Alex Lifeson Talks Life After Rush In New Interview
By Scott Bernstein Jun 3, 2020 • 8:23 am PDT

Photo by Andrew MacNaughtan
Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson revealed he’s played “very little guitar” since the death of his band mate, Neil Peart, during a recent interview. Lifeson appeared on WFAN’s Talking Golf With Ann Liguori on Sunday to discuss his love of the sport and more.
“Every time I pick up a guitar, I just aimlessly kind of mess around with it and put it down after 10 minutes,” Alex said and noted he went through a similar situation when Peart’s daughter Selena was killed in 1997. “Normally, I would pick up a guitar and I would play for a couple of hours without even being aware that I’m spending that much time. So, I know it’ll come back.”
Advertisement
The conversation began with talk of Alex’s passion for golf. Lifeson started playing the sport at age 37 but has been making up for lost time ever since. He compared learning guitar to learning how to play golf and explaining “timing” is at the heart of each. Eventually, the chat turned to music and Lifeson spoke of his relationship with Peart and Rush bassist Geddy Lee. “We were beyond brothers, it was more like we had been in a war together and we had this connection that would even when we didn’t see each other for months, it was like we just left the day before and we picked it up where we left off,” the guitarist said.
Alex does keep in touch with Geddy Lee. “Before this whole COVID-19 pandemic situation happened, [Geddy] and I would see each other every week. We’d go out for dinner or at least talk to each other,” Lifeson said. “It’s been a little crazier now because of this whole thing and the adjustment we’ve made the last few months, but we’re still in touch and we’ll always have that friendship through the end of the days.”
Advertisement
Liguori asked Lifeson if he misses performing and if there’s any chance he’ll play with Lee. “I miss performing in its essence — get on stage playing, especially when you’re really in good shape, you’ve rehearsed and everything and it’s effortless,” Alex responded. “[Touring] is the price you pay … but still after 40 years of being away from your family in particularly it becomes difficult. And after now, it’s been almost five years since the last tour, I can’t say that I really miss it at this point.”
Lifeson then talked about how little he plays guitar. “I don’t feel inspired or motivated,” Alex said. “I just don’t feel it in my heart right now.” He feels “it will come back” and explained Geddy was busy putting together and supporting his Geddy Lee’s Big Beautiful Book Of Bass tome, which kept the pair from collaborating over the past few years. “I don’t know if the motivation is there for us to do anything now. We’re certainly proud of our track record and we still love music, but it’s different now.” The conversation ended with a discussion of how Rush wrote songs and what goes into being a good golfer. Listen to the whole interview below:
[Hat Tip – Ultimate Classic Rock]