“I need to play. Once a week I go to Ged’s – it’s in the calendar”: Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee are recording their regular jam sessions – but remain tight-lipped about what they’re using them for

Alex Lifeson (L) and Geddy Lee of Rush perform in concert at The Frank Erwin Center on April 23, 2013 in Austin, Texas.
(Image credit: Photo by Rick Kern/WireImage)

While a Rush reunion may not be in the cards), Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee are still keeping the band's spirit alive by regularly meeting up for friendly jam sessions.

“It’s good to jam with friends as you get older,” Lifeson says in the new issue of Classic Rock. “I need to play. Once a week I go to Ged’s – it’s in the calendar – keep my fingers moving, play Rush stuff, new jams. We do record it, but I couldn’t even begin to tell you where it’ll go.”

Despite recording their jams, the two insist fans should not get their hopes up. As Lee coyly puts it, “Al and I are lifelong friends. We jam together once in a while, it’s true. That’s all I want to say about that right now.”

In an interview with Rolling Stone last year, Lifeson confirmed that the two are actually playing “a lot of Rush songs” during these regular jam sessions, but end up sounding like “a really bad tribute band for the first three or four run-throughs.

“And then muscle memory kicks in, and we’re having a ball doing it. It’s good for the fingers. We’re together in a room like we’ve always been. That’s been really good, but there’s no chance that we’re going to get a drummer and go back on the road as the rebirth of Rush or something like that.”

That doesn’t mean Lifeson and Lee won’t treat audiences to a live performance from time to time. In fact, the two reunited last May at the Gordon Lightfoot tribute concert in Toronto, where they put their own spin on The Way I Feel.

Visit Magazines Direct to pick up the new issue of Classic Rock.

Janelle Borg

Janelle is a staff writer at GuitarWorld.com. After a long stint in classical music, Janelle discovered the joys of playing guitar in dingy venues at the age of 13 and has never looked back. Janelle has written extensively about the intersection of music and technology, and how this is shaping the future of the music industry. She also had the pleasure of interviewing Dream Wife, K.Flay, Yīn Yīn, and Black Honey, among others. When she's not writing, you'll find her creating layers of delicious audio lasagna with her art-rock/psych-punk band ĠENN.