Geddy Lee was extremely influenced by Hard Rock and Progressive Rock when he was young and those inspirations became a crucial part of Rush’s sound. However, as music evolved over the decades, he also followed other Rock and Roll subgenres that emerged.
In the late 80s and early 90s, Grunge shook the musical scene and showed where mainstream Rock was headed. Throughout his career, Geddy has spoken about many bands from that era, sharing his opinion on them, including Nirvana.
What is Geddy Lee’s opinion on Nirvana
Since the early days of their career, Geddy Lee has been a big fan of Nirvana like all his bandmates in Rush. “With the advent of grunge from the American Pacific Northwest, attitudes towards rock and recording were reverting to a heavier, less corporate sound. We loved what we heard in the music of bands like Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden. To be honest, I wasn’t as well-versed a grunge freak as Neil was. But I dug the energy and the live-off-the-floor vibe. Soundgarden’s power and song structure were particularly impressive.”
“While to my ear Nirvana played with a freewheeling, reckless abandon, they weren’t so much ‘heavy’ as a grungy yet melodic pop sensation. But most important, a ton of what came out of the Seattle scene was fresh, exciting and inspiring—a new take on the American sound. We were keen to get a new game on too, harnessing the refreshed rock vibes to a skill set we had honed over the twenty-plus years since the ‘new guy’ joined us,” Geddy Lee said in his autobiography “My Effin’ Life”, recalling how Rock and Roll evolved in the early 90s.
He had already praised the band in 1992 while talking about several new groups he thought were good and whose future he was curious to see. “I think it’s a pretty exciting time. There are a few bands that are getting dangerously close to being over-hyped. But there’s some exciting music coming out of the United States right now. Nirvana and Faith No More, for example, and Metallica in the metal world.”
He continued:
“And the Chili Peppers, even though they’ve been around for a while, have a really bold sound that’s catching on. It’s like another new wave, and it’s nice to see it coming from America for a change rather than England. It’ll be interesting to see how some of these bands develop, if they stay together. I hope they do, because that’s when the freshest music comes in,” he told Bass Player magazine in 1992.
When Grunge was taking over the music scene, Rush were releasing some really interesting albums like “Roll the Bones” (1991) and “Counterparts” (1993). They were quite different from most of what they had done before. So that revolution really gave them a few new musical ideas to use in their own style.
Geddy Lee said that Krist Novoselic bass lines were important for Nirvana’s sound
Over the years Geddy became a close friend of the remaining Nirvana members Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic. He even interviewed the bass player in his TV show “Are Bass Players Human Too?” (2023). When presenting him, he said he believed Krit’s bass lines were really important for Nirvana’s music. “Having played in a power trio myself, I know that the role of each instrument is critical. The driving bass lines of Krist Novoselic held it all together. The impact of their sound was massive. Like millions of Nirvana fans around the world, I was sad when it came to a tragic end in 1994”.
The Seattle Grunge scene really impressed Geddy Lee. He was happy when Krist stopped by to say hello during one of his visits to town. “Seattle was a town populated entirely, it felt, by young grunge artists, a town of musicians and musicians’ musicians! Moreover, since I came from a more competitive and disconnected music scene, I was impressed by how these people seemed always ready to play on one another’s projects and be supportive of new things the others were doing. (The terrific Temple of the Dog album is just one example of that.)”
He continued:
“I have to say I felt a lot of respect when Kim Thayil and Krist Novoselic dropped in to say hi. I was forty-seven, almost twice their age—an elder statesman of rock! It was a yardstick of how long I’d been in the game that here was a younger generation that had grown up with our music and wanted to hang,” Geddy Lee said in his autobiography “My Effin’ Life”.
Geddy’s friendship with former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl also grew over the years. He wrote in his book that he has always admired artists like Dave, who, according to him, can “chat off the cuff” naturally with the audience without relying on Rock and Roll clichés.
He and the late Taylor Hawkins inducted Rush into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2013. After Hawkins’ death, Lifeson and Geddy took part in the tribute shows that took place in London and Los Angeles. It was there that they had the opportunity to meet Paul McCartney for the first time. It was a conversation with the Beatle that inspired them to reunite and tour as Rush again.