METALLICA Bassist ROBERT TRUJILLO On Hanging With RUSH Frontman GEDDY LEE - "At The End Of The Day, Everybody's A Human Being, But At The Same Time You're Going, 'Damn, That's Geddy Lee'" (Video)
December 1, 2023, 11 months ago
Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo is featured in an interview with
101 WRIF' Meltdown below. During the chat, he disxcusses his musical influences and reflects on taking part in the docuseries, Geddy Lee Asks: Are Bass Players Human Too?.
Trujillo on hanging with Rush frontman Geddy Lee:
"It was a lot of fun. I got to hang with Geddy for two days solid. I'd met him before, but we were hanging out for 10 to 12 hours through the weekend, and we just kind of threw it all into two days. We had two beautiful days down in SoCal and it's basically a lifestyle hang. He wants to know, or wanted to know, what's it like in the world, in the life of Robert Trujillo outside of bass?"
"I played in backyard party bands at age 16 and we played 'La Villa Strangiato', we played 'YYZ', we played all those classic songs. The harder, the better back then. And we probably butchered them, but we would play these backyard parties and play Rush songs in the same way that we also played Ozzy songs and we played Black Sabbath songs and Van Halen and all these different bands. So you can imagine hanging out with one of your heroes and just trying to stay grounded. At the end of the day, everybody's a human being and you always wanna treat people with respect and, again, stay grounded. But at the same time you're going, 'Damn, that's Geddy Lee.'"
Rush frontman Geddy Lee is currently on a North American My Effin’ Life In Conversation tour to promote his new book. Produced by Live Nation, Lee's 14-city tour will wrap up up in Toronto at Massey Hall on December 7.
The evening promises to be a once-in-a-life-time event. After the curtain rises, Geddy Lee will give his fans a peek into the very fabric of his life: from a deep reflection of his family and childhood, to a dive into the history of Rush; from the determined pursuit of music, to the personal memories with his life-long friends and band-mates, Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart. Joined on stage by a special guest interviewer, Geddy Lee will be reading key passages from his forthcoming book My Effin’ Life; he will then share thoughts and stories taken from his experience. Furthermore, fans will then have the chance to participate in a special Q&A, with Geddy Lee answering their questions directly.
“Writing this book has meant spending so much time living in the past”. Lee continues: “I’ve never lived my life looking anywhere but forward, which is why I resisted doing this kind of thing for so long. Being in a band all those years was reassuring because it was an ongoing thing. It felt like it was forever. There was always unfinished business: the next record, the next set design, the next tour. It’s been the theme of my life. But you need a lot more determination to proceed in the world of music without the comfort of your bandmates, and I can only hope that finishing this book will release me to return to what I do and love best”.
Get tickets at Ticketmaster.com. Every ticket purchased includes a copy of Geddy Lee My Effin’ Life which will be provided to ticket holder upon entry into the venue. There is a 4 ticket limit per person.
$1 per ticket is going to the Neil Peart Memorial At Lakeside Park fund. The project and its timelines are contingent on the task force raising the $1 million fundraising goal established for the project. Donations of any size can be made towards the memorial project online at www.stcatharines.ca/neilpeart. The sooner the task force can achieve its fundraising objectives through the generosity of Peart’s fans, the sooner the community and his fans will be able to see the results.
Remaining dates:
December
3 - Chicago, IL - Auditorium Theatre
4 - Detroit, MI - The Fillmore Detroit
7 - Toronto, ON - Massey Hall
Following the Massey Hall date, Lee takes the tour to the UK. Dates are below and tickets are available here.
Dates:
December
10 - Wolverhampton, UK - The Civic at The Halls
13 - Sheffield, UK - City Hall
14 - Glasgow, UK - Royal Concert Hall
17 - Portsmouth, UK - Guildhall
18 - London, UK - Barbican
Geddy Lee's My Effin' Life memoir is available now via Harper Collins. Order here.
Description:
The long-awaited memoir, generously illustrated with never-before-seen photos, from the iconic Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, Rush bassist, and bestselling author of Geddy Lee's Big Beautiful Book of Bass.
Geddy Lee is one of rock and roll's most respected bassists. For nearly five decades, his playing and work as co-writer, vocalist and keyboardist has been an essential part of the success story of Canadian progressive rock trio Rush. Here for the first time is his account of life inside and outside the band.
Long before Rush accumulated more consecutive gold and platinum records than any rock band after the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, before the seven Grammy nominations or the countless electrifying live performances across the globe, Geddy Lee was Gershon Eliezer Weinrib, after his grandfather murdered in the Holocaust.
As he recounts the transformation, Lee looks back on his family, in particular his loving parents and their horrific experiences as teenagers during World War II.
He talks candidly about his childhood and the pursuit of music that led him to drop out of high school.
He tracks the history of Rush which, after early struggles, exploded into one of the most beloved bands of all time.
He shares intimate stories of his lifelong friendships with bandmates Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart—deeply mourning Peart’s recent passing—and reveals his obsessions in music and beyond.
This rich brew of honesty, humor, and loss makes for a uniquely poignant memoir.