Triumph frontman Rik Emmett revealed why he set boundaries with his bandmates.
The rocker appeared on WRIF to promote his newly released memoir, ‘Lay It On The Line – A Backstage Pass To Rock Star Adventure, Conflict And Triumph.’ While discussing the book, the rocker was asked why he always referred to his bandmates as ‘partners’ in the book.
Setting Boundaries
Earlier, the rocker was involved in feuds with his bandmate, Bon Scott, which was clarified by Gil Moore earlier. According to Moore’s statement, the two almost got into a heated argument when Scott thought Emmett made up a rumor about him backstage.
In the recent interview, the rocker explained why it started as a business and didn’t work out later as he thought it would:
“In the original vision of the band, it was a business, kind of. These two guys that I had [met], they were strangers to me, who said, ‘Okay, we’ve got this thing called Triumph. Here’s contracts for gigs. Here’s posters we’ve printed up for shows.’ They had contracts for shows. They had a record deal. There was a lot that was on the table that these two guys had put together in a business where I was stepping into a partnership.”
Although initially, the singer thought he could make it work out, his plan of keeping the band together didn’t work out. He detailed:
“And the truth of it was that it worked in the early stages because it did have a kind of an ethos that was three musketeers. Like, we kind of went, ‘All right, all for one, one for all. We’re all gonna make sacrifices and compromise and collaborate.’ But it was always kind of an ongoing business partnership. And when that started to come apart, when the musketeers thing sort of bled out of it, and it happens…”
Why ‘Rock Bands Don’t Last
According to the Triumph rocker, no matter how big and successful you are with your band, they don’t last. While giving the example of The Beatles for being one of the most successful bands that didn’t last, he continued:
“Rock bands don’t last. The Beatles didn’t last — the most successful band in the history of bands, and they didn’t last because people grow up and they get their own lives, and they get their own lives and their own children and their own investments and their own interests and George Harrison decides, ‘I would like to make my own solo album.'”
He finally revealed why he called his former bandmates ‘partners’ in his book with the following words:
“But all of that stuff that I’ve just talked about, the common ground, the place where it all met was sort of sitting down to a business meeting and talking about a tour or talking about a merch deal. So I did think of both of them as partners. They are friends, but they’re not close friends. We get together for a Christmas dinner every year, but we don’t really ever see much of each other, other than from time to time here and there, something that comes along because of the business. It’s sort of what pulls us together.”
Earlier, the rocker revealed that the reason for his departure from Triumph was not being able to do what he wanted to do when he was in the band. He also added the pressure from the managers, agents, and record companies.
A possible reunion also seems to be out of the table for Emmett. He clarified that there would not be a reunion because of age, and if they were to use backing tracks and backup singers, it would defeat the purpose of a reunion show.
So, although the disagreements have been solved for now, it doesn’t seem like a reunion is coming anytime soon.
