My Effin Life

 

My Effin Life – Geddy Lee

I think that if I were ever reincarnated into an alternate universe and got to be a rock star, I would want to be in a band very similar to the band Rush.  Like most bands, the three member Canadian trio initially struggled through a handful of lean years, and then they slowly became more and more popular. Although they had a massive cult following, they mostly stayed out of the headlines and could enjoy a decent amount of anonymity. It wasn’t until the last year of their 40+ year career that they really “broke through” and became a widely known phenomenon.  As soon as that happened, though, drummer Neil Peart decided he had enough, and the band retired for good. (Peart, sadly would succumb to a brain tumor a few short years later. Contrary to what some believe, his illness was NOT the reason the band retired; it was just a sad coincidence.)

So after retirement, founding member Geddy Lee now had some unexpected time on his hands and decided to pen an autobiography.  To give you an idea of how huge Rush’s following has become, Geddy Lee went on a book tour to support the autobiography and sold out 1,000 seat theatres across North America.  I never quite understood that.  Yes, a Rush show was phenomenal, but to have theatres packed just to hear the guy talk about his book?  Yes, these fans are incredibly hardcore.

Fortunately the finished work highly succeeds.  Those who are somewhat familiar with the persona of Lee know that despite being a major rock star with somewhat of a piercing singing voice, he’s quite mild, highly articulate, and very engaging when giving interviews. So it really isn’t that surprising that the book ended up being a very rewarding read.  As the title states, this is HIS life, so it isn’t strictly a book about Rush.  If you’re a fan, though, don’t fret, since Rush took up 90%+ of his life, you read an awful lot about Rush within these pages.  Although, as a fan, I wanted a lot more and was a tad disappointed that there were several unanswered questions that I had about the history of Rush after completing the read.

The only thing I felt was a tad overbearing in this account was that Geddy Lee talks an AWFUL lot about his Jewish heritage.  He even includes an entire chapter on his parents and their travails as holocaust survivors in Europe during the second world war (fortunately, Lee warns his readers and is kind enough to advise them to skip the chapter if such a thing doesn’t interest them).  We read a LOT about Jewish traditions, rituals, backgrounds, etc. and it really was a tad too much.  What’s somewhat ironic is that Lee identifies as an atheist, so I was somewhat perplexed that he focused so much on Hasidic culture.  Although one might come to the conclusion that his atheism is a result of many of the religious rituals that never seemed to make sense to him and could actually cause quite a bit of discomfort; especially after his father died when Lee was still quite young.

The book is mostly linear, yet Lee takes welcome diversions to talk about all the things that rock stars endure.  He’ll take a break from the narrative and talk about the industry, the fans, the travelling, his hobbies, rehearsing, recording etc. etc.  I’ve noticed that in many biographies of musicians, the bulk of the volume seems to be devoted to the earlier years, and this is true here as well. So we get immersed into the initial years when the band was still struggling to find their way and resonate with big audiences.  The three guys (and their touring entourage) always seem to be enjoying themselves, though.  True, they have plenty of natural illicit substances that aid in the numbing of the brain, but Lee’s attitude and memory is highly positive when reflecting on days when they had to tour in station wagons and double up in nasty motel rooms replete with shag carpets and orange bedspreads.

As the band starts to increase in popularity, we read about the gradual transitions. Fortunately for the members of Rush, not being an “overnight sensation” means that they can slowly assimilate into bigger and better things. What was also rewarding for me is that every album is talked about (some briefly, however) and just about every tour gets some page space here as well.  As I mentioned, though, I wanted more. I suppose those sentiments are probably shared among all Rush fans who read this thing, so one must look at the glass as being half-full.  (Note: In his book tour program, Geddy mentions that his original manuscript was 1200 pages! More than double the final product. So maybe we need to blame the editor and/or the publisher.)

We read a lot about Geddy’s marriage to Nancy.  Leading the life of a rock star can take a toll on a marriage when one considers just how huge a commitment the lifestyle is.  For the first 15 years of the band once they were recording and touring, they never had much time off at all.  So even though Nancy has her own business that occupies her energy, one comes away with the idea that the survival of their marriage was somewhat miraculous.  No, there’s not much dirt here, but the marriage was a far cry from beams of sunshine and vases of roses.

Guitarist Alex Lifeson is commonly known by many to be Geddy’s “best friend”.  Yet I didn’t read a whole lot of bonding between the two in this memoir.  The two seemed more to be business partners rather than devoted lifelong chums.  Perhaps this is just meant to be a “given” since the two have basically been joined at the hip ever since they started playing music.  What we learn about Alex and are frequently told are: 1) He’s a practical joker 2) He smokes an awful lot of pot -and- 3) He hates keyboards.  I guess I really wanted more, but again, this book is Geddy’s life, not anyone else’s.  Plus, I can see where Alex may have had influence over what was included in final manuscript when the subject matter was focused on him and his undertakings.

Then we come to Neil Peart. And, yes, this is where the book gets incredibly sad. Initially, Neil is treated with the same amount of page space as bandmate Alex, but once Neil’s tragedies enter the story, there’s simply no way that Lee can tell his story without reflecting on a lot of the nuances.  You’ll probably learn more about the “first round” of Neil’s tragedies (the unexpected death of his only child and wife within a one year span) and the “second round” that happened 20 years later; his diagnosis with terminal brain cancer that ended his life in 2020.   There’s a lot of detail around these events, and you may end up weeping on the pages. You can’t help but feel so sorry that for a band as upbeat and as…well…goofy as Rush was, it seemed like such a tragic coda to a brilliant career.

I should also point out that this book is PACKED with pictures.  There are three color supplements as well as black and white snap shots that pepper the entire book.  All of these were highly rewarding to the fan as well.  Again, as a fan, you love these extra inclusions, but the greediness inside of you wants so much more!

For a guy, along with his band members, who preferred to stay out of the limelight (pun possibly intended) as much as possible during their performing years, and to want to keep their private life as personal as possible, it’s rewarding for the fan to get a glimpse at a lot of behind-the-scenes episodes that Lee provides. Fortunately, there’s a lot of good, not much bad, and very few that’s ugly.

One can’t help but be effin envious of Geddy Lee’s effin life.