Triumph drummer Gil Moore recently discussed backtracking on his previous claims that there was “not a chance in hell” of a Triumph tour, sharing his thoughts during an interview with Metal Express Radio.
The discussion arose when Moore was asked whether the band has any plans to release new material or if their current activities are a one-off event. Moore reflected on how his perspective on touring has changed over the years.
“You know what? I’ve learned to never say never because, like I’ve been saying for decades, there’s not a chance in hell that I would tour again with Triumph,” Moore said. “And that’s not because I don’t love the band or love the fans.”
He explained that family responsibilities were his primary reason for staying off the road for so long. “It’s just your life changes, you know. I wanted to be here and raise my kids,” he continued. “My kids were extremely important to me to be in their lives, and I didn’t want to be in a hotel room halfway around the world. And my mother was elderly. When Rick left to go solo, my father had passed on just then and my mother was by herself. I’m an only child, so I was like, ‘I’m not leaving my mother alone.’ And so that phase of my life, with my mom being elderly and my young children, it kind of went by.”
Moore shared how his children eventually encouraged him to return to touring. “So when this came along, my kids are grown up and they’re actually, ‘Come on Dad, let’s tour. We want a tour,'” he added. “What do you say to your kids? You know they rule.”
He also described the experience of returning to the band and playing the drums again. “When I got back into the Triumph wheelhouse and I realized how much love there is in the room for this band, it just became easy peasy,” Moore said. “And I think also mentally I found getting back into the drums. Drums are the best instrument of all time.”
He concluded by emphasizing the therapeutic nature of playing drums. “I would tell everyone in the world, get yourself a set of drums, put them somewhere in your house, and beat on them because it’s the primal instrument,” he said. “It’s what we as babies in mama’s womb—we were listening to that heartbeat, and there’s a reason why it’s so therapeutic to play drums. So, I’m a drummer. So, you know, yeah, it’s therapeutic.”
The comeback represents a major change for a band whose original run ended after Rik Emmett’s 1988 departure, when the guitarist and vocalist left to pursue a solo career. Triumph’s classic lineup remained largely inactive for years, which makes the current run notable as the group’s first full-scale tour in more than three decades.
The Rock & Roll Machine Reloaded Tour launched on April 22 in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, and played through 24 markets before wrapping in Boston, serving as a celebration of the band’s 50th anniversary. The run marked the first time in over 30 years that Triumph mounted a full touring schedule rather than a one-off reunion appearance.
The band then expanded the celebration with a second leg. The tour returned to the road in the fall with 16 additional U.S. dates, beginning November 17 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and concluding December 12 in San Diego, with April Wine once again serving as special guest on all dates.
The expanded routing brought Triumph back to cities the band had not visited in decades. The group was set to perform at Rocket Arena in Cleveland on November 25, ending an absence of roughly 40 years from the market.
