I was fortunate to visit and chat with a Canadian music icon, Rik Emmett, who gained international recognition as the lead singer/songwriter/guitarist with Triumph from 1975 to 1988. Five gold & platinum decades in the music biz provided all sorts of accolades and achievements. Rik is a songwriter at heart and continues to create today.

We met in Eli’s Loft, Rik’s beautiful home studio. During the interview we talked about artist vulnerabilities, storytelling, his extensive journey, and his upcoming instrumental project, TEN TELECASTER TALES, that features Babs, a very special custom built Telecaster. 

Surrounded by a wall of guitars and memorabilia spanning decades in the music industry, Rik referred to himself as “an old dog that ain’t dead yet.” Rik has lived through all the different stages of an artist's development and has actually taught young hopeful artists as part of the Music department at Humber College. He has definitely been there and done that so I asked him what insights he could offer young songwriters, now living in the flowing currents of a digital universe, to help them balance the development of their own voice (their truth) and the pursuit of a career as a creative artist.

I learned quickly that when asking Rik a question you were in store for numerous stories and baseball analogies. As videographer Paul Castro said after the shoot; “Rik has a way with words and you’re left grateful for getting the opportunity to sit under the learning tree with him.”

Rik told stories to illustrate the fact that technology has always led. The Beatles influenced the standard use of monitors during live performances and TV recordings. The onset of FM radio led many bands to record albums in a much more serious way. Bands like Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd were album bands with serious radio play. The Rolling Stones carved out their path playing stadiums and later U2 followed a similar model. 

When developing the curriculum at Humber, Rik made sure to address the long standing fundamentals like composing, arranging, and writing songs that reveal your heart and soul. He was well aware that the music biz was no longer just about “putting your nose to the grindstone of making music and making records and touring”, you now have to navigate digital times and learn to be an entrepreneur from the get go. He referenced huge names such as Taylor Swift who are essentially running an empire similar in scope to an NFL franchise. The one ingredient that hasn’t changed over the years is the persistence and work ethic. 

“First of all, we live in times where it’s a lot more complicated than it used to be, but I do think that cream rises and the ones who have work ethic are going to figure out how to create their own opportunities.”

As a creative human, Rik seems to always be in search of his truth; using his art to reveal, discover, and understand what makes him and the world around him tick. There’s an emotional vulnerability that’s inherent to his creative process. I was curious how his understanding of emotion and vulnerability evolved throughout his journey.

Before answering he hesitated, took a breath and admitted that my question hit about 55 different levels. He started by talking about his first exposure to music through the church where music functions as communion and the glory of god. As Rik grew up and got older he lost his religion but increasingly became a very spiritual person, but not overtly. He joked that “the education of being in a bar band was not exactly a spiritual one”. Throughout his journey he had to learn what music meant for him. 

He didn’t want to abuse the tremendous fame experienced when playing to huge audiences of fans climbing their seats. 

He went on to say that when creating art you should serve your truth and fulfillment. Your inspiration does not have to be about achievements and accolades. Sometimes artistic inspiration comes from a darker source.

What Rik has learned through the years and hopes that young songwriters learn too, is to always ask yourself what the connective tissue is. What’s the thing that makes it so that other people get what you’re driving at? Only then will your expression find an audience. He offered up some metaphorical advice for young artists.

At one point during our discussion, Rik subtly and organically picked up Babs, his new custom made Telecaster on which he wrote his new upcoming material. Distracted by the instrument, I almost missed the grin that spread across his face. He cradled Babs against his torso as if embracing a friend. With a strum of the strings, the first crisp chord rings out, Rik tilted his head as if listening to what a dear friend was saying. 

Babs was conceptualized by Rik in consultation with Mike “Smitty” Smyth of MJS Custom Pickups in Mississauga. They brought on Garren Dakessian of Loucin Guitars in Oakville as their custom luthier. 

Rik will release ten new instrumental tracks that were written and recorded with and for the one-of-a-kind telecaster guitar. Rik pitched an idea to ECW press to write a book to accompany the recordings that would remake the idea of the “concept album.” It is music that arrives inside a book. In Rik’s own words, TEN TELECASTER TALES is arguably, the most comprehensive attempt at liner notes in the history of electric instrumental fingerstyle guitar albums. It offers a detailed history of Telecaster guitars and some very poetic and vulnerable reflections about the creation of the songs at this late stage in his music journey. With communion as its goal, this book is a treasure for the guitar community. It’s a detailed glimpse into Rik’s heart and soul during the progression of this project. 

TEN TELECASTER TALES - Digital Album
TEN TELECASTER TALES - Book

Rik will be performing his latest project LIVE at The Redwood Theatre in Toronto on April 10th and 11th.

For some outtakes, click here!