Alex Lifeson Says Rush Are Finished with Large-Scale Tours

Published Mar 08, 2016

After Rush drummer Neil Peart spoke of his musical retirement in an interview last year , axeman Alex Lifeson has further clarified his drummer's stance by revealing that the band are stepping away from embarking on large-scale tours.In an interview with Rolling Stone , Lifeson explains that Peart, himself and bassist Geddy Lee aren't entertaining the idea of heading out on the road again despite the success of their recent run of R40 dates."Neil was prepared to commit to 30 dates and he told us that right from the very beginning," Lifeson told the magazine. "He didn't even want to do the tour, to be honest with you. It's been increasingly difficult for him, but he committed to the tour and we got through it. As far as he was concerned, that was the end of touring."Lifeson went on to reveal the physical reasons behind Peart's concerns, undoubtedly compounded by his chronic tendonitis."His shoulders were hurting, his arms were hurting, his elbows, his feet, everything," Lifeson explained. "He didn't want to play anything less than 100 percent. He was finding it increasingly difficult to hit that mark on this last tour. So, all those things combined, I get it. I'm disappointed and I think Geddy [Lee] is very disappointed and we'd love to continue this tour a little bit longer, but we're off now."Though further recordings or one-off shows are still a definite possibility, Lifeson has yet to discuss the band's future in-depth with his bandmates. Having spoken to both Lee and Peart since the final date of the R40 tour, he remains hopeful for the future despite humorously adding "we have been saying that every 40 years, we fire our drummer and get a new one.""Maybe next fall or something like that, we'll plan something," he continued. "We took a year off before the last tour and we didn't discuss anything about the band or work, and everybody had a great time, and we came back from that...We're getting older and it's getting tougher, but I don't know. We'll see."