taylor hawkins
When Rush walked off the stage in California on Aug. 1, 2015 and closed out their R40 Live Tour, fans remained hopeful it wouldn’t be their last live show. After almost a decade, and the passing of their longtime drummer, the surviving members of the Canadian prog-rock outfit have made peace with there not being another Rush show.
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Earlier this month, Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson and bassist Geddy Lee spoke to Classic Rock about the regret they felt about shortening their final tour, apologizing to the British and European fans who didn’t get a chance to see them perform live. “I really felt like I let our British and European fans down,” Lee explained. “It felt to me incorrect that we didn’t do it, but Neil was adamant that he would only do thirty shows and that was it.”
Ultimately, it was drummer Neil Peart that put an end to the chances of more shows, announcing his retirement from music later that year. While Lifeson confirmed the group’s inactivity in 2018, Peart’s passing in 2020 put an end to any potential future for Rush.
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In 2022, however, Lifeson and Lee reunited in public to perform as part of the tribute shows in Los Angeles and London for late Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins. Though these performances were well-received and undoubtedly left fans eager for more, Lifeson has explained to Classic Rock that he’s satisfied where Rush left things.
“The energy was fantastic around that show, I know, and some days I wake up wanting to go out and tour again and some days I don’t,” Lifeson explained. “For forty years Rush included Neil, and I don’t think putting some new version together would have the same magic.
“After those two gigs and the months of prep Ged and I went through, I was excited by the response and to be in the dressing room again with so many fellow artists in Wembley and LA I respected and felt a kinship towards. But after a few weeks that wore off and it occurred to me that despite all the pain of loss, Rush went out on a high note playing as well as ever with one of our best stage shows on R40. I guess I’d rather be remembered for that legacy than returning as the top Rush tribute band.”
Since Rush’s untimely dissolution, Lifeson and Lee have remained active in the world of music. While the former performs as part of the Envy of None supergroup, the latter penned a memoir titled My Effin’ Life in 2023. However, the pair still live close by and regularly get together and jam, though there’s no saying if these collaborations will lead to anything.
“It’s good to jam with friends as you get older,” says Lifeson. “I need to play. Once a week I go to Ged’s – it’s in the calendar – keep my fingers moving, play Rush stuff, new jams. We do record it, but I couldn’t even begin to tell you where it’ll go.”
Violet Grohl, the daughter of rock veteran Dave Grohl, is reportedly in the process of preparing her debut album.
Per The Hollywood Reporter, Violet has been working on new material in a studio space that she had been gifted for her birthday by her father. Having performed alongside Dave in the past and also releasing music as a solo artist, Violet is has been described as being “incredibly committed” to the musical process and “to growing as an artist” by an unnamed source.
Currently, her studio time has seen her working with producer Justin Raisen, who has worked with artists as varied as Charli XCX, Drake, and John Legend, and most recently, Kim Gordon on her Grammy-nominated album The Collective.
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Violet first emerged as a musician in 2018 at the age of 12, performing a cover of Adele’s “When We Were Young” with her father. Since then, she has also joined her father and other surviving members of Nirvana for a cover of “Heart-Shaped Box”, in addition to providing backing vocals for the likes of St. Vincent and Beck.
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She’s also provided backing vocals on songs released the Foo Fighters‘ Medicine at Midnight and But Here We Are albums, and performed as part of the tribute concerts to late drummer Taylor Hawkins. In 2021, she also released her debut single, covering X’s “Nausea”, again in collaboration with her father.
“She’s a true torch singer,” a source told The Hollywood Reporter of her recent material. “Her vocals are tremendous. She’s very talented.”
Currently, official details relating to Violet’s full-length debut are being kept under wraps, including whether the music will be released via the Foo Fighters’ Roswell Records imprint of RCA Records – as was her “Nausea” single.
Dave Grohl and the remainder of his family have been relatively absent from the public eye since September, when Dave shared he had become the father of a daughter born outside of his marriage. “I plan to be a loving and supportive parent to her,” he wrote on social media.
“I love my wife and my children, and I am doing everything I can to regain their trust and earn their forgiveness,” he added. “We’re grateful for your consideration toward all the children involved, as we move forward together.”
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