You and [the guitarist] Alex Lifeson had already been friends for years when Neil Peart joined Rush in 1974. How did you succeed in making him feel an equal part of a trio rather than the drummer in your band? bertram
When Neil joined the band, we immediately discovered that we had a lot in common. Our sense of humour; he loved Monty Python’s Flying Circus. He loved The Lord of the Rings and so did we. A lot of the bands we liked were similar – he was big into Cream and Ginger Baker – and the commonality stood us in good stead when just two weeks later we were out on the road for our first American tour, which was quite overwhelming. I think the fact that we were all experiencing this wonderful thing as shy Canadians bonded us. But for 40 years we always joked that he was still the new guy.
What was the funniest experience you ever had on the road? DistantEarlyBlooper
We were in Manchester in the UK and after the gig we went back to the bar in our hotel. Alex had been under a little bit of strain – he’d had a son the year before and was feeling homesick – so he challenged our 6ft 11in stage manager to a cognac-drinking contest. After about 12 shots, he broke a glass in the bar, so our managers escorted him back to his room, but he wouldn’t be contained. Out he came of the elevator on a room service cart, flying back into the bar. Chaos ensued for the next couple of hours.
When punk arrived, I remember the sheer vitriol from most music journalists towards prog rock in general and Rush in particular. How do you remember this period and view it now? eternalsceptic
I remember it quite fondly, because we were mixing an album in London when the Sex Pistols were on TV. It was fascinating to watch. At the same time, the three-chord style of these bands instantly made us seem like Beethoven by comparison. So, in a sense, the punk movement legitimised our playing ability and more complex structures. I was all in favour of that.
I’m a bass player of intermediate ability and would like to get to the next level. What single piece of advice would you suggest? Jamerson
Find riffs that are hard to play and just keep playing them. Get to know the parts of the fingerboard that seem like unknown spaces. I found it helpful to listen to players of differing styles. Trying to mimic them challenged me to be a better player.
I want to ask about the band’s sense of humour. How did Rush get involved with South Park and I Love You, Man? bcdcdude
We always had a sense of humour, but I guess because of youth and lack of confidence we kept it to ourselves. As we went through many different phases, some of them not happy times, by 2002 we just decided that it was OK to be ourselves. South Park happened because Matt [Stone], in particular, was a huge Rush fan. They started using little Rush inferences and eventually we became friends. With I Love You, Man, it was a period of rebirth we were going through after Neil came back to the band. We used to say no to things out of our comfort zone, but after 2002 we just started saying yes.
The standard of music and lyrics in Rush was always very high, but did Neil ever present you with lyrics that made you think: wow, you’ve outdone yourself? Drspankle
A number of times. Working on lyrics with Neil was an evolution of a partnership. In the early days, we were very hesitant to criticise anything he wrote, because he was the one willing to do that job. But as time went on, I became his trusted sounding board. There were many tracks – like Bravado, The Garden and Dreamline – that felt so relatable that the songs almost wrote themselves around Neil’s lyrics.
I have a question about the final Rush tour, R40, in 2015. How was the mood in the camp, given that Neil wanted to stop performing? Lurkst
That tour started out in a very good mood. We’d put a lot of effort into designing this theatrical retrospective in reverse. It was a lot of fun, but as the tour wound down, the mood started to change and it split into two camps. Neil was getting happier and Alex and I were getting sadder, because we really wanted to bring the tour to fans around the world, but Neil had agreed to do 30 shows. He felt as if he was approaching liberation, so we were quite divided by the end.
On The Spirit of Radio, you sang: “All this machinery making modern music / Can still be open-hearted / Not so coldly charted / It’s really just a question of your honesty.” What, in your experience, constitutes honest music these days? ProfKaufman
No matter what style, I think the audience knows when an artist means what they say and believes in their music – as opposed to just going through the motions and raking in the dough. We set out to write music that made us happy and crossed our fingers that there were enough fans out there who had the same musical sensibility as us. We remained true to ourselves and that worked out.
You have a reputation as a thoroughly amiable chap. I’ve never seen a bad word written about you. Is this assessment entirely accurate? Who was the last person you told to eff off? Bone67
I like to think I’m a good guy. I bear a grudge when someone does me wrong, and there have been those people over the years – a few of them I outed in my book. But for the most part I’m a nice Canadian boy. I was brought up properly and I try not to cast aspersions.
There will never be another Neil Peart, but which drummers do you really rate today? SmilinPeter
There are so many. We’re living in a time rich with great drummers. I love [Tool’s drummer] Danny Carey’s playing. I love [Red Hot Chili Peppers’] Chad Smith. Very different to Neil, but the man has so much power. I heard this drummer the other day, I think her name is Anika [Nilles]. She played on the last Jeff Beck tour and I thought was she was terrific.
I’m named Richard Geddy after my mum saw my dad, with long hair like yours, at a rock bar, fancied him and the rest is history. Have you heard of any other people around the world named after you? richardgc
I’m always embarrassed when someone comes up to me and introduces me to their young child, Geddy. I’m more used to people naming their dogs Geddy. But yeah, it’s got to be the ultimate compliment, so I try to take it in that way.
Did you ever actually wash anything with the washing machines [you had on stage]? PaleSnow
No, they were dryers! And the heating element was removed, so they were just props. We used to have guests come out and pretend they were doing their laundry. I can’t remember what year it was, but my favourite moment was with Jack Black. He came out in Anaheim and basically took all his clothes off except for his tighty whiteys, put them in the dryer, then hopped up on top of it and formed the sign of the man on the star from the 2112 album cover, his pants revealing his plumber’s crack.
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If you, like us, had the opportunity to post a question to one of your musical heroes, who would it be and what would you ask? shiftertron
I never got a chance to sit down with [Yes’s bassist] Chris Squire and talk to him. He was such an important, heroic bass player to me. He did come to one Rush gig in London, many years ago, but it was so crazy backstage. I would love to find out more about him, his influences and how he developed his style.
Should there be limits on AI technology? RDMiller
He’s not my favourite human being, but there’s an expression from Thomas Edison: what man’s mind can conceive, man’s character must control. I think that’s appropriate here. It would be nice if the world could agree on a set of standards, but getting the world to agree on anything …
How did you come up with the idea for the incredible polyrhythm in the intro to The Spirit of Radio? Rockmanalive
That was one of those songs that the three of us wrote together in a rehearsal studio. I think Alex came up with this riff – the crazy one that starts the song – and Neil and I started talking about how we could break into it contrapuntally. We had Alex’s circular riff and we wanted to be as jarring and unusual as we could, before we settled into that typical rock’n’roll riff. It was supposed to be the embodiment of as many different styles as we could muster, to show the variety of music that’s available on your radio dial.
If you had to rerecord one album in Rush’s back catalogue, which one and why? Moryu
That’s a dangerous question! I never finished a record I was totally happy with, but I think it’s a fool’s errand. So I’m gonna say no, I would not want to redo anything. Let it stand for what it was, warts and all.
Are we going to hear new music from you and Alex? CygnusX5
Certainly, there will be new music from Alex and new music from me. Will there be new music from us together? I think it’s likely.
While you, Alex and Neil clearly had a blast, do you have any regrets from your time with Rush? Richard2112
Show me someone without regrets and I’ll show you someone who’s full of crap. I have regrets about how much time I spent away from my son and how I was derelict in my marriage for so many years, because I always put the band first. But I don’t have any regrets about the story arc of Rush. I was the luckiest bass player on Earth to play with a drummer like Neil Peart and a guitarist like Alex Lifeson. And I was even more blessed because they were my dear friends.