A couple of days ago we reported that Rush bassist/vocalist Geddy Lee said he and Alex Lifeson have warmed up to the idea of playing together again, and they have even jammed together in 2022. But it seems that there's more to it than the sentiment of being able to do it.
In a recent interview with Long Island Weekly, Lee revealed that he and guitarist Alex Lifeson are indeed interested in making new music together. Let's remember the two musicians have not released new material since 2012's Clockwork Angels, which was the band's final studio album before drummer Neil Peart's death in 2020.
Asked about the possibility of making new music, Lee said that he has been working on a couple of songs that were left off his 2000 solo album, My Favourite Headache, and that the experience of revisiting these songs reminded him of how much he enjoys being in the studio.
"I recently discovered a couple of songs that had been left off my solo album. Listening to them was really quite fun and I decided that I wanted to see about fixing those up and just breathing some fresh air into them. And that experience reminded me of how much fun I have in the studio. So of course, my lifelong buddy and bandmate Alex and I would like to get back into the studio together and see what might happen. I have ideas that I'd like to flesh out on my own too."
"Once I finish all this crazy crap that I agreed to do — the book tour and the TV show and find some space for myself — I'd certainly like to start playing something. But I can't tell you right now because I'm just book touring it until I drop. And then I'll see where I land after I have a nice holiday with my wife and we'll go from there. I don't like to plan too far ahead anymore. I was scheduled up the wazoo with my partners in Rush for over 45 years. Now, I have to prioritize other things." Lee added.
While it's too early to say for sure whether Lee and Lifeson will find themselves together in the studio again, the fact that they have talked about is an exciting development. These two musicians are legends in their own right, and their collaboration on new material would be a major event in the world of progressive rock. One can always dream, right?
Then in an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Lee reiterated his stance of possibly doing Rush shows again and even making new music: "Oh fuck yeah [I miss Rush], enormously. It was hard for me when Neil announced he was going to retire, which is a word I refused to hear, la la la. Do I miss the adulation? No. But I miss the sound of the crowd a little bit. When I go see my friends on tour, I am jealous. They're still enjoying it."
"It's been eight years since the last Rush gig. To start the whole thing up again takes an incredible amount of koyech [Yiddish for strength]. Would I do it again? [pauses] It's possible. Will I do something else musically? It's possible. Now that I've turned myself into a farkakte [Yiddish for lousy] writer, I have to get this out of the way first."
