighth, seventh grade. He was so excited to be there. I know you were excited because I hit you when the tickets dropped. Absolutely. And you went with your buddy from Wilmington, who’s a Baltimore guy, and I met absolutely, absolutely. What is it about that experience that would be different? And let’s say the cost is the same. The Chechkin, sure, Lindros in the same rink. All the milkshakes are the same price. The parties right toll. Right. Let’s say it’s not a playoff game or game seven of something something. Let’s just say it’s a good Patrick division game. I’m going back in the way here. That you would have that experience, and you’ve had that. I’m assuming you went to games at the Spectrum. Absolutely. I’m assuming you saw a concert or five at the Spectrum. I saw a lot. Yeah. I’m going to be going through all that because this is where I want to get to the psychologist. It’s our 28th anniversary, and on Friday I’m announcing a big announcement about my music past because every time I bring up, I I showed my um belt buckle, my Rush belt buckle that I wore last night, and I did it on the Pacifica belt buckle page where all the the belt buckle collectors are.
8Leonard Raskin 11:57
Yeah, yeah,
Nestor Aparicio 11:57
and they’re like, “You’ve met Ketty Lee? Oh my God! And I’m like, man, if I just had an autograph from Getty, that it would be interesting to people. Or if I talked to him one time or whatever at the buffet at Camden Yards, like Getty has been a recurring figure in my life since I’ve been 15 years old, since I met him at the Capitol Center, since he called my kitchen in Dundalk where my kid lives, and I talked to him for 30 minutes as a 15-year-old to write a story. Like I have this lifetime of chasing Rush. My cousin, I took her when she was a young girl in San Diego. She loves Rush, and she’s 42 now. You know, like I, I have Rush friendships, travel. I’ve been at the first show of every tour all century. You know, like every time they play, I’ve been to Tulsa, Manchester, New Hampshire. I’ve been all over God’s green earth chasing Rush, and I’m going to go try to chase them in Brazil. I know you’re getting together with my wife and talking about our money here this week, so hopefully I have a couple of nickels to rub together to go to Brazil to hear people sing YYZ out loud. But there is something about concerts. Yes, and when my friend said to me, “How many concerts you’ve been to? and I said 1000s, and like jaw dropped, I’m like, “No, really, like really, really, and with AI and with all my ticket stubs, and you know how I am, Mary Lou Henner, remembering everything. I am literally between now and December going to be putting together this project to see how many concerts I’ve been to, how many recollections I have, and I’m going to share them next year because I’m getting older, and people love my stories of rock stars from
Leonard Raskin 13:38
absolutely,
Nestor Aparicio 13:38
you know, from years past. No doubt, the thing about going and seeing Rod Stewart, Rush, Paul McCartney, Ryan Adams is 66. He feels young, right?
Leonard Raskin 13:50
They’re not
Nestor Aparicio 13:51
Patton Younger or whatever. They’re not
Leonard Raskin 13:53
going to be doing it much longer.
8Nestor Aparicio 13:55
There is something about the joy it brings. I saw you at halftime. You won in 2112. They were going to play moving pictures, and then they went up and played moving pictures. Yeah, if you’re a fan of that music,
Leonard Raskin 14:08
oh, it was fantastic.
Nestor Aparicio 14:10
I can’t get that from Adley Rutschman or from Mayor Henderson because Jim Holmes or from anymore. You know, or
Leonard Raskin 14:16
even you know, like you said, you watch. I get to see Ovechkin play, but it’s it’s he’s still young. It would be like watching Gretzky come out and play a game, a real game. It’s ridiculous. It it’s, I mean, my goodness, to see these guys. Like I said, it felt like they were, like I was 18 and they were maybe 25 or 30, you know, whatever. So it makes
Nestor Aparicio 14:44
you feel young again. Oh man, it absolutely
Leonard Raskin 14:46
it resurrects youth, and and I know we went to see Billy Joe last was it last summer, summer before at M and T, whatever it was. The last wasn’t
Nestor Aparicio 14:55
summer. I wore a jacket. It was the night the Orioles lost the playoff game, and yeah, so. Okay,
8Leonard Raskin 15:00
so maybe it was October, whatever.
Nestor Aparicio 15:02
That just shows you the time goes. Yes, but but my point
Leonard Raskin 15:05
is, if you remember, and I’m sure you do, he he got up on stage, and like right after he played his opening song or two to get going, you know, he said hello to everybody in Baltimore, and then he said, “I’ll never forget it. Don’t worry, there’s no new music, cause I ain’t doing any. So you all will know everything I’m playing, and it’s just so funny to think these guys are out on tour. And it used to be you drop an album, and then we all wait to see you, cause we want to see you, and it was-I think it was 12 or 15 bucks at Heck Company to get general admission tickets to see Ted Nugent at the Capitol Center.
Nestor Aparicio 15:54
998, there you go, seven seven, whatever it was. All my early ticket subs. It was ridiculous,
Leonard Raskin 16:00
and now, like you said, you know
Nestor Aparicio 16:03
it’s a decision. I didn’t go Friday not because I don’t love Rush. I didn’t go Friday because it was 250 bucks, and it’s a dropping a couple 100
Leonard Raskin 16:10
bucks to go to Philly to see a band that, when I’m sitting in the crowd singing along and dancing in the crowd, I feel like I’m 18 watching this show, and feels like they’re 25 strumming right along. Dude, man, Brian
8Nestor Aparicio 16:29
had like a they played. Oh my God,
Leonard Raskin 16:31
they played exactly like you would expect, and Getty’s voice was phenomenal. Sounded exactly as I remember, and as I would listen to on on now the satellite radio channel or Pandora or wherever, and it just man look around and you go these are my people and everybody in there 60, and then I try to figure out my friend and I Mike we we went trying to figure out why it was 8020, male female in there. You go well, Getty’s no sex symbol, that’s for sure. Even in their heyday, I don’t think they were they were sexy, and their their music is is not sweet, attractive chick music. It’s just not. But man, did they rock?
Nestor Aparicio 17:26
Maybe. Oh, of course. Get one song in there. If you get one or
Leonard Raskin 17:28
two, but but
Nestor Aparicio 17:29
it’s not open arms, journey, and sticks, and like those bands all mix through. Yeah, I would say Rush, Journey, Sticks, Foreigner. Rush doesn’t. Rush is Rush. They’re completely different. Like the Grateful Dead were their own thing that was a little weird as well. But like that classic rock radio and all. I mean, I’m looking at all my belt buckles here: Van Halen, Kiss, Super Tramp, Genesis, Austin, The Police, The Cars. I’m literally. I’m just just calling it all. How many Queen? How many of these bands get Kansas? Kansas and foreigner don’t have any members of the band. Leonard Skater don’t like they’re out playing, but they are cover bands. So this, by the way, Leonard Raskin’s here. If you listen to radio, this is them,
Leonard Raskin 18:11
and and you you can you know, obviously you you can’t replace the drummer, but yeah, but they did, and she was phenomenal, but you could never. I mean, Getty’s gone. It’s over. The whole
Nestor Aparicio 18:26
night is a tribute to Neil, right? I mean, right.
8Leonard Raskin 18:28
But but still, Getty
Nestor Aparicio 18:30
got choked up.
Leonard Raskin 18:31
Yeah. Oh yeah. He was. I mean, it’s real. He’s almost in tears. Yes, he was. He was close to tears, and without him, there is no rush because that voice is so unique, so powerful. Yeah, you’re
Nestor Aparicio 18:44
either Getty Lee or you’re a cover man, which leads me to this. You have not seen the Rolling Stone interview, correct?
Leonard Raskin 18:51
No.
Nestor Aparicio 18:51
Okay.
Leonard Raskin 18:52
Correct. No, that is correct.
8Nestor Aparicio 18:53
All the little snippets have shown up on my on my social because you know my social notes. Yeah, yeah. I mean, I’m wearing a Getty Lee Major Lee baseball shirt, so I like this one. So um, I’ve seen a snippet or three. It came out about a week ago, okay, and it’s just Getty and Alex, very professionally shot. But I saw it was like an hour and 10 minutes. Right, it’s a really chunky interview. And by the way, um, shout out if she finds this Meg Simsick, who is their manager, Meg? Who I know. She wrote to me last week on LinkedIn because I’ve been trying to get Getty on the show for a while, right? And Getty had the project on the baseball book, the project on the base book, the project on his book, right? Yeah, like my effing life. Which, if you haven’t read the reason I’m holding this up, you really should read this about his parents and concentration camps and how he got here and his absolutely absolutely it’s an unbelievably beautiful read and it’s so Getty I mean them them even like you said
Leonard Raskin 19:52
them even existing from where they came the life story is it’s
Nestor Aparicio 19:58
miraculous unbelievable. And Alex from Slovakia and Zevinovich, and so all of that aside, the interview I’ve seen like little three minute clips out of it, and a couple of very poignant ones. One was about Annika joining the band and how hard she has to work. The other was about Alex giving up pot, like Alex has stopped smoking pot, and the other one was about the pride of wanting to do this well. And when I saw that one, I got the lump because he’s like Neil never wanted to be seen not at his best to the last day he died. That he never wanted to go out and be Willie Mays at the end, or be a diminished version, or do what Joe Flacco does, which is be the backup quarterback and have to do it, and then still can do it when given a chance and try. Yeah, or Rod Stewart, which is fine, but it’s not great. I mean, I saw Barry Manilow two weeks ago, and it’s just like there’s a point where like for every step off the stage, for all the step
Leonard Raskin 20:58
off the stage,
Nestor Aparicio 20:59
right? And I don’t know for baseball players and athletes, they throw you out, right? You know your time. Sometimes that’s
Leonard Raskin 21:05
better than than your own judgment. And I saw Brian
Nestor Aparicio 21:09
Adams two weeks ago, as good as ever. Yeah, Benatar and Geraldo, as good as maybe not as ever, but certainly very appropriate. And I even say Sammy Hagar is 80 years old, unbelievable, and he is shaking his ass like, and it’s very appropriate. He’s doing what he can do. Right? Is it him in 1991? If you go see how beautiful that band was in that, it’s 35 years ago, man. Right, right. Like, there’s a Tokyo video of Van Halen with Sammy that they were sober, and it’s just it’s peak peak, unbelievable. But if you spent 200 bucks on Sammy Hagar eight weeks ago and went down, it was great, great by any measurement of Satriani of what they’re putting on stage. But there is a bar for all of us, and John Harbaugh always said the bar, and and the Ravens are trying to win games, and where the Orioles are as far as where their bar is and how they treat people and whatever. This is a band that I am so proud to be a fan of theirs because of the way they’ve conducted their lives and the way they are and the respect I have for them. So this interview happens and I hadn’t watched it. Yeah, I bought you the milkshake at the Shake Shack at halftime before moving pictures. We got in the car and we’re out, and we’re going across the bridge where it smells leaving Philly. Yeah, yeah. Not that all of Philly doesn’t smell, but it smells particularly when you’re leaving and coming to Philly. And Brian’s like, “Hey, dude, get that interview up, put it on, man. So I put it on right as we got into like Chester, where little houses are, and I popped it. I was an hour and 10 minutes, and I put it on my phone, and we Bluetooth it, and I watched it, and he drove, and I catnapped and listened, and he was just listening and driving. It is the most. If you love Rush, yeah, read the book. But if you love the band and you study a little, even if you don’t, I didn’t. I wasn’t. I’m a big Rush fan, but I don’t know every nugget of everything. I’m not that guy that is into it in that way. You know, I like the music, and I don’t need. And if Getty came on with me, I’d be prepared to talk baseball, baseball, baseball, because he’s done my show probably five times in my life. I’ve done the radio show, and we always talk baseball. He would call in every spring. We talk. I have tapes of me and Getty talking baseball. It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense because it’s not about music. It’s about like the whether David Wells is going to win 18 games this year. You know, it’s just stupid. That’s why I run them. But there’s something about learning more about bands you love, especially when you respect them and they’re not drug addicts and they haven’t molested children and they haven’t beaten their wives, and they’ve lived a the kind of life that any of us would be proud of. But what this band is doing right now, and Getty and Alex talking about the pride of what you what you saw on Sunday night, and where Alex couldn’t pick up a guitar neck three years ago, and they were crying and grieving their drummer, and they didn’t think they could put this together, and that Dave Grohl thing, and with Taylor Hawkins dying, like leading them back onto a stage where they thought about it again, and then they had to find somebody, and they found this woman that the bass tech knew. Like that’s how all this happened. But the fact that Alex can play the songs and Getty can sing them, and they can do it at this level. Is it’s worth the hour for you to go listen about how they went to Austria, how they dried out, how they’ve decided to just they need to be great, and that’s what’s eating at them is that they want us talking about it the day after and saying that was as good as anything I’ve ever seen because it’s remarkable how. Yeah,
8Leonard Raskin 24:45
yeah. Again, I’m watching Alex. I’m just thinking to myself that dude is his hands are just magical, and 70. I don’t care 70 what. Still doing it, Leonard. He
Nestor Aparicio 25:01
talked about this interview was done after the first four shows in L.A. right before Getty got sick. So this interview was done in the middle of June, and Alex said literally the week before the tour, he was sitting on the edge of his bed at 2o’clock in the morning, still holding his guitar and saying, “I don’t know if I can do this, man.
Leonard Raskin 25:22
Right?
Nestor Aparicio 25:23
Like I don’t know if I can do this.
Leonard Raskin 25:24
Wow! Wow!
Nestor Aparicio 25:25
And Alex told the story. He’s like, and you know what? The night in L.A. everybody was nervous, but Alex is the loose guy. He’s like, I’m not nervous. I’m good. We came out. Xanadu. The smoke clears. The cage is down. I’m into the song. Into the song. The cage lifted, and I saw faces. And he’s like, “I law. I couldn’t. He said, “I just had to look at the neck of the guitar. I couldn’t look up. Right. Getty cried on. I’m crying. People are crying. And Alex is like, “I’m just looking at the neck of the guitar, and I’m pretending it’s a it’s a rehearsal. He said, “Because I just couldn’t. Yeah. I couldn’t believe I was in it. It was surreal. It was surreal. Yeah,
Leonard Raskin 26:04
it was. It was just. That’s what I said was surreal. Well, there’s your American
8Nestor Aparicio 26:09
dream that I want to go to Brazil and see them. I want to save money to do that. But there’s something that, um, and this is what I want to write about with the 35th anniversary. There’s something about music that sports doesn’t do for me now in my life. Not
Leonard Raskin 26:27
only that, not not just you. It’s so so. I’m getting ready for the show because I know I’m going right. I had tickets, like I said, I had tickets in New York, now Philly and DC. So I’m going. So I throw on on Pandora Rush Radio just to just to brush up brush up on rush up. I’m I’m getting ready. So I got to like hear the tunes in my head. I just got to have that. I don’t know if you ever listened to that station, but it’s all the rock, right? It’s they’re playing Super Tramp. They’re playing Yes. They’re playing the Cars. Alma
Nestor Aparicio 27:06
Berk. They’re
Leonard Raskin 27:07
playing Judas Priest. I mean, I’m I’m going back Kansas. I’m going back through concert history and thinking, oh my God, what what a show that was. And I remember
Nestor Aparicio 27:20
you and I should have bought the bay.
Leonard Raskin 27:22
I went. I’m remembering who who I was at the show with, and what what was happening there. You know what else was really strange just about the show? I think I smelled more pot walking across the street in downtown Baltimore than I did in the in the Philly arena the whole night.
Nestor Aparicio 27:43
I told Brian on the way up. All I remember from the moving pictures tour in May of ’81 was I sat we sat behind Alex. We were behind the stage. Yeah, in in at the Capitol Center. Right, maybe 15th row, right behind Alex, right behind Neil. Right, and and it my memory. I was 12 years old. It was May of 1981, and all I remember about that night was it was just pot all night. It was like literally everybody was token. Right, the whole arena smelled like, and it was illegal. Like literally, illegal and
8Leonard Raskin 28:14
everybody smoking and nobody cared.
Nestor Aparicio 28:17
And you know what? I told the story here. Well, I want to. I digress here, but I, I told the story about how we men, penises, males took over the females’ bathroom in Philly Sunday. There was never a Rush concert or a Van Halen concert or Judas Priest concert at the Capitol Center where the chicks didn’t come into the men’s room and barge in,
Leonard Raskin 28:39
right?
Nestor Aparicio 28:40
Because like they could get to the bathroom quicker. Right, because the line for the women’s room was too long. That was not the problem at the Rush concert. Not the problem at this point. And all and us dudes have to go to the bathroom five more times every night because we we go more often. But
Leonard Raskin 28:55
the beauty the beauty of the club level was private bathrooms right on the club level. I hooked you
Nestor Aparicio 29:01
up. I put you in the club, is what I did with
Leonard Raskin 29:04
no line. Right in, right out, all good. Except the usher didn’t know where Shake Shack was. Well, look,
8Nestor Aparicio 29:10
you go to a lot of football games, and I know you’re there hoping for a victory, one level three. But every time you go to a concert, I’m I’m three for three with Rush this summer. I went to L.A. I went to New York, and I went to Philly, and I won every night. Yeah, my team won, and the band won, and I feel good, and I’m here talking about it the next day. Merch doesn’t provide that certainty, especially if you’re gambling on it.
Leonard Raskin 29:33
Oh my God, heavens forbid! I heard the the gal who played the lead in Phantom of the Opera. This was a number of years ago, and she talked about how she prepared. And first of all, she talked about how many times she auditioned for the part and didn’t get it, and how she just kept going and getting better and learning her craft and getting better, and. She finally got the part, and she said it was just like you’re saying Alex was the night before the opening day was was just overwhelming. And then here’s what she said, which just struck me. She said every time I go out, she said eight times a week she’s on the stage, and she said every time she goes out, she she feels a a duty to perform because the person sitting in the audience has never seen the show before, so it’s got to be perfect. And then she said, and every time I go out, somebody in the crowd is there for the 100th time, and I can’t make a mistake because they’ll know it. She said, “So every time I go out there, I’ve got to be perfect. And you think about, like you said, with baseball or any sport, you go, you scream, you enjoy, and the outcome is completely random, unless you think it’s fixed, which I don’t buy. But completely random, and you never know what you’re going to see. But you go to a concert. I show up, get to my seat, lights go down, the band starts, and unless they suck, which these guys clearly didn’t. Every tune is just like you first heard it. I’m listening. I mean, they threw in a little 212. They didn’t throw in the whole set, but
Nestor Aparicio 31:30
well, that’s why you can go back in DC and see
Leonard Raskin 31:32
right, right. But they they threw it in. They but every tune was like you just I just turned on the old record player-that’s what we called it back then. Turntable.
Nestor Aparicio 31:46
Way to David Lee Roth concert right now. I assure you.
Leonard Raskin 31:48
Yeah, yeah. But they jammed like you were there for the first time, or like you were there for the 100th time, and that-that is magic. From Motley
Nestor Aparicio 31:59
Crue doesn’t sound like that right now, right? Yeah, I’m just see. I’m like seriously, Guns N’ Roses. I walked out. It was so bad.
8Leonard Raskin 32:05
Yeah,
Nestor Aparicio 32:06
you know, like so for me, it’s really a treat and it’s joyful in a way that. And look, I’m not bagging on the Orioles or bagging on the Ravens. We can do that, right? Ryan Loop will break your heart. You know, Lamar hasn’t won the Super Bowl that he said he was gonna. We gambled on it. You spent 1000s, hundreds of 1000s of dollars on tickets. You’re going to Brazil. Like I found my old PSL bills when I was shredding stuff the other day around here, getting prepared for you, and you know, just finding old things that I used to spend money on. That I’m like, eh, you know, I don’t need a boat anymore. I don’t need that golf membership. I don’t need that that or you know I don’t do this anymore. Whatever man concerts and that’s why I’m leaning into this. So you have asked me about the concerts and the music stuff. There are bands I’ve interviewed and stories I have that you’ve never heard. So I’m going to tell those stories over the next year and really lean into music. We’re still doing sports here. I’m still doing the ravens. This is just for my while I’m still alive. That’s right. AI can help me, and while it’s still interesting to people out there, that I can share these pictures, videos, stories, interviews, backstage passes, ticket snubs, autographs. And if you
Leonard Raskin 33:15
and if you have an opportunity to grab anybody that’s still of of sound mind to come on and talk about them.
Nestor Aparicio 33:24
I’ve had you know Triumph is coming back to Baltimore in November, right? I’ve had both of those guys on the show this year already. I know them, and so being alive and being and and Rick Emmett’s another guy that told me three years ago. I’m retired. I’m not doing this anymore. Right. And then they threw a lot of money at him, and that’s not who he is. He’s not a. He’s like, I don’t know that I can do it. Like, I’m going to need some help. We’re going to have to go to band.
Leonard Raskin 33:52
Alex has done all kinds of other stuff.
Nestor Aparicio 33:54
Alex and and and Rick Emmett are very close. I
Leonard Raskin 33:57
mean, he’s done all kinds of things, and one of the things again about Rush, although they’re they’re probably doing okay this time, they were not they’re not a money band. It wasn’t their thing. I mean, they they surely made money,
8Nestor Aparicio 34:11
but they never overcharged. I agree with you. They never felt gougy the way the Eagles of the World Cup. That’s right. They’re not
Leonard Raskin 34:19
they’re not trying to throw up a $2,000 ticket and say to their fans, “You can’t come. Yeah, well,
Nestor Aparicio 34:25
it’s been-I don’t want to say affordable. It’s been a $200 kind of get in most of these shows, but I can say this: it’s worth it. You know what I mean? If you don’t go, when you spend the money, you just want it to be great, and that’s my thing about Getty is when you watch that interview or read his book or touch anything he’s ever touched. He has a bar that is just higher, and he says he’s mr. Bossy Pants. He can be difficult. He said his daughter hadn’t seen him smile in a year and a half until that night in L.A. And he’s like, really? And and he’s like, he’s just. Vision. He just needs it to be effing awesome, and if it’s not going to be awesome, he doesn’t want to participate in it. Do it, and it
Leonard Raskin 35:06
was. It was. It really was. And that’s
Nestor Aparicio 35:10
inspiring. It’s a beautiful thing. Get to see it
Leonard Raskin 35:11
again.
Nestor Aparicio 35:12
Tell me what you do, man. You manage money, hopefully at a Getty Lee level. We’re hoping
8Leonard Raskin 35:16
that’s it. We we have to be perfect. We are about helping people have the American dream, whatever that is for you, whether it’s putting your kids in college, whether it’s retired happy, whether it’s a second home, a boat, a car, a show, travel, charity, whatever you care about, and want your money to do for you. We help people understand how to use their money in ways they didn’t understand to do the things that they didn’t know it could do, and we’ve helped people buy businesses, sell businesses, educate kids and grandkids, and travel the world and have that dream, that American dream that is whatever you put your mind to and have the opportunity to create, you can. I happened to check in just a real quick on Sunday. Was I don’t remember what they called it, but it was Grand Prix 250 in D.C. They had a Indy race in D.C. on the streets of D.C. It was fantastic. If you like IndyCar and you didn’t see it, pull it up. Watch some of it. They were driving past the Capitol. They were flying down the streets of D.C. And the one thing I could notice was, how come I only go 1012, miles an hour on those streets and they’re doing 160 around the turn? Well, they did
Nestor Aparicio 36:37
that in front of my house downtown. Yeah, right. So,
Leonard Raskin 36:39
but one of the guys that’s a commentator on Indy, I think he’s British. He might be Australian. I’m not really sure. But he talked about during the broadcast how great it is to be in the capital of. I won’t get it exactly right. I won’t quote him, but he said of a country that I came to, that I wanted to find the American dream that I’ve embraced and that has embraced me, and given me the opportunity to do whatever I’ve wanted in my life. And I don’t care what people say about the country, the leadership, the politics at any given moment. I’m willing to bet if you open the borders everywhere, more people would flood here than just about anywhere else, and that’s as good as it gets. And for us, from a financial standpoint, we work with immigrant families, we work with native families, we work with people that do just that-to to put their mind to it and create whatever they want to create. And if you can’t do it here, man, you just can’t make it. No excuses. You either have results or excuses, and we help people have great results. That’s what we’re about.
Nestor Aparicio 37:49
We’re trying to do that here as well. It is our 28th anniversary on Friday. We’re going to celebrate 28 years of WNST. I’m working on 35 on the radio, so I’m doing a little something special during the holidays, and you know something we can’t fight about music, right? Like that’s right. Do you have a best concert? If if I put if we’re having crabs and I’m processing, like what’s the best concert you’ve ever seen? You know right off top of your head,
Leonard Raskin 38:11
no doubt. So I you you’ll know the exact date. I don’t remember the date. Judas Priest, 80s. Rob came out on the on the Harley, and it was
Nestor Aparicio 38:26
was the Civic Center.
Leonard Raskin 38:28
No, this was DC.
8Nestor Aparicio 38:29
DC, okay.
Leonard Raskin 38:30
DC, and they just turbo
Nestor Aparicio 38:32
was it late 8687, No, it was before before that. More screaming for vengeance.
Leonard Raskin 38:36
That’s exactly what it was. Screaming for vengeance. That’s exactly it. It was it was early ’80s screaming for better. So maiden
Nestor Aparicio 38:43
opened that show.
Leonard Raskin 38:44
Yes.
Nestor Aparicio 38:45
Okay. Yes. It
8Leonard Raskin 38:47
was insane. It was magnificent. I mean, and you’re 16s,
Nestor Aparicio 38:51
like like yeah. I was like I was like
Leonard Raskin 38:53
18. They’re my favorite all time. If they’re if they’re playing if they’re playing, I’m going. So did you see that the
Nestor Aparicio 39:00
anthem. I saw Princeton Saxon at anthem a couple years ago. I
Leonard Raskin 39:03
didn’t. Depeche Mode is number one. Go see Duke all the time. Judas Priest is right there, one A. That’s a really
Nestor Aparicio 39:11
weird mixed bag, dude. I know. And then there’s rough. There’s that Billy Joel, right?
Leonard Raskin 39:15
Absolutely. Well, Billy Joel’s just a that’s teenage nostalgia. But you didn’t do that for your wife.
8Nestor Aparicio 39:20
You were Billy Joel for you. Oh yeah, I was. I was.
Leonard Raskin 39:22
I’m a fan. Okay. I did Andrea Bocelli for my wife. Okay, right. I mean,
Nestor Aparicio 39:29
if I I’ve done the Bare Naked Ladies with my wife. Yeah, she likes Andrea Bocelli. He
Leonard Raskin 39:33
he was he was very good, but it wouldn’t have been a show. I would agree. I took my wife
Nestor Aparicio 39:37
to see Kenny Chesney, thinking she’d like it more than me, but we didn’t eat. She likes country music more than me. She would not. But like, not a fan. She ain’t dragging me to that. That’s my thing. I’m not a,
Leonard Raskin 39:47
not a country, not a rap, not into opera. Those are my three nos.
Nestor Aparicio 39:51
You know, the Foo Fighters played last week, and tickets were cheap last Monday down in Nats Park. First off, stadium shows are only worth 50 bucks, and this was a 50. And John Allen and I were talking about going, and he wanted to see the opening at Queens of the Stone Age. Who you know, fine. I know, I know who these fans are. I’m not a Foo Fighters guy, and I’m like, and I found that out when it was a beautiful night. Tickets were 50 bucks. My buddy, I could have taken on my buddy, and I’m like, I just don’t. I’m, I’m not. Like, I don’t hate them, and I would listen, and I guess I would go. I would have gone, but like I like going to shows where like I’m really into it. I don’t know who surprised. I don’t want to get dragged to a show that I’m not like. My wife loves Bruno Mars, and I go and I have a great time with Bruno Mars. But I wouldn’t go without her. No,
8Leonard Raskin 40:35
who who surprised me? Imagine imagine dragons.
Nestor Aparicio 40:38
Dragons. Okay.
Leonard Raskin 40:39
Surprised me. Fabulous.
Nestor Aparicio 40:41
I saw them in Las Vegas one night.
Leonard Raskin 40:43
Fabulous! Yeah, I mean that’s there. That was great, but but I wouldn’t have gone. You know, it’s like it. I wouldn’t be. I got to see them. I’ve tripped
Nestor Aparicio 40:53
into a couple of shows like that at festivals at Super Bowl. Yeah, sure, sure. You know, seeing just more modern bands where I run into them, where I wouldn’t be like buying a ticket. Like I don’t know that I would buy a ticket to see Train. I always wind up there because Ari’s. But I love Train. I
Leonard Raskin 41:10
enjoy him. I love Train. He’s got a great, unique sound, and I hear, I hear he bailed out Bon Jovi. He did not
8Nestor Aparicio 41:17
Bon Jovi, and you know I didn’t go to see Bon Jovi because I didn’t want. I’ll end with this. I didn’t want to see a diminished version of John. Right, love John. Right, love John. That’s it. And and I don’t want to be able to sing better than John.
Leonard Raskin 41:30
Exactly. Sing
Nestor Aparicio 41:31
better than John.
Leonard Raskin 41:32
And and the dude got up there and and bailed him out on stage. He wasn’t even. He was there in the crowd. He wasn’t like a guest or backstage. Well, I can say I
Nestor Aparicio 41:40
saw Triumph this year, and they haven’t done it in 40 years, and they were fantastic because Phil X because they got help because they brought Todd in the bass player from you know Ozzy’s band and like all of that kind of stuff. So for for me, I just want it to be great. I’m willing to pay for that, and I’m even willing to pay to see Barry Manilow and Rod Stewart and sort of diminished version. I almost went to see Engelbert Humphrey and Ko’s last year, and I saw the video of it, and it’s not great, but it wasn’t bad, and I sort of wish I went. Not
Leonard Raskin 42:09
on my list. You know, Anglebert
Nestor Aparicio 42:11
and I played tennis together at the pairing racket. Oh
8Leonard Raskin 42:14
my god!
Nestor Aparicio 42:15
So I have stories you don’t know about. That’s insane.
Leonard Raskin 42:17
I know. Can’t wait to hear. I can’t wait to hear.
Nestor Aparicio 42:20
You know what his friends call him?
Leonard Raskin 42:23
Inge.
Nestor Aparicio 42:24
Inge.
Leonard Raskin 42:25
That’s funny. Hey, I would have said Bert, but what the hell?
8Nestor Aparicio 42:28
I’ll look up his real name for you. His real name, I think, is Arthur. I he has even worse regular British names. Right,
Leonard Raskin 42:34
even worse. Oh, you would have to. What is Engelbert
Nestor Aparicio 42:38
Humperdinck? Engelbert Humperdinck’s real name went with Engelbert. I mean, it’s
Leonard Raskin 42:43
how do you stage that one?
Nestor Aparicio 42:44
Hold on, Engelbert Humperdinck. His real name is Arnold George Dorsey.
Leonard Raskin 42:50
Right, and who came up with that that thing?
Nestor Aparicio 42:53
You didn’t see the Neil Diamond Broadway show, right? I did not. Like I did
8Leonard Raskin 42:57
not. Take his wife
Nestor Aparicio 42:58
and see it. No, they
Leonard Raskin 43:00
saw it. I was, I was. Did they rave about it? They thought it was great.
Nestor Aparicio 43:03
It the Neil Diamond thing was phenomenal.
Leonard Raskin 43:06
Yeah, there’s
Nestor Aparicio 43:07
a whole point, and it’s a biopic about his life. Yes, yes. The whole point is he comes in and he says his name’s Neil Diamond, right? And they’re like, “That we got to fix that. Right. It’s like my name’s Neil Diamond. Right. And it sounds like a fake name, but it’s fake. Apparently, his name, Freddie
Leonard Raskin 43:24
Mercury.
8Nestor Aparicio 43:25
There you go. You know,
Leonard Raskin 43:26
that’s my name now.
Nestor Aparicio 43:27
Geddy Lee’s real name,
Leonard Raskin 43:29
Geddy Lee.
Nestor Aparicio 43:29
No, no, Gary Lee Weinrib.
Leonard Raskin 43:35
There you go.
Nestor Aparicio 43:36
His mother,
8Leonard Raskin 43:38
yes,
Nestor Aparicio 43:38
had the Yiddish. Yes, survived Auschwitz in the concentration. Yep, yep. And when she was in Toronto, Getty, Getty, Getty, Getty, come inside, Getty. And that’s what she said, Gary.
Leonard Raskin 43:51
Right.
Nestor Aparicio 43:51
But she was.
Nestor Aparicio 43:53
And his middle name isn’t really Lee. His mother misnamed him. It’s in the first chapter. There’s why you want to read the book. There you go. This is Getty Lee’s effing life. I’m gonna do my effing music life beginning on Friday. He is Leonard Raskin. He will help you get your effing life together. So it’s not your effing life. So it’s your effing freedom. The f will be freedom in there. The American dream and Leonard Raskin, Raskin Global. Hey, it’s good seeing you. And you know, it it was it was fun to watch you enjoy that. I think your milkshake was better than my burger. I’m just being. I’m
Leonard Raskin 44:22
probably. It’s probably true.
Nestor Aparicio 44:25
We went to this dairy place in Wilmington, and I had the largest dipped butterscotch cone. I’m gonna put the picture of this up, and we got it, and it started to melt like a volcano. It was hilarious. Like it was the best 12 bucks I’ve ever spent trying to eat these dipped cones before they on a 90 degree before it
8Leonard Raskin 44:49
wiped out on your hand,
Nestor Aparicio 44:50
dude. There was a puddle underneath of us of ice cream. It was hilarious, man. The only thing would have been worse is like seeing grandkids do. And just get destroyed everywhere. Sticky too. Ah, a butterscotch and honeydew and the milk of paradise. He’s Leonard. I’m Nestor. Go see Rush. We’re Baltimore positive.
