Alex Lifeson: Rush guitarist on steampunk, solos and Moving Pictures

Alex Lifeson interview:

"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. more