Latest news with #Lifeson
Forbes
31-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Alex Lifeson Reflects On Rush's Legacy Amid A New Boxed Set Celebrating The Band's 50th
To fans of progressive rock in the last five decades, the music of Rush has been the soundtrack of their lives. The songs by the Canadian rock trio of bassist/singer Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson and drummer Neil Peart — among them '2112,' 'Closer to the Heart,' 'The Spirit of Radio,' 'Tom Sawyer' and 'Subdivisions' — have remained staples of rock radio and streaming services. Although the band has ceased recording and touring following the death of Peart in 2020, Rush continues to be in the public eye through archival reissue projects and the activities of surviving members Lifeson and Peart. Marking 50 years since the band's self-titled album, a new 4-CD/7-LP retrospective, Rush 50, was recently released. Consisting of both studio and live tracks (some of them previously unreleased), Rush 50 is the most up-to-date anthology of the band's career: from their first-ever single, a 1973 recording of Buddy Holly's 'Not Fade Away,' to their final live performance with Peart from 2015 on 'What You're Doing/'Working Man'/'Garden Road' at the L.A. Forum. On the occasion of Rush 50's release, Lifeson, now a member of his latest rock band Envy of None, says that he and Lee don't get involved much in Rush's album reissues. In the last several years, that program has seen the 40th-anniversary deluxe re-releases of such classic Rush albums as A Farewell to Kings, Permanent Waves, Moving Pictures and Signals. 'We leave it up to the record company, and they always bring it to us,' Lifeson says. 'They don't have to, but they want our approvals on everything. So we know what's going on, and we look at the artwork. Hugh [Syme, who has worked on Rush's album art] Lifeson says it was up to the record company to choose the track selection for this boxed set anthology. 'But they're aware of how we work," he says. "And Andy [Curran, my Envy of None bandmate] works his main job [in A&R] there at Anthem [an indie record label whose roster included Rush]. So you know he's there looking after our interests as well.' Other never-before-heard live cuts found on Rush 50 include 'Bad Boy' and 'Garden Road,' both of them recorded from the band's early performances in 1974. Another unreleased live track, a performance of 'Anthem,' was taken from Rush's 1974 visit to Electric Lady Studios in New York City. The new anthology comes as the group recently marked the 50th anniversary of their debut album Rush, which featured their original drummer John Rutsey. In retrospect, the record reflected the influence of such groups as Cream and Led Zeppelin with songs such as 'Working Man' and 'Finding My Way.' But it wasn't until Peart's arrival as their group's drummer and lyricist on Fly by Night from 1975 that Rush forged their distinctive progressive rock sound. 'Obviously, we were huge Led Zeppelin fans,' Lifeson says. 'A lot of material from that [first Rush] album is from 1970. And they were such a big influence on us. Just listen to Ged's hooks. But when Neil came in, he brought something new and fresh. And Ged and I were already leaning towards being more progressive in our music, less bluesy rock. And Neil was definitely aligned with that way of thinking. So we naturally fell into that longer tracks, more thematic. He was certainly an influence [and] definitely part of the ride.' After a combined 30 studio and live albums — not to mention decades of touring — Rush's popularity still endures more than 50 years later. It's a milestone that Lifeson marvels at. 'Isn't it nuts?' he asks. 'It's crazy. When we first got our record deal in 1974, it was for five records. And I thought, 'This is amazing. This is going to fulfill our recording life and maybe 6-7 years of touring. This would be great.' And then 40 years later, we were doing the final show [in Los Angeles]. Who would ever thought that that would have happened the way it did? 'So it was a very unique experience for us,' he continues. 'And it blows my mind that even after 10 years of being sort of off the road and out of the scene, there's interest as keen as it was 20 years ago.' Rush 50 arrived around the same time as the release of Envy of None's second album Stygian Wavz, both involving Lifeson. 'It just so happened this record took, I don't know, a year and a bit to make,' Lifeson says about the timing of the two releases. 'So it just kind of ends up occupying the same space. But it's kind of good. There's lots of talk about stuff that I'm part of.'
CBC
26-03-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
This doc footage shows Rush's Alex Lifeson at 17 arguing with his parents about his future
Alex Lifeson, the Canadian musician best known as the co-founder and guitarist of Rush, was only 12 when he started playing the guitar. After school, that's pretty much all he'd do. "I immediately went upstairs, played guitar till dinner, had dinner and then immediately played guitar till I was supposed to do my homework," the Canadian rock legend tells Q 's Tom Power in an interview. '[I] didn't do my homework. I just couldn't stop playing. Every chance I got, I played." As a teenager, Lifeson often butted heads with his parents over his total lack of interest in school. In fact, there's even footage of one of their arguments. WATCH | Alex Lifeson's full interview with Tom Power: When he was 17, Lifeson was featured in the 1973 documentary Come on Children, which followed the struggles of 10 teenagers. It was directed by the Canadian filmmaker Allan King, one of the earliest pioneers in cinéma verité. "The premise was 10 kids from all different parts of the city moving in together in a farmhouse," Lifeson explains. "Unfortunately, it was really boring, nothing really happened…. About halfway through, I guess, our parents were invited to tour the farmhouse — it was in Newcastle, Ont. — [to] just see what we were doing." In one part, Lifeson and his parents are sitting around a dining table discussing his future. "I don't want to make a bunch of money," says a teenaged Lifeson. "Like, if I make a lot of money, that's great. But I'm not going to go to university and get a big degree…. Who wants to know how much atmospheric pressure is on five milligrams of mercury and stuff like that? That's not going to help me. I don't see why I have to go through all the bullshit of high school to learn music." "You won't last long, Alex," his mother warns. "You won't last long." WATCH | Alex Lifeson and his parents argue about his future: In retrospect, Lifeson can understand why his parents, who were Serbian immigrants from Yugoslavia, had concerns about him dropping out of high school to pursue his dream of becoming a professional guitarist. "They came from the war," he tells Power. "They came from that horror and having nothing. And they wanted me to be a professional: a dentist or an engineer or something. And I was just set on music…. You know, schooling has a place … but learning about all those things that you had to learn in school — I was so passionate about music. That's not what I needed." Of course, for Lifeson it all worked out. While it's not typical to see your high school band rise to massive worldwide fame, that's exactly what happened to Rush. "I really had a belief in myself," he says. "Like, if this doesn't work out, this music thing, well then I'll do something else. I will work with my dad as a plumber's assistant or whatever, but I really believed that this was going to work out. I never worried about it in the early days. And when we started touring in America and when we got our record deal, I mean, that was a major turning point. It was so exciting." This week, Lifeson will release new music with his band, Envy of None. Their sophomore album, Stygian Waves, comes out everywhere on March 28.
Forbes
25-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Alex Lifeson On Envy Of None's New Album: ‘We Were Just So Excited To Keep Going'
Envy of None: (L-R) Alex Lifeson, Maiah Wynne, Alfio Annibalini and Andy Curran. When former Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson recorded the debut self-titled album of his new band Envy of None, which was released two years ago, he thought it mioght be a one-off project. 'I didn't know what the future would hold,' he says today. 'It takes a year or a year-and-a-half to make these records. [I thought,] The enthusiasm of Lifeson and his bandmates — bassist Andy Curran, keyboardist Alfio Annibalini and singer Maiah Wynne — from working on the Envy of None album carried over into the supergroup's new sophomore record Stygian Wavz, which comes out on Friday, March 28. It further builds on the group's first album's moody and melodic mixture of alternative rock and metal, hard rock, industrial and electronic music. 'I think the first record was a little trippier, a little more atmospheric,' Lifeson says. 'Whereas Stygian Wavz is a more focused record. There's lots of funk on this record. There's heavy rock.' He also points out that he played solos prominently on Stygian Wavz after he initially stayed away from doing them. 'I don't want them to be misconstrued as just show-off stuff,' explains Lifeson. 'I believe solos have an integral part of the song and they need to reflect the song and they need to be in the service of the song.' One example of that is his guitar solo near the end of the anthemic track 'Clouds.' That's just a little short solo, but it's really powerful," he says. "It doesn't have to be this big shreddy craziness. That makes a statement at the end, and it's full of dread and danger. And it's fun.' The album's first single, 'Not Dead Yet,' is a driving and seductive-sounding track that lyrically conveys a theme of resilience. 'What attracted me to that song when I started working on it was the funky structure,' says Lifeson. 'It's bouncy and rhythmic. And then it reaches that crescendo where the heavy guitars come in. That's where the song ended when we initially started writing it. Then we added…that sort of James Bond vibe to the end. Now, when I listen to 'Not Dead Yet,' I'm thinking, 'This should be the theme song for the next Bond movie.'" Another single from Stygian Wavz, 'Under the Stars,' begins with a Middle Eastern feel and then morphs into a dreamy power anthem. 'Joey Vitale played drums and tablas in the opening and that sets a particular mood,' Lifeson says. 'Then the vocals come in and juxtapose against Andy's heavy bassline. There's a menace going on in that first verse. Then the heavy chorus comes in…I really like that guitar solo because it touches on a number of things. There's sort of a bluesy feel, but it's very emotive. I was channeling probably more of David Gilmour throughout that solo.' Lifeson describes 'The Story' — which encapsulates Envy of None's mixture of hard rock and electronic soundscapes — as kind of incoporating power pop. 'Lyrically, it's an awesome song,' he says. 'Everybody you know wants to be a better person. And not always can you control that devil that's sitting on your shoulder. And I think Maiah gets that across really, really well. 'Structurally, the song builds in a really interesting way. I got to play my 12-string Rickenbacker in the choruses. So it's got that little bit of a '60s vibe in that guitar part. Then the solo — again, is an ascending solo that reaches the climax. And then [Maiah's] vocal comes back in. It's that vocal reentry, that part where the track just starts to really drive, and it's so emotional and plaintive. That is the high point for me.' Stygian Wavz captures a band sounding more confident and bolder following their the debut album. Lifeson says: "I think we started working on this second album, I don't know, maybe the next day [after Envy of None]. We were just so excited to keep going. And as that project progressed, things got more interesting. Everybody's work was really focused. I think we went from being just this co-op of four musicians recording music to actually being a band.' Lifeson particularly credits Wynne, whose vocal and lyrical contributions complement the music's hard rock and electronic components. 'She is just an absolute joy to work with,' he says. 'The way she delivers, something about her lyrics. I would say that Neil [Peart] was the same way in Rush. Just that ability to deliver something succinctly that it just grabs you immediately and you understand what it is. Maiah has that ability at 27 years old. Her lyrics have just become more and more relatable. And they're very introspective. Her skills as a singer have increased enormously as well.' Envy of None For casual and die-hard fans of Rush, the music of Envy of None, which formed in 2021, may still seem like a stylistic departure for Lifeson, who is obviously more well-known in the world of progressive rock. And that's fine with him. 'I am very proud of what I did in Rush for the music,' he says, 'but also for the relationships that I had with Geddy [Lee] and Neil. But Envy of None is a different thing. It's not Rush. The music's not Rush. And I don't want to play like Alex Lifeson of Rush. This is Alex Lifeson of Envy of None.' 'There are three other guitar players in this band,' he adds. 'Alf plays a lot of guitar. Andy once in a while plays a little riff, usually in the writing stage. And Maiah does a couple of little guitar things here and there. I am so relieved that I can do something else, that I can look at what I can bring to the table in this particular unit and work from there. It's liberating for me, and I'm really lucky.' Remarkably, Envy of None has not yet performed live. But that could change depending on audience interest and the proper staging for a concert, according to Lifeson. 'We would love to [perform]. To do both albums in a beautiful theater with a nice light show would be spectacular. I already know the other musicians I would like to bring on, just to really flesh out the sound. 'I think what we'll probably end up doing is just waiting out the record and see how the reaction is," Lifeson continues. "If it does well, and there's an audience where we can go into that theater and do two or three nights, and maybe do it in two or three other cities — then we would definitely consider doing it because it would be awesome.' The enthusiasm within Envy of None following the first two albums has prompted consideration of making a third record. 'We're excited to keep the juices flowing,' says Lifeson. 'I'm sure we'll take a break. Everybody's got other stuff, but we're excited to continue.'
