After Rush closed the book on large-scale tours following their 40th anniversary trek in 2017, it was speculated that Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson would continue to work as a duo. While no material has surfaced quite yet, the guitarist isn't ready to rule out future music-making.
Speaking with Make Weird Music, Lifeson recalled how he began writing on his own following Rush's final tour, while Lee became preoccupied with his Big Book of Beautiful Bass.
"We talked about getting together and doing some stuff together, but it got very, very busy for [Lee], even after he finished writing the book — taking it on the road. So we never got a chance to sit down and start working or just having some fun together," Lifeson explained. "We still talk about it, and I'm sure we will."
The guitarist continued: "Of course, now with the pandemic, it's kind of wrecked things for a bit. But we're both eager to get back together and kind of get back into that thing that we've done since we were 14 years old that we love to do. And we work really, really well together. So we'll see what happens with that."
Recently, Lee and Lifeson have made headlines sharing memories of late friend and bandmate Neil Peart, Rush's drummer and primary lyricist, who passed away in early 2020. The guitarist reiterated that he played very little guitar following Peart's death.
"As you can imagine, we were very, very close. You lose anybody that's close, it's a profound thing. And I think both Geddy and I expected to be better with it," Lifeson shared. "Neil was sick for three and a half years, and no one really knew about it. Well, lots of people knew about it, but it wasn't public, the information. So we thought that we would be prepared for the end when it came, and we weren't. We both really struggled with it."
Lifeson added that he felt a similar way "when [Neil's] daughter passed away" in 1997, which led Rush to go on hiatus. "I didn't play for quite a long time at all; music just didn't seem that important. And it was the same thing with this. And then COVID hit, and now we're all sort of in a different mental space."
In late 2018, Lifeson shared that he was working with drummer Marco Minnemann.
You can find Lifeson's entire conversation with Make Weird Music below.
Speaking with Make Weird Music, Lifeson recalled how he began writing on his own following Rush's final tour, while Lee became preoccupied with his Big Book of Beautiful Bass.
"We talked about getting together and doing some stuff together, but it got very, very busy for [Lee], even after he finished writing the book — taking it on the road. So we never got a chance to sit down and start working or just having some fun together," Lifeson explained. "We still talk about it, and I'm sure we will."
The guitarist continued: "Of course, now with the pandemic, it's kind of wrecked things for a bit. But we're both eager to get back together and kind of get back into that thing that we've done since we were 14 years old that we love to do. And we work really, really well together. So we'll see what happens with that."
Recently, Lee and Lifeson have made headlines sharing memories of late friend and bandmate Neil Peart, Rush's drummer and primary lyricist, who passed away in early 2020. The guitarist reiterated that he played very little guitar following Peart's death.
"As you can imagine, we were very, very close. You lose anybody that's close, it's a profound thing. And I think both Geddy and I expected to be better with it," Lifeson shared. "Neil was sick for three and a half years, and no one really knew about it. Well, lots of people knew about it, but it wasn't public, the information. So we thought that we would be prepared for the end when it came, and we weren't. We both really struggled with it."
Lifeson added that he felt a similar way "when [Neil's] daughter passed away" in 1997, which led Rush to go on hiatus. "I didn't play for quite a long time at all; music just didn't seem that important. And it was the same thing with this. And then COVID hit, and now we're all sort of in a different mental space."
In late 2018, Lifeson shared that he was working with drummer Marco Minnemann.
You can find Lifeson's entire conversation with Make Weird Music below.
