[An Intimate Interview with Geddy Lee of Rush]
Canada's only national food and wine publication - Tidings magazine - recently interviewed Geddy Lee for a feature in the December issue. Not surprisingly, Geddy talks a lot about food and wine along with the Grapes for Humanity charity. Here's Geddy on how he keeps healthy on the road:
... I don’t eat any spicy foods. I don’t eat any dairy products…all things that are considered mucolytic – anything that promotes the formation of mucous I avoid completely. I'm not supposed to have white wine for that reason, but I ignore that one...some rules are made to be broken. I work hard at keeping in shape but after a three hour show I’m beat, even the next day. I think it has something to do with the singing. I talked to Sebastian Bach, another singer who really belts, and he mentioned the same thing. Which was a bit of a relief 'cause he’s a lot younger than me! We certainly have to be careful. There’s no way to survive rock ‘n roll without being smart about it. ...
And here's what Geddy has to say about his retirement plans:
... My retirement plan keeps getting pushed back. I we’ll just keep playing it by ear. What we’ve learned over the last ten years in particular is just how unpredictable life is. So when it’s good you just ride it. And right now things are very good for us. I don’t think we’ve ever had an audience as big as we have now or been as well received around the world. And I don’t think we’ve ever enjoyed playing as much as we do now. So we are really having a lot of fun right now. We’re really luck and we do really like what we do and we like just hanging out with each other. I hadn’t seen Alex in about a month and we got together the other day to work on some new stuff and just had the best time. We’re all just natural friends and the relationship between the three of us is very much one of being three equals. ...
... If it gets to the point where one of us has had enough or we look at each other and kinda decide we’ve got nothing, we’re out. I don’t see that happening, but obviously there’s gonna come a time when we don’t feel we’re playing as well as we have, and that will probably be the sign that says to hang it up. Neil had a bit of a revelation not long ago. He’d always been hesitant to tour but realized that as long as he can play the way he plays, he should be doing it, ‘cause he wouldn’t be able to play that way forever. And I think that’s what’s motivated us all to get out there and keep touring – do it while we can do it this well.
People associate rock and roll with a particular lifespan that they wouldn’t attribute to say a painter or a writer. In rock and roll the clock seems to be always ticking and everyone seems to be waiting for you to run out of juice, declare you’re old age and fly the flag. But I think this is an outdated way of looking at rock and roll that has largely been transcended now. It is now an art form as legitimate as every other art form and those involved in the industry should be allowed to play until they are no longer creative. ...
You can read the entire interview online at this location. Thanks to John at Cygnus-X1.net for the heads up.
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