Geddy Lee seems quite open to the idea of reviving Rush with his surviving bandmate Alex Lifeson, after the 2020 death of drummer Neil Peart effectively ended the band.
Lee discussed his feelings towards performing again in a new interview with The Washington Post, and though the surviving members of Rush have expressed interest in a proper reunion before, they actually did have a de facto reunion last year after Dave Grohl convinced them to perform at the star-studded tribute concerts for the late Taylor Hawkins.
“It had been a taboo subject,” Lee said of the experience. “And playing those songs again with a third person was the elephant in the room, and that kind of disappeared.”
During the Taylor Hawkins tribute shows in both Los Angeles in London, Lee and Lifeson played Rush songs alongside musical friends including Danny Carey, Omar Hakim, Chad Smith, and Grohl himself. They all played a portion of Rush’s 20-minute epic from 1976, “2112,” and Paul McCartney even congratulated them afterwards, egging them on about touring again.
Lee continued: “It was nice to know that if we decide to go out, Alex and I, whether we went out as part of a new thing, or whether we just wanted to go out and play Rush as Rush, we could do that now.”
Not that we can speak from experience, but if Dave Grohl and Paul McCartney both want you to tour again, then that probably means you should get back to touring. Nothing has been confirmed — Lifeson is also still recovering from a recent stomach surgery — but Lee did say that he had a jam session in his home studio with Lifeson back in October 2022, their first time doing so in years. That’s a start.
With Rush (mostly) inactive, Lee has been working on a memoir called My Effin’ Life. It’s out on November 14th, and he’ll be celebrating with a book tour.
