MusicRadar

Alex Lifeson on stage with Rush in 2004, playing one of his Paul Reed Smith CE models. © Ethan Miller/Reuters/Corbis

Rush's Alex Lifeson is a man who knows how to party. It's his 57th birthday, reason enough to bag work and head out on the sailboat with a cooler full of brews. But the affable yet soft-spoken guitar hero has other, better plans, like hitting the stage at the State Fair Grandstand in St Paul, Minnesota before 17,000 fans and giving them a three-hour present they'll always remember.

"To be honest, there's nothing I'd rather be doing," Lifeson says. "What's going on with the band right now is so fantastic, and the acceptance we're getting from the audiences - I've been saying this for a few years now so I should probably stop, but it really feels like the best time to be in Rush. The three of us are enjoying every second of it."

And with good reason: even without the benefit of a new album (although they recently released two songs, the rifftastic Caravan and BU2B), Rush are experiencing the kind of banner year that most bands, veterans or newbies, can only dream about. There's the sold-out Time Machine tour (sure, doing their beloved 1981 album Moving Pictures in its entirety hasn't hurt ticket sales, but packing 'em in hasn't been a guarantee for any act during this tough economic year). There's the universally well-received documentary Beyond The Lighted Stage, which details the history of the group but also exposes a rich and humanistic (and, at times, wildly funny) side to their story rarely seen in rock docs.

And then there's the award that trumps most, a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame. No, we're not talking Guitar Center's Rock Walk, we're talking the real deal, a six-foot section on that storied stretch that immortalizes other well-known rockers such as Bogart, Chaplin and Monroe. "What a huge thrill," Lifeson says, letting out a chuckle, as if he still can't quite believe it himself. "For three guys from Canada who just wanted to play music, to get that kind of recognition...well, we're still stunned."

It all seems part of Rush's remarkable, unbroken streak of doing the impossible: playing 20-minute pieces of progressive rock during the height of punk and New Wave (although they did sneak a bit of Police-inspired reggae into their breakthrough hit The Spirit Of Radio); dispatching guitar and drum solos during concerts when such flagrant displays of instrumental dominance were seen as decided no-nos by an overwhelming portion of the music press illuminati. Hell, they even let the drummer write the lyrics! Didn't somebody read these guys the rules?

And yet, it all worked like a charm. Further proof of Rush's ability to buck every trend in existence lies is this fascinating phenomenon: as they gain new fans, many of whom never even heard of 2112 let alone own it, the group retains a vice-like hold on its longtime devotees. In this way, Rush are progressive rock's answer to the Grateful Dead. All are welcome to the dance.

And so here we are with the birthday boy himself, Mr Lifeson. Before stepping out onto the lighted stage, the celebrated guitarist chatted with MusicRadar, holding forth on topics such as Rush's upcoming album, Clockwork Angels; the decision to play Moving Pictures in its entirety; steampunk stage design; and what just might be his new favorite solo to play live.

Happy 29th birthday, man! Seriously, you don't even look it.

[laughs] "That's great! Oh my, I'm so far past 29 that I don't even joke about it anymore. But thank you. That's very nice."

You're a little more than midway through the tour. How are things feeling?

"Things are good. I'm a little tired today. You get that way at the halfway point in a tour, and then you kind of zip back to feeling energized again. It's like anything, really."

So let's talk about the place that Rush holds in modern culture these days. You guys were never seen as the 'cool band,' but now you are; in fact, you're way cool.

Around the web: