Born: 1953 in Toronto, Ontario
Rik Emmett is a virtuoso guitarist, singer, songwriter, producer, recording engineer and independent record label executive who started taking guitar lessons at age 12 and was taught right-handed grip despite being left handed. He sang in public school and church choirs and played 2nd violin in the high school orchestra for four years.
Emmett dropped out of lessons in his teens and instead began teaching himself from Mickey Baker guitar theory books, Segovia study pieces, Beatles' songs, psychedelia (Hendrix, Led Zeppelin) and the blues (Charlie Byrd, Lenny Breau).
He got his first electric guitar at 13 and joined his first basement/garage band. At 14 he played in several bands in high school where they played at public and high school dances, church dances functions and private parties.
He was house guitarist for school assemblies and talent nights and was also a fixture at local YMCA and coffeehouse "folk" clubs. In 1973, Emmett enrolled a Humber College jazz program only to drop out after one semester. Two weeks later he landed a gig with glam-rockers, Justin Paige who recorded one LP for Capitol Records in 1973.
He left Justin Paige in late '74 to start Act III, a progressive rock trio (with Chris Brockway and Denton Young) that played the Ontario B-level bar circuit for 8 months after which he received an offer to join Triumph as a founding member with Gil Moore and Mike Levine in the summer of 1975.
They played first gig in September 1975 and would go on to record 8 studio albums, one live double set, and a greatest hits package called 'Classics' which Emmett was not involved with on a creative level.
The partnership with Triumph lasted until September 1988 when a dispute over future musical direction caused Emmett to quit to pursue a solo career.
Emmett produced other artists before recording solo on the Duke Street label with 'Absolutely' (1990) and 'Ipso Facto' (1992). In 1993, he was inducted with members of Triumph into the Canadian Rock Hall Of Fame. Emmett didn't attend sighting irreconcillable differences (a lawsuit prevented the trio from speaking civil to each other).
Emmett continued his solo work with the album 'Spiral Notebook' (1995). In 1997 he released the first two CDs in a three album intrumental cycle - 'Swing Shift' and 'Ten Invitations From The Mistress Of Mr. E'.
Both CDs were released by Open House Records, an independent business venture headed by Emmett which includes a digital recording studio, web site and mail order business. A third CD, tentatively entitled 'The Raw Quartet', is scheduled for release in late 1998.
Emmett has been married since 1977 and is the father of four children. He currently coaches recreational baseball and soccer and has been both a columnist and cartoonist. He was a regular contributor to Guitar Player Magazine for over 12 years and his "Rocktoons" were a popular feature in Hit Parader Magazine, from 1981 to 1983.
He has also authored a four volume series of guitar instruction books called "For The Love of Guitar" through his own imprint. Emmett also owns an extensive collection of vintage guitars.
Singles
1990 Big Lie (Duke Street)
1990 When A Heart Breaks (Duke Street)
1991 Saved By Love (Duke Street)
1991 World Of Wonder (Duke Street)
1991 The Way That You Love Me (Duke Street)
1992 Dig A Little Deeper (Duke Street)
1993 Heaven In Your Heart (Duke Street)
with JUSTIN PAIGE
1973 Justin Paige (Capitol)
with TRIUMPH
1978 Rocky Mountain Way
1979 Hold On
1979 Lay It On The Line
1980 I Can Survive
1981 Magic Power
1982 Say Goodbye/Allied Forces
1984 Follow Your Heart/Stranger In A Strange Land
1985 Spellbound/Cooldown
1986 Somebody's Out There
1987 Just One Night
1987 Let The Light (Shine On Me)
1988 Never Say Never/Headed For Nowhere
Albums
1990 Absolutely (Duke Street)
1992 Ipso Facto (Duke Street)
1995 Spiral Notebook (Duke Street)
1998 Ten Invitations From The Mistress Of Mr. E (Artisan/EMI)
1998 Swing Shift (Artisan/EMI)
1999 Raw Quartet (Artisan/EMI)
1999 The Spirit Of Christmas
2000 Rik Emmett - Live At Berklee
2002 The Best Of Rik Emmett (Universal)
2002 Handiwork
2003 Good Faith
with TRIUMPH
1976 Triumph
1977 Rock And Roll Machine
1979 Just A Game
1980 Progressions of Power
1981 Allied Forces
1983 Never Surrender
1984 Thunder Seven
1985 Stages
1986 The Sport of Kings
1987 Surveillance
1989 Classics
Video
Compilation Tracks
Official Rik Emmett Website
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