Speaking to New York’s Q104.3, Rush’s bassist/vocalist Geddy Lee discussed one of his most memorable performances from 2022. The Taylor Hawkins Tribute Concert with Foo Fighters in honor of their late drummer. He also stated his future plans for the Canadian prog rock maestros – Rush.
Lee talks about the event – what made it so special
Geddy Lee spoke about reuniting with his longtime bandmate Alex Lifeson for the concerts, one in London, another in Los Angeles.
He praised how the event was handled and talked about how much it meant to them – Alex and him, getting back to the stage after Rush’s touring retirement and the death of drummer and primary lyricist Neil Peart in 2020.
Geddy Lee said that after Dave Grohl accepted the invite to take part, the drummer suggested that they play with at least two drummers instead of one so that the audience won’t think that that was their new lineup, a suggestion which seems to work.
Expressing his admiration for Grohl, he said that even though they hadn’t played in seven years, Grohl hopped on a plane with Omar Hakim, flew to Toronto, and after two days of rehearsals, him and Alex felt much more comfortable.
Lee mentioned that in spite of multiple big names being involved, it was the only gig where he observed there was no sense of ego or competitiveness, everyone was very welcoming and supportive, thus making it “one of the greatest memories of my entire life“, as he put it.
The bassist said he also got to connect with all these people he had never met, one of them being Paul McCartney. Who came and sat with their little group – him, Grohl, Alex and Josh Homme. He mentioned it felt great to reclaim a sort of ownership of their legacy after Paul told them that he loved their set.
Also read: But Here We Are – Foo Fighters Announce New Album Since the Passing of Drummer Taylor Hawkins
Geddy Lee’s Future Prospects
Lee had revealed earlier this month that performing again with Lifeson under the Rush name was not something he was ruling out completely and the Hawkins tribute show made it clear. They could address the elephant in the room now – who will be the new drummer? The question remained that whether they wanted to go out as part of a new thing or just wanted to play Rush as Rush.
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Geddy Lee also mentioned that after their September 2022 reunion, Alex and him got into the studio and jammed after years.
The singer-songwriter plans to write songs with Lifeson again like before, but he also warned fans not to get too excited in a recent interview with CTV Morning Live stating Rush was not “starting up again“.
“Yes, Alex and I like each other a lot, still. We hang around with each other a lot. And we both have a desire to try to write songs together. We don’t know whether that will bear fruit or not.” said Lee.
