Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson of RUSH appeared at the world premiere of the new documentary Neil Peart: No One’s Disciple ahead of its September 23rd airing on Canada’s CBC television.
The premiere took place at the Toronto International Film Festival on Wednesday, September 16th, with the RUSH duo speaking briefly before the showing. They were joined onstage by the filmmakers and Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, who appears in the documentary.
Lee told the audience (as transcribed by Blabbermouth), “Tonight you’re gonna see a very interesting look at this guy that you think you know, and you’re gonna see the depth of his musical legacy, and you’re gonna learn about friendship and how it runs both ways between the people he loved in the drum community and how they loved him back, which is really cool, and the wider circle of friends and what impact he had on their lives. So I’m very grateful that this moment has arrived where this stuff can be shared. So, thank you for coming.”
Lifeson then followed, saying, “I’ll just echo what Ged said. He encapsulated everything about the film, what an amazing person [Neil] was. There’s a whole side of him that a lot of you don’t really know. He was very, very funny. He was a sweet friend, and he was extremely loyal. And hopefully you’ll get to see a little more of that. And it’s certainly reflected in Chad and the other guys that played with us.”
The duo also spoke briefly on the red carpet before the premiere. When asked what they thought Peart would think of the event, Lifeson said, “Well, I think it would be a little embarrassing for him. He didn’t like to have a lot of attention. But at the same time, I think he would be very respectful and feel very warm about all the reaction and comments made by all his friends.”
Lee then said, “He was one third of this band. We worked together, we sweated together, we failed together, we triumphed together. So, he brought a huge amount of intelligence, talent, a good nature and humor to our band.”
They also reflected briefly on the changing nature of the group now following their expansion to a four-piece following the inclusion of drummer Anika Nilles and keyboardist Loren Gold, with Lifeson saying, “We have a couple of moments of the show where we have a tribute for [Neil]. We think about him all the time. Geddy speaks about him throughout the whole show, so he’s always with us. But it’s a different thing now. We’re moving forward and we have a different arrangement. And it’s all in celebration of his life and everything that he’s given us.”
RUSH are currently in the midst of their critically acclaimed “Fifty Something” reunion tour, with tickets available here. See video of their appearance at documentary premiere below.
