Triumph – Gil Moore

By: Lori Smerilson Carson

I can still recall the roar of thundering feet from the audience stomping with anticipation until a stream of flashing lights rolled above our heads and across the venue as Triumph, (comprised of Guitarist/Vocalist Rik Emmett, Bassist/keyboardist Mike Levine and Drummer/Co-Vocalist Gil Moore) took the stage back in the eighties. The saying time flies truly applies to the fact that now it has been fifty years since this legendary rock band released their debut self-titled album in 1976. Throughout those years they created music that reached gold and platinum status, performed extremely memorable concerts (like the ones I can still see in my mind), and earned many accolades along the way. The one thing Triumph also did and still does is they have remained focused on communities and their fans which people will see with their latest 2026 tour The Rock & Roll Machine Reloaded.

Florida fans can experience these outstanding musician’s shows on April 10th in Orlando at Hard Rock Live Universal Orlando, on April 13th in Hollywood at Hard Rock Live Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, and May 24th in Tampa at the MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre.

Catching up with Moore just prior to their tour, he divulged some details about the new show, Triumph’s music in general, some insight into his past, and what fans can look forward to.

SFL Music Magazine: What inspired The Rock & Roll Machine Reloaded, Fiftieth Anniversary Tour?
Gil Moore: Boy oh boy, that’s a long story (he laughed). It was a series of things to be honest Lori. I was working for four or five years with our Lighting Director Paul Dexter who toured with us back when we were touring, and we were working on a concept to bring the band back to life in mixed reality. So, it was something that was a personal project for me, but what ended up happening was, we ended up over the winter, we had hockey, just madness in Canada broke out with the NHL playoffs. It looked like Edmonton might have won the Stanley Cup. They picked a Triumph song up here and they just played it every single playoff game. “Lay It on the Line” was the song. So, it kind of started this whole rah, rah, rah around Triumph up here, and they asked us to come and play. I wanted to be a hockey player when I was a kid like every Canadian, so I thought well, this is my only chance to be at an NHL game in my life (he laughed) other than in the audience. So, I called Rik and I said, you want to do this? And Phil X I said, you want to do this? We were kind of getting encouraged by another gentleman, Mike Clink who’s the famous producer who has done everybody from Metallica on down, and us as well. He had done a tribute album a year earlier on Triumph and used all these great players, and he said, “if you’re going to go up there and do that, why don’t you put together a band from some of the musicians from the tribute album?” And Phil knows them all. So, Phil called Todd Kerns and called Brent Fitz, and they were like “yeah, yeah, let’s do it.” We go out to Edmonton, we have one rehearsal, and we go and we play, and all I can tell you is it just jelled. Then simultaneously, Live Nation got so excited they said, “hey, we what to do a tour, so let’s go.” So, it’s that kind of like tumbling effect, rolling down a hill or something. So, I sort of put aside the whole mixed reality thing for now and I just went, ok. Let’s just go and do a Triumph tour and go see our fans and have some fun. So here we are.

SFL Music Magazine: You mentioned Phil X and Todd Kerns. They will be on tour with you guys, correct?
Moore: Yeah. They tour a lot with Slash. They’ve been working with Slash for over a decade, but yeah, they’re coming out on the tour. Phil works with Bon Jovi too, so the three of them working with Rik and I. We’re hoping we’re going to have Mike out for a few shows. He’s got a few health challenges going on right now, so we’re not sure which shows he’s going to make it to, but we’ve got our fingers crossed for him.

SFL Music Magazine: Triumph is kicking this tour off in Orlando. In the past, you’ve received many accolades for your stage sets and lighting on tour. I do remember those amazing shows! What can fans look forward to with the new show?
Moore: Well, I think that there’s a number of things to look forward to. I’m going to start with guitars. When you have Rik Emmett and Phil X on the front line, I think you’ve got two of the best guitar players of all time, honestly. So, I call those guys the ‘double barrel shot gun.’ I’m looking forward to having double drummers which I’ve never done before other than the one show, and I have to say Brent, he’s just an amazing guy on so many levels. Great drummer of course. Also, a great keyboard player, but we’ve got some tricks up our sleeve in terms of how the drums are sort of deployed if you will, throughout the set. Of course, Todd Kerns is, I don’t know what to say about Todd. He’s just such a rock star on his own. Like he could be the front man, and we could all back Todd Kerns up because he’s that good! So, there’s that, and then of course, back to our tour Lighting Director Paul Dexter. He’s engineered what I think is going to be a really exciting live show visually that speaks to a lot of things that I think fans will really relate to. Things about where we came from, where we’re going to, what the journey’s been like. Probably be elements from our documentary from the tribute album. Other musicians will probably factor into it a little bit. It’s a bit of a mixed salad in terms of the creative, but I do know this. As you said Lori, you saw us back in the day and it was always kind of, go big or go home. We’ve always believed in the theatrics of the show and the visuals to try to keep things exciting, and we’re going to the kitchen and that’s what we’re going to chef up.

SFL Music Magazine: You co-wrote a lot of the songs. What would you say inspired Triumph’s music?
Moore: I got to tell you honestly; we didn’t know what was inspiring us. We’ve subsequently found out what was inspiring us. So, as crazy as that sounds, I mean this is really the truth of the matter. So, you’re a young band. You’re just kids, you’re trying to write songs. You don’t really know where you’re going. It’s how all bands start. You’re just kind of meandering around. Rik and I were talking about the first Led Zeppelin album, and we both love Led Zeppelin. We were talking about the first album the other day at rehearsal and said, yeah it sounds like they were trying to figure out who the hell they were. So, that’s how bands start. What we’ve learned now after all these years is we found out who we were based on what our fans have told us because the songs aren’t for us. The songs are for our fans. It’s a matter of how those songs impacted the fans. So, what was the impact? Well, the impact it turns out tended to be along the lines of some of the songs with positive messaging, and that’s what we’ve learned. So, the thread of the “Never Surrender”s and “Follow Your Heart”s and “Fight the Good Fight”s and “Hold on to your dreams.” It’s that whole thrust that must have been somehow when we were writing these songs, even when they were party songs. Like “I Live for the Weekend”, it was positive stuff. It wasn’t Dungeons and Dragons, and you know (he laughed), some of the stuff that we see a lot of. I think back and I go, well, gee why wasn’t that? We loved Ozzy (Osbourne). We played with Ozzy a number of times. He was, a lot of the time both the dungeons and the dragons, why weren’t we? Well, because we weren’t. I don’t know. It’s just the stuff that came out of us was this hopefully we’re going to take it to the summit. You guys are the allied forces and you’re coming with us. That was it, and that formed I guess, the relationship with the fans, and now through social media, they’re shoving it back at us saying “hey Triumph this is what you did. This is what you meant” and it’s very gratifying. I mean, any band that has fans is lucky and should be grateful to have them because most bands just completely flop. The ones that succeed are very few and far in between. But we have to listen to them, so we are listening to them, and that’s what this tour is really about is pushing that positive message. And on that note too, I’m sure you’re aware we’re working with Make-A- Wish (Foundation).

SFL Music Magazine: Yes, I was going to ask about that.
Moore: That’s a great opportunity for Triumph fans to help some dreams come true for some young people who are facing some challenges and of course, we’re just lit up over that because we just think it’s a fantastic opportunity to be with such a great organization and help them raise some funds.

SFL Music Magazine: You also partnered with PLUS1 that every dollar from the ticket sales goes to SoundsUnite?
Moore: Yes. That’s another charity that we started up here in Canada. It’s called SoundsUnite Canada as you mentioned. Yeah, the PLUS1, a dollar goes to SoundsUnite. SoundsUnite’s mission, a little but similar actually to Make-A-Wish. I mean, Make-A-Wish obviously, it tells you right in the title what they’re doing for young people. What we’re doing is providing free music education to young people. We’ve kind of targeted disadvantaged minorities and kids that are in at risk situations. But it also applies to students across the country. Up here, and I’m sure it’s very similar in America that public education for music, it takes a hit just like sports. It’s the easiest thing to cut and as budgets get squeezed, it’s a terrible thing for young people. They need their sports and they need their music. These are things that are great for cognitive development and just mental wellbeing. So, SoundsUnite Canada’s mission is to supply music wellness and music learning tools and collaboration tools to kids for free to try to mitigate really what’s going on in public education or maybe not mitigate, support it as well. Give the music teachers, the great music teachers that we do have, give them some additional tools to reach further afield and community groups to reach further afield into areas where kids have zero access.

SFL Music Magazine: You own Metalworks Studios where many world renown artists like Guns N’ Roses, Katy Perry, and the Jonas Brothers have recorded. What would you recommend to an up-and-coming artist?
Moore: Well, it’s very much a different kettle of fish that is evolving. Like every six months. I mean, six months ago, we weren’t talking about AI or maybe a year ago. Now that’s what everyone’s talking about. So, what I would recommend, and I really think as simple as this is and as straight forward as it is, I really believe it’s the best advice is you’ve got to find your signature within music, whatever that signature may be. A Lot of people, they tend to push emulation. “Oh, well if you could only sound like or if you could only be more like” and I would ignore all that advice. I think the best advice is to try to discover who you are and the only way you really do that is just push the envelope writing songs or performing songs. I’m assuming in this case when you ask me that question you’re talking about artists that tend to write their own music or co-write their own music.

SFL Music Magazine: Yes.
Moore: Not everyone does that, but I would say the bulk of young people that want to pursue their dream in music, part of it is the writing side of it. That to me combined with the performing side of it, that’s what gives them kind of that signature, and sometimes it just goes bang! I remember when I saw Chris Stapleton the first time. I listened to him play like half of a verse and I went; I love this guy! I love him. It just, instant connection. Like how do you do that? That’s what I would call the signature. Same when I was really young. The first time I saw Johnny Winter and he walked out onstage, and he played a Rolling Stones song. It wasn’t even his song. This was before he brought the house down with “Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo”. It’s just something about the tone of his voice, and I loved the tone of his guitar. Again, to me there is a signature. If someone likes the blues I’d say, listen to Billy Gibbons play guitar. Just listen to what’s coming out of his fingers. How he manages that fret board and bends all those notes. I’m sure if you asked Billy Gibbons he’d say, well, like I listened to Albert King or whoever it was that influenced him when he was a young man. But I think it’s finding that identity is difficult, and you won’t find it by trying to emulate. You dig it out of the dirt is what I would say. Back to the question you asked about Triumph. We didn’t really know what we were doing as far as if we have a signature, and that signature is what I mentioned earlier in the interview. It came about naturally. It just was something that was somehow, ok, we’re writing, penning these lyrics. We weren’t sitting around having meetings going well, we’re going to have lyrics that are inspirational. It’s just something that happened.

SFL Music Magazine: Triumph has sold more than fifteen million records worldwide, been inducted into the Canadian Music Industry Hall of Fame in 2007, Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 2008, and Canada’s Walk of Fame in 2019, and most recently the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Moore: They couldn’t get anybody else.

SFL Music Magazine: I think it’s the talent, but what would you say is the secret to the longevity and success that Triumph has had?
Moore: I think it’s building the relationship with your fans and that’s different now. We were talking the other day about the tour. I was talking to our agent. I was talking about tertiary markets and how Triumph’s relationship with the fans were built going region to region to region and going into the smaller cities as well. We didn’t just play in New York and L.A. and Chicago and Dallas. I mean, we were playing Fort Wayne, Indiana. We were playing Green Bay, Wisconsin. That’s what we did. It’s harder for bands to do it now because the transportation costs are so high. All the cost of everything as we all know, blah, blah, blah, cost of everything. It’s, I guess, tougher. I personally would like to try to retrace those footsteps with this tour and go into more of the smaller cities because I think the fans there, they really don’t get as much as they get in the big markets, and they form a special bond. The social media side of things is like, I don’t know, it’s a mixed bag I would say. It can work I guess in terms of getting your fans to relate to you, and it can also just be a forum for keyboard warriors to complain about everything. So, as far as that goes, I just tend to let the ball bounce where it bounces. We do what we do, and we try to do our best and hope people appreciate what we’re doing and if they don’t, well, that’s life.

SFL Music Magazine: You mentioned seeing Johnny Winter when you were younger. Was that experience the inspiration for you to become a musician, play drums? What inspired you?
Moore: Yeah, I already wanted to play drums, I just didn’t know how to do it. Again, back to education. There were really no drum teachers I’ll say. Maybe somewhere in the city of Toronto. Perhaps if we had dug hard enough maybe we could’ve found someone that could teach me drums, but I listened to an interview with Ringo Starr a short time ago and they were asking Ringo how did you learn to play drums, and his answer was some where’s along the line, well I never learned. Why do you think I play the way I play is because I never learned. He was being funny, but I think what he meant was just exactly that. That he had to dig it out of the dirt. He had to make it up, and so when I think about “learning,” well, I’m learning now because there’s information that’s available to me. I have a school here at Metalworks. We have a phenomenal percussion instructor. He’s a great teacher, and I’m actually taking lessons from him to get back into the fundamentals. He asked me, “what do I want to know about drums”? He said, “what the hell do you want to know?” I said, pretend I’m eight years old. Start from there. How do we hold the sticks? How do we sit on the stool? What do I do next? So, you can learn, but as Ringo said, “I just thought, well maybe this kind of thing goes with that.” So meanwhile, blind leading the blind, I’m in my parent’s basement in Mississauga with my mom’s turntable where she’s got a stack of Benny Goodman records, and I’m putting on The Beatles and The Rolling Stones and I’m listening to Ringo Starr and Charlie Watts and trying to go, hmm, how do you do that? That’s the way you learn. So very, very different world now. I think the musicians that are coming along are far better musicians than we were and so much of it is because of education. So, as the generations change the information becomes available, and a lot of the frustration that would go into not understanding the correct path to take in learning your instrument, whatever your instrument is, you can now get better guidance. Just like in sports. There’s no difference really.

SFL Music Magazine: From what you’ve mentioned in this interview, do you feel that Canada and being Canadian had an impact on your career and Triumph?
Moore: Yeah, it’s funny. My friend Tom Cochrane, he said once he thought that if Canadians had sort of a lead off advantage in creativity it was because of the cold climate. You were more inclined over generations to stay inside. You were more inclined to gather around the piano or whatever the case may be. There could be some truth to that. My mother was a pianist, an amateur. Two of her sisters were professionals, and in my house when my two aunts were there with my mom many, many times, and the three of them would get going alternating turns on the piano, oh my God, and sometimes two of them at once on the piano bench going at it. So, I got music through osmosis I suppose. As far as Canada, what would I say about that? We seem to do very well in terms of those that analyze data and I’m not one of them, but percentage wise in the world, we seem to box above our weight in terms of success level when you sort of add together say Drake and The Weeknd, and some of the artists over the years back in the day that have really knocked it out of the park. That seems to keep happening.

SFL Music Magazine: You mentioned the tribute record (MAGIC POWER: ALL-STAR TRIBUTE TO TRIUMPH). Was there anything else coming out for fans to know about?
Moore: We had a lot of success with our first documentary, so we’re going to actually record a documentary on this tour. So, either it will be a sequel or part two or whether it will be stand-alone tour documentary, I don’t know. So, anybody that’s there, those cameras are going to be firing all over the venues and stuff like that. We’re going to be interviewing a lot of people. It’s just going to be a lot of fun as far as that goes, but we’re certainly looking forward to seeing some familiar faces that we haven’t seen in many years, and some new faces, and hopefully some parent and child combos out there in the audience. That would be pretty cool!

SFL Music Magazine: Is there anything else for Floridians to look forward to?
Moore: Well, I think supporting Make-A-Wish is something that everyone can feel good about that attends. Such a great cause. Everyone I think has an obligation. I’m going to go back to teaching and education for a second. My personal belief is in a community, those of us that are adults, we have an obligation to teach. We have an obligation to mentor young people, and seeing something like that, that brings people together like Make-A-Wish where you get behind someone who’s having a rough go and is very young, it’s pretty inspirational I think. So, it’s a great pass forward thing for families when they have a younger contingent in the family there and they kind of see this as a great thing that the parents are behind. So, I think that’s something very nice associated with this tour, and as you mentioned what we’re doing with SoundsUnite Canada as well which is going to travel with us throughout all the dates on the tour. That’s another thing besides coming to the show, something that people can feel good about. Spreading some good will in that regard.
SFL Music Magazine: Is there anything you want to add?

Moore: The boys in the band are very excited. Our families are very excited, and we’re really looking forward to doing this. I’m at the best gym in Mississauga, and I’m working out really hard (he laughed). This is an athletic endeavor. This is not like we’re playing waltzes. It’s going to be a fun time. I can’t wait to get out there and mix it up with the audience!