UPDATE - 4/5@7:20PM: John at Cygnus-X1.net has transcribed the entire piece and made it available online here.
UPDATE - 4/5@12:15PM: Guitar.com posted a few more excerpts from the article here:
... While the band ultimately decided to go by Rush on their comeback tour, it was a hot topic of debate amongst the team. But, as Geddy Lee says in the latest issue of Classic Rock, "What else do you fucking call it?" when you're performing a back-to-back set of Rush cuts. "When the band ended, we said it's only Rush with Neil in it," he explains. "Which of course is true. Rush as most people know it. But, you know, over five gigs we will be playing forty Rush songs. So what the fuck should we call it, Iron Maiden?" While the band will be touring with new drummer Anika Nilles, Peart's family has given their blessing for the group to tour under the Rush name once again. Because, when it comes down to it, Lifeson and Lee have gone by Rush for over five decades - it's a part of them. "We were twisting ourselves into a pretzel to try to avoid using the name that we have had for fifty years, and even before Neil came," Lee says. Of course, the tour opening at the venue that played host to Peart's final Rush performance is the band's way of respecting their late drummer's legacy. But they won't let the loss define Rush and confine it to the annals of history. "It just seems silly to go on as Lee and Lifeson Present The Music Of..." Lee concludes. "Let's cut to the chase, shall we? Let's just be who we are and have been for over fifty years." ...
----- snip -----
UPDATE - 4/3@8:52AM: A few more excerpts from Ged/Al's interview have been published online here:
... "We rehearsed for four days, and on the fourth day Ged and I sat down and we weren't sure," Lifeson reveals in the new issue of Classic Rock. "It wasn't quite working with the three of us. We were thinking that maybe we should continue with someone else, just to see how that might feel.
"And on the fifth day, on the last day that we rehearsed, she took all our comments about feel, about Neil's feel and the way he played, and being very cognisant of the ability that he had, and bang! She nailed the songs all day. It was a real 'Wow!' moment.
"She suddenly changed gears, just like Al said, and it all suddenly clicked," adds Lee. "She took all that information, processed it, and applied it. That was the real turning point. We were playing, and she was smiling, and we had this eye contact. For a long time I've had that drummer/bass player eye contact thing, and that's so important to me, and it was so much fun. And I thought, man, if she comes on this ride, it's going to be so good for us because she brings a whole different energy, it's wonderful." ...
----- snip -----
UPDATE - 4/1@10:59AM: Guitar.com has also posted some excerpts of Ged/Al's interview in this article. Here's what they have to say about opening the tour in LA where they last played with the late Neil Peart:
... "Likening it to "returning to the scene of the crime", Lifeson says: "Staring at that same clock where it ended, yeah." "Supremely stupid idea," Lee replies. "It's a massively stupid idea, because we're going to be so emotional already, that first show without Neil, and then to be in that building. What the fuck was I thinking?" Lifeson concurs: "Yeah, what were we fucking thinking?" Later in the interview, Lee continues: "Without Neil... I'll be frank. There are some songs you play where it kind of hits you, it's bad, and it feels weird. And it's appropriate that that happens. You know what I mean? "If we just picked up and went on without feeling any tug of anything, that would be absurd, that would be a whole other thing. And there'll be moments in both sets where we'll pay tribute to him. We're working hard on that, making sure that it's appropriate." Noting the "emotional and logistical aspect" of deciding to reunite as Rush, Lee adds: "There was nothing about this decision that came easily, except when Al looks at me, and I look at him in the studio and we go why the fuck shouldn't we do this?"...
----- snip -----
UPDATE - 3/31@9:30AM: Classic Rock has posted a short article previewing the cover feature, which includes new interviews with Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson. There's also a separate interview with new drummer Anika Nilles. Here's what she had to say about her first rehearsal with the band:
... "I had a few songs prepared before I flew over, and we played those," she says in an interview in the new issue of Classic Rock. "But during the session, we also talked a lot about Neil - about his view on music and drumming. We spoke a great deal about the feel of the songs. The most important point is simply to capture the feeling - that it feels right for the two of them to play their music again. And ultimately, it will feel right for the fans as well. We talked about that a lot. The first session was really about getting to know each other and seeing how we function together." ...
In the interview with Geddy and Alex, Geddy reveals what songs they rehearsed:
... "We'd prepped five songs, but I think it might have been Limelight," says Lee. "We wouldn't have wanted something like YYZ as the first song, though we did run through it in those sessions. We played [Spirit Of] Radio with Anika too. I can't remember what else we played. We did Subdivisions, so it might have been that." "And that is a seemingly simple song for us," says Lifeson. "That's been fascinating to watch. So you get a sense of appreciation for the way the song is, but you also get a more acute appreciation for how Neil played. Because when you see someone else trying to capture his feel, you realise what kind of player he was, and the tightness of his attitude, the firmness in attack as well. "With Tom Sawyer, or even Limelight, you can't just shuffle through those songs, you have to be attentive. And, you know, stand up straight. And that's sort of where the feel comes from."...
----- snip -----
The latest edition of the UK's Classic Rock magazine hits newsstands tomorrow, and the issue includes a massive cover feature on Rush and their upcoming Fifty Somethingtour titled The Unlikely Resurrection of Rush. The cover features a photo of the band with new touring drummer Anika Nilles, and also included in the issue are a massive tour poster along with a Grace Under Pressure 40th anniversary sticker as seen in this screenshot (thanks John at Cygnus-X1.net). The issue will be available on newsstands in the UK tomorrow, and can also be purchased online at this location.
