Published: May 23, 2025
Moore has been talking about a possible TRIUMPH live experience for several years
In a new interview with Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF radio station, TRIUMPH drummer and vocalist Gil Moore spoke about ongoing plans for the legendary Canadian rockers to develop a high-tech concept that would bring their music back to the stage. He said: "I've had people ask me, 'Well, is that like what ABBA's doing in London?' And I say, 'Well, no. It's not.' That's a lot of three-dimensional content and so on. And it's kind of an animated movie, if you will.
"Paul Dexter [our lighting designer from back in the day], he did Ronnie Dio from BLACK SABBATH's initial hologram events that were done. He also did Frank Zappa, which is where I caught up with him, 'cause we're buddies. And I said, 'Paul, can we do something with TRIUMPH?' So we talked about it. And he said, 'Well, take a look at Frank's hologram.' And so I went and saw it. We went back to the hotel after the gig, and I said, 'No, this would never work for TRIUMPH.' So we were kind of scratching our heads, saying, 'Well, what could we do?' Because we both like technology and I've always been a geek when it comes to lighting and sound and things. So we started to investigate.
"My school [Metalworks Institute] up here in Canada was partners with Microsoft in their development, a partner program. They had a mixed reality department, and we started looking into it. The next thing you know, all of a sudden we went off on a different path altogether, and we've been through two or three different technologies that we wanted to use to bring the original bandmembers into a new band with new musicians. So basically the best of both worlds — to try to have players that can cut the road and are younger than us and have got the tremendous playing skills, but be able to give fans kind of the throwback that they want. So we thought if we can bring the three bandmembers into this and bring [former TRIUMPH and current BON JOVI guitarist] Phil [X] back to reignite the original band, now we have a six-piece power trio.
"I don't think anybody will [understand it] until it's out there, until it's seen. But Paul and I are doing our best. No wine before its time. We'll see where it goes, but right now there's a lot of conversations between Mike [Levine, TRIUMPH bassist], Rik [Emmett, TRIUMPH guitarist/vocalist] and I, and Phil and our manager Jason and [producer] Mike Clink, of course, who's been an instigator in a lot of things. And hopefully we're gonna bring something out there that fans are just gonna go 'wow' for, and then everyone will know what it is. [Laughs]"
Asked if he misses the stage and playing live, Gil said: "We did feel that way about it. And with me, because I wanted to be at home, raise my kids, and I also had an elderly mother, there was reasons why I wanted to stay in Toronto. So once it takes you away from that, I'll call it live game, which is truly a sport in a three-piece power trio, especially for the drummer, and if you're gonna sing on top of that, it's a real athletic endeavor. And it is for Mike and Rik as well. But your life takes a turn into a new area. And I love what we do at Metalworks and I love being with my family. So ultimately my family takes precedence over traveling. And I know you can get back and forth and so on, but I just wanna be there all the time for them. So I'm very happy with that decision
"If we get this mixed reality tour rolling, it'll be a great way to really thank the fans because I'm totally blown away with how loyal TRIUMPH fans are," he continued. "And I guess some of the thinking behind this is, as you know in Michigan, 'cause you're in Detroit, but everyone knows in Grand Rapids you would see TRIUMPH, you'd see TRIUMPH in Saginaw, you'd see triumphant in Petoskey, you'd see TRIUMPH in Flint. We played all of those smaller towns as well, and we'd sneak around the corner and play Green Bay, Wisconsin, or the other way and play Toledo. Yeah, there were the Chicagos, the Clevelands, the Detroits and the L.A.'s and New Yorks, but there were also these smaller towns. That's how we built it up. And that's why I think a lot of those fans have those experiences from those small towns, not just the big ones. And this is an effort to say, okay, maybe we can take the TRIUMPH show back into those markets and bring back some memories and also some real surprises."
