Rush’s Alex Lifeson is once again pushing back against a long-running bit of band mythology: the idea that he helped fire Geddy Lee from the group in 1969. In a new conversation with Prog, Lifeson said flatly, “It was nothing to do with me! It was the other guys!” while Lee, with his usual dry humor, admitted, “I’m still not over it.”
The exchange came as the two longtime friends reflected on their near-lifelong friendship while Rush is back in the spotlight with a new drummer. The interview mixed nostalgia, old grudges, and a lot of jokes, showing how far the pair have come since they were teenagers hanging around as outsiders in junior high school.
Lee recalled that he and Lifeson bonded early over being misfits. They were both children of Eastern European immigrants, and they connected as kids who did not quite fit in with everyone else. Lifeson even joked about the two of them joining typing class because it was mostly girls, saying, “Maybe that’s why we chose it!”
But the story took a turn when Lee remembered the first time Lifeson introduced him to marijuana. Lee said he was in another band at the time and had gone with Lifeson to rehearse after getting “so fucking stoned.” He described walking “in slow motion” across the park before showing up at rehearsal with red eyes and being immediately called out by the guy in charge.
Lee’s memory of the moment was equal parts funny and blunt. He said he panicked, asked how to come down, and Lifeson told him, “You gotta drink Coca Cola. It brings you down!” Lee added that the experience helped bond them, saying, “So, yeah, we kind of bonded over marijuana.”
The article also circles back to the more controversial and lesser-known part of their shared history. In 1969, when Rush were still a four-piece led by drummer John Rutsey and also featuring keyboard player Lindy Young, the band was stuck creatively. Rutsey decided the group needed a shake-up, and Lee was the one who got pushed out. According to Lifeson, Young delivered the news, while Lifeson says he merely went along with it.
That is the moment that still sits awkwardly in the Rush story. Lifeson insists he was not the architect of Lee’s exit, and Lee answers with mock wounded pride, saying, “I’m still not over it,” before admitting the joke with, “It worked out okay.” The whole exchange lands as classic Rush humor: sharp, self-aware, and just slightly uncomfortable.
What makes the piece work is that it treats the old rupture as both real and ridiculous. Lifeson is clearly tired of the idea that he was the villain in the 1969 firing, while Lee seems perfectly happy to keep the joke alive. After all these years, the two can still tease each other about the past while reminding everyone that the friendship survived the mess.
