The death of Neil Peart has had a profound impact on Rush.
Guitarist Alex Lifeson told sports journalist Ann Liguori of the band’s sombre mood on her show “Talkin’ Golf“. Lifeson admitted the motivation has not quite been there since Peart’s passing.
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“I don’t know if the motivation is there for us to really do anything now,” he said. “We’re certainly proud of our track record, and we still love music. But it’s different now.”
Lifeson has experienced this rut before. He reflected on how Peart’s daughter tragically died in a car crash in 1997. Peart’s wife died from cancer a few months later.
“I didn’t really play for about a year [after that],” he said. “I just don’t feel it in my heart right now. Every time I pick up a guitar, I just aimlessly mess around with it and put it down after 10 minutes.”
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“Normally, I would pick up a guitar and I would play for a couple of hours without even being aware that I’m spending that much time,” Lifeson concluded. “So I know it’ll come back.”
Peart died of glioblastoma, an aggressive cancer that attacks the brain and/or spinal cord, on January 7, 2020, at age 67
