Alex Lifeson says he’s “had quite enough” of touring after four decades of it
“I don’t think I have it in me to go on the road.”
Image: Mat Hayward / Getty
Guitarist Alex Lifeson has stated that, despite how he’s continuing to write and record, he’s likely going to retire from extensive touring.
Speaking to Guitar Player, Lifeson revealed that he has been keeping himself busy with his upcoming record in collaboration with Andy Curran of Coney Hatch. “I’m not really thinking about [touring], he stated. “It’s challenging enough to try to get this album out first.”
“To be honest with you, I don’t think I have it in me to go on the road – 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.”
Alongside his project with Curran, Lifeson has revealed how he’s hoping to work on material with his former Rush bandmate Geddy Lee, however it won’t be under the Rush name following the death of Neil Peart. “Rush ended in [the year the band played their last live show] 2015,” he said.
“There’s no way Rush will ever exist again because Neil’s not here to be a part of it. And that’s not to say that we can’t do other things and we can’t do things that benefit our communities and all of that. I have lots of plans for that sort of thing that don’t necessarily include Geddy.”