After the death of Neil Peart in 2020, RUSH bassist/vocalist Geddy Lee received messages from drummers, some of which were deemed “inappropriate”. These drummers wanted to replace Peart and start RUSH again, even though it had only been a short time since his passing.
During an appearance on “Strombo’s Lit”, Apple‘s book club curated by Canadian media personality and Apple Music Hits host George “Strombo” Stroumboulopoulos, Lee said: “That was a very weird moment. My little black book got filled up really quickly.” When Stroumboulopoulos noted that these were “people you thought were friends,” Lee said: “Yeah, yeah, yeah. I was, like, ‘Whoa, that’s just so inappropriate right now. Dude, wait two months. At least two months — if ever.’ It still happens, now that the clickbait freaks are out there talking about Alex [Lifeson, RUSH guitarist] and I getting a new drummer and starting RUSH again.”
In a recent new interview with CBS News Sunday Morning, Lee revealed that he and Lifeson have discussed the possibility of recruiting a renowned drummer to tour as RUSH again following the death of Peart.
While they had previously stated that they couldn’t continue without Peart, their stance has softened. This change came after they performed RUSH‘s classic songs at the Taylor Hawkins tribute concert in 2022. The concert featured guest drummers Danny Carey, Omar Hakim, Dave Grohl, and Chad Smith.
“Have we talked about it? Yeah. It’s not impossible, but at this point, I can’t guarantee it,” Lee said.
“Do what you believe, because if you do what someone else believes, and you fail, you’ve got nothing. If you do what you believe, and you fail, you still have hope.”
Lifeson added: “It’s just not in our DNA to stop.”
