RUSH Guitarist Talks Next Album With MusicRadar

MusicRadar.com recently conducted an interview with RUSH guitarist Alex Lifeson. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

MusicRadar.com: I find it a little surprising that RUSH would go on tour while in the middle of recording a new album.

Lifeson: Well, we're not really in the middle. We wrote six songs and recorded two of them, both of which we're playing live. We'd like to start writing again once the tour is over. I'm guessing that we'll resume recording at the start of the new year.

Our decision to go on tour during an album project…I don't know, we just thought it'd be kind of cool. Plus, there's nothing that gets your playing chops together like being on tour. We wanted a break in the routine, and I think we didn't want to just sit in a studio and feel burdened with coming up with an hour's worth of music at one time. So we kind of said, "Let's record these two new songs, put them out there and hit the road."

MusicRadar.com: Every group, I would imagine, feels they have something to prove with each new album. What are your goals on "Clockwork Angels" — personally, as a guitarist, and collectively, as a band?

Lifeson: Hmmm. I don't really think in those terms. We don't feel as though we have to prove anything. We just want to write great songs. As you know, the album format seems to be dying in some ways. RUSH are traditionalists, so I don't think it'll die for us. This is the first time that we released any new material independent of an album, which was a good thing for us. We wanted to do something different and step out of the box a little bit. It's something we might do again: spend a month or so writing, record two or three songs and release them. Why not?

MusicRadar.com: It's what bands did back in the '60s. THE BEATLES, THE ROLLING STONES — they were always putting out singles that weren't on their albums.

Lifeson: Yep, I remember that. Sure. I think it's good for us to do stuff like that. But going back to the original question, we're not out to prove anything on this record. We're quite happy with the material we have; we'll get in and finish the record; and once we put it out, probably sometime next year, we'll hit the road with a tour that highlights the album.

MusicRadar.com: You've been recording with Nick Raskulinecz in Nashville. Are you going to go back there to finish the album?

Lifeson: I don't know. For those two songs, we did work in Nashville, but we haven't made any decisions as to where we'll record when we pick things up again. You know, I have my own studio at home, so I'd love to do the guitars there. The thing about Nashville is, that's where Nick lives. He'd been away from home a lot, and I think he was really hoping that we'd agree to work there. We didn't have a problem with that. It's good for us to go away sometimes and be a little more focused — certainly, there are distractions when you're home. So going to Nashville and working for a week was no big deal. Blackbird is a terrific studio. Great gear, great rooms, a wonderful staff — it was a no-brainer to be there.

Moving forward, however, we'll see. You know, Neil [Peart, drums] lives in Los Angeles, so I'm sure he wouldn't mind if we did the drums there. I want to do the guitars in my home studio. I don't know how Geddy [Lee, bass/vocals] feels about going to separate studios to do vocals and bass tracks. It's all a ways off, though. We still have a bunch of touring to do.

Read the entire interview from MusicRadar.com.