“I have the first guitar I ever owned – my parents bought it for me in 1967 for $57. It’s a cheap Japanese guitar that I had refinished”: Alex Lifeson on Envy of None’s evolution, moving on post-Rush, and jams and coffee with Geddy Lee

Alex Lifeson wears a gray blazer and takes a solo on his red Les Paul Axcess.

When Rush came off the road in 2015, Alex Lifeson’s interest in guitar waned. And when Rush drummer Neil Peart died of cancer nearly five years later, Lifeson entered a period of mourning, meaning guitar completely took a backseat.

But things began to change when fellow Canadian (and Coney Hatch bassist) Andy Curran reached out to Lifeson, asking him to provide scratch guitar tracks to help bring a few of his skeletal compositions to life. At first, Lifeson thought nothing of it; soon, however, a new band – Envy of None – was born.