Alex Lifeson on air guitar, longevity and the grand old game.
By Todd S. Inoue
Alex Lifeson of Rush did not invent the air guitar, but he sure popularized it. For 25 years, his careening guitars runs on songs such as "Red Barchetta" and "Freewill" led folks to ape his style in Camaros and concert halls everywhere. While bassist Geddy Lee and drummer Neil Peart, the other two members of the long-running Canadian prog-rock group, go about their duties, what does Lifeson look for when he sees 30,000 people duplicating his solos on imaginary axes? "I watch their fingering very closely to see if they know how to play," says Lifeson, calling from his Toronto home. "It's a compliment that somebody gets off on it as much as I do. I'm lucky I have a gutar in my hand, because I'd probably be doing the same thing." Rush fans are worried thet this tour, wich pulls into the Shoreline Amphitheater on Sunday (May 11), will be the band's last. Lifeson doesn't think so, but he isn't itching to get back on the road either. "Before we went out on the road with this tour, we all kind of felt that touring was not that important to us anymore, "he says. "It was a terrific physical drain as well as an emotional drain being away from the family." The tour to support the band's latest album, Test for Echo (Atlantic), acknowledges the need to scale back on the trying theatrics. It features a very casual stage setup with cardboard cutouts of Pamela Lee and the Three Stooges, and more off days have been scheduled. With no opening act, the band could play more material and wait around less. The second leg of the tour will also see some set-list changes to freshen things up. While "Limelight" makes it back into the show, "Subdivisions" and "Nobody's Hero" might be dropped. "We went out and did the first two runs, and we had the best time playing live," Lifeson says. "That extra hour of playing time really made a difference. We got to play more material. I think in the future, Neil isn't to keen on touring. If we tour again, we would do it similar to this but with fewer dates. I think we will continue touring for a while, for sure." Has Rush ever considered adding a second guitarist, maybe to lighten Lifesons load? "It probably would be fun, and I wouldn't have a problem with it, but we've been this way for so long, "says Lifeson about 25 years together. "It's like, 'If it ain't broke, don't fix it.' And I'm up for the challenge of fitting in the role of a three-piece."
RUSH'S ABILITY to adapt to--and incorporate--musical trends is one reason the band hasn't dozed through a decade long sleepwalk like Genesis.Test for Echo reveals techno and electronic influences (Lifeson cites Underworld and the Chemical Brothers as recent favorites) interwined with the relentless musicianship that is Rush's trademark. The fact that Lifeson, Lee and Peart are still making music and talking to each other other while other groups break up after two albums is a miracle itself. "We get along real well," Lifeson answers. "We're great friends. We just happen to do stuff on a professional level that's real important to us.We're quite unified in direction and what we expect from each other--and ourselfs--as musicians and songwriters. More important than that, we laugh a lot together and have fun together even after 25 years. How many friends do you have since you wre 15 years old that you still hang out with? We love being together. Simple as that." Lifeson sums up the familiar songwriting process that tags most Rush songs: "Music by Lee and Lifeson; lyrics by Peart." The group works in a rented studio outside of Toronto. "There's a small house, and we stay there through the week," Lifeson explains. Lee and Lifeson set up a work area with a console, ADATs and a computer. Meanwhile, drummer Peart is at the other end of the house working on lyrics all day and practicing. During the evenings, the three musicians discuss direction and lyrical and musical changes. That process lasts for anywhere from six to eight weeks and includes preproduction, during which Peart works on drum arrangements for songs. "When Ged and I write songs, we write to a basic drum pattern," Lifeson Continues."Neil starts filling his stuff in. Then we'll record just to try and experiment with different guitar or vocal arrangements. We continue to do that for a couple more weeks, then go into a studio and record everything." Considering out-there songs like "By-Tor and the snow dog," it's not surprising that Lee and Lifeson usually pass on some of the numbers that Peart submits. How do they break it to him? "We just don't talk about it," Lifeson says with a laugh. "We'd rather concentrate on what we know is strong and what will be on the record." If Rush has anything in common with younger bands, it's golf. While in Florda, Lifeson met U.S. open winner Lee Jansen, stayed a few days at Jansen's home and got tips from Mark O'Meara. "This is the big year," says Lifeson, a 16 handicap. "I'm going to take it down to 12-13."
A Nervous Rush As Rock Stars Recieve Order Of Canada The Grammys, Genies or Junos it wasn't. How about the Order of Canada. Try Geddy Lee, OC, on for size.
The bassist-singer and his fellow Rush -ites Neil Peart and Alex Lifeson were the first rockers to be given the medal of distinction in it's 30-year history. "I'm just going to wear it all the time and see if it gets me better tables at restaurants,"the irreverent Lee,decked in a black suit and tie, said after a formal ceremony at Rideau Hall, the official residence of the Governor General where 43 Canadians were inducted Wednesday. As the hip rock stars brushed cuff-links with philanthropists, scientists and business leaders in the regal ballroom, the trio was a long way from the dingy bars where they started out 25 years ago. The honor was created in 1967 to recognize "significant achievement in important fields of human endeavor." "It kind of touches you in a place that none of these other things do touch you, "said Lee. "It's not so much music related as your country saying thank you... something about our home country has kept us here and moments like this make you feel like you've made the right decision." It was perhaps fitting that Rush, which has stayed put in Canada, was being decorated for its contribution on the same night as the Grammys where several Canadians were up for awards. The Rush rockers said they were more nervous than they've ever been when Gov. Gen. Romeo LeBlanc presented them with the Order. "I'm just a musician in a band, " said a humble Lifeson. It's a distinction that some say long overdue for the unofficial ambassadors of Canadian rock. The band, which is currently taking a break from a tour promoting their latest release, Test for Echo, is noted for raising millions of dollars for charities. The Order of Canada was also a long time coming for Shuster. He and his late partner, Johnny Wayne, started making people laugh after the Second World War. "I don't know if Count Dracula ever wore anything like this, "joked Shuster as he displayed his medal. "This is quite interesting." He said the honor also belongs to Wayne, who died in 1990 at age 72. Media mogul Roger Landry, publisher of Montreal's La Presse, and genetic researcher Charles Scriver, also of Montreal, were promoted to the orders highest level of companion. Rush, Shuster , the late philanthropist Peter Bronfman and Authur Labatt were among the ten people decorated as officers, the second highest distinction Among the new members are actor Al Waxman, the King of Kingston in the former television series, Alan Abraham, the former lieutenant-governor of Nova Scotia, William McKeag, former lieutenant-govenor of Manitoba, Montreal police chief Jacques Duchesneau, and Gordon Penrose, the zany Dr. Zed of Owl and Chickadee magazines for children. The Toronto Sun
December 27, 1997
After almost 30 years, Rush has found its way into the international pantheon of hard rock: a Canuck power trio who earned their stripes through hard work and a technical prowess that awed fans and fellow musicians alike.
"We started the band when we were 15 years old," Lifeson said in a recent interview from his home north of Toronto.
"So it's been such a part of our lives -- it's been our lives -- and everything has been centred around it for all these years."
To celebrate their longevity, the band's record company has released a retrospective on two separate CDs, featuring remastered Rush originals from albums released between 1974 and 1987.
"Listening to this retrospective, I guess I realized maybe how important Rush was and is," says Lifeson.
"It's unique, in that there aren't too many bands around that have had that kind of history."
And they don't call Rush the ambassadors of Canadian rock for nothing.
They broke new ground for Canadian bands in the '70s and '80s by being the first hard rock act to make it big south of the border. Unlike other Canadians such as Joni Mitchell and Neil Young, Rush chose to return to their home and native land.
"In 1974 when we had our first American tour and (album) release, that really opened a lot of doors," Lifeson says.
"We worked so hard, we spent so much time down there that we showed there was something that Canada had to offer in terms of music on an international scale."
It wasn't until the late '70s that Canadian artists such as Loverboy and Bryan Adams began to crack the American market. The fact that Rush had already been there gave them a leg up, Lifeson says.
"Perhaps we just opened the door a little bit -- or at least unlocked it -- and made it a little bit easier.
"Before that it was very difficult to get anything happening in the states. Bands like The Guess Who and B.T.O. (Bachman Turner Overdrive), of course, were successful on a certain level down there. But I think they were gone by mid-'75 -- nothing really lasted very long."
Official recognition of Rush's status as a national treasure came earlier this year when the trio -- also noted for raising millions of dollars for charity -- were awarded one of the country's highest honors, the Order of Canada.
They are the only rockers to be given the medal of distinction in its 30-year history.
"Something about our home country has kept us here and moments like this make you feel like you've made the right decision," Lee said after receiving his medal.
While this year has been a time for Rush to reflect on their career, it was also marked by terrible tragedy when Peart's 19-year old daughter Selena was killed in a car accident in August.
Her death was a great shock to Peart, his family and the band. In deference to Peart, says Lifeson, Rush has put itself on hold for now.
"He needs time right now and so do the rest of us. We'll make sure he gets it."
Lifeson, Lee and Peart have always been good friends. Part of the formula for their success has been good communication and respect; Rush has never fallen victim to the petty squabbling that has destroyed other bands.
"We've always been lucky: we've never had any of those internal problems," says Lifeson.
"It's very rare. We've worked with so many bands and seen so much stupid infighting and silly little games that people will pla
OTTAWA(CP)
Rock n roll did it for Rush, Frank Shuster made it with his droll wit and the King of Kensington got there after two decades on TV.
Rush retro CD takes in best of three decades:
by Andrew Flynn
Geddy Lee's wail, Alex Lifeson's blazing guitar licks and Neil Peart's furious drumbeats -- these are the signatures of Canada's foremost rock dignitaries.