Alex Lifeson OC (born Alexander Zivojinovich on August 27, 1953, in Fernie, British Columbia, Canada), is a Canadian musician, best known as the guitarist for the rock group
Rush.
Lifeson founded
Rush in the summer of 1968, and has been an integral member of the three-piece band ever since.[1] For
Rush, Lifeson plays electric and acoustic guitars as well as other stringed instruments. He also performs backing vocals in live performances, and occasionally plays keyboards. During live performances, Lifeson, like the other members of
Rush, performs real-time triggering of sampled instruments, concurrently with his guitar playing.[2] The bulk of Lifeson's work in music has been with
Rush, although Lifeson has contributed to a body of work outside of the band as well. Aside from music, Lifeson is part owner of the
Toronto restaurant The Orbit Room, and is a licensed aircraft pilot and motorcycle rider.[citation needed]
Along with his bandmates Geddy Lee and Neil Peart, Lifeson was made an Officer of the Order of Canada on May 9, 1996. The trio was the first rock band to be so honored, as a group.[3]
On May 1, 2007,
Rush released Snakes & Arrows, their eighteenth full-length studio album. Lifeson and the band have followed up the album with a concert tour, which began on
June 13, 2007.