OLD DOGS & NEW TRICKS
One of this year’s biggest surprises has been the announcement of Alex Lifeson’s new synthrock project Envy Of None. With their self-titled debut album out now, the Rush guitarist, along with bassist Andy Curran and up-and-coming vocalist Maiah Wynne, tell Prog all about its inception and the very special tribute to Neil Peart that closes their first chapter.
Words: James McNair
L-R: Alex Lifeson, Alfio Annibalini, Andy Curran, Maiah Wynne.
Images: Richard Sibbald
“I DON’T NEED MY EGO FED AND I DON’T WANT TO BE THE BIG SHOT. THIS IS VERY MUCH A BAND AND I JUST WANTED TO BE A GOOD
CONTRIBUTOR TO GREAT MUSIC.”
Alex Lifeson
The way Envy Of None’s bassist Andy Curran tells it, the “humble origins” of the band owe something to a romantic little ditty titled Liquor & Whores. A 2017 single by Bubbles & The Shit Rockers, this country and western spoof delighted fans of Canadian TV sitcom The Trailer Park Boys, wherein actor Mike Smith plays Bubbles, a geeky, bespectacled Belgian who also happens to be a devotee of Canuck prog giants, Rush.
Liquor & Whores included Trailer Park Boys fan Alex Lifeson on guitar, and when he and Bubbles asked Curran to play bass on the song, it marked Curran and Lifeson’s first musical union. Best known for his early 80s work with Canadian hard rockers Coney Hatch, Curran had known Lifeson for yonks and been his labelmate at Anthem Records, but Liquor & Whores broke the ice for more serious pursuits. In 2021, when Lifeson released the instrumentals Kabul Blues and Spy House via his website, Curran was honoured to play bass on the first original music wholly credited to a member of Rush since their drummer Neil Peart’s tragic death to cancer in January 2020. “I was like, ‘Oh, maybe this is crossing over into something…’” he recalls.