Is this guy really who he said he was?

[ice nine]

I'm walking down Decatur on Sunday night going towards Frenchmen. A busker pulls me aside and asks me to listen to him play. I say that I would like to, but I had no money to give him. (I had five bucks on me, but I needed all that to fly back home the next day.) He had long gray stringy hair and had a beer bottle in a brown paper bag at his feet. His buddy, who was older and the worse for wear, was drinking out of a bottle. He says, "That's O.K. People will see you listening to me and they will give me something. Do you like REO Speedwagon?" I told him I did and he played me one of their songs. His guitar was a little out of tune, and, as Randy Jackson say, he was 'pitchy'. He did play the guitar well though. He then asked me if I had ever heard of the band Triumph. I told him I had, but could not remember any hits they had. "I'll play one for you", he said. He then asked me if I had ever heard of Mike Levine. I told him I had not. He told me Mike played bass with Triumph. "I'll play you one that I wrote." It was pretty good. He introduced himself to me as Mike Levine. I asked him if he was presently in the music industry. He said he was working with a young bad called Kings Of...... something. It could have been Leon, Confidence, or Convenience. Was this actually Mike Levine of the band Triumph?

[swag]

What did he look like? Relatively recent pic here:

http://www.triumphmusic.com/read/biography/default.aspx

[saturn]

Another recent pic (2008) here:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9d/Triumph_at_sweden_rock%2C_2008.JPG

[jtd7]

Did he tell you where you got them shoes?

[hercules9273]

I got kicked out of the Columbia Record Club for not paying for a Triumph album.

My lowest moment.

[festbabe]

I LOVED Triumph when I was in high school. To the point of obsession. I highly doubt Mike Levine is busking on the streets of nola, but how cool if its true.

[Lit]

I LOVED Triumph when I was in high school. To the point of obsession. I highly doubt Mike Levine is busking on the streets of nola, but how cool if its true.

Actually, if true, probably not too cool for Levine.

But "the world is full of compromise..."

[festbabe]

..

But "the world is full of compromise..."

...and infinite red tape

Actually, if true, probably not too cool for Levine.

..

True, I meant cool for ice nine

[ice nine]

He did kinda look like the guy in Swag's picture. When I tell this story from now on I will say that it was him. I wish I would have had my camera that night.

[ice nine]

The more I look at the photo the more I think that that may have been him. I have e-mailed the guys through their web site and we will see what they have to say.

[ice nine]

The Triumph people say it wasn't him, but for the sake of the story I will say it was.

[Rossvegas]

I'm not really sure what he's up to, but as far as I know, the Triumph guys have done alright for themselves. In addition to the usual royalties, etc., he/they own a recording studio up here in Toronto called "Metalworks" that has done very well over the years. He's also kind of a fixture on the Canadian music scene, and although I don't know if he's still playing, I think he has his fingers in management or something.

Then again, maybe he's down in New Orleans playing for Monsoon money - who knows?

[piscesgirl]

I loved me some Triumph back in the day!

[ibjamn]

Indeed! who DOES know what a triangle wave to the inflicted?

[Rossvegas]

At this stage, I'm contractually obligated to tell a GREAT Triumph story with a definite New Orleans connection... :>)

Back in '78, Triumph was making its way down to Texas where (for some odd reason) they were HUGE. They really hadn't caught on anywhere else, but they worked their way south, playing gigs to gain exposure and make a buck or two along the way.

In New Orleans, they played the late, great Warehouse on Tchoupitoulas with "Flint" a band that included 3 of the 4 original players from Grand Funk Railroad. Tickets were dirt cheap (part of a radio promo), and the gig was relatively full.

Triumph figured that they would pull out all the stops, and their pyrotechnic guy set up the obligatory flashpots and bombs, including some kind of mini-nuke that was placed right behind the drummer. The band was rocking when Don Fox (owner of Beaver Productions) walked into the gig.

He walked through the area between the barricade and the stage, and suddenly, a flashpot goes off right in his face. It knocked him on his ass, and after he picked himself up, you could tell he was PISSED. He kept walking through the same area, and then suddenly the second flashpot went off...again, in his face. Fox is NOT happy. He looks up on stage, and there's the mini-nuke; firing flames into the air that are now licking off and surrounding the beams on the 200 year old warehouse.

The next thing you see is Fox hoisting the band's manager (Neil Dixon) off the ground by the throat. He has two hands on his neck, and Dixon (who is probably 6' 3") is suspended a foot off the ground in mid air. He marches him across the stage while the band is playing, does a 180 at the other side and marches him back again. Repeat as required. The band doesn't stop, but you can tell by the looks on their faces that this ISN'T a good thing. A few seconds later, Fox is on the side of the stage yanking the power cord. End of show. :>)