In a new interview with House of Strombo, Alex Lifeson revealed he sadly learned from a failed Rush show that he shouldn’t smoke a joint before a gig.
Formed by a power trio, Alex Lifeson, Geddy Lee, and Neil Peart, Rush played together almost for four decades. The band was quite productive, with nineteen studio albums during their appearance on the music scene. They certainly had the tireless work ethic that ensured this longevity, which was not easy to achieve considering the unfortunate fate of many other bands.
They put all their effort into producing these incredible albums, but they were also very dedicated to giving their maximum performance to the audience during the live shows. From the beginning of their career, they took it very seriously not to disappoint the people who came there to listen to them. They always aimed to deliver good performances under their strict work ethic. However, there was one moment when Alex Lifeson missed this point.
The guitarist explained that they were very disciplined about the live shows, so they wouldn’t do anything that would damage their performance on the stage. However, he once smoked a joint before a rehearsal, and he was having a great time until the show started. They started playing on the stage, but he lost control over the instrument. His bandmate, Geddy Lee, understood something was wrong with him as he was making many mistakes. Lifeson added that that show taught him an important lesson not to smoke a joint ever again before a show.
Alex Lifeson speaking on the lesson he learned from his failed Rush show:
“It was hard to play. We were very disciplined when it came to shows, not even a beer during the drum solo. I smoked a joint before a rehearsal once, and we jammed for about 20 minutes, like psychedelic surf music. And it was so great. I was having such a great time, and then it was like, ‘Okay, let’s do the show now.’
We started playing, and it was like, everything sounded crazy, and my hands wouldn’t speak to my brain. Ged kept looking over at me like, ‘What the hell’s going on with you there?’ We were making a mistake after mistake. I couldn’t wait for it to be over. But I learned a very important lesson: Don’t smoke a joint before a gig.”
You can watch the full interview below.
