GIL MOORE Marvels At TRIUMPH's 'Amazing' Renaissance Ahead Of First-Ever Tribute Album

By David E. Gehlke

Technically, TRIUMPH's last full shows were all the way back in 2008 — a lifetime if we're speaking in classic rock terms. The legendary Canadian power rock trio had previously disbanded in 1993 and never quite had to experience the natural drop / career slump that has accompanied a multitude of their peers. Without the ravages of such a downturn and their catalog still holding steady on FM rock radio in North America (and elsewhere),it is no wonder that the band's phone hasn't stopped ringing. And now behind an excellent 2021 documentary ("Rock And Roll Machine"),Canadian Music Hall Of Fame inductions and various other accolades, TRIUMPH has enjoyed a dark-horse career renaissance like no other.

The next step for TRIUMPH is a natural one: A tribute album. Suitably titled "Magic Power: All-Star Tribute To Triumph", the set features an impressive array of musicians, including ex-SKID ROW frontman Sebastian Bach, ANTHRAX's Joey Belladonna, HEART's Nancy Wilson, TWISTED SISTER's Dee Snider, GUNS N' ROSES's Slash, amongst others. The tribute was directed by famed producer Mike Clink (GUNS N' ROSES, MEGADETH),who, according to TRIUMPH drummer Gil Moore, was invaluable in pulling together a massive assembly of rock legends during some difficult times. And while Moore sounds certain that future TRIUMPH shows with Rik Emmett (vocals / guitar) and Mike Levine (bass) are probably not going to happen, there's still plenty in the hopper, which he was willing to share with BLABBERMOUTH.NET.

Blabbermouth: What's your general reaction when you hear a TRIUMPH cover or tribute song?

Gil: "It's kind of humbling. When you start in music, and you're a kid trying to learn your instrument, the idea of anything like a tribute album or Hall of Fame induction or gold records is the furthest thing from your mind. It's a dream. You don't even think about it. I had no idea what a tribute record was or why anyone would do one. When it happens, it's a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It's been a good one. These are great musicians and singers. I can speak for Mike and Rik on this one: It's an honor. It's very moving for us to experience it."

Blabbermouth: Mike Clink was at the helm for the tribute. He only worked on "Sport Of Kings" with you. Have you stayed in touch over the years?

Gil: "We've been in contact with Mike ever since we first met. Mike was like no other producer or engineer we ever worked with. He has a special place in my heart. To know Mike Clink is to love him. That's why he's been so successful. All the success with GUNS N' ROSES didn't go to his head—or any artist he's worked with. We were lucky when we met him, and he came into our world; he kind of rescued the record. We fired the producer. Mike took over the project. Otherwise, it would have fallen apart. This tribute is no different — we didn't fire anyone, but it would have fallen apart because of Covid if it wasn't for Mike. He jumped through so many hoops. Studios were closed. Musicians couldn't get it together because of the restrictions. Singers couldn't sing because of masks. Even worse, the microphone and the pot filters—everyone was scared about what was possibly being passed around. A lot of guys would have said, 'Hey, we're going to have to park this until the pandemic is over. We don't know if it's going for one year or ten years. We don't know the outcome.' Not Mike. He persevered. It took him forever because it was one track at a time. Most of the work was done under horrible circumstances, but he's really the guy who can give confidence to musicians and singers that he's so good at what he does. There's a comfort zone for them. Of course, he worked at great studios in L.A. That's another thing. The people that he chooses are all the top people, whether they're musicians or engineers or studios. He just does it right."

Blabbermouth: Did the three of you have any oversight into who Mike had selected for the tribute, or did he do his own thing?

Gil: "It was all Mike. He would tell us. Pick a name that's on the record, whether it was a vocalist or guitarist; specifically, he would sometimes say, 'What do you think about this person for a guitar solo on this song?' Basically, across the board, we just went, 'Mike. You've worked with them. You've been behind the board for all of these sessions, and your perspective is probably better than ours.' We'd give him our opinion, but it's hard because so many of them are so good at what they do. I was talking during the last interview I did about Deen Castronovo from JOURNEY."

Blabbermouth: He's a great singer.

Gil: "Never mind what a great drummer he is, but how about his vocals? Nobody sings better than Deen. You could have picked any song on the album, and he said, 'Which song should Deen sing?' I'd say, 'All 12.' [Laughs] But there's all these other great vocalists, too. If I were the engineer or the producer, which I was not, I'd think it would be wonderful to have all these great vocalists. It'd be like going into a restaurant having all the best meals by the best chefs. We were blown away by the caliber of the vocals and all the musicianship. My god. The drummers, guitarists and bassists—everyone is at the top of the game."

Blabbermouth: Nancy Wilson's guest spot on "Fight The Good Fight" and ENVY OF NONE's "Blinding Light Show" are two of the standouts. I guess it shows how strong a female vocal interpretation of your songs can be and how textured TRIUMPH was for a power trio.

Gil: "I was happy that not every recording tried to be super-true to the original. Where ENVY OF NONE took 'Blinding Light Show', they made it their own song. Maiah [Wynne, vocals] is the only member of the band that I don't know. In that case, they're GTA [Greater Toronto Area]-based. Alex [Lifeson, guitar, also of RUSH] is my buddy; Andy [Curran, bass], David [Quinton Steinberg, drums] and Alfio [Annibalini, guitar/keyboards] are my buddies. These are all friends of mine in this case, which is very unusual. That's probably the only group on the record where I can say I have relationships with all of them. They just owned it; they made it something completely different than TRIUMPH ever imagined. It's very beautiful. To your point, Nancy, I would say the same thing. She has a very distinctive vocal style. Of course, we've played with HEART. Over the years, we've run into the girls in HEART. Nancy and Ann are both great singers. They have completely different styles, and they complement each other. She took on a song that initially featured a Rik Emmett, high-cutting vocal, but she turned it into this dream-weaving — I don't know what you'd describe that cadence as. It's that special touch that she has. She made it her own song. I think the lyrics sink in differently when you're hearing that different style of singing."

Blabbermouth: Phil X is a TRIUMPH alum and plays on the tribute. He's obviously busy with BON JOVI, but where does he fit into everything you're doing?

Gil: "He was the first guy that Mike Clink called because he's a TRIUMPH member. The first track he did was with Phil. Phil not only played the guitars on 'Allied Forces', but he also played the vocals. He killed the vocals just beautifully. I stay in touch with Phil regularly. He's one of the greatest guitarists and nicest guys you'll meet in rock and roll. Everyone who knows him will say the same thing. I'm working on this project now for, hopefully, a mixed reality tour with TRIUMPH, and Phil is front and center in that project."

Blabbermouth: While on the subject, how has "Edge Of Excess" held up, being that it's the last TRIUMPH studio album?

Gil: "I don't have a favorite TRIUMPH record, even though I get asked that all the time. I did a clip about 'Fight The Good Fight' where I said, 'I don't have a favorite song, but 'Fight The Good Fight' is ahead of what's in second place.' It's a bit of a joke. It's like our with albums, but if I have to pick a favorite, it would be the first. We were kids. Mike Levine knew what he was doing, but for Rik and me to get into the studio at that young age and get access to the big console was so exciting. You could never get over the first big studio session you do. I don't think you can get over hearing your first song on the radio. It's the magic moment when you never thought you'd listen to yourself on the radio, and when you hear it for the first time, it hits you like a sledgehammer.

"The 'Edge Of Excess' record, for me, was different because I did one hundred percent of the vocals — with Phil. That was an extra lift for me. It was fun. Working with Phil and, of course, Rik Emmett, you can't find a better guitar player than him. You could search for a hundred years and not find one. The same goes for Phil. It's like Ann and Nancy — they're both great and have different styles. On the tour with Phil, he liked getting up and running in the morning, and I did too. We became breakfast buddies. [Laughs] Pouring out the cereal and heading out for a jog."

Blabbermouth: Does all the recent goodwill, this sort of "renaissance" TRIUMPH has been experiencing over the last decade or so, surprise you at all?

Gil: "Yeah, because I've never taken anything for granted for music. I looked at it like THE BEATLES were playing in a club in Germany, and the owner said, 'Get out of here. I don't like you guys.' Anyone can get fired. [Laughs] Anyone can get kicked off the stage. When you're a kid and at that stage, like when THE BEATLES started, in my case, the first gig I played was at a wedding at a hotel. There might have been about 75 people, and I'm scared to death that I would mess up — that youthful exuberance. We were young, and we carried that into TRIUMPH; then we magically used humor, the 'Spinal Tap' moments that made us have a good time on the road, especially in the early days when we didn't have good hotels or good this or that. We were just starting out. It was a lot different when you're doing really well, selling out arenas and having the best of everything around you. It's two different scenarios. Looking back, no, you can't forecast any of this stuff. It's totally amazing to me. It was amazing to me that we got started, and the trajectory our career took and the fact that it seems to be, now, really gratifying. I think part of it, the only thing I can figure out, is that a lot of people are reflecting on, 'What meant something to me? What impacted me?' We hear from so many fans who put their tattoos on Facebook with TRIUMPH lyrics and things like that. There's always a story behind the tattoos, and we hear so many that trickle back to us. The only way we can relate to that is to think about other artists who have impacted us and why—what was it that they did that had an impact on us? I just don't think you can be full of yourself enough to think that your stuff is going to have an impact. It's for others to judge. It's not for the creators to judge."

Blabbermouth: Is another aspect of the reward being that TRIUMPH had to put in the extra work because you were a Canadian band?

Gil: "I'll say this: We certainly had the feeling of being against all odds. At the time, in Toronto, when we started here in Mississauga, the city beside Toronto, and we were rehearsing in a bowling alley, we had enough failed bands behind us like all musicians do; you're very familiar with failure. The big thing was to try to get across the border and into the United States. It seemed like another leap that was impossible to make, like flying to the moon to us. The funny thing is, just before we kind of got out of the gates, so to speak, our friends in RUSH got across. Americans started to accept RUSH, and so many bands could not get across the border. Or they'd get across and get slapped in the face, like, 'Go home. We don't like what you're doing.' RUSH kicked the door open in America. Fortunately for us, we were a combination of naïve but determined that we were going to persevere; we were bull-headed and decided, 'If the door doesn't open, kick it down.' We got very lucky with the way we started in Texas; then we learned the United States is 50 countries, and you keep knocking on those doors. Every one of those states is a great place with great people, different cultures and food. There are a lot of similarities, too. All Americans were very welcoming to TRIUMPH, no matter which state we went to. Of course, coming back to Canada, I remember thinking about this when we were listening to one of the guys in ZZ TOP. It might have been Billy Gibbons talking about how 'The little old band from Texas. You need to go somewhere else and come back to Texas to be that band.' I agree with that. All bands need to go somewhere else and get that thumbs-up approval from another group of people. I think, like all Canadian bands, you go to the States, and they say you're good, and holy smokes, watch what happens in Canada."

Blabbermouth: Mike has been fairly vocal about not wanting to tour or perform live as TRIUMPH. That said, are the offers still coming in? They have to be, right?

Gil: "Yeah. We've also been listening to TRIUMPH fans saying, 'Play a tour. Play a tour. Play a tour,' which is how the movie directors incorporated this mini concert into the documentary. We still have agents. They're always ready. [Laughs] That's their gig, right? They're like, 'Well, if you change your mind and want to tour, there's a lot of people who want you.' There are different reasons for all of us [for not continuing TRIUMPH]. For me, I wanted to be here with my kids. I didn't want to be traveling from hotel to hotel and city to city and not be there when they were growing up. Also, I was an only child, and after my father passed on, I didn't want my mother to be alone, fending for herself and not have support from me and my wife. I was lucky to stay in music. I didn't want to leave that, but I didn't want to tour. We all were in different spots in our lives. When we did the two shows in 2008 in Sweden, that was the reverse of what I talked about. I said to our agent, 'We want to play.' He said, 'What?' I said, 'Yeah, we want to play.' He asked, 'Why do you want to play?' I said, 'I want our kids to see us play. They're at the right age.' The second reason was that we wanted to re-bond the Mike / Ric / Gil lineup. The only way we could do that was to get onstage together. Fortunately, right away, he said, 'Where do you want to play? You probably want to play somewhere close to home?' I said, 'No. As far away as possible. Put us in Japan. I don't care. I want to make it an exotic trip/vacation.' Being on Sweden Rock and having a great slot at the end of the Friday or Saturday night was really great. Rik played great; Mike and I did not so much. We needed a little more rehearsal, but it was a lot of fun."

Blabbermouth: You've been talking about a "mixed reality" TRIUMPH show for a while now. How far along is it? Do you have a planned date for its launch?

Gil: "It's one of those 'You know when it's time' situations. We almost rolled it out this spring, but Phil had a BON JOVI conflict. We decided to park it to work on some of the ideas. We have the technology that we feel is perfected in terms of how we want to present it. It's hard to describe, not because I'm trying to keep a secret but because it's something new. Is it a movie? No. Is it a Broadway play? No. A concert? No. All of these are noes or maybes. It's a tossed salad of different concepts and ideas. We've got about five years of development to figure out exactly what we want to do. The hologram idea is not for TRIUMPH at all; I liked the Dio and Frank Zappa one, but that's what kickstarted it for us. We watched the way ABBA peeled off in a different direction. It's high-tech, but not what we're doing. That's the road KISS is going down, and it will be great. We didn't want a residency. We wanted something we could tour. We wanted to go back to the roots of TRIUMPH. It wasn't about Detroit, Cleveland, Montreal or Toronto. It wasn't just the big cities; it was all the little towns: Evansville, Indiana; Erie, Pennsylvania; and Toledo, Ohio. I could go on and on about how much we loved the smaller cities. This is something we can take to everybody in their hometown and do it night after night. We want it to run like a normal concert tour. It makes it technically challenging, but I think we've got it. We want to have Phil so that we have a TRIUMPH member who's a master, not just a musician and singer, but he's a leader as a person. He can lead by example because he does things the right way. We think he's the key to that part of it. We're hoping it will be out later this year or early next year. Time will tell based on a few more variables."