In an extensive interview with Rob Tannenbaum for Los Angeles Times, Rush singer/bassist, Geddy Lee, discusses a number of topics, including his upcoming My Effin' Life memoir.
Says Tannenbaum: "Over a two-hour conversation and a lunch of smoked trout benedict at the (Rosedale Diner in Toronto), where he often ate with his mother, Lee, dressed in black, discussed keeping all his hotel room keys from the first Rush tour, the “fiesta of grief” he experienced in 2020 and 2021, and whether or not there could ever be another effin’ Rush show."
In the following excerpt, Geddy discusses his childhood...
Rob Tannenbaum: "I’ve known a few families of Holocaust survivors. They seem to divide into two categories: the family that never talks about it, and the family that never stops talking about it."
Geddy Lee: "We had both. My dad didn’t talk about it, my mother did. Her stories terrified me, and she didn’t seem to think there was anything wrong with that. I don’t know if she was oblivious to possible psychological harm, or whether she wanted us to grow up realizing that everyone wants to kill us. [laughs] I would never tell stories like that to my children. The book is partly for them, because there are details they haven’t been privy to. Also, considering the state of the universe right now, where it’s so easy to deny that the Holocaust happened, it’s not a terrible thing to reinforce that it did."
Tannenbaum: "Your father died when you were 12, which was another form of family trauma. In the book, you say the trauma came out in your singing voice."
Lee: "My friend Ben Mink is also a child of Holocaust survivors. When we jammed, if he played a wild solo, he would say, 'That’s my mother yelling at me to clean up my room.' [laughs] I realized later in life that I was channeling inner angst in my well-described screeches."
Tannenbaum: "The book has a story that isn’t well known — early on, the other guys kicked you out of Rush."
Lee: "It was fun for me to tell that story. I confronted Alex, for the first time. I asked what his role was. He said, 'Uhh, I was such a quiet guy, Ged. I just went with the flow.' He took no responsibility for it."
Tannenbaum: "You refer to your teenage self as a nerd. Is that how you felt at the time, or how you see yourself in retrospect?"
Lee: "When I was really young, I didn’t have a ton of friends, and I spent a lot of time in my own head. I felt like a nerd. After my dad died, I spent almost a year grieving in the Jewish tradition, going to synagogue three times a day. When I was released from that grief, I went nuts. I wanted to hear every song I had missed.
"I’d had this image of myself as a mousy kid, but as I worked on the book, I was shocked at the things I did. When the guys kicked me out of the band, I started another one in a minute. Those aren’t the actions of a nerd. I had a childhood full of stories about death and murder. After my dad passed, our home was a very sad place. I wanted to live. Even though I didn’t articulate it this way, I set about living."
Read more at Los Angeles Times.
Geddy Lee recently announced North American dates for My Effin’ Life In Conversation. The tour will see the Rush singer/bassist bring to life his forthcoming memoir My Effin’ Life, due for release on November 14 on Harper Collins.
RushCon is hosting a gathering for Rush fans before Geddy's book tour stops in New York City, Boston, Chicago, and Toronto. You won't want to miss it.
"Join us for a memorable evening, where you can reconnect with familiar faces and forge new friendships among fellow Rush devotees. As we come together, we'll groove to our favourite Rush tunes, savour delightful drinks and snacks, play games, win prizes, and revel in the spirit of everything Rush!"
Your ticket includes:
- A selection of delectable light snacks and appetizers
- Trivia game with fantastic prizes up for grabs
- A cash bar serving up libations
Get tickets here.
Produced by Live Nation, Lee's 14-city tour kicks off on November 13 at The Beacon Theatre in New York, making stops across North America in Boston, San Francisco, Chicago and more before wrapping up in Toronto at Massey Hall on December 7.
The evening promises to be a once-in-a-life-time event. After the curtain rises, Geddy Lee will give his fans a peek into the very fabric of his life: from a deep reflection of his family and childhood, to a dive into the history of Rush; from the determined pursuit of music, to the personal memories with his life-long friends and band-mates, Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart. Joined on stage by a special guest interviewer, Geddy Lee will be reading key passages from his forthcoming book My Effin’ Life; he will then share thoughts and stories taken from his experience. Furthermore, fans will then have the chance to participate in a special Q&A, with Geddy Lee answering their questions directly.
“Writing this book has meant spending so much time living in the past”. Lee continues: “I’ve never lived my life looking anywhere but forward, which is why I resisted doing this kind of thing for so long. Being in a band all those years was reassuring because it was an ongoing thing. It felt like it was forever. There was always unfinished business: the next record, the next set design, the next tour. It’s been the theme of my life. But you need a lot more determination to proceed in the world of music without the comfort of your bandmates, and I can only hope that finishing this book will release me to return to what I do and love best”.
Get tickets at Ticketmaster.com. Every ticket purchased includes a copy of Geddy Lee My Effin’ Life which will be provided to ticket holder upon entry into the venue. There is a 4 ticket limit per person.
$1 per ticket is going to the Neil Peart Memorial At Lakeside Park fund. The project and its timelines are contingent on the task force raising the $1 million fundraising goal established for the project. Donations of any size can be made towards the memorial project online at www.stcatharines.ca/neilpeart. The sooner the task force can achieve its fundraising objectives through the generosity of Peart’s fans, the sooner the community and his fans will be able to see the results.
Dates:
November
13 - New York, NY - Beacon Theatre
15 - Philadelphia, PA - The Met Philadelphia
17 - National Harbor, MD - The Theater at MGM National Harbor
18 - Boston, MA - Orpheum Theatre presented by Citizens
19 - Cleveland, OH - State Theatre at Playhouse Square
21 - Montréal, QC - Théâtre Maisonneuve
23 - Vancouver, BC - The Centre in Vancouver
24 - Seattle, WA - Moore Theatre
26 - San Francisco, CA - The Masonic
28 - Los Angeles, CA - Orpheum Theatre
30 - Denver, CO - Paramount Theatre
December
3 - Chicago, IL - Auditorium Theatre
4 - Detroit, MI - The Fillmore Detroit
7 - Toronto, ON - Massey Hall
Lee previously announced the UK leg of the tour. Dates are below and tickets will be available here.
Dates:
December
10 - Wolverhampton, UK - The Civic at The Halls
13 - Sheffield, UK - City Hall
14 - Glasgow, UK - Royal Concert Hall
17 - Portsmouth, UK - Guildhall
18 - London, UK - Barbican
Geddy Lee's My Effin' Life memoir will be released on November 14. Pre-order here.
Description:
The long-awaited memoir, generously illustrated with never-before-seen photos, from the iconic Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, Rush bassist, and bestselling author of Geddy Lee's Big Beautiful Book of Bass.
Geddy Lee is one of rock and roll's most respected bassists. For nearly five decades, his playing and work as co-writer, vocalist and keyboardist has been an essential part of the success story of Canadian progressive rock trio Rush. Here for the first time is his account of life inside and outside the band.
Long before Rush accumulated more consecutive gold and platinum records than any rock band after the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, before the seven Grammy nominations or the countless electrifying live performances across the globe, Geddy Lee was Gershon Eliezer Weinrib, after his grandfather murdered in the Holocaust.
As he recounts the transformation, Lee looks back on his family, in particular his loving parents and their horrific experiences as teenagers during World War II.
He talks candidly about his childhood and the pursuit of music that led him to drop out of high school.
He tracks the history of Rush which, after early struggles, exploded into one of the most beloved bands of all time.
He shares intimate stories of his lifelong friendships with bandmates Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart—deeply mourning Peart’s recent passing—and reveals his obsessions in music and beyond.
This rich brew of honesty, humor, and loss makes for a uniquely poignant memoir.
