Rush frontman Geddy Lee recently opened up about his first experience with marijuana and how bandmate Alex Lifeson introduced him to it, sharing the story in an interview with Louder Sound.
Lee revealed how Lifeson was responsible for his introduction to cannabis. He described the awkward situation that followed when he had to attend a band rehearsal while under the influence.
“[Lifeson] was the one who introduced me to it,” Lee said. “I was playing in this other band whose drummer was a Who freak – he dreamed of being in The Who. Me and Al were hanging out… and he gave me my first joint. I got so fucking stoned.”
The Rush bassist went on to describe the challenging experience of trying to make it to rehearsal while heavily intoxicated.
“Suddenly I went, ‘Shit, I have to go to rehearsal!’ Al came with me, and we were walking in slow motion across the park,” he continued. “I got to the guy’s house, and he looked at me and went: ‘Look at your eyes, man. Are you stoned?’ He was freaking out like you’d expect your parents to freak out.”
Lee explained how the situation became uncomfortable and how Lifeson tried to help him come down from the high.
“I was like, ‘This is a bummer, man! Al, this guy’s a drag!’ I said, ‘I gotta go home. How do I come down from this stuff?’ And [Lifeson] went, ‘You gotta drink Coca Cola. It brings you down,'” Lee recalled. “So, yeah, we kind of bonded over marijuana.”
This anecdote offers a glimpse into the early friendship between two of rock’s most enduring musical partners. Their bond would eventually help shape one of progressive rock’s most influential bands.
Louder Sound reported that Lee and Lifeson first met as 13-year-old schoolkids in Willowdale, a Toronto suburb. They bonded as misfits in a conformist junior high environment. Their shared outsider status in school would prove to be the foundation of a lifelong friendship that transcended their eventual musical success.
The two musicians’ first collaboration came in 1968. Cygnus X-1 News documented that Lifeson recruited Lee to replace a bassist for Rush’s debut gig at a drop-in center. The performance drew just 20 people, a humble beginning for what would become one of rock’s most technically accomplished and commercially successful bands.
Their early musical partnership was built on more than just shared musical interests. Laughing Squid noted that Lee has spoken extensively about the incredible friendship between him and his fellow Rush band members, including the late Neil Peart. He described how their personal bonds were as important as their musical chemistry in sustaining the band through decades of touring and recording.
The marijuana incident Lee described represents just one of many formative experiences that helped cement the friendship between the two musicians. They would go on to create some of progressive rock’s most complex and beloved compositions together over their nearly five-decade career.
