Triumph frontman, Rik Emmett, published his new memoir, Lay It On The Line - A Backstage Pass To Rock Star Adventure, Conflict And Triumph, on October 10 via ECW Press.
In an exclusive interview with Greg Prato for Ultimate-Guitar.com, from his home recording studio, Emmett discussed the book, the story behind a guitar he became synonymous with during the '80s, and also his opinion on those pesky comparisons between his former band and fellow Canadian rockers, Rush. An excerpt follows...
UG: What were your thoughts on the Triumph/Rush comparisons back in the day?
Rik Emmett: "It would be hard for people that were at a remove – which is to say, an American critic or people that were just taking the quick look at things – and go, 'Oh. Three-piece band from Toronto, Canada. Rush is the one I'm familiar with. Triumph is the one I'm not. Triumph must be similar to the one I am familiar with.' That would have been an insubstantial kind of look at it – at any given point in time. Because the bands were not really that similar – except for the fact that there was a high male vocalist guy, they were both trios, and both from the same geographic location. Beyond that, the bands didn't really have a lot of similarities – in terms of the music that was being made and the albums and stylistically."
"I've always said it and I'll say it again now – they had nice coattails. And there were nice things – Triumph was able to get a second look by radio people because of the fact that Rush had been there before, concert promoters, all the rest of that kind of stuff. So, they did make our life easier in some respects. And then on another level, they sort of entered into a stratosphere of your Pink Floyds and almost like a Led Zeppelin-ish kind of… they were huge. And they were international. And they would go on concert tours – even South America, they played soccer stadiums. And you'd go, 'OK. They're on another level.' Triumph was never a band on that level. It's not apples and oranges – this is kind of like a grape and a watermelon." [Laughs]
Read the full feature at Ultimate-Guitar.com.
From Triumph superstar Rik Emmett comes the thrilling, inspiring story of a life of rock and roll.
While describing the impulse driving his life and work, Rik Emmett explains, “I was never in it for the sex and drugs — ah, but the rock and roll. Creativity was, and still is, my it — the truth I bet my life on. It was also, always, about play. The play’s the thing …”
Merging memoir, anecdotes, and masterclasses on guitar, songwriting, and the artist’s mindset, Lay It On The Line offers insight and perspective into the many roles Rik Emmett took on. “It” was always a parboiling, psychological gumbo: and this book attempts to finally share the recipe.
It also includes photos from Emmett’s own archives, plus the definitive, detailed reasons behind why he walked from Triumph — and came back two decades later.
Rock star, it seems, was a character for Rik Emmett to inhabit … a great gig, a catalytic door-opener … it was a role that led to other adventures — and these are the stories he’s chosen to tell.
