Alex Lifeson Recalls 'Turbulent' Years Since RUSH's Final Shows

Alex Lifeson mourned the end of Rush multiple times, once at the end of the band's final tour 'R40' and again two years ago with the passing of drummer Neil Peart.

Speaking to The Rockman Power Hour podcast for his new project, Envy of None, Lifeson addressed his post-Rush journey.

"It was difficult to accept that it was over, even though it was 41 years. And there's no shame in ending after that period of time," Lifeson said. "Neil didn't feel he could play 100 percent — it was getting too difficult to play this kind of music for three hours a night. So it is what it is. That was the end."

There was some hope that the band would resume after taking time off — that Peart would begin to feel healthier and strong enough to make another run. But within a year of Rush's final shows, Peart informed Lifeson and Geddy Lee that he had been diagnosed with glioblastoma, a form of brain cancer.

"It was quite a turbulent time," Lifeson admitted.

Still, he wasn't ready to give up making music.

"I have all this music in me," he said. "I think I'm more a songwriter than a guitarist, and I always thought of myself as a guitarist first. But realizing that I have so many ideas, and they're all over the place, and they're more about melody and about harmony and about space and mood and color and tone rather than just playing."

Lifeson dove into collaborations with other artists and bandied about ideas for a solo album. Eventually, his longtime friend Coney Hatch bassist Andy Curran sent him a song demo and asked him to see what he could add.

That was the beginning of Envy of None, whose debut album arrives Friday.

Lifeson has expressed little interest in touring to support the new record, but he hasn't ruled it out entirely.