Geddy Lee Talks "50 Something" Tour and Moving Pictures in New Rick Beato Interview

Update: Rick Beato also sat down with Alex Lifeson and, separately, Terry Brown for interviews as well. You can watch them below.

If you aren't already familiar with him, Rick Beato is a veteran record producer, audio engineer, and university music professor who has become one of YouTube’s most respected voices for music analysis. Through his massively popular channel, he breaks down the music theory and production behind classic songs and hosts long-form, deeply technical interviews with some of rock's greatest legends. His background allows him to speak with artists on a musician-to-musician level, eliciting studio secrets and creative insights you rarely get in standard press junkets.

He recently brought that expertise to a fantastic, hour-long sit-down with Geddy Lee, delivering a conversation that is a must-watch ahead of the upcoming "Fifty Something" tour.

In the interview, Geddy opens up about the monumental task of preparing for the band's first tour in a decade, particularly the challenge of bringing their new drummer, Anika Nilles, up to speed. He affectionately notes that while she is phenomenally talented, she comes from a very different school of music and is currently tackling 40 tracks from their "weird, idiosyncratic" catalog. That catalog proved difficult to narrow down; Geddy shared that their initial rehearsal list sat at 45 songs, making cuts incredibly tough as he and Alex found themselves falling in love with their own music all over again. During the chat, Geddy also touches on the physical demands of these songs, singling out "YYZ" as the hardest track to play consistently night after night, and "The Anarchist" as the most difficult for him to simultaneously play bass and sing.

Beyond the upcoming tour, Beato and Geddy take a deep dive into the band's studio history, specifically the magic of the Terry Brown era. Geddy reveals that their label originally pressured them to release a live album following Permanent Waves, but the band pushed back to record Moving Pictures instead. In one of the most surprising moments of the interview, Geddy admits that the recording and mixing process for "Tom Sawyer" was so frustrating that he nearly left their biggest hit off the album entirely. The conversation also covers Geddy's gear and his firm belief that tone is ultimately in the fingers - a point he proved during the R40 tour by playing 27 different basses while still sounding unmistakably like himself.

The hour is packed with great stories, technical deep-dives, and even a hilarious surprise cameo when Alex crashes the set toward the end.

You can watch the complete Rick Beato interview with Geddy Lee right Here or via the embedded viewew below.