TRIUMPH bassist Mike Levine was recently asked what it would take to get the three members of the band to reunite for a full tour.
Speaking with the San Antonio Current, Mike responded: “We would need to have the best medical people around us. [Laughs] All the ails of 70-year-olds that have been on the road to rock ‘n’ roll — playing loud music, sucking in flash powder smoke and dry ice smoke for years — to try to get us well enough to do 30 shows.
“In 2008, we had 30 shows done in Canada. That were already booked. And there were like 40 shows booked in America at that point. And then the recession hit. And it lasted through 2008, 2009 and most of 2010. When 2011 came, Live Nation called and the individual promoters said, ‘What do you think?’ We went, ‘Eh, probably not.’ We’re now three and a half years older. We’ve got whatever ailments we’ve got, and it was never about the money. It was always about the legacy more than anything. Could we have made a bunch of money? Yes. But it would’ve been embarrassing if we only did half houses with the recession, with the Rust Belt in the Midwest, even San Antonio. You name it, everyone was hurting. No one can afford to go to concerts when they’ve lost their jobs. It’s horrible. So, we just went, ‘Let’s take if off the table.’ And every year the offers would come in to go do some stadium shows. And it’s way too much work to do that, to get a crew, rehearse, to go out and do four shows. And it wouldn’t be our show. We’d just be part of a package. It would be like doing another US Festival or something. The fans would want to see us indoors, with the big show, and if we didn’t do it that way, then there’s no point.”
Nugs.net, the leading music platform for live concert streams and recordings, has partnered with Round Hill Music for the global premiere of TRIUMPH’s long-awaited feature documentary “Triumph: Rock & Roll Machine”. Fans can tune in for the premiere event on Friday, May 13 at 8:30 p.m. EDT, which will kick off with an exclusive, moderated question-and-answer session with all three members of TRIUMPH — guitarist/vocalist Rik Emmett, drummer Gil Moore and Levine.
Tickets for the global streaming event can be purchased starting today for $19.95 exclusively at nugs.net/triumph. Streaming is available worldwide, with the exception of Canada. Tickets will be available through Sunday, May 15 at midnight EDT.
“Triumph: Rock & Roll Machine”, produced by Emmy and Peabody award-winning Banger Films (ALICE COOPER, IRON MAIDEN, RUSH and ZZ TOP),covers TRIUMPH’s humble beginnings as staples of the GTA circuit in the mid-’70s to their heyday as touring juggernauts, selling out arenas and stadiums all across North America with their legendary spectacular live shows — and way beyond.
