Rush is a Band

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Neil Peart, Geddy Lee & Alex Lifeson

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Rush cover feature and new interview in the July, 2015 issue of Classic Rock

Tue, May 19, 2015@12:00PM | comments

UPDATE - 5/20@1:13PM: Classic Rock has posted even more of their interview with Geddy and Alex here *SPOILERS* (thanks RushFanForever). Here's Alex Lifeson on the possibility of making another Rush album and how a tour might fit into the plans:

... Geddy and I have talked about getting together on our next time off and just writing for the fun of it. Neil loves recording and always has. ... I could see us doing two or three weeks of dates. A few years back I saw David Gilmour, the On An Island tour. I think he did eighteen dates on that tour. He was out for a few weeks, and that was it. When I saw that show, oh my God, it was so amazing. He was playing so well. And what a fantastic presentation! And he probably put the same amount of work into doing those three weeks that we would put into doing ten months. And that's kind of cool, that you would commit that amount of energy and work to do just a few dates and that's it. I can see us doing something like that. ...

And here's Geddy Lee's take on it:

... to do another record, it has to have that one hundred per cent commitment from all of us. I don't think you can go into a Rush record, or any Rush project, half-assed. You've got to really want to do it. ... The conversation about future albums has to wait until after this current tour. But there is no negativity about it. ... I can see us making a record and playing live but not playing a lot of shows. I can see us doing a record but not doing a tour. ...

Alex also confirms that the band has 3 distinct A-B-C setlists that they'll be rotating throughout the tour, and talks specifically about some of the tracks they are playing.

----- snip -----

The July, 2015 issue of Classic Rock magazine recently hit newsstands in the UK and includes a cover feature on Rush along with new interviews with Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson. The cover depicts a '70s-era photo of the band with the main tagline reading, "Rush: The Last Tour? The Last Interview? The Last Word." along with this featured quote from Geddy: "Can we go on forever? Clearly not. - Geddy Lee". The feature contains separate interviews with both Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson that were conducted in Toronto just prior to the band heading into production rehearsals in Tulsa a few weeks ago. Here's Alex on whether this will be Rush's last tour:

... We'll see. Right now the tour is what it is. Whether we add more dates, I think it all boils down to Neil, really. It's a very athletic endeavour for him to go on tour. He's sixty-two years old. Physically it's difficult. And it's the same for me. ... I've had [arthritis] for ten years, and this is the first time I'm really feeling it in my hands and my feet. That's the way it goes. But it's a lot harder for Neil. He's got tendonitis in his arm. To be honest, I don't know how he gets through playing the way he does, being in that sort of discomfort and pain. But he's a very stoic guy. He never complains. ... [Neil] wants to spend more time at home and with his family. I get it. He's never been keen about touring. It's always a difficult thing for him. ... Neil knows that we're not ready for the end, and he doesn't want to ruin that for us. Keep in mind: we're like brothers. And we went through a terrible period with him in his life and supported him and he'll never forget that. I think he feels, as I would too, an obligation to us for having stood by him. So he's not willing to let that go. Maybe now he is. And I get it. It's not like, what a jerk, he doesn't want to do this any more? I get it. ...

Alex also thinks there's still a good possibility of another Rush album. He then goes on to talk a bit about the band's past drug use and reveals that he regularly smokes marijuana for medicinal purposes to help with his arthritis; he has a prescription in Canada where medicinal marijuana is legal. Geddy Lee is clearly the healthiest member of the trio and is pushing for the band to continue the R40 Live tour into Europe:

... These days it's Lee who is driving Rush forward. He wants to tour more. If he gets his way, the band will return to the UK and mainland Europe in 2016. Whatever happens next, he says, will be dependent on how the other two guys are feeling after the US tour: "If everyone's really digging it, the way I think we will, then we might carry on." ...

Good news for European fans! And here's what Geddy had to say about the band's future

... I'm just trying to enjoy the ride. Can we go on forever? Clearly not. We don't know if this is the end. And if it is the end, it's going to happen in bits and pieces. If we can't go out and do a massive tour in the future because everyone can't agree on that, there's nothing to say we can't do another record or one-off shows here and there. That's the best way I can describe it. ...

You can read the entire interview online here. Thanks to isthatmysandwich and RushFanForever for the heads up.

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