It’s a sickness that has brought me lots of joy. It’s a great way to express my passionate nature.
— GEDDY LEE, FORMER RUSH PLAYER, BASS
If Geddy Lee makes a second solo album, he should call it “Aficionado” — or maybe “Fanatic.”
“It’s a sickness, I’ ll tell you” jokes the former Rush bass player, in reference to his “all-consuming” enthusiasm for collecting bass guitars, baseballs, watches and wine.
“But it’s a sickness that has brought me lots of joy. It’s a great way to express my passionate nature.”
The voyage of discovery to learn the history of the instrument that he played with such virtuosity during Rush’s five- decade career led to him writing Geddy Lee’s Big, Beautiful Book of Bass, a labour of love that saw him interviewing heroes like Rolling Stones’ bassist Bill Wyman and Led Zeppelin’s John Paul Jones.
He described Wyman as “one of the most interesting people on the planet” — like Lee, a man of unlikely obsessions who wrote a mystery novel, photographed butterflies and built a metal detector “for people with small hands like himself.”
“We sat in a restaurant in Chelsea and talked about everything but basses. I had to keep bringing him around to the subject at hand,” said Lee, in an interview with National Post.
Similarly, he has thrown himself into his latest project. His love of fine wine has led to his involvement with the Grapes for Humanity charity that raises money through wine- related events. It is currently holding a charity auction, with proceeds going to provide relief for workers in the hospitality industry whose livelihoods have been affected by COVID-19.
Lee has donated wine, a signed Fender bass and will host a dinner for eight at Toronto’s Barberian Steak House, with Rush guitarist, Alex Lifeson. Bidding is currently hovering around $26,000.
“We hope this sale will help our people, our neighbourhoods and our restaurants. There are so many people in need right now. The government can’t take care of everyone and it is up to private individuals to help where they can,” he said.
For many Rush fans around the world, the death of drummer Neil Peart in January was like a death in the family. The eagerness with which people are prepared to write cheques to spend time with the surviving members of the band speaks to an affection that borders on devotion.
Why does Rush speak so intimately to generations of fans?
“That’s a hard question for me to answer. We had a long career; we always went our own way; we weren’t afraid to laugh at ourselves — that sense of humour was definitely something we made sure was present in our lives shows.
“I think the camaraderie we had for so many years — we really were very close friends. Alex and I still are. I think that struck home with a lot of fans. People like to see long marriages and long relationships, people who work together without acrimony. Maintaining that civility and friendship, I think appealed to people because everyone wishes to be in that kind of situation,” he said.
That, and the searing musicianship.
Lee dropped out of high school to play music but it was with a sense of direction and application to his craft.
“We dedicated ourselves to be good musicians and it led to a very dedicated following,” he said. “After such a long period of time we got recognized for our individual abilities. Neil was one of the top rock drummers of all time and I was able to hang around, which made me look good too.”
Lee is a modest man with nothing to be modest about. One critic said he is the “role model for what every musician wants to be”, juggling bass, keyboards, bass pedals and lead vocals onstage the modern equivalent of the one- man band, with a bass drum on his back and cymbals between his knees. The wonder is not so much that he did it so well, it’s that he did it at all.
I asked Lee if he is alarmed that nearly half a century as a professional musician has passed so quickly. “It is shocking. I’ve been trying to remember my early days lately and sometimes a picture will pop up on social media and
I’ll say: ‘ Is that really me?’ I will have forgotten the context.
“Time goes by way too fast. A lot has happened in my life and I’ve been incredibly fortunate. But one can’t keep looking back. You still have to get on with your life and do new things … it’s time to make new mistakes.”
Could that involve new music? “It’s interesting, I recently re-released my album ( his 2000 solo album My Favourite Headache) on vinyl and that forced me to listen to it again. I’m very proud of it — it’s a very intricate record, a deep record, and a lot of love and passion went into it. It did get me thinking that one day I’d like to take that on the road, so you never know. But I have no firm plans to do anything right now. It’s not a time when one can plan much, so only time will tell if that comes to fruition,” he said.
Does he still have the itch to play? “I go downstairs and play to keep my fingers juiced but that’s about as far as I’m going right now with it.”
And what about old Rush songs in the vaults — are there any that could see the light of day?
“There’s actually not much in the vaults. We were a band that used what we wrote and if we didn’t like what we were writing, we stopped writing it. So there are really no unreleased Rush songs that were worth a damn. Recording our songs was so difficult and ambitious that we didn’t do extra stuff and pick the best.”
For now, his focus is on raising as much money as possible for the Toronto restaurant workers’ relief fund.
The auction took months to organize, including leaping through bureaucratic hoops to get permission for the charity to sell wine online. Fortunately, all involved had time on their hands because of COVID.
“I’m a big believer in looking at silver linings,” Lee said.
He was travelling with his son Julian’s family when COVID hit, so they isolated together on their return to Toronto. “I got to spend the summer with my (six-year-old) grandson, so it was a wonderful, wonderful time for the two of us, with him learning baseball and learning how to swim. You take these blessings where you find them,” he said.