Real Name: Alexander Zivojinovich Nick names: Snow dog, Lerxst, King Lerxst, Fabio Birth date: August 27, 1953 Birthplace: Fernie, British Columbia, Canada Hometown: Willowdale, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Band position: Guitarist / Backing Vocalist Alex's instruments: Guitars: (6 and 12 stringed acoustic and electric guitars, classical guitars,mandola) Synthesizers: (bass pedals, bass pedal synthesizer, moog taurus pedals,taurus pedal synthesizers, roland guitar synthesizer) Started in the band: Spring 1968 (Founding Member) Other bands: Victor

Accomplishments/Awards: won Best Rock Talent in 1983 (Guitar for the Practicing Musician) into the Guitar for the Practicing Musician Hall of Fame (May 1991)

Personal Profile: Alex Lifeson was born Alex Zivojinovich on August 27,1953, in the mountain fishing port of Fernie, British Columbia. According to Alex in the "Story of Kings" interview, his name literally translated means "son of life;" hence, Lifeson, which is (as Alex points out) much easier to spell, pronounce, and remember.

He started playing guitar when he was 11, 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.

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 I taped "Vox" in black tape on the front of it [laughs]. I played for hours and hours and hours.

Alex was influenced by other guitar greats such as Jeff Beck, Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page, Jimi Hendrix, John Mayhall, and Eric Clapton. 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."

Contemporary guitarists whom Alex admires include Paco De Lucia, Allan Holdsworth, Edward Van Halen, Andy Summers and Rory Gallagher.

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. Lifeson is also the jokester of the band.

Awards won by Alex include being voted "Best Rock Talent" in the 1983 Guitar For The Practicing Musician poll, and being inducted to the same magazine's Hall of Fame in 1991. Along with his fellow band members, Alex has also won eight Juno awards, been nominated for two Grammys, been nominated for a ninth Juno for his solo band Victor, who released an album titled "Victor" in January 1996, and recently received the Order of Canada.

Aside from Victor, Alex also owns a small invention company, The Omega Concern, and is co-owner of The Orbit Room, a restaurant in Canada. He sometimes plays with the house band, The Dexters. He has also produced an album, CleanSlate, by the band Clean Slate.

Currently, he is married to wife Charlene and has two sons, Justin and Adrian.