Rik Emmett has bad news for Triumph fans.
In a new interview with Talkin’ Bout Rock, the Triumph vocalist shared his doubts about his band and the unlikeliness of the band performing live ever again. When asked if he would consider performing with the band again, he responded:
“I doubt it. I’m sorry to take out a sharp little pen and prick the balloon of hope. But, honestly, I think when we [played a short set at a fan event which was filmed for] the Triumph documentary [‘Triumph: Rock & Roll Machine’], and Gil [Moore, drums/vocals] rehearsed for a long time to sort of get himself [in playing shape]…”
Then he revealed the drummer’s decision after playing a certain song ever since the latest reunion of the original lineup:
“We only played three songs, but he was gonna sing and play ‘When The Lights Go Down,’ and he hadn’t played ever since we did the Sweden reunion; he hadn’t sat down and played any music, touched his drums. And then, when we did that, at the end of it, I think he went, ‘Okay. I’m done.’ A show of hands.”
What Remaining Members Think About Reuniting
Emmett isn’t the only Triumph member opposed to the idea of a reunion. Bassist Mike Levine shares a similar perspective. In a previous interview, when questioned about the possibility of reuniting with the original lineup, he indicated that as they age, the idea becomes increasingly challenging:
“I don’t think we’re physically able to do that. We did three songs for the [‘Triumph: Rock & Roll Machine’] documentary, and it was rough tooling up, ’cause Gil [Moore, drums] and I hadn’t played in a while. But Rik [Emmett, guitar/vocals] is always playing; he’s on the road a lot. So he had good patience, while we were hacking around. I was trying to figure out, ‘Where is my hand going there?’ And Gil’s going, ‘What’s a drum?’ But Rik had good patience. And after three or four rehearsals, we started to find a groove. And then when we actually did the gig for the fans for the documentary, [after] three songs we were [exhausted]… So the idea of a whole show… I don’t think so. Rik can’t really hit those notes like before. Even when you drop the key a bit, it’s still not easy… So it’s really tough, as you’re getting older.”
You can watch the latest interview below.
