Anika Nilles, Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson are interviewed in the new issue of Classic Rock

 New Rush drummer Anika Nilles, who performed with the band for the first time at Canada's annual Juno Awards ceremony at the TD Coliseum in Hamilton, Ontario, over the weekend, has spoken about her first rehearsal with Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson, and about the man she's succeeding, the late Neil Peart.

"I had a few songs prepared before I flew over, and we played those," she says in an interview in the new issue of Classic Rock. "But during the session, we also talked a lot about Neil – about his view on music and drumming. We spoke a great deal about the feel of the songs. The most important point is simply to capture the feeling – that it feels right for the two of them to play their music again. 

"And ultimately, it will feel right for the fans as well. We talked about that a lot. The first session was really about getting to know each other and seeing how we function together."

In a second interview in the new issue of Classic Rock, Lee and Lifeson tell their side of the story, and reveal the first song they played together.

"We’d prepped five songs, but I think it might have been Limelight," says Lee. "We wouldn’t have wanted something like YYZ as the first song, though we did run through it in those sessions. We played [Spirit Of] Radio with Anika too. I can’t remember what else we played. We did Subdivisions, so it might have been that."

"And that is a seemingly simple song for us," says Lifeson. "That’s been fascinating to watch. So you get a sense of appreciation for the way the song is, but you also get a more acute appreciation for how Neil played. Because when you see someone else trying to capture his feel, you realise what kind of player he was, and the tightness of his attitude, the firmness in attack as well.

"With Tom Sawyer, or even Limelight, you can’t just shuffle through those songs, you have to be attentive. And, you know, stand up straight. And that’s sort of where the feel comes from."

The first dates on Rush's Frifty Something tour are a quartet of shows at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles, CA, this June, scene of the band's last show with Neil Peart in 2015.

The new issue of Classic Rock is out now.