In a recent conversation with Jonathan Clarke, host of Out Of The Box on Q104.3, Alex Lifeson addressed a question that has followed him and Geddy Lee since the passing of Neil Peart in January 2020 — whether they’ve considered finding a new drummer to continue Rush.
Lifeson, who is currently promoting the second album, Stygian Wavz, from his Envy of None project, acknowledged that the topic is unavoidable. “Oh, well, yeah, of course, because we’re bombarded by it all the time. After Neil passed, it didn’t take more than a few minutes before we started getting e-mails from all kinds of drummers who wanted to audition for the band, thinking that we were just gonna replace somebody that we played with for 40 years who wrote all the lyrics for our music. I don’t know what some of these people were thinking.”
While the idea of playing together again isn’t entirely off the table, Lifeson made it clear that his connection with Lee is about much more than their shared history in Rush. “So, yeah, we’ve had the conversation, because we can’t avoid it,” he admitted. “But honestly, Ged is my best friend. I talk to him — I must talk to him every day. We get together for dinner, we play tennis, we’re doing all this charity work together. He’s my best bud, so, yeah, I go over there. He plays bass, I play guitar — yeah, we’ll play a little bit. I go over there ostensibly to play with him and we end up just sitting and drinking coffee and laughing the whole day.”
As much as their friendship and occasional jam sessions continue, Lifeson isn’t focused on resurrecting Rush.
“So it’s not just Rush, Rush, Rush, Rush, Rush. I have a deep loving relationship with this man, and it’s not all about creating something that we did from the past. You never know what life brings you. Right now I’m super happy doing what I’m doing. I’m engaged with a lot of musical stuff. I love being a musician. I love playing guitar. I love playing guitar so much. It’s not just a vehicle for making a living. It’s me. It’s at the core of my essence. So it doesn’t have to be about Rush or Envy of None. I mean, I do what I do.”
