=93=85knowing that it=92s been thirty years that = we=92ve been doing=20 it, my god, that=92s something in itself.=94

ALEX LIFESON

OF

RUSH

For = more than=20 thirty years, RUSH has been the standard bearer for modern = progressive=20 rock. The band started off as a heavy balls-to-the-wall rock and roll = band in=20 the vein of Led Zeppelin, and through the years their sound has bended = but never=20 broken with musical trends in the =9170s, =9180s, =9190s and now the = 2000=92s. The band=20 is set to head out on the road on its thirtieth anniversary concert tour = later=20 this year, but fans have already gotten a taste of what it would be = like. Last=20 year, Rush embarked on their first tour in nearly five years, which was=20 commemorated on the Rush In Rio DVD and 3 CD set. The disc features career = spanning=20 material and captures the band=92s enthusiasm, according to Rush = guitarist Alex=20 Lifeson.

It was the band=92s = first tour=20 since the return of one of the best drummers in rock, Neil Peart, = who=20 rejoined the band after a prolonged absence to deal with the = debilitating loss=20 of his daughter and wife, both in a ten month = period.

Neil eventually found = love again=20 and regained his passion for playing drums. Lifeson, who admitted that = he=20 thought the band could have been over, is still awed by Peart=92s = recovery. The=20 band came back with a vengeance with Vapor Trails in 2002, = followed by a=20 tour. Controversy still dogs the band. Guitarist Alex Lifeson was = arrested and=20 charged with four felonies and two misdemeanors in connection with a New = Year=92s=20 Eve incident at the Ritz-Carlton along with his son and his = daughter-in-law. The=20 results of that case are still to be determined.

Despite the setbacks, = Rush still=20 plans to tour on its thirtieth anniversary and in support of their = latest live=20 set Rush In Rio. In an interview conducted a few months before = Lifeson=92s=20 arrest, he talked to ARTISAN NEWS SERVICE about the album, the recovery = of=20 Peart, and their underrated sense of humor.=85all thirty years of=20 it.

-- by Darren=20 Davis

When did you decide = to embark on=20 the DVD CD concept of Rush In Rio?

=93We decided to do the DVD back in, boy, I = guess it was in=20 May of 2002, just before the tour. We were in rehearsals and we really = thought=20 this would be a great opportunity for us to have something of this tour = after=20 all those difficult years of Neil=92s tragedy and all that we=92d been = through. It=20 was amazing that we=92d come to this point where we were touring again = and had a=20 new record out. And we really wanted to have a memento of that. And we = started=20 planning the DVD at that time. We targeted one of the final shows in the = U.S. as=20 the date to do that. We had some problems at the venue and decided to = postpone=20 it until we were in South America and do it at the last show in Rio.=94 =

The DVD debuted in = movie=20 theaters, but you didn=92t go. What was the = hesitation?

=93You know, I had spent a lot of time mixing = it. That was=20 sort of my responsibility. Geddy kind of looked after the video portion = of it,=20 making all those decisions. And (the engineer) Jimbo and I spent a lot = of time=20 in the studio, and Patrick the pro-tools operator, we were in there for = two=20 months -- eight weeks, seven days a week from noon to 4 in the morning. = So, it=20 really was quite a task. There was a lot of work to do. Not only the = DVD. There=20 was 5.1, there was the stereo, there was all the additional stuff that = had to be=20 done while we were in there. We had a few technical difficulties in the=20 beginning, and it took a few weeks to sort those out and then we had to = start=20 all over again. There was a great deal of work involved, and we were = certainly=20 relieved when it was all done and very proud of what we had done. But to = sit out=20 in the audience, geez, I would have probably started taking notes, =91we = should=20 have done this, we should have done that, what about the=85=92 It=92s = like that with=20 all of our records even. = So I=20 couldn=92t even imagine what it would be like in a theater.=94

It=92s weird because = I think a lot=20 of people think that it=92s not such a complicated process, but from = what you=92re=20 saying it=92s an arduous process?

=93The major problem, I wouldn=92t say it=92s a = problem, really,=20 but the thing you have to look out for the most is continuity because = it=92s a=20 live show. And yeah, you=92d think that =91OK you just put the mics up = and you=20 record it and that should be it. You shouldn=92t have to do anything,=92 = but it=92s=20 not quite like that. There=92s this whole level of sound shaping that is = involved=20 in any kind of mix, anywhere. = What=20 the mics are picking up aren=92t necessarily what something sounds like, = and it=20 needs to be shaped that way -- and the same thing is required in the = studio. So=20 once you do that shaping that and you=92ve got things sounding right, = it=92s a=20 question of balance. And then it=92s a question of feeding in the = audience so that=20 there=92s a sense that this is live, and this is exciting, and this is = not so much=20 about pristine sound off the stage this is about the excitement of the = venue of=20 the crowd=92s interaction with the band, and vice versa. All of those = things.=94

=93It sounds simple, but it isn=92t. It takes a = long time to=20 really get it feeling like you think it should feel. I=92ve never seen = the band=20 live, so I have to go by what I think we should sound like live and by = what=20 Jimbo, the engineer, from his experience would say is what we sound like = live.=20 So once you=92ve done all of that, you=92ve now created the mix for that = song, and=20 it=92s done. You move on to the next one, and you have to do that whole = thing=20 again. And it has to feel like it=92s from that same night and it=92s = connected, and=20 all of that. We really wanted to capture what it was like to sit in the = twelfth=20 row center at a Rush show, especially at a show like that in Rio where = the=20 audience is so overwhelmingly enthusiastic, and excited, and = knowledgeable.=94=20

What was the approach = to the=20 DVD?

=93We looked at a lot of DVDs from U2, to = Madonna, to Dave=20 Matthews, and lots in between, and what struck me about almost all of = them was=20 how great they sounded they were very pristine and very clean, and it = sounded=20 like they were mixed from the band=92s point of view on stage, how they = would want=20 it to sound on stage, and maybe a little less so of what the audience = hears. So=20 our plan was to really push the audience since it was such a great = audience, and=20 really make it wrap around the whole experience.=94

Can you compare doing = this to=20 doing A Show Of Hands (1988) and Exit=85 Stage Left=20 (1981)?

=93Well A Show Of = Hands=20 we=92d come into the studio after and arduous tour. We were on the road = for about=20 eight months in the U.S. and then we went to Europe for a month and = recorded and=20 then we came home, had a week off, and then went into the studio to = start mixing=20 that. It was a lot more difficult. I would say our direct involvement = was maybe=20 a little less than what something like this was. We were just at a very=20 burnt-out stage when we mixed that. It=92s just got a whole different = feel. It=92s=20 from a different generation. Coming from the =9180s there was a whole = different=20 quality to the sound. I haven=92t listened to that record in a long = time, and I=20 remember the last time I listened to it, it sounded very much like I = just=20 described those DVDs, a very clean sound from the stage perspective. And = I think=20 we were guilty of that with Exit=85 Stage Left as well. All = The World=92s=20 A Stage was pretty raw. It was a small hall with a small audience = and it=20 caught the moment. When we mixed Exit=85 Stage Left, I think we = went in the=20 reverse and mixed it almost as a studio album, and fed the audience in = here or=20 there. So I think we sort of learned from all that to get to this=20 point.=94

How did you choose = the set list=20 for Rush In Rio?

=93Yeah, Geddy and I sat down before the tour = and listened=20 to all our records. Not to every song, but most, and tried to come up = with a set=20 list that was pretty broad and covered just about everything. We paid = close=20 attention to some of the websites and what fans were requesting as live = songs.=20 We certainly accepted some of those ideas, not all of them, but some of = them,=20 and we put a set list together that was probably about four and a half = hours=20 long! We chipped away and got it down to three hours. It=92s always a = difficult=20 task. But I think we came pretty close to having a really good set list = on this=20 tour.=94

I think the album is = a statement=20 from Neil that he=92s back=85

=93You=92re right it is a statement. When we = started working=20 on (the last album) Vapor Trails, Neil hadn=92t played his drums = in about=20 four years, other than one brief period about a year before where he set = them up=20 and he played for, I think, one day and it was too much of an emotional = roller=20 coaster for him. Here=92s a guy who practiced every day except Christmas = and New=20 Year=92s Day. He hadn=92t played in four years, basically and when he = came into the=20 studio to start work obviously you could tell he hadn=92t played and = he=92s -- if=20 not the best -- one of the best drummers in the world, rock drummers. = And what=20 he went through and how he pulled it all together and brought himself = back from=20 that darkness is just amazing. I sat there every night watching his drum = solo,=20 and I was just completely blown away by it. The guy is just incredible = and to=20 have brought himself around that level of focus and strength was really, = really=20 remarkable. I=92m very = proud of=20 him.=94

The packaging is = definitely a=20 great insight to that time period of the band.

=93Yeah I think so. I think the = packaging=85 If you=92re talking about the = packaging=20 for the DVD and the CD, there=92s obviously a great sense of humor in = there =96=20 something that we=92re not really known for is certainly more of what = we=92re like.=20 His involvement shows that side of him that he can laugh and he can have = a good=20 time, and that he=92s come through his difficulties. He=92ll always be = scarred by=20 it, but the old Neil is back, I think, and there=92s a new one that=92s = actually=20 emerged that=92s actually enriched from the difficulties in his life.=94 =

Speaking of humor, = the Rush=20 website has a clip art animated comedy mini-show, the Tiki Bar? It=92s=20 hilarious.

=93That=92s the people at Unplugged. They put = the website=20 together. They=92re really terrific. They have a lot of fun. And they = had this=20 idea of the Big Al Tiki Bar, and we put that together. We shot about = five=20 episodes I believe, and there=92s more for the future. They do a great = job, and=20 they=92re very, very funny people over there.=94

Any plan for wider=20 distribution? =20

=93Well we hadn=92t thought of it, but maybe = we=92ll plan on=20 running a series, a weekly series. Maybe we=92ll give The Osbournes a = run for=20 their money.=94

Last question, does = the last tour=20 give you inspiration for the 30^th inspiration=20 tour?

=93I had such a great time and it was so nice to = play for=20 our audience. Everybody=85. There was such a sense of celebration on the = last=20 tour, and it was nice to play in the summer, which is something that we = had=20 never done before. That communion, it felt really, really good, and = I=92d love to=20 repeat that again. And knowing that it=92s been thirty years that = we=92ve been doing=20 it, my god, that=92s something in itself.=94

--- The End