Alex Lifeson
Alex Lifeson
Alexandar Zivojinovich, OC, better known by his stage name Alex Lifeson, is a Canadian musician, best known as the guitarist of the Canadian rock band Rush. In 1968, Lifeson co-founded the band that would become Rush, with drummer John Rutsey and bassist and singer Jeff Jones. Jones was replaced by Geddy Lee a month later, and Rutsey was replaced by Neil Peart in 1974; the band's line-up has remained the same ever since...
NationalityCanadian
ProfessionGuitarist
Date of Birth27 August 1953
CityFernie, Canada
CountryCanada
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Of any guitarist, Jimmy Page was my biggest influence. I wanted to look, think and play like him. Zeppelin had a heavy influence on Rush during our early days. Page's loose style of playing showed an immense confidence, and there are no rules to his playing.
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In September 1968, Rush played for around 20 people at a small hall in a church basement. We played songs like 'Spoonful,' 'Fire' and 'Born Under a Bad Sign,' and got paid $10. Then we went to a nearby deli and ordered Cokes and French fries and started planning our future.
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Bryan Adams might not be what I want to put on, but he's a pop singer with a great voice and great guitar tone. Plus, he's done more for Canada than Rush have, because he works all the time. I envy him for that.
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I think Rush have always had this reputation, particularly to non-fans, of being an ultra-serious and cerebral group when, in fact, the reverse is true. We don't take ourselves seriously at all. Sure, we take our music seriously, but that's altogether different.
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Well, I stand by that comment, I think a couple of years ago, I think we all felt the same way, we weren't sure wanted to release another live record.
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We got together and it was very slow. The first two weeks we spent just talking about everything -- I don't think we played a single note.
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Today closes a difficult and painful period in the lives of my family, my friends and myself. But the sun is shining and it feels good.
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With 'One Little Victory,' I love the idea that Neil is the one who starts the record and he starts it with such a fury and it just says, 'We're back.' And the whole sentiment of that song about being aware of those little successes -- the daily little things that really count -- that we so often take for granted.
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When Neil called, I have to say that my heart soared. And the reason really was because it said so much about his recovery -- that he was coming back to the world of the living. I mean, even if he wasn't really ready for it, he was making an attempt, and there was that little faint light in him that was glowing again.
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When I sit down and play guitar, I melt into the instrument. I can play for hours by myself. Playing guitar has given me such a wonderful life, and I'm grateful for it.
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Rush has never been a spontaneous group. We may be spontaneous in our writing, we may be spontaneous as individuals in our day to day lives... certainly I think am and always have been, but I think when it comes to Rush and our presentation of our music it's quite controlled.
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I'd say we do reach somewhat of a younger audience, but I think for the most part that younger audience is picking our music up from a brother or sister or even parent, who is turning them onto the band.
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I really don't feel the need to be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame because, at the end of the day, it's just somebody's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. They have a particular process, and they're welcome to do it however they want to do it.
art drawings enjoyed stuff
I enjoyed art in school. I've always done little drawings and stuff like that. I don't really know what I'm doing with the painting, but I experiment.