RUSH GUITARIST LIFESON SEES GUITAR HERO SAVING MUSIC

Rush gutiarist Alex Lifeson said that Guitar Hero brings hope that kids will capture what it means to play music, while at the same time expose Rush.

Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson said he sees Guitar Hero possibly saving music for the next generation. Rush recently released their Snakes And Arrows Live DVD, and many kids are familiar with the songs, not just from their parents, but from the Guitar Hero game and others like it. Kids are video gaming to songs like “Tom Sawyer,” “YYZ,” and others.

Lifeson said that he is seeing more kids at the shows, and from his experience he said it looks like the game is igniting kids’ interest in music. He said that can only be a good thing in to change the current pop and gossip dominated music landscape.

“Well, it’s a wonderful thing. Through the course of this tour I’ve noticed how many young kids there were out in the audience, 9, 10, 11 years old, and they were air drumming and air-guitaring all these parts to not only to those songs, but to a lot of the songs. Through those games they’ve been introduced to our music, and from there their parents have just taken it to the next level. It’s an amazing thing to view that from the perspective of standing on a stage playing those songs and looking at these young kids getting off on it in such a great way. I’m so hopeful for the future of music because we’ve gone through a very difficult period, where it’s become a lot more poppy and there’s been a magic taken out of music, and I hope it’s starting to come back. I think a lot of these young kids that start out with Guitar Hero and Rock Band are developing an interest in music and learning how to really play the songs. That is a very hopefu

Lifeson was asked if he really feels the game will get people playing real guitar.

“Well, I think it’s always great to be able to play a real instrument. These games, these are just controllers. But it sparks something. There’s nothing that’s quite as exciting as learning to play your first song or figuring out the chords to a song and taking it to the next level and then of course learning to play it well enough that you can start writing your own music. It’s just such a wonderful way to express yourself and be creative.”

There are musings that Rush are readying a Retrospective 3 collection that will wrap up their deal with Atlantic. Rumors are swirling that they’ll take their music to Rounder Records who released the R-30 DVD collection.