TRIUMPH Gets Offers To Play Every Year, Says MIKE LEVINE

In a recent interview with “The Daily Derringer Podcast”, bassist Mike Levine of Canadian rock legends TRIUMPH was asked if the band’s 2008 reunion shows in Sweden Rock Festival and Rocklahoma were meant to be a warm-up for a more extensive tour if they were always intended to be the group’s final gigs. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “There was bad blood going on between [guitarist/vocalist] Rik [Emmett] and [drummer] Gil [Moore] and I. And we decided it had to stop because we had too much love for each other over the years. And it just made no sense that we couldn’t keep playing, or least be friends. So we decided, ‘What a good idea. Let’s go play some shows.’ So we got the call from Sweden saying, ‘Would you guys consider playing?’ They read that Rik and Gil and I were talking and getting along. And they called our agent and offered us a ton of dough to go over there and play, which we decided, ‘Eh, let’s do it. Maybe we can get a good buzz back in our musical lives.’ And talk about good routing — two weeks after that, we played in Oklahoma, a big outdoor show there. So you go, ‘Hmm, Sweden and Oklahoma. They really go together. What are we gonna do with the trucks?’ [Laughs]”

He continued: “But the shows went well. And we decided, ‘You know what? Maybe we should tour. Let’s go check it out.’ So the agents went to work and had a bunch of dates and buildings on hold. So it was, like, ‘That sounds pretty good.’ Except then the recession hit, and it was bad for music and touring and all that, and we had to table all the plans. And that lasted a couple of years. And in a couple of years, it was, like, we were a couple of years older, [and we thought], ‘Maybe it’s not such a good idea to go on the road.’ It’s a lot of work and it’s gonna cost a lot of dough, and six months of our lives just to get ready for it, not counting the life on the road again. So we decided, ‘Eh, let’s just table that and see what happens.’ So every year we get offers to go play, and every year we say, ‘Thanks but no thanks.’ So maybe one of these days we’ll do something.”

A DVD of the historic Sweden performance in 2008 was made available four years later.

Produced by Banger Films, “Triumph: Rock & Roll Machine” is a Crave original documentary that was previously described as “a celebratory, exhilarating thrill ride through the history of one of rock’s most unsung acts.” The film covers TRIUMPH‘s humble beginnings as staples of the GTA circuit in the mid-’70s to their heyday as touring juggernauts, selling out arenas and stadiums all across North America with their legendary spectacular live shows — and way beyond.

TRIUMPH last performed at an invite-only event in November 2019 in front of 300 “superfans” at MetalWorks studio in Mississauga (a suburb of Toronto), Ontario, Canada. Levine, Emmett and Moore played a three-song set that marked TRIUMPH‘s first performance in 11 years, as well as its first as a pure three-piece power trio in 31 years. The tracks played were “When The Lights Go Down”, “Lay It On The Line” and “Magic Power”.

Moore, Levine and Emmett formed TRIUMPH in 1975, and their blend of heavy riff-rockers with progressive odysseys, peppered with thoughtful, inspiring lyrics and virtuosic guitar playing quickly made them a household name in Canada. Anthems like “Lay It On The Line”, “Magic Power” and “Fight The Good Fight” broke them in the USA, and they amassed a legion of fiercely passionate fans. But, as a band that suddenly split at the zenith of their popularity, TRIUMPH missed out on an opportunity to say thank you to those loyal and devoted fans, a base that is still active today, three decades later.

Back in 2016, Moore and Levine reunited with Rik as special guests on the “RES 9” album from Emmett‘s band RESOLUTION9.

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