“It feels like a band even though we’re not calling it that now”: Envy Of None bassist on whether Alex Lifeson’s post-Rush project is a long-term deal

In a new interview, Envy of None bassist Andy Curran addresses the burning question of whether or not the band – or shall we say project – is here to stay.

Featuring Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson, Maiah Wynne, Alfio Annibalini, and Curran himself, Envy of None came together in 2021 to the anticipation of many fans, not least those with their eyes on Lifeson’s post-Rush music career.

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Initially conceived as what Lifeson termed ‘a project’, Envy of None has released two albums in the last two years, and are likely to drop more new music in 2024, given that there are already “six or seven songs that are quite far along”.

Asked if Envy of None has since transformed from a ‘project’ to a ‘band’, Curran tells Blabbermouth: “If Alex were here, he’d say it was a project. It really started as a studio project.”

“I’ve been in several bands and I can tell you that it feels like a band when we’re together and writing. There was this sort of period after we finished the first record and it was like, ‘Yeah, let’s not do any photos. We’ll just go out with the album cover and keep it low-key.’ Our publicist at the label said, ‘I get it that you don’t want to do a “band” shot. Can we at least get four individual shots of the people in the project?’”

“I’m telling you this because we got together and did a photo session where each of us had our own solo shots. As we were finishing, Alex said, ‘Yeah, what the hell? Let’s get a group shot.’”

The bassist then references a scene in the movie Dumb and Dumber, where “Jim Carrey is hoping he’s going to get a date, and the girl says to him, ‘Ninety-nine point nine percent we’re not dating.’ And Jim says, ‘So you’re saying there is a chance?’”

“There is a chance this could be a band,” Curran concedes. “But it came to fruition of four like-minded musicians writing at home and sending ideas back and forth.”

“The other thing I can say about band versus project is when I got a call from a guy named Adam Kornfeld. He was the long-time booking agent for Rush. He called me up and said, ‘I heard the record and love it. I want to be your agent.’ I said, ‘That’s very flattering, Adam. But we aren’t really a band. Think of this like The Alan Parsons Project.’ And he goes, ‘I’m the agent for The Alan Parsons Project!’’ I shot myself in the foot with that one.”

The short answer, says Curran, is that “it feels like a band even though we’re not calling it that now.”