RUSH bassist/vocalist Geddy Lee discussed the band’s longevity in a new interview with Canada’s National Post.
“We had a long career; we always went our own way; we weren’t afraid to laugh at ourselves — that sense of humour was definitely something we made sure was present in our live shows,” he said.
“I think the camaraderie we had for so many years — we really were very close friends. Alex [Lifeson, RUSH guitarist] and I still are. I think that struck home with a lot of fans. People like to see long marriages and long relationships, people who work together without acrimony. Maintaining that civility and friendship, I think appealed to people because everyone wishes to be in that kind of situation.”
Lee also talked about the possibility of new music in the not-too-distant future.
“It’s interesting, I recently re-released my album [his 2000 solo album ‘My Favourite Headache’] on vinyl and that forced me to listen to it again. I’m very proud of it — it’s a very intricate record, a deep record, and a lot of love and passion went into it. It did get me thinking that one day I’d like to take that on the road, so you never know. But I have no firm plans to do anything right now. It’s not a time when one can plan much, so only time will tell if that comes to fruition.”
Asked about the existence of any unreleased RUSH songs that could see the light of day, Geddy said: “There’s actually not much in the vaults. We were a band that used what we wrote and if we didn’t like what we were writing, we stopped writing it. So there are really no unreleased RUSH songs that were worth a damn. Recording our songs was so difficult and ambitious that we didn’t do extra stuff and pick the best.”
RUSH drummer Neil Peart died on January 7 in Santa Monica, California after a three-year battle with glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer. He was 67 years old.
RUSH announced Peart‘s passing on January 10, setting off shockwaves and an outpouring of grief from fans and musicians all over the world.
RUSH‘s final show took place at the Forum in Los Angeles on August 1, 2015. Peart indicated at the time that he wanted to retire while he was still able to play well, along with a desire to spend more time at home with his young daughter.
Geddy‘s book “Geddy Lee’s Big Beautiful Book Of Bass” was released in December 2018.
