But when Neil called, I have to say that my heart soared. And the reason was, because it said so much about his recovery… that he was coming back to the world of the living. – Alex Lifeson
I mean, you go to the internet and you can see all these conversations and arguments that our fans have about our music and that’s wonderful to know, that people would take the time to be that involved. – Alex Lifeson
People are getting away from the whole album experience, it’s true. I think that’s sad. Maybe I’m just saying that because I’m an old fart. But I can’t help it – albums are what I grew up with, and I still love them. – Alex Lifeson
Certainly after the tragedy in Neil’s life, we were holding out hope for his recovery. It wasn’t too promising at the time and obviously you get to the point of thinking that that is it. – Alex Lifeson
Of any guitarist, Jimmy Page was my biggest influence. I wanted to look, think and play like him. Zeppelin had a heavy influence on Rush during our early days. Page’s loose style of playing showed an immense confidence, and there are no rules to his playing. – Alex Lifeson
The Stones were more dangerous than other bands of the Sixties. It looked like they had more fun than the Beatles – like they stayed up later. – Alex Lifeson
Both Neil and I had done solo projects where we were the boss and I just thought that if he was willing to get into it, it would really be a good experience for him. – Alex Lifeson
‘Tom Sawyer’ could have been written eight months ago, with the kind of response it still gets. – Alex Lifeson
I enjoyed art in school. I’ve always done little drawings and stuff like that. I don’t really know what I’m doing with the painting, but I experiment. – Alex Lifeson
My parents got me a $25 Kent steel-string acoustic guitar when I was around 12. The following Christmas, my parents bought me a Conora electric guitar. It looked almost like a Gretsch. It cost $59, and my mom still has it. – Alex Lifeson
When I sit down and play guitar, I melt into the instrument. I can play for hours by myself. Playing guitar has given me such a wonderful life, and I’m grateful for it. – Alex Lifeson
And on top of that, when we work together we have a wonderful working relationship we push each other we challenge each other we laugh 80% of the time that we are together we’re very fortunate. – Alex Lifeson
When we signed our deal in 1974, we’d already been together for six years. When they lowered the drinking age in Ontario in 1971 to 18 years, we went from playing two or three high schools in a month to playing clubs two or three times a week. – Alex Lifeson
Rush has never been a spontaneous group. We may be spontaneous in our writing, we may be spontaneous as individuals in our day to day lives… certainly I think am and always have been, but I think when it comes to Rush and our presentation of our music it’s quite controlled. – Alex Lifeson
But I think the credit has to go to Geddy… he spent a lot of time in the studio with Paul, I think he needed that kind of focus to be in there to be a part of the whole thing, and for the most part he made all the major decisions. – Alex Lifeson
We’ve managed to have a long career that is still quite vibrant, yet we’ve never had to kow-tow to record companies who said we weren’t commercial enough. – Alex Lifeson
I really don’t feel the need to be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame because, at the end of the day, it’s just somebody’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. They have a particular process, and they’re welcome to do it however they want to do it. – Alex Lifeson
I’m not that fluid when it comes to scales and modes. I just pick up the guitar and play. It’s all about exploration: just tune the guitar any way you want and start playing. – Alex Lifeson
The shock of any trauma, I think changes your life. It’s more acute in the beginning and after a little time you settle back to what you were. However it leaves an indelible mark on your psyche. – Alex Lifeson
I think we’re quite unique in that we do have our own sound and approach and we don’t really care what’s going on elsewhere… we’ve never wanted to be part of another trend or movement. – Alex Lifeson
I’d say we do reach somewhat of a younger audience, but I think for the most part that younger audience is picking our music up from a brother or sister or even parent, who is turning them onto the band. – Alex Lifeson
I think that’s given inspiration to other musicians. I know, particularly through the 90s, a lot of bands would cite Rush as an influence. I don’t think it was so much our music, but more the way we really stuck to our guns. – Alex Lifeson
If there was any one achievement, it would be that we’ve have done it on our own terms. – Alex Lifeson
