<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0By the end of the 1970s, Triumph (aka – The Rock and Roll Machine) were one of the biggest exports from the Great White North.\u00a0 There were better known bands at the time (see:\u00a0 The Guess Who and Rush) but for the record, Triumph were similar to, yet vastly different, than their Canadian compatriots.\u00a0 Unfortunately, they would implode in 1988 in one of the less amicable musical divorces of modern time.\u00a0 The triumph of Triumph would end in a whimper and not an induction into the Rock \u2018n\u2019 Roll Hall of Fame.\u00a0 As all good band stories tend to go back to the beginning (who am I to tread new ground), that is as good a place to start as any.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The \u2018beginning\u2019 here lies with the strangely named group Abernathy Shanaster\u2019s Wash And Wear Rock & Roll Band.\u00a0 More accurately, the Triumph story begins where Abernathy\u2019s ends.\u00a0 Drummer\/vocalist Gil Moore and bassist Mike Levin were previously members of Abernathy\u2019s and when that band imploded, they decided to form a trio.\u00a0 They approached a noted \u2018guitar-hero-about-town\u2019 named Rik Emmett about the gig.\u00a0 He was already performing in a King Crimson \/ Gentle Giant inspired prog band called Act III so he was somewhat reluctant to jump ship to join a new band.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Levine and Moore had an ace in the hole.\u00a0 Levine had a background as a recording engineer and Moore was running a successful P.A. rental business.\u00a0 Having secured a sizable record contract from Attic Records, they were able to \u2018show him the money\u2019 as an added incentive to sign with them.\u00a0 At the time, Emmett was still living with his parents and cashing in on the signing money would allow Rik and his girlfriend the chance to get a place of their own.\u00a0 Thus,\u00a0 Triumph was born and they proceeded to plan the path forward – the \u2018Rock and Roll Machine\u2019 was going to make sure its fans would get a show that would be hard to forget.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The first thing that set them apart was pyro and their light show.\u00a0 Moore\u2019s knowledge of pyrotechnics allowed the band to \u201cCome into town and blow (expletive deleted) up!\u201d according to Skid Row\u2019s Sebastian Bach.\u00a0 They employed aircraft landing lights to illuminate the arenas with what they called The Blinding Light Show.\u00a0 A sign board \/ marquee spelling TRIUMPH out in lightbulbs which could blink and run in patterns was another band hallmark.\u00a0 Emmett took to wearing skin tight Spandex outfits with ice-hockey pads to protect his knees during his stage sliding antics a la Pete Townshend of The Who.\u00a0 There was a practical reason for the knee pads (he had injured his knees playing American football in high school) but all the audience saw was a cool rock \u2018n\u2019 roll gimmick.\u00a0 Triumph were definitely not going to be a \u2018shoe gazer\u2019 band standing in one spot while performing.\u00a0 High energy rock \u2018n\u2019 roll was the fuel that would propel \u2018the Rock and Roll Machine\u2019.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Their first two albums (1976\u2019s <\/span>In the Beginning<\/span><\/i> and 1977\u2019s <\/span>Rock & Roll Machine<\/span><\/i>) weren\u2019t spectacularly successful in separating them from the other touring bands out at the time.\u00a0 Things changed with their third outing, 1979\u2019s <\/span>Just A Game, <\/span><\/i>because the quality of Emmett\u2019s songwriting began to mature and become more sophisticated.\u00a0 The rich, layered vocal harmonies of the title track made people sit up and take notice as the album climbed to gold-selling heights.\u00a0 Two more singles (<\/span>Lay It On the Line <\/span><\/i>and <\/span>Hold On<\/span><\/i>) basically took over the drivetime radio waves.\u00a0 They were not allergic to straight ahead rockers like Moore\u2019s <\/span>American Girls, <\/span><\/i>\u00a0but Emmett wanted to set the bar higher.\u00a0 He told James McNair from <\/span>Classic Rock Magazine, \u201c<\/span><\/i>When I wrote <\/span>Hold On, <\/span><\/i>it was like, \u2018Okay, maybe this is why I\u2019m doing this.\u00a0 Maybe I can write songs that make people feel better about themselves.\u201d\u00a0 Their compassionate image stood out from the crowd as guitar player Danko Jones pointed out, \u201cTriumph were seen as the good guys in an era of dirtbags.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Perhaps some of the band\u2019s wholesome ethos came from Emmett\u2019s background.\u00a0 \u201cMy mom was a very religious person,\u201d he told <\/span>CRM, \u201c<\/span><\/i>I was steeped in Christianity until I was about twelve.\u201d\u00a0 He began having reservations about religion and when he opted out of that path, it caused some serious fall-out at home.\u00a0 The golden haired soprano singing in the church choir turned toward secular humanism, but he adds, \u201cI still believe the human spirit is a very powerful thing.\u201d\u00a0 The part that he did not leave behind was his choir boy soprano voice and it is on full display in some of their most memorable hits.\u00a0 There are times it seems he is singing notes only dogs can hear.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0McNair remembers seeing Triumph on tour behind 1980\u2019s <\/span>Progressions of Power<\/span><\/i> LP and soon after, the band hit their peak on their next release, <\/span>Allied Forces.<\/span><\/i>\u00a0 McNair remembers the show he saw at the Glasgow Apollo as being, \u201cA thrilling night of retina-scorching spectacle\u201d (remember the aircraft landing lights?).\u00a0 Emmett remembers that European tour for a different reason:\u00a0 \u201cThe critics kind of hated us, and <\/span>Kerrang! <\/span><\/i>gave us a bad review.\u00a0 We were a glitzy North American act with lasers.\u00a0 People went wild for that in America, but in the U.K. it seemed a little much for some sensibilities [he said with a laugh].\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Then there were the constant comparisons to another popular Canadian power trio, Rush.\u00a0 Emmett thinks there were enough differences to separate the two bands in the public\u2019s eye.<\/span><\/p>\n Rush didn\u2019t get a lot of radio play initially but their carefully crafted studio albums brought them a very large cult-like following.\u00a0 Triumph tended to write more radio friendly fare and the band didn\u2019t focus on recreating their studio tracks exactly as they were recorded when they performed live. \u00a0 Rik said both bands were made up of \u2018friends\u2019 but Rush were more tightly bonded:\u00a0 \u201cGeddy and Alex had known each other since school and in Neil they found a guy who shared their artistic vision.\u00a0 Triumph were friends, too, but it was more of a business relationship.\u201d\u00a0 Management was another big difference.\u00a0 While Triumph managed their own affairs, Rush relied on Ray Daniels.\u00a0 As Emmett pointed out, being one\u2019s own manager always leads to problems.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A contractual dispute with their label (RCA) ended when Triumph bought their freedom to\u00a0 the tune of three million dollars.\u00a0 MCA would be their new home by the time they released 1984\u2019s <\/span>Thunder Seven<\/span><\/i> LP.\u00a0 As interband tensions mounted, it was not smooth sailing for 1986\u2019s <\/span>Sport of Kings<\/span><\/i> which found them no longer writing together.\u00a0 The label sought to help them by bringing in outside writers, which producer Ron Nevison had previously done to hit the Top 10 with Heart\u2019s <\/span>What About Love.<\/span><\/i>\u00a0 This caused a different kind of problem for the band according to Emmett:\u00a0 \u201cRon wanted me to sing the songs, but Gil was like, \u2018What?\u00a0 That\u2019s not going to happen in my band!\u2019\u00a0 I agreed with Ron and felt that as the voice behind some of our other hits like <\/span>Lay It On the Line<\/span><\/i> and <\/span>Magic Power, <\/span><\/i>I was our best shot for getting back on the radio, but that was never going to fly given the band politics at the time.\u201d\u00a0 Nevison was let go and the album was eventually produced by Mike Clink and Thom Trumbo, but by then the damage had been done.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0With the band running on life support for 1987\u2019s <\/span>Surveillance<\/span><\/i>, Emmett decided to move on.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI knew we were going nowhere fast and I had to get out,\u201d he told <\/span>CRM.\u00a0 <\/span><\/i>Moore and Levine recruited guitarist Phil X (who later took over for Richie Sambora in Bon Jovi) to tour one last album, a 1992 swan song called <\/span>Edge of Excess.\u00a0 <\/span><\/i>The unhappy split was blamed on Emmett and it put the band on ice for the next twenty years.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The road to reunion began with Emmett\u2019s brother Russell.\u00a0 Before he died of cancer in 2007, he told his brother, \u201cRik, nobody in the world is a bigger Triumph fan than me, and I would love to see you guys back together.\u201d\u00a0 Emmett was as mad about his brother\u2019s death as he was about Russell pushing the three of them back together.\u00a0 In fact, their first meeting at a coffee shop was done with a mediator present who told them, \u201cIf you guys bury the hatchet, I can get you into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame\u201d.\u00a0 The memories of the split were difficult to break through until they realized how entrenched their own anger and bitterness had become.\u00a0 Eventually, they said, \u201cThis is stupid,\u201d and before long, they were cracking jokes like it was the old days.\u00a0 They had barely spoken to each other for 20 years yet they pulled themselves together to play the 2008 Sweden Rocks Festival.\u00a0 They followed this feat by appearing at Rocklahoma a few weeks later.\u00a0 In 2019, they repeated this pair of shows and added a couple more in Toronto.\u00a0 Asked by a reporter when they would be \u2018touring again\u2019, Emmett quipped, \u201cIn eleven years.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>Classic Rock Magazine<\/span><\/i> does not necessarily cover band reunions (especially those done at eleven year intervals) unless there is something new in the wings.\u00a0 This interview with Emmett came about with the release of a compilation of his best solo work entitled <\/span>Diamonds – The Best of the Hard Rock Years 1990-1995<\/span><\/i>.\u00a0 He told McNair, \u201cThat is the reason you and I are talking today.\u201d\u00a0 He also has a new book out entitled <\/span>Lay It On the Line<\/span><\/i> which helps fill in both the band\u2019s history and what he was up to in the twenty year gap created when he left in 1988.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0In the wake of his departure from Triumph, Rik Emmett didn\u2019t let any moss grow on his rock \u2018n\u2019 roll career.\u00a0 His solo work saw him delve into jazz, folk, flamenco, swing music, and (of course) more rock.\u00a0 <\/span>CRM <\/span><\/i>also points out that, \u201cHe started writing for <\/span>Guitar Player, <\/span><\/i>was a cartoonist for <\/span>Hit Parader <\/span><\/i>magazine, and taught songwriting and music business at Toronto\u2019s Humber College.\u201d\u00a0 As far as him releasing a poetry collection (<\/span>Reinvention <\/span><\/i>2021), Emmett smiled and commented, \u201cThe poetry is a bit like when I release a jazz record.\u00a0 You\u2019re immediately shrinking possible sales down to the smallest demographic.\u201d\u00a0 This, according to McNair, \u201cmarked Rik out as a guitar hero with different sensibilities to, say, Ted Nugent.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Emmett truly is and was a guitar hero, but one with his feet planted firmly on the ground.\u00a0 At the age of 70, he has recently ended radiation treatments for prostate cancer.\u00a0 He also has arthritis in his hands which, he says, \u201cIs tricky, because it\u2019s really cramping my style, both literally and metaphorically.\u00a0 Maybe that for all the showbiz BS that\u2019s gone down in my life, I adhere to a philosophy of humility more than anyone might imagine, (especially) while watching old footage of me in Spandex (laughing).\u00a0 I remember meeting one of my heroes, Chet Atkins, in Nashville in 1979.\u00a0 A genius guitarist, obviously, but also the A&R guy who signed Elvis to RCA, and you can\u2019t beat that.\u00a0 He was lovely, very humble.\u00a0 I thought, \u2018When I grow up I want to be like Chet\u2019.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0What about Gil Moore and MIke Levine in the years before they linked up with Emmett again in 2008?\u00a0 Moore founded Metalworks Studios in Mississauga, Ontario over 40 years ago.\u00a0 At first it was Triumph\u2019s home studio but when the band was winding down, it became the go to studio for the likes of Drake, Guns N\u2019 Roses, Aerosmith, Katy Perry, Black Eyed Peas, Jonas Brothers, and many more artists.\u00a0 Besides the studio, Moore also serves as the CEO of Metalworks Production Group and Metalworks Institute.\u00a0 When their ten year contract with MCA ended, he launched the band\u2019s own label which is now known as TML\u00a0 Having bought back the band\u2019s music licensing when the MCA contract ended, all of the band\u2019s releases (since the release of <\/span>Live at the US Festival<\/span><\/i> in 2003) and all Triumph re-releases have been handled by TML.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0During the band\u2019s heyday, Mike Levine was more than just \u2018the bass player\u2019.\u00a0 He helped write and arrange songs, add keyboard parts, and supply a lot of the stage chatter during shows.\u00a0 Levine liked to support jerseys from local sports teams, particularly NHL teams.\u00a0 When their <\/span>Stages <\/span><\/i>double album was released in 1985, he took up a promoting challenge by visiting eight radio stations across Canada (Halifax to Vancouver) in one day to do radio promotions.\u00a0 These days, most bands would settle for Zoom chats, but this wasn\u2019t an option in 1985, was it?<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Since Triumph disbanded in 1983, Lavine has kept busy merchandising the band’s recordings and music.\u00a0 Living part time in Jamaica, he also serves on the board of directors for the Muscian\u2019s Rights Organization of Canada (he also serves on their advisory board).\u00a0 As a bit of trivia, one might be able to find a clip of Levine appearing on the 1996 Christmas Eve edition of <\/span>Wheel of Fortune <\/span><\/i>(and no, I do not know if he was any good, hit on Vanna, or won).\u00a0 Lavine was the oldest member of the band (born in 1949 making him 75 today) while his bandmates were both born in 1953 which puts them at 71 these days).<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Triumph is no doubt done touring.\u00a0 Emmett\u2019s collaborations with guitarist Dave Dunlop (as the Strung-Out Troubadours) kept him busy from 2007 to 2018.\u00a0 In January of 2019 he announced he was on hiatus from touring.\u00a0 Since then his health problems and a stated desire to retire hint that one will need to consult their record collections or YouTube to hear Triumph\u2019s music.\u00a0 If you haven\u2019t in a while, check them out again.\u00a0 They made some beautiful music in their day and it has aged well.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Top Piece Video – Triumph reunited at the 2008 Sweden Rocks Festival<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0By the end of the 1970s, Triumph (aka – The Rock and Roll Machine) were one of the biggest exports from the Great White North.\u00a0 There were better known bands at the time (see:\u00a0 The Guess Who and Rush) but for the record, Triumph were similar to, yet vastly different, than their Canadian compatriots.\u00a0 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,8,6,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3255","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bands-musicians","category-from-the-vaults","category-new-music","category-woas"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3255","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3255"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3255\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3258,"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3255\/revisions\/3258"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3255"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3255"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3255"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}