Three original Triumph band members back in a studio together
Three original Triumph band members back in a studio together
For many, there would be nothing better than seeing the Canadian power trio of singer / guitarist Rick Emmett (62 years old), singer / drummer Gil Moore (62) and bassist / keyboardist Mike Levine (67) known as Triumph playing together once again and/or recording some new music together.
It appears that the latter may take place as Triumph recently posted a photo on their Facebook page of the trio together in a studio for Emmett‘s new album.
After Emmett left the band in 1988, it took 20 years for the trio to play again under the Triumph banner, which took place in the form of shows in Sweden and Oklahoma in 2008. Since then, the trio have sadly not played publicly as Triumph.
Levine was recently interviewed by the Niagara Frontier Publications and the following are excerpts from the article / interview:
“Those last shows were an opportunity for us to bury whatever hatchets needed to be buried and the best way to do that was to go out and play a bit. Europe was a unique situation, because we had fans there, but we never performed there before. And we figured we could go and hide there and, if we truly stunk, nobody would notice. Not thinking clearly; there were tons of press people there to see us,” Levine noted.
“The shows went well and we had a tour booked and then the recession hit and we decided to wait in the weeds and see what happens, and we are still waiting, so to speak. We talk about it every now and then, but I doubt you will see us play again.”
That may be sad news to longtime fans of the band but, even though the band is not together onstage, they have renewed their friendship.
“We went through a tough stretch, but now we are on the dinner tour, so to speak,’ Levine said. “We get together three or four times a year and laugh a lot. It’s been great from a personal point of view.”…
With the hatchets buried and the band’s legacy intact, Levine has been able to look back at what led to the band’s demise.
” I think Rik and Gil would agree that it was (the) ‘Sport of Kings‘ (album) that had us asking ourselves what we were doing,” Levine said. “The whole process was not fun. We all felt like we were getting a root canal every day. There are so many stories; we could talk for four or five hours alone about that one.
“We allowed the record company, for the first time, to be part of Triumph. It became a thorn in our side and then ‘Surveillance‘ was a tough one to make. ‘Sport of Kings‘ was a poppy album. There were some cuts I refused to even play bass on, and Mike Boddicker did the keyboard parts.”
Triumph‘s “Magic Power” live at the US Festival on May 29, 1983:
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Triumph’s performance footage from the US Festival from May 29, 1983,