There's Always Hope

By Jane Stevenson, Toronto Sun, February 8, 2009

Always a bridesmaid, never a bride.

That's been the track record for Toronto prog-rock veterans Rush, who have been nominated for a best rock instrumental Grammy five times previously and never won.

Rush will compete in the same category again at tonight's Grammy Awards. Their nominated song this time is Hope (Live for the Art of Peace), from Songs for Tibet: The Art of Peace.

Singer-bassist-keyboardist Geddy Lee isn't holding his breath that the trio, rounded out by guitarist Alex Lifeson and drummer Neil Peart, will actually win this time.

"I think this is our sixth nomination - we're, like, the Susan Luccis of rock 'n' roll," Lee quipped during a recent chat. "Usually, we get beat by the most unlikely person - last year, Bruce Springsteen beat us."

Rush was on tour for their 2006 studio disc Snakes & Arrows when they were approached by Rupert Hine, who had produced the band's 1989 album Presto, about contributing a track to the Tibet compilation.

"We remembered this acoustic track Alex plays live and is different every night, he sort of improvises on it, so we thought that would be an easy and beautiful solution to the problem," Lee said. "We just recorded it live and sent it to them."

It is a prolific time for Rush. They released a live DVD/CD of the Snakes & Arrows tour last November. Still to come is the March 3 release of Retrospective III, a greatest-hits package that will include newly remixed tracks, live versions of songs, plus Rush's appearance on U.S. television for the first time in 30 years on The Colbert Report, on which they performed Tom Sawyer.

"There's something about hard rock bands and prog bands - you know, bands that play more adventurous rock - that never seem to come off, in my view, as authentic on those night-time TV shows," Lee said.

"We just weren't comfortable with the environment, so over the years we've never bothered to do them. But we're huge fans of Colbert's, and when a comedy show asks you, that's a whole different thing. As we get older, we seem more interested in the comedic aspects of our job than the musical. It's in keeping with our new motto of 'Less music, more comedy.' "

Lee said the band particularly got a kick out of the running gag on Colbert's show that showed a Rush photo whenever they ran a Rush Limbaugh story.

"So it was a funny idea that grew a little out of control, and then of course when we did the show, it was quite a hoot."

Historically, Rus h long has been a favourite of comedy shows - from SCTV to South Park.

"The three of us, the one thing that bonds us, more than anything else, is our sense of humour," said Lee, who is currently a fan of Flight of the Conchords, The Family Guy and The Sarah Silverman Show. "And the fact some reasons all these fans of ours over the last 30 years have found their way into every kind of walk of life, including making comedy shows, we get these kinds of requests all the time. I just think it's awesome."

Meanwhile, none of Rush's three members is expected to attend the Grammys tonight. The band is enjoying an extended break and aren't likely to be back in studio until next year.

That doesn't mean Lee won't be watching or at least recording the ceremony.

"We try not to put too much emphasis on that kind of stuff, but at the same time it's always a huge compliment, so you do get excited when something like that happens," he said. "It's certainly better than being ignored."