We’ve heard about the preparation that new drummer Anika Nilles had to put in ahead of Rush’s 50 Something tour, but what about the other two? Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson have both had to get match fit after a decade’s absence from the live stage.
In a fascinating Rolling Stone feature, Lee has been talking about the vocal prep he’s had to put in. The bassist’s high-pitched voice is one of the band’s signature sounds and to access its full range at the age of 72, was a task that took a lot of work, hours of practice and, for the first time in his life, singing lessons.
His tutor was a fellow called Mitch Seekins who’s worked as a vocal coach for over 30 years and was also a Rush fan. Initially Seekins could see Lee was a long way from match fitness. “ It was shocking,” he says of the frontman’s voice before they started working together. “I mean, it was horribly out of shape. The muscles weren’t responding in the top end anymore.”
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“I could hear that it was there, he just couldn’t do it yet. He wasn’t sure if he was ever gonna be able to do what he did when he was much younger… But there was no degradation at all, even due to age.”
Part of Seekins task was convincing Lee he could actually get there. “The hardest part of the repair part is the psychological end of the thing. Because it is subconscious, and if you’ve convinced yourself that you can’t do something, well, guess what? You can’t.”
Lee stuck to his task. “ It’s no different than going to the gym and getting strong,” he suggests. ”You have to get this muscle strong, and that’s what I’ve worked on – and to take a more forensic look at how a voice makes a sound, and apply it.”
Gradually though, his confidence came back and colleagues began to notice. Dave Hislip who has directed the tour’s opening film remembers: “ We were just looking at each other like, ‘Holy crap,’ Like, he has turned back time.”
Astonishingly, Lee has managed it and the band have even incorporated songs like the title track to Farewell To Kings, which push both Lee and Lifeson to the limit. ”You kick off the verse, and I have to sing in this fucking stratosphere,” says Lee. “There’s a lot of insecurity that comes with bringing back a song from that long ago… When you’re at this age, people expect you to be a lesser version of yourself, and that’s just not acceptable to me.”
