Canada's The Metal Voice recently spoke to former Triumph guitarist and singer Rik Emmett about his new autobiography 'Lay it on the line' plus the bands documentary and the bands legacy, plus a whole lot more
Watch full interview here
Excerpts
When asked about his new autobiography
"I hesitate to say it's an autobiography because there's so much stuff going on in this book. I did a lot of research reading other guys' Memoirs and autobiographies and things. The truth of it is that my life has been a lot more than just being a rock star guy in a rock band. I'm going to tell the story of my life. It's going to end up being the story of family and teaching and music that goes much further than just being you know kind of in a rock band. So because my musical experience has been much wider, I made a lot more records after I left Triumph than I made when I was in it, so it's wide ranging."
Order book here
When asked if back in the Triumph years it irked him to share lead vocal duties
"First of all let's make sure that everybody understands this Triumph was always Gil's (Moore) band he was always kind of the band leader. He was the guy that formulated the concept of the band and the way that the band looked in terms of production and on stage. It was very much a reflection of what Gil Wanted the band to be. Then he and Mike (Levine) found me. The Three Musketeers here we go. I think that the rub that you're talking about was that the 'Just A Game' album in particular, the third Triumph album. Let's put it in this context the second album was called 'Rock and roll machine' and it was very much a Gil Moore kind of record. Rock and roll machine was a song that he (Gil) wrote and said that was how he saw the band. Uh and I think he always kind of held to that sense of what the band was but then the 'Just A Game' album had the success with 'Lay it on the line' and 'Hold on' which are kind of Evergreen songs. And I think the record company then went hey the Evergreen nature of this thing that we've signed. Maybe it's the blonde guy there out front that's what we want to push. We want to focus on that. So when you talk about rub I think that's where the rubbing began, that record companies were now talking to Gil and Mike and saying hey you know we want more of Rick and they were going well that's not what the band is all about we are the Musketeers. Mike had been the producer of the early records and Mike was the guy that sort of be in the studio and in the control room and sort of saying okay I a Gil song, a Rik song, a Gill song, a Rik song and that's how we keep the rock and roll machine stays balanced. You start out a band, with that whole Musketeers thing and it's easy to do that because you don't have a pot to piss in so you know everybody's willing to make compromises and the collaboration works. Then time goes on and people get married and they start to have kids and they got their own lives and hey we're having success we're buying houses guys are making Investments they're having their own lives. Then they go well hang on I want the band to be this reflection of my life and then the other guy goes no I want it to be this reflection of my life and those things."
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When asked about the time he was asked to join the band The Damn Yankees
" I got a couple of phone calls I think from the manager of Ted (Nugent) and he called me and then I got a call from Jack Blades .Jack and I know each other cause Night Ranger and Triumph had done some outdoor shows where we were on the same bill. The Damn Yankees thing I don't think they'd even picked the name yet you know but I knew that Ted Nugent and Tommy Shaw were in the band with Jack (Blades). So when I got that call I went guys you got enough guitars in the Damn Yankees how would that work?"
When asked about the Triumph reunions and documentary
"When I went back in for reunions and filmed the documentary and stuff I was not re-entering the partnership, I was not getting a piece of Triumph back the other guys own it. I was just coming in as if I was like a sideman, a friend participating purely out of friendship and stuff there were no deals being cut that I cared about. They were saying oh if there's any merch we'll give you I go yeah whatever I don't care let's just do this. I'll do this for friendship and I'll do this more for the sake of the legacy of the name of the brand which I don't even own anymore. I don't have a piece of that but I don't care you know it was like uh I think everything that I do in a good spirit towards the whole Triumph thing it only benefits me in the life like the books that I write. Triumph is the word on the front cover of my book because it helps me in the marketing of my own stuff. "
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