Guest Appearances
Guest Appearances As Performer
"Battle Scar", Rush with Max Webster on Universal Juveniles, December 1980, and Best Of Max Webster, 1989
"Toronto, July 28, 1980. An intense thunderstorm raged outside all day long, while indoors a storm of a different kind was brewing. In the studios of Phase One, two complete sets of equipment crammed the room, and two complete bands filled the air with a Wagnerian tumult, as Max Webster and ourselves united to record a song for their album, called Battlescar." - Neil Peart, Moving Pictures Tourbook
"We set up both bands live and we had this producer Jack Richardson standing in the middle with a baton, sort of conducting us. We were all in a circle and he was in the middle, and we just recorded the tune." - Geddy Lee, Visions
"Take Off", Geddy Lee (vocal) on Bob and Doug McKenzie's The Great White North, 1981
"Doug explained how Geddy was recruited. 'We were friends in school, and we were doing the record, so I called him up. We paid him a few bucks. He came in, put on his toque and sang it.' Geddy commented on the record. 'Canada has finally found an identity. I just came in, they paid me my 10 bucks to come in and sing a few words. It was different from any session I've ever done. These two guys were coaching me... telling me what to do.'" - Visions
"I went to school with Rick Moranis, and basically grew up with him. When they were doing the album, they called me up and asked me if I'd sing on one of the tracks. So I went down and it took me all of half an hour to do. It was fun; strictly a fun thing to do with some pals. Nobody had any idea it would get as big as it did." - Geddy Lee, Success Under Pressure
"He's a really nice guy. Very thoughtful and introspective. Rick went to school with him, which is why he appeared on that album. It was like, 'We don't sing. So we need a singer for our song. So why don't we ask Geddy?'" - Dave Thomas, LaTimes.com, October 25, 2009
"Tough Break", Rush with Jack Secret (aka Tony Geranios), recorded in Septermber 1981
"All the Horses Running" and "Over Queen Charlotte Sound", Geddy Lee (bass) on Marie-Lynn Hammond's Vignettes, 1983, and Marie-Lynn Hammond & Vignettes, 1999
"Crying Over You" and "Holy Water", Alex Lifeson on Platinum Blonde's Alien Shores, 1984, and Seven Year Itch: 1982-1989
"...Platinum Blonde managed to infuse well-crafted intelligent modern rock with pop hooks that literally grafted themselves onto the airwaves. One of the first to acknowledge this fact was Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson who validated their efforts with solos on 'Crying Over You', 'Holy Water'; and a working relationship that continues to the present with Mark's new group, No 9." - Seven Year Itch linernotes
"Tears are Not Enough", Geddy Lee (vocal) with Northern Lights, the Canadian contingent of We Are The World, February 10, 1985
"Our office got a call from David Foster, and he wanted me to come down and sing on it, and I was happy to. We were writing Power Windows at the time. I enjoyed it a lot, it was a nice chance to meet a lot of Canadian musicians that I had never met before and it was a real interesting experience singing ensemble with about 50 other people which I had never done before. So, the whole day turned out to be a very worthwhile experience for me and I'm glad it raised some money for a good cause. - Geddy Lee, "Rockline", November 18, 1985
"I get so impatient with the pop side of causes, the whole sensibility of, 'Let's get together and change things' because these people just do not know what they're talking about and don't take the trouble to find out how they can really change something. It's a Sixties mentality - it had no action then, and has no action now. It's just sound and fury. And, let's be honest, how many of these people are only lending their names as a career move?! Geddy was involved with the 'Northern Lights' charity record here in Canada, although Rush weren't invited to participate in the 'Live Aid' event - mainly because if you look at the guest list, it was very much and 'in-crowd' situation. We didn't refuse to take part because of any principles...Some of those involved in 'Northern Lights' were actually quoted as saying that their managers told them to get down to the recording sessions because it would be a good career move! What a farce!...It's not a lack of food, nor a drought that's causing the problems, but civil war! People are starving others deliberately and how do you change that via a rock concert?! I don't decry charity causes, but if someone were to ask me to do a concert in aid of Ethiopia I'd say NO! I would quite happily donate some money or do anything else that might help, but I believe you have to get involved far more then just giving money to salve your conscience... even that type of charity is so negative because it's self-serving and shallow." - Neil Peart, Metal Hammer, April 25, 1988
"It was interesting. It was fairly comical to watch all these people being one by one brought to the mic and ordered around by David Foster. Uh, at the same time, it was a lot of fun to meet people like Neil Young and Joni Mitchell who are artists that I have had a lot of respect for, for many years, but I would say it was a very odd pairing of human beings...I remember [David Foster] asking Joni Mitchell to sing her line over and over again, and, to everyone standing around, every performance was wonderful, and yet he insisted on making her sing it over and over again--to most people's amazement. And then when Neil Young came in, he sang it once, and David Foster asked him to sing it again because it was a little out of tune, and Neil Young replied to him that that's his style and he's not going to do it again, to which a great swelling of pride welled up in all the onlookers!" Regarding singing his line, 'And you know that we'll be there', "It was one take." - Geddy Lee interview with Vancouver Radio's "The Nardwuar The Human Serviette Show", December 4, 1998
"Champion" (drums) and "Mirabi" (co-drummer with Steve Smith), Neil Peart on Jeff Berlin & Vox Humana's Champion, 1985. Mirabi is also on Crossroads, June 9, 1998
"On one track, I got to play together with Steve Smith. Steve actually did most of the playing, I just came in on the choruses for that 'thunderous double-drum effect.' That was a lot of fun and a real exciting challenge. It was a major milestone for me to walk into a situation like that with no rehearsal. All I'd ever heard of the music before was a living-room demo with a beat box." - Neil Peart, Modern Drummer, January 1986
"[Mirabi] is tremendous. Jeff is one of the best bass players living today. His knowledge of the instrument is overwhelming. He doesn't have any gaps. he can run up and down that thing and knows where he can go. He knows what his options are. His precision and delivery is so precise he blows me away. He can play so many notes and make them sound so fluid. It's not easy to play but it's easy to listen to. His choice of notes and his taste is impeccable. That's what makes a great musician in the end anyway-how much taste they have and how they apply what they learn. He's got great taste. This song is taken from Cannonball Adderly and shows how he can do it all. Some of the things he did with Bill Bruford show him off even more. I think what he's trying to show on this solo album is that he's not just a bass player, he's a band leader and a composer as well. He can write arrangements for every instrument. He's saying, I'm a musician in the total sense. I consider to be a total musician. He's a mindblower." - Geddy Lee, Guitar For The Practicing Musician, June 1987
"I had a visit from Jeff Berlin, who's a friend, on the tour and I had the opportunity to watch him goofing around backstage with a bass, and was just amazed at his knowledge of bass chords. That's something I had never really exploited in my playing, so he inspired me to play around more with it. He probably doesn't know it, and would be embarrassed to hear it. I ended up using bass chords on "Force Ten" and "Turn The Page". Not so much in the sense of strumming them as using my thumb more, almost like a finger picking style of playing, which is something that I'm still working on. Just plucking with my thumb and going back and forth between the thumb and the first two fingers and pulling. Almost like a snapping technique. It's opened up a bit more range for me. There's more melodic possibilities and rhythmic possibilities too, which is an important role for the bass player. If you can establish not only a melody but a rhythmic feel, that's an extra tool." - Geddy Lee, Bass Player, Nov/Dec 1988
"Beyond Borders", Alex Lifeson with the Canadian Guitar Summit, a 45 rpm flexidisk included in Guitar Player Magazine, July 1987
"I approached my role from an atmospheric standpoint, and I tried to tie things together and do little things that I wouldn't normally do on a Rush record... When I got involved with this project, everything was just about finished, which enabled me to sit back and put my feet up and play whatever I wanted." - Alex Lifeson, Guitar Player, July 1987.
"One of the things I learned about Alex was the way he conceptually approaches a recording; he's able to look at a piece of music from the outside in, rather than from the inside out, which is my way of doing things. He thinks a lot in terms of flavors, colors, textures, and atmospheres. He refers to all of the little details that can be added to a performance to make a chill go up your spine as the 'GB factor,' which stands for goose bumps. In fact a couple of times during the mix he showed me how he was actually getting goose bumps on his arms from listening to the playback." - Rik Emmett, Guitar Player, July 1987
"After I heard Alex and Rik Emmett, I thought there must be something special in the Canadian water." - Steve Morse, Major Impacts linernotes.
"Hands of Man", Alex Lifeson with The Big Picture on Dream On The Horizon: A Tribute To The Olympic Spirit!, 1988
"Who's Missin Who", Geddy Lee (vocal) on Climb's Take A Chance, 1988
"In The Danger Zone", Alex Lifeson (guitar solo) on this track only from Greenway's Serious Business, 1988.
"Look!... Here Comes The (Fat) Uncle", Geddy Lee on Klezmer band Finjan's Ship To Shore, 1988
"Get Ready", Geddy Lee from the cd accompanyment to the book Standing in the Shadows of Motown: The Life and Music of Legendary Bassist James Jamerson, May 1, 1989
"Smoke on the Water", Alex Lifeson with Rock-Aid Armenia on The Earthquake Album, 1990, reissued as Smoke On The Water: The Metropolis Sessions (CD / itunes), November 22, 2010
"The one person from Rush who thankfully was able to make it was Alex Lifeson. He felt that there was enough solos on the record so he prepared some guitar lines that would underpin the song and give it some groove. You can hear his playing at the start of the guitar solos, in the Paul Rodgers verse and he's the one playing the crash chords at the end of the song. He did it all in one take. John Brough and I were producing the session that day and we were duly impressed. When Alex left the room we just stared at each other and raise our eyebrows in awe." - Jon Dee, Founder of Rock Aid Armenia, RockAidArmenia.com
Smoke on the Water includes the following artists: Lead guitarists: Richie Blackmore (Deep Purple), Dave Gilmour (Pink Floyd), Tony Iommi (Black Sabbath), Alex Lifeson (Rush), Brian May (Queen) and Geoff Beauchamp. Vocalists: Ian Gillan (Deep Purple), Bryan Adams, Bruce Dickinson (Iron Maiden), Paul Rodgers (Free, Bad Company). Bass guitar: Chris Squire (Yes). Keyboards: Jon Lord (Deep Purple), Keith Emerson (ELP), Geoff Downes (Asia, ex-Yes). Drums: Roger Taylor (Queen).
Alex Lifeson on all tracks on Gowan's Lost Brotherhood, 1990
"Guns" (co-drummer), "Rain Rain Rain" (percussion) and "Palomar" (percussion), Neil Peart on The Rheostatics' Whale Music, 1992
"...the Rheostatics recorded with Rush's Neil Peart in 1992. He came down to Reaction Studios while we were making Whale Music and set up a little yellow jazz kit in the corner. The Barenaked Ladies were there, too; they'd laid in their background vocal to "California Dreamline" earlier in the day and together we watched Neil warm up, a chimeric figure in his beaded African hat under the low studio lights. Head lowered, torso centred, feet kicking, his hands glancing over the drums, Neil played all afternoon. His touch was soft when it had to be, but propulsive, too, like a distance runner tugging the flow of blood to his heart. It's one thing to see your hero perform from a distant seat in Maple Leaf Gardens, but it's something else to feel close to his work, as I did that day. At one time in my life, I'd dreamed of what it would be like to simply attend a Rush concert, and there I was at the studio, not 20 feet from where he was crafting a part for a song that would appear on our album.....As Neil commanded his kit, he painted my adolescence before me, evoking everything about it." - The Rheostatics' Dave Bidini, Toronto Star, January 6, 2002
"I Nominate Dr. David" and "Some Dumb Machine", G.L. Weinrib (aka Geddy Lee) (bass) on Mendelson Joe's Women Are The Only Hope, 1992
"Cotton Tail" (drums) and "Pick Up the Pieces" (percussion), Neil Peart (also producer) on Burning for Buddy Vol. I, October 4, 1994
"After all the drummers had laid down their tracks, Peart had 39 completed songs on tape - considerably more than he needed for the single album he had originally envisioned. For that reason, Atlantic records decided to produce three separate CD's with release dates staggered several months apart, and then compile the three albums into a single boxed set at some point in the future." - DRUM!, November 1994
"All Along the Watchtower", Alex Lifeson on Kumbaya 1995
"Just Scream", "Crawl" and "Will of the Gun", Alex Lifeson on Tom Cochrane's Ragged Ass Road, November 7, 1995
"Like A Girl", Alex Lifeson on I Mother Earth's Scenery and Fish, July 9, 1996
Produced by Vapor Trails producer, Paul Northfield. "I played on one of the songs on [Scenery and Fish], and the material is really strong. It's going to be a really good album for them, I think." - Alex Lifeson, "Rockline", January 15, 1996
"Born Under A Bad Sign", "All Along The Watch Tower" and "For What It's Worth"/"White Rabbit", Alex Lifeson (aka Big Al Dexter) on Second Anniversary At The Orbit Room, 1997 (recorded November 15, 1996)
"One O'Clock Jump", Neil Peart (drums and producer) on Burning for Buddy Vol. II, June 24, 1997
"The Road", Geddy Lee (bass, keyboards, co-producer and co-writer) on Euphoria's eponymous debut album, July 13, 1999
"Good for Sule", Geddy Lee (bass) on I Mother Earth's Blue Green Orange, July 13, 1999
"1967 Again" and "Born Under a Bad Sign", Alex Lifeson (aka Big Al Dexter) on The Dexter's Hip to the Tip, Live at the Orbit Room, 2000 (recorded in 1995)
"Red Beans and Rice", Alex Lifeson (aka Big Al Dexter) with The Dexters on Soul in the City 2000
"Space Suit", Geddy Lee (background vocals and producer) on the Rockscience demo EP, 1999, reissued on Foolscap, 2001
"It is rock, rock with a kind of technical edge to it. I have a home studio and we have been working here and gone into the smaller studios around town to do some sessions now and again. It has been fun for me and I think fun for them as well." - Geddy Lee, JAM! Showbiz, January 18, 2000
"...he knew things that we wanted and just tried to help us get them...he likes things a little weird and out there." - Rob Higgins, on recording with 'Uncle Geddy', Chartattack.com, June 28, 2001
"Wasted Me", "Dangerous Game" and "Dead Love", Alex Lifeson with 3 Doors Down
"We just recorded three songs with him. There's not anything set for what we're going to do with them just yet, but it was three songs: 'Dangerous Game,' 'Dead Love,' and 'Wasted Me.' And we got the chance to work with him and record those three songs down in New Orleans, at the American Sectors studio down there, and man, he was a super guy. You would never know where he's been or what he's done just from looking at him. And he's such a nice guy, as cool as they come. He's got no ego--and he deserves one, you know what I'm saying? We got to kind of know him a little bit and became friends, and invited him to our CD release party in Biloxi. And he actually got up onstage and jammed on a song with us. That was pretty fun. I can die now. He played 'Dangerous Game' with us that night. It was definitely an honor. I was tripping." - 3 Doors Down vocalist Brad Arnold, Yahoo Music, November 24, 2000
"And he actually did two guitar tracks on the B side. The coolest thing I ever really did, because I did an acoustic set with him and it was me on one side of the mike and him on the other playing the same thing at the same time, doubling it in one track. And that was like a pinnacle of idolizing him. It was a milestone in my life. - 3 Doors Down guitarist Chris Henderson, rockpublication.com, October 25, 2001
"Hey Bop A-Rebop", Alex Lifeson with The Stickmen on Side Two, December 12, 2003
"Everybody's Broken" and "Testify All Over Me", Alex Lifeson on John Kastner's Have You Seen Lucky, May 11th, 2006
"A cross between everything I've done over the past 20 years. Alex from Rush plays guitar on it and Lee Ving from Fear sings on it - so it's really all over the place. That's my crazy 70's upbringing in a nutshell". - John Kastner, Skiddle.com, May 18, 2006
"I Fought The Law", performed by The Big Dirty Band (including Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson), and "Liquor & Whores" by Bubbles & The Shit Rockers (including Alex Lifeson) on Trailer Park Boys: The Big Dirty Soundtrack, October 3, 2006
"Canadians all know the ubiquitous Trailer Park Boys, Finally, a movie is in the works. Al Lifeson of Rush fame produced an amazing version of 'I Fought The Law', which I had the opportunity of recording and mixing. The track features Al and Geddy, Adam from Three Days Grace, ex- Tea Party Jeff Burrows, Ian Thornley and a young promising talent from Die Mannequin named Care - she really tore up her parts in the vocal track. Also, Bubbles was in the studio to record an absolutely hilarious track called 'Liquor & Whores'." - RichardChycki.net, August 31, 2006
"Jeff Burrows is still pumped about getting the chance to play drums with Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee of Rush. Last month, the ex-Tea Party drummer joined Lifeson and Lee to record a song for the new Trailer Park Boys movie, The Big Dirty. 'When they called me about it, I was in Vancouver working on my new band,' said Burrows, 38. 'How could I say no?...That was the band that convinced me I wanted to be a rock musician,' he said. The song they did was the often-covered "I Fought The Law", by the Bobby Fuller Four. What could Burrows and two-thirds of Rush bring to it that others like The Clash and Green Day couldn't? 'It's got a real Rush feel to it because of Lifeson's guitar,' he said. Burrows was asked to play because Neil Peart was unavailable...Peart is one of Burrows's idols, so filling in for him was a daunting task, he said." - Windsor Star, Septermber 8, 2006
"Rush didn't just sign off on the inclusion of 'Spirit On The Radio,' they agreed to put the whole CD out on their own freakin' label while Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson hit the studio with contemporary Can-rock acolytes from the Tea Party, Three Days Grace, Thornley, and Die Mannequin to grind out an exclusive version of 'I Fought The Law'" - Toronto Star, October 1, 2006
"Another dedicated non-wanker who's had a big effect on Failure is Alex Lifeson. In one of those 'Here ya go, kid' moments, the legendary Rush guitarist presented her with one of his Paul Reed Smith guitars, just when she needed it most. 'There was like a six-month period where if I didn't have that guitar I don't know what I would have been doing,' she says. 'He gave me that guitar and a bag of pedals, and more importantly some real nice messages that trip through your head.' The helpful advice and colossal freebies from good samaritans like Lifeson, her 'musical sugar daddy', have helped Failure turn her once-troubled life around to the point where you question the validity of her stage name. But she has no regrets about choosing that moniker-or anything else." - Straight.com, November 19, 2009
Alex Lifeson on "Never Over" and additional tracks on Edwin's Better Days, October 3rd, 2006
"Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson is on several tracks, including 'Never Over' which should be a single...Edwin and Lifeson go back 10 years. The Rush guitarist invited Edwin to sing on his 1996 solo project, Victor, and that same year played on "Like A Girl" from I Mother Earth's second album, Scenery And Fish. 'He's only done me favors. I don't think I've done him any,' Edwin laughs. 'He was kind enough to let us work at his studio for a week and let us use everything we wanted - his guitars, his amps, whatever we wanted. He was great about it and he also did us the favor of coming in and doing some cameo guitar playing on a few songs. We ran the songs and he played what he felt, so we used his guitar stylings throughout the record.'" - Jam! Showbiz, May 10, 2006
"Star 24 (No Apologies)", Alex Lifeson on Jakalope's Born 4, October 3rd, 2006
"With Dave Rave Ogilvie (Skinny Puppy, Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson, David Bowie) once again at the helm of the project, Jakalope returned to the scene of the crime, recording Born4 at Vancouver's famed Warehouse Studio. NIN god Trent Reznor signed on as co-producer without question. Ogilvie and Phil Caivano (Blitzspeer, Monster Magnet) locked themselves away to create the music, coming together with Katie B for the lyrics and melodies...'Star 24 (No Apologies)' features Alex Lifeson of Rush." - Jakalope, June 2006
"It was so neat hearing what we had started and then hearing what he [Alex Lifeson] added...When you're starting a song you're so involved and when you give it to somebody else who's coming in from the outside they're hearing their own thing and they can quickly add something that you never would have thought of." - Katie B, Jakalope vocalist, VueWeekly.com, November 19, 2006
"Guide Me Master", Geddy Lee with ESPN's Iron Diamond (commercial for fantasy baseball), March 2007
The ESPN Baseball Tonight crew, including John Kruk, Peter Gammons and a slew of special guests including Geddy Lee, appear as the rock band "Iron Diamond" in a music-video-esque commercial for fantasy baseball on ESPN. The song "Guide Me Master" is one of four tracks as well as a slew of photos available from their Myspace page. The full band complement is: "John Kruk: lead vocals, ESPN Baseball Tonight Cohost; Peter Gammons: vocals, (home-plate shaped) guitar, ESPN Baseball Tonight Cohost, writer; Bronson Arroyo: vocals, guitar, 2006 MLB All-Star Pitcher; Geddy Lee: vocals, bass, Rush frontman, fantasy baseball genius; Gary Sheffield: drums, MLB slugger with 455 career HR's and counting; Joe Borowski: keytar, closer, 2006 Comeback Player of the Year Finalist; Jennie Finch: vocals, ESPN Fantasy Analyst, Olympic Gold Medalist; Matthew Berry: vocals, Senior Director of Fantasy for ESPN.com; Eric Karabell: vocals, ESPN Fantasy Analyst, ESPN Radio Host;
Buster Olney: vocals, ESPN the Magazine Senior Writer.""John Kruk [Phillies portly outfielder-turned-ESPN analyst] was working the hardest of anyone. He had this leather suit; he had a bodysuit on underneath the leather that had all these fake tattoos, plus he had this breakaway business suit on. They would raise him on a platform, and he would tear it off, and of course it kept sticking, so he had to do it over and over and over again. I really felt for him-they put him to the grind. I think they were a little surprised that a long-haired Canadian musician was so deep into baseball. The shock value was working for me." - National Post, April 23, 2007
"Anesthetize", Alex Lifeson on Porcupine Tree's Fear Of A Blank Planet, April 24, 2007
"I really didn't know Alex Lifeson knew anything about Porcupine Tree until I read an interview with him in a British magazine. He mentioned really liking Porcupine Tree, and I fell of my chair when I read that because I grew up listening to Rush and I've always thought Alex was one of the most underrated guitarists in rock. So, I got in touch with him through the journalist, who had also done an interview with me around the same time, coincidentally. And we were right in the middle of writing at that time, so it was kind of an obvious thing to invite him to play on the record. It's like it's come full circle for me now, as the people I grew up listening to are now playing on Porcupine Tree records. So you can imagine the buzz, its incredible!" - Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree, Prog Archives, April 22, 2007
"Alex Lifeson from Rush was in Canada recording his album when we wanted to record him, so we just sent him the files. But you go to these guys because you know and like what they do, so you tell them to do a few takes of their thing and you then have the luxury of compiling your favourite bits!" - Steven Wilson, SoundOnSound.com, June 2010
"I was in the process of writing and pre-production for Rush's Snakes & Arrows, but I loved the song and it gave me room to stretch out. I've yet to hear what Steve did with my work, but I'm sure to like it. Porcupine Tree are a great band and it was my pleasure to play a small role on Fear Of A Blank Planet." - Alex Lifeson, Classic Rock, July 2007
"Sacred & Mundane", Alex Lifeson on Tiles's Fly Paper, January 29, 2008
"Terry had approached Alex about making a guest appearance - and played him some of our new songs. Alex liked what he heard and said he would have a chance to do 'something' before Rush began rehearsals for their 'Snakes and Arrows' tour. The window of opportunity arrived this past March - and Terry went to Alex' studio where the two proceeded to work their magic on 'Sacred and Mundane.' Listening to Alex' parts for the first time was amazing - and the amount of work he put into the song was beyond what we could have hoped for. He came up with a counter-riff that literally 'became' the song; he added acoustic guitars to the refrains; played an acoustic Celtic counter-melody in the bridge; came up with a cool backwards solo in the breakdown section; and added an assortment of guitar textures and effects from start to finish. Terry and Alex spent almost 12-hours recording." - Chris Herin, guitarist, Tiles-music.com
"Snacktime", Geddy Lee on the Barenaked Ladies' Snacktime, May 6th, 2008
Known to be Rush fans, "BNL" has been known to perform Rush covers live, and during their 2001 tour, drummer Tyler Stewart used a caricature of Rush's Star Man on his bass drum. See also Gordon.
"Hope, Live For The Art Of Peace", Rush on the Songs For Tibet: Art Of Peace benefit album, August 12th, 2008
"'This album will focus people's attention on the importance of Tibet, the gifts of its culture, and the crisis the Tibetan people are facing today,' said one of the album's organisers, Michael Wohl. The album is due for global release on iTunes on August 5, three days before the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics. It will then be available through other outlets the following week, the statement said. Wohl, from the Art of Peace Foundation, said the timing of the release was deliberate. 'We wanted to express our support for the Tibetan people and their message of peace through music, a fundamental means of expression, at a time when the eyes of the world are on China.'" - AFP News, July 22, 2008
"We also received a recording that Rush just did a few weeks back for us at a concert. Alex Lifeson did a rendition of 'Hope' that really breathes and let's you appreciate the subtleties of the composition. It differs from the studio version in tempo and tone. This was a fantastic contribution on so many levels (our only acoustic instrumental)." [According to the Art Of Peace website, the song was recorded May 25th, 2008, in Regina, Saskatchewan]. - ArtOfPeaceFoundation.org, July 26, 2008
"'I think this is our sixth [Grammy] nomination - we're, like, the Susan Luccis of rock 'n' roll...We try not to put too much emphasis on that kind of stuff, but at the same time it's always a huge compliment, so you do get excited when something like that happens. It's certainly better than being ignored'...Rush was on tour for their 2006 studio disc Snakes & Arrows when they were approached by Rupert Hine, who had produced the band's 1989 album Presto, about contributing a track to the Tibet compilation. 'We remembered this acoustic track Alex plays live and is different every night, he sort of improvises on it, so we thought that would be an easy and beautiful solution to the problem,' Lee said. 'We just recorded it live and sent it to them.'" - Toronto Sun, February 8, 2009
"Welcome To The Bottom", "Save Me From Myself" (drums) and "Even Now" (drums and lyrics), Neil Peart on Vertical Horizon's Burning The Days, September 22, 2009
"Late in 2005, Matt and I started working on a song together, with lyrics I wrote especially for Matt's voice - literal and metaphorical. Matt suggested I might like to play drums on that song, and when I agreed to that, he started sending me demos of other songs he thought I might like to play on. (Trickster!). So while I was in Toronto working on Rush songs, I was also 'moonlighting' on three of Matt's songs, playing to his demos and working out drum parts for them...Through the miracle of modern technology, I was able to e-mail those recorded sketches to Matt, and collect his comments as I went along. Thus it came to pass...on June 14, 2006, at Capitol Records Studio B in Hollywood (Hollywood and Vine, in fact), I recorded three songs for Matt's upcoming Vertical Horizon album...The following day I told Matt that session had been one of the greatest challenges, experiences, and - now - rewards of my life. That's the way I have always felt about making Rush albums, and I have every faith the same will be true when Alex, Geddy, and I reconvene in September." - Neil Peart, NeilPeart.net, June 17, 2006
"Death Valley", Geddy Lee jokingly credited with "whistle" on Heart's Red Velvet Car, August 31th, 2010
"...an inside joke between Ben Mink and Nancy Wilson...Nancy heard some high pitched thing in 'Death Valley' and Ben said 'it's probably Geddy whistling'. They gave Geddy credit. That's the story." - Dave Leonard
"When I Close My Eyes" (bass) and "March of the Shikker" (vocals), Geddy Lee on Transylvania Avenue by Klemzer band Black Sea Station, March 29, 2011
"Geddy had a little time on his hands, so he decided to get back to his roots and jam with some of North America's finest purveyors of Klezmer and Rumanian music, Black Sea Station. On ["March of the Shikker"], that's Geddy speaking in Yiddish. Not exactly 'rocking' in the sense we're used to, but it's Geddy Lee. The man is a living god. He can do what he wants." - Jewcy.com, May 18, 2011
"Voices", Alex Lifeson on Tom Cochrane's Voices EP, December 2, 2011
"The idea for Voices at 4 AM came about when I went up to the cottage with Tom Cochrane and he was playing me a piece of music Ken Greer and he had been working on as part of the No Stranger album. Tom, did not want to use these cuts because they did not really fit the No Stranger disc. I told him this was great stuff and could I pull it apart and work with it. He said go ahead, what's the worst that could happen. [Alex Lifeson] is friends with Tom but of course he is super busy. I honestly have to say I really pursued him to play because I thought his huge guitar sound along with Ken Greer?s work would propel the track once we started to get it down. And my persistence paid off. [Chris Potter, mixing engineer] changed the whole vibe of the song, and it blew Tom Cochrane's mind. When we got the whole vocal thing about to go, I asked Tom to sing it, but he said no it's yours now. But once I got Alex to play and sing Tom went with the chorus and for me it was like watching two old friends create magic. That is basically the story of Voices at 4 AM. What I'm going to do is record let's say five EPS' all called VOICES with 5 different artists and myself as a producer vocalist with the artist." - Andrew Cole, John Emms Music Review, December 17, 2011
"Losin'", Alex Lifeson on Jason Plumb And The Willing's All Is More Than Both, March 27, 2012
"The Alex Lifeson thing, that happened by absolute fluke. We started going through the songs and wondering which iconic Canadian guitarist could make an appearance on the record...I thought, 'Well, Alex Lifeson, that would be really amazing. If we could get (him) that would be a real coup.' And he actually just happened to walk into the control room some days later." - Jason Plumb, Calgary Herald, May 9, 2012
Guest Appearances As Producer, Etcetera
Wireless, No Static, 1980
Boys Brigade, Into the Flow, 1983
Clean Slate, eponymous five song EP, 1988
No. 9 (Platinum Blonde), eponymous album, 1999
Lifer, eponymous second album, August 14, 2001
"We wanted a player, rather than just a standard producer," and said that the band expects to "sell a couple hundred thousand more copies" of their album because of Lifeson's reputation as a musician and performer. "We can only do so much with our songs, but he helped to clean up all of them." - Lifer guitarist Aaron Fincke regarding their choice of producer, The Crusader Online (Susquehanna University Newspaper), November 17, 2000.
"Fascination Unknown (Alex Lifeson Remix)" by Canadian punk band All Systems Go on the "Fascination Unknown" single, March 25, 2003
"Alex is simply a good friend of mine. We're both from Canada and have been friends for a long time. Because he also has a studio, I thought it would be a good idea to send him our single. He then re-mixed the track in his studio and sent me the result...his version is much different than the original. His mix has this Rush Feeling, meanders and has more effects. That's also precisely what I wanted, so yes, I am very satisfied." - All Systems Go guitarist/vocalist John Kastner, purerock.de, March 6, 2003
The David Barrett Trio epynonymous debut album, February 26, 2013
"In Jan. 2010, Alex listened to my latest acoustic album The Dead Arm and had some constructive criticism, but also offered to produce with the idea that I'd benefit from such an experience. Alex really insisted I use a band because he felt the music would develop more fully that way. I'm truly inspired because I'm working with a great rhythm section as a power trio, and my favorite guitar player is producing. I have Alex to thank not only for the production team, but also for renewing my interest in loud electric guitar, which is what I do best. I met Alex Lifeson's son Justin back in the early 1990's when I was recording with Mark Holmes at Jeff Healey's studio in Toronto. Justin's a great guy and an old Platinum Blonde fan, so he knew Mark from back in the day and dropped by the studio one evening to say hi. We became friends, and I got to know Alex sometime later. Over the years Alex has helped me out with gear, recording projects, and we've even jammed in his basement a couple times. The engineer on this project is Rich Chycki, and coincidentally, Rich was the house engineer at the Healey studio on all the sessions I did with Amanda Marshall and Mark Holmes. Rich also produced my first solo guitar record in 1995 called, Staring Into The Sun. I recommended Rich to Alex, ten years before he actually became Rush's main recording and mixing engineer!" - Rockethub, September 27, 2011
"Exactly a year ago, I played my new solo album The Dead Arm for guitar hero and mentor Alex Lifeson. He liked it and mentioned that maybe we should consider doing something together in the future. I agreed. He advised me to write a ton of music which we would then later sift through and pick the best tunes to develop. His other advice was to include some other musicians to further develop the songs. I asked Sascha Tukatsch to play drums and Jason Farrar to play bass. We arranged the music and worked really hard on it. Their contributions and enthusiasm have been truly outstanding! After the Rush Time Machine tour ended and Big Al was rested, we went into his studio and recorded three tunes: Hollowbody, Sonar, and Disappearance. Rich Chycki engineered. Rich produced my first solo album back in 1995, everything I've learned about recording I've learned from Rich, I don't think there's anyone better. And Big Al's approach to arranging, performance, and production was truly illuminating. We also had a lot of laughs in the studio, more than I can remember on any sessions I've ever done." - David Barrett, January 10, 2011