Working Man
The Paramount Plus series ‘Geddy Lee Asks: Are Bass Players Too’ will also spotlight Les Clapyool and Melissa Auf Der Maur
Geddy Lee is gearing up not just for the launch of his memoir My Effin’ Life and nationwide book tour but also for the new Paramount Plus docuseries Geddy Lee Asks: Are Bass Players Human Too? The four-part series will feature in-depth conversations between Lee and Nirvana’s Krist Novoselic, Metallica’s Rob Trujillo, Primus’ Les Claypool, and Hole/Smashing Pumpkins bassist Melissa Auf der Maur. It premiers on December 5.
The trailer shows Lee trading licks with Auf Der Maur, flying in an airplane with Les Claypool, canning tomatoes with Novoselic, and surfing with Rob Trujillo. “I’m trying to show the world that a bass player can do many things,” Lee says in the trailer. “Join me as I travel to the homes of four bass legends and dive deep into their lives. And their inspirations. Plus some fun making music, as I try to answer one really important question: Are bass players human too?” Check out the trailer right here.
Lee put his music career on indefinite hold when Rush drummer Neil Peart died in 2020 from an aggressive form of brain cancer. Last year, he reunited with Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson to play a handful of old classics at special concerts commemorating the 25th anniversary of South Park and the life of Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins.
“For the longest time,” Lee told Rolling Stone in 2021, “I didn’t have any heart to play. … I still feel there’s music in me, and there’s music in Big Al, but there’s no hurry to do any of that.”
No matter what happens in the future, Lee is confident Rush will never attempt to carry on without Peart. “That’s over,” Lee said. “I still am very proud of what we did. I don’t know what I will do again in music. And I’m sure Al doesn’t, whether it’s together, apart, or whatever. But the music of Rush is always part of us. And I would never hesitate to play one of those songs in the right context. But at the same time, you have to give respect to what the three of us with Neil did together.”