Latest news with #AlexLifeson
Yahoo
20-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'80s Prog Rock Icon ‘Sounded Terrible' During Tom Morello Performance
'80s Prog Rock Icon 'Sounded Terrible' During Tom Morello Performance originally appeared on Parade. Iconic guitarists Alex Lifeson and Tom Morello brought rock fans to their feet during an unforgettable performance — though one is taking the heat. On Thursday, July 17 during a Toronto performance, the Rush guitarist joined Rage Against the Machine's Morello for a performance of Rush's classic hit 'Limelight.' Fans caught the unexpected moment on video, with the iconic '80s group sharing a clip on their YouTube page. While many people praised the duo, some were quick to critique, particularly 71-year-old Lifeson's performance. 'How great to see Alex on stage celebrating this song with Tom and his band, wonderful job!!' one fan gushed in the comments. 'Something is "off" during the solo,' one noted, while another said bluntly, 'Can't sing.' Apparently, something actually was off. According to other commenters and attendees at the show, Lifeson's string broke during the performance. 'E string unfortunately broke.. but everything was there... thanks Alex,' one said. One praised how Lifeson handled the unfortunate situation. 'Alex, the legend, the consummate pro, somehow manages to get through the song with the guitar he was given out of tune and/or pedals not performing right,' they said. 🎬 SIGN UP for Parade's Daily newsletter to get the latest pop culture news & celebrity interviews delivered right to your inbox 🎬= Another elaborated, 'I feel bad for him. Obviously, he can still play, but having the string break on him at the beginning of his solo really threw him, and that just sounded terrible.' Lifeson's collaboration with Morello, 61, isn't a one-off; in 2021, the two guitarists, along with Metallica's Kirk Hammett, teamed up for the track "I Have Seen The Way," featured on Morello's album The Atlas Underground Flood. Since the passing of Rush's legendary drummer, Neil Peart, in January 2020, Lifeson and bassist Geddy Lee have not performed under the band's name but have maintained an active relationship with their fanbase. '80s Prog Rock Icon 'Sounded Terrible' During Tom Morello Performance first appeared on Parade on Jul 20, 2025 This story was originally reported by Parade on Jul 20, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Toronto Music Experience aims to celebrate local music history, open a museum
TORONTO — Toronto's storied music history may finally have a museum of its own as part of a five-year plan guided by a team of local entertainment leaders. Organizers at the Toronto Music Experience say they've recently been granted charitable status, which allows them to move forward with plans to fundraise, secure sponsorships and ultimately open a permanent cultural home by 2029. The news was first announced during an industry event last Thursday at the Lounge, a small venue operated by Live Nation on the city's west end, and attended by Rush's Alex Lifeson, Jully Black, Lorraine Segato and Kairo McLean, the youngest winner of the reggae Juno award. TME says it aims to launch a "first-of-its-kind destination that will celebrate the city's unparalleled contributions to music in Canada and around the world." They'll get some help from an advisory board that includes former record label executives Denise Donlon and Randy Lennox, music producer Bob Ezrin and manager Bernie Finkelstein. TME has already been involved in small exhibits dedicated to Toronto's music scene. Several have been displayed at a small music museum tucked into an upstairs corner of Shoppers Drug Mart at Yonge and Dundas, a space once occupied by the legendary Friar's Tavern nightclub. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 5, 2025. David Friend, The Canadian Press
Winnipeg Free Press
05-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Winnipeg Free Press
Toronto Music Experience aims to celebrate local music history, open a museum
TORONTO – Toronto's storied music history may finally have a museum of its own as part of a five-year plan guided by a team of local entertainment leaders. Organizers at the Toronto Music Experience say they've recently been granted charitable status, which allows them to move forward with plans to fundraise, secure sponsorships and ultimately open a permanent cultural home by 2029. The news was first announced during an industry event last Thursday at the Lounge, a small venue operated by Live Nation on the city's west end, and attended by Rush's Alex Lifeson, Jully Black, Lorraine Segato and Kairo McLean, the youngest winner of the reggae Juno award. TME says it aims to launch a 'first-of-its-kind destination that will celebrate the city's unparalleled contributions to music in Canada and around the world.' They'll get some help from an advisory board that includes former record label executives Denise Donlon and Randy Lennox, music producer Bob Ezrin and manager Bernie Finkelstein. TME has already been involved in small exhibits dedicated to Toronto's music scene. Several have been displayed at a small music museum tucked into an upstairs corner of Shoppers Drug Mart at Yonge and Dundas, a space once occupied by the legendary Friar's Tavern nightclub. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 5, 2025.
CBC
26-03-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
This doc footage shows Rush's Alex Lifeson at 17 arguing with his parents about his future
Alex Lifeson, the Canadian musician best known as the co-founder and guitarist of Rush, was only 12 when he started playing the guitar. After school, that's pretty much all he'd do. "I immediately went upstairs, played guitar till dinner, had dinner and then immediately played guitar till I was supposed to do my homework," the Canadian rock legend tells Q 's Tom Power in an interview. '[I] didn't do my homework. I just couldn't stop playing. Every chance I got, I played." As a teenager, Lifeson often butted heads with his parents over his total lack of interest in school. In fact, there's even footage of one of their arguments. WATCH | Alex Lifeson's full interview with Tom Power: When he was 17, Lifeson was featured in the 1973 documentary Come on Children, which followed the struggles of 10 teenagers. It was directed by the Canadian filmmaker Allan King, one of the earliest pioneers in cinéma verité. "The premise was 10 kids from all different parts of the city moving in together in a farmhouse," Lifeson explains. "Unfortunately, it was really boring, nothing really happened…. About halfway through, I guess, our parents were invited to tour the farmhouse — it was in Newcastle, Ont. — [to] just see what we were doing." In one part, Lifeson and his parents are sitting around a dining table discussing his future. "I don't want to make a bunch of money," says a teenaged Lifeson. "Like, if I make a lot of money, that's great. But I'm not going to go to university and get a big degree…. Who wants to know how much atmospheric pressure is on five milligrams of mercury and stuff like that? That's not going to help me. I don't see why I have to go through all the bullshit of high school to learn music." "You won't last long, Alex," his mother warns. "You won't last long." WATCH | Alex Lifeson and his parents argue about his future: In retrospect, Lifeson can understand why his parents, who were Serbian immigrants from Yugoslavia, had concerns about him dropping out of high school to pursue his dream of becoming a professional guitarist. "They came from the war," he tells Power. "They came from that horror and having nothing. And they wanted me to be a professional: a dentist or an engineer or something. And I was just set on music…. You know, schooling has a place … but learning about all those things that you had to learn in school — I was so passionate about music. That's not what I needed." Of course, for Lifeson it all worked out. While it's not typical to see your high school band rise to massive worldwide fame, that's exactly what happened to Rush. "I really had a belief in myself," he says. "Like, if this doesn't work out, this music thing, well then I'll do something else. I will work with my dad as a plumber's assistant or whatever, but I really believed that this was going to work out. I never worried about it in the early days. And when we started touring in America and when we got our record deal, I mean, that was a major turning point. It was so exciting." This week, Lifeson will release new music with his band, Envy of None. Their sophomore album, Stygian Waves, comes out everywhere on March 28.
Forbes
25-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Alex Lifeson On Envy Of None's New Album: ‘We Were Just So Excited To Keep Going'
Envy of None: (L-R) Alex Lifeson, Maiah Wynne, Alfio Annibalini and Andy Curran. When former Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson recorded the debut self-titled album of his new band Envy of None, which was released two years ago, he thought it mioght be a one-off project. 'I didn't know what the future would hold,' he says today. 'It takes a year or a year-and-a-half to make these records. [I thought,] The enthusiasm of Lifeson and his bandmates — bassist Andy Curran, keyboardist Alfio Annibalini and singer Maiah Wynne — from working on the Envy of None album carried over into the supergroup's new sophomore record Stygian Wavz, which comes out on Friday, March 28. It further builds on the group's first album's moody and melodic mixture of alternative rock and metal, hard rock, industrial and electronic music. 'I think the first record was a little trippier, a little more atmospheric,' Lifeson says. 'Whereas Stygian Wavz is a more focused record. There's lots of funk on this record. There's heavy rock.' He also points out that he played solos prominently on Stygian Wavz after he initially stayed away from doing them. 'I don't want them to be misconstrued as just show-off stuff,' explains Lifeson. 'I believe solos have an integral part of the song and they need to reflect the song and they need to be in the service of the song.' One example of that is his guitar solo near the end of the anthemic track 'Clouds.' That's just a little short solo, but it's really powerful," he says. "It doesn't have to be this big shreddy craziness. That makes a statement at the end, and it's full of dread and danger. And it's fun.' The album's first single, 'Not Dead Yet,' is a driving and seductive-sounding track that lyrically conveys a theme of resilience. 'What attracted me to that song when I started working on it was the funky structure,' says Lifeson. 'It's bouncy and rhythmic. And then it reaches that crescendo where the heavy guitars come in. That's where the song ended when we initially started writing it. Then we added…that sort of James Bond vibe to the end. Now, when I listen to 'Not Dead Yet,' I'm thinking, 'This should be the theme song for the next Bond movie.'" Another single from Stygian Wavz, 'Under the Stars,' begins with a Middle Eastern feel and then morphs into a dreamy power anthem. 'Joey Vitale played drums and tablas in the opening and that sets a particular mood,' Lifeson says. 'Then the vocals come in and juxtapose against Andy's heavy bassline. There's a menace going on in that first verse. Then the heavy chorus comes in…I really like that guitar solo because it touches on a number of things. There's sort of a bluesy feel, but it's very emotive. I was channeling probably more of David Gilmour throughout that solo.' Lifeson describes 'The Story' — which encapsulates Envy of None's mixture of hard rock and electronic soundscapes — as kind of incoporating power pop. 'Lyrically, it's an awesome song,' he says. 'Everybody you know wants to be a better person. And not always can you control that devil that's sitting on your shoulder. And I think Maiah gets that across really, really well. 'Structurally, the song builds in a really interesting way. I got to play my 12-string Rickenbacker in the choruses. So it's got that little bit of a '60s vibe in that guitar part. Then the solo — again, is an ascending solo that reaches the climax. And then [Maiah's] vocal comes back in. It's that vocal reentry, that part where the track just starts to really drive, and it's so emotional and plaintive. That is the high point for me.' Stygian Wavz captures a band sounding more confident and bolder following their the debut album. Lifeson says: "I think we started working on this second album, I don't know, maybe the next day [after Envy of None]. We were just so excited to keep going. And as that project progressed, things got more interesting. Everybody's work was really focused. I think we went from being just this co-op of four musicians recording music to actually being a band.' Lifeson particularly credits Wynne, whose vocal and lyrical contributions complement the music's hard rock and electronic components. 'She is just an absolute joy to work with,' he says. 'The way she delivers, something about her lyrics. I would say that Neil [Peart] was the same way in Rush. Just that ability to deliver something succinctly that it just grabs you immediately and you understand what it is. Maiah has that ability at 27 years old. Her lyrics have just become more and more relatable. And they're very introspective. Her skills as a singer have increased enormously as well.' Envy of None For casual and die-hard fans of Rush, the music of Envy of None, which formed in 2021, may still seem like a stylistic departure for Lifeson, who is obviously more well-known in the world of progressive rock. And that's fine with him. 'I am very proud of what I did in Rush for the music,' he says, 'but also for the relationships that I had with Geddy [Lee] and Neil. But Envy of None is a different thing. It's not Rush. The music's not Rush. And I don't want to play like Alex Lifeson of Rush. This is Alex Lifeson of Envy of None.' 'There are three other guitar players in this band,' he adds. 'Alf plays a lot of guitar. Andy once in a while plays a little riff, usually in the writing stage. And Maiah does a couple of little guitar things here and there. I am so relieved that I can do something else, that I can look at what I can bring to the table in this particular unit and work from there. It's liberating for me, and I'm really lucky.' Remarkably, Envy of None has not yet performed live. But that could change depending on audience interest and the proper staging for a concert, according to Lifeson. 'We would love to [perform]. To do both albums in a beautiful theater with a nice light show would be spectacular. I already know the other musicians I would like to bring on, just to really flesh out the sound. 'I think what we'll probably end up doing is just waiting out the record and see how the reaction is," Lifeson continues. "If it does well, and there's an audience where we can go into that theater and do two or three nights, and maybe do it in two or three other cities — then we would definitely consider doing it because it would be awesome.' The enthusiasm within Envy of None following the first two albums has prompted consideration of making a third record. 'We're excited to keep the juices flowing,' says Lifeson. 'I'm sure we'll take a break. Everybody's got other stuff, but we're excited to continue.'
