Alex Lifeson says he's unlikely to tour again: "I don’t think I have it in me to go on the road"
"After 40 years of sitting in hotel rooms, I’m not interested," the Rush legend told Guitar Player. "I’ve had quite enough of that"
Between his new album with Coney Hatch's Andy Curran, his new track with Tom Morello and Kirk Hammett, and his new Epiphone Les Paul Axcess Standard signature guitar, Rush electric guitar hero Alex Lifeson is keeping plenty busy.
One thing he isn't currently planning to add to his schedule, however, is a tour.
When asked in the new issue of Guitar Player if he had any plans to play live in the near future, Lifeson responded: "I’m not really thinking about that. It’s challenging enough to try to get this album [his upcoming LP with Curran] out first.
"To be honest with you, I don’t think I have it in me to go on the road," Lifeson continued. "I mean, if it was a handful of shows, that might be kind of fun, but anything beyond that... After 40 years of sitting in hotel rooms, I’m not interested. I’ve had quite enough of that. I do love my home life.
"I thought I would miss being onstage a lot more, but I don’t really. I’ve done a couple of things here and there. Small things – usually it’s a charity event or something like that. It’s kind of fun getting up and playing with other people, but the whole production – the big, giant machine – it doesn’t really hold much appeal to me now."
Studio-wise, Lifeson has also said that – in addition to his current projects – he's open to collaborating once again with his former Rush bandmate, bass guitar player and vocalist Geddy Lee.
Any new music they create though, Lifeson clarified, would not be under the Rush name, which Lifeson and Lee retired after the death of the band's drummer, Neil Peart, in January 2020.
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“Rush ended in 2015," the guitarist told Eddie Trunk on SiriusXM in July. "There’s no way Rush will ever exist again because Neil’s not here to be a part of it.”
To check out Guitar Player's full interview with Lifeson – in which the guitarist also discusses Rush, his new signature Epiphone and... his golf game – pick up a copy of the latest issue of the magazine at Magazines Direct.
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Jackson is an Associate Editor at GuitarWorld.com. He’s been writing and editing stories about new gear, technique and guitar-driven music both old and new since 2014, and has also written extensively on the same topics for Guitar Player. Elsewhere, his album reviews and essays have appeared in Louder and Unrecorded. Though open to music of all kinds, his greatest love has always been indie, and everything that falls under its massive umbrella. To that end, you can find him on Twitter crowing about whatever great new guitar band you need to drop everything to hear right now.
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