Alex won Best Rock Talent in 1983 (Guitar for the Practicing Musician)
Inducted into the Guitar for the Practicing Musician Hall of Fame (May 1991)
Personal Profile
Alex Lifeson was born on August 27, 1953, in the mountain fishing port of Fernie, British Columbia. Alex's real name is Alex Zivojinovic. He started playing guitar when he was 12, having previously made an unsuccessful attempt at trying to learn viola. His first six-string was a Kent classical acoustic, which his father bought him as a Christmas present. A year later Alex acquired a $59 Japanese electric model.
His early guitar influences are Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Hendrix, and Jimmy Page. He was basically self-taught as a guitarist. His only formal training was during Rush's early days on the Toronto club circuit.
"A friend I went to school with taught classical guitar," Alex recalls. "He was a very good teacher and I studied with him for about a year and a half. That started around 1971, but then one day he was in a motorcycle accident and had to go to hospital, so the lessons kind of fell off. Also, we'd started to play in clubs a lot more, so I wouldn't really have had the time to keep them up anyway."
Other contemporary guitarists whom Alex admires include Paco De Lucia, Allan Holdsworth, Edward Van Halen, Andy Summers and Rory Gallagher.
He is currently married and has two sons, Justin and Adrian. When not on tour, he also spends time flying, and is in fact, a licensed pilot. He also has a strong reputation in the group as a gourmet cook.
He released a solo album titled "Victor" in January 1996.
Alex Lifeson on himself:
I started playing when I was about 11 years old. I begged for a guitar for Christmas, and got an $11 Kent acoustic--it was just terrible, but my parents still have it [laughs]. Then the following Christmas my parents bought me a Cenora, which sort of looked like a Gretch Country Gentleman. Both were inexpensive, poorly Japanese guitars. I borrowed the guy-next-door's Paul amp whenever I could, and taped "Vox" in black tape on the front of it [laughs]. I played for hours and hours and hours.
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