MUSIC PREVIEW: Perseverance pays off for Anvil
To say it’s been a whirlwind two years for Anvil would be gross understatement. Cinderella story writ large might be more accurate.
Guitarist Steve “Lips” Kudlow and drummer Robb Reiner formed the Canadian metal band in 1978 in Toronto, and after a few near misses at the big time – they came up during metal’s mid-’80s heyday – they spent much of the last two decades toiling in obscurity.
All that began to change in 2005 when the band hooked up with filmmaker Sacha Gervasi. A former Anvil roadie, it was Gervasi who sought to look the band up and begin work on what became 2008’s “Anvil! The Story of Anvil.” It became one of the best-reviewed documentaries of the past two years and catapulted Anvil into a spotlight that had long eluded it – to the point where the band is now not only making money, but on an extensive headlining tour. The film is up for a host of awards, including Critics Choice and Independent Spirit.
The Patriot Ledger caught up with Kudlow in advance of the band’s arrival at Boston’s House of Blues on Saturday.
Q: The tendency now is to ask what’s changed (since the documentary), but you guys have been plugging away all this time. Still, it has to be dramatic, no?
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A: Well, what’s changed is we’re really famous! That has a way of making a huge difference (laughs). Instead of having to work day jobs, we don’t have to do that anymore. We’re out with the band all the time. Playing live is what it’s been a fight to do. From our perspective, we’ve been able to make records all this time but we never played as consistently as we wanted to. Now we are, and now we can make a living.
Q: When did you realize it was time to quit the day job?
A: It was about six months after the movie played at the Sundance Film Festival. It became impossible to keep a job because we were out promoting the movie so much. Almost two years and no work, which is a great thing. No more deliveries!
Q: What was your day job?
A: Well, I’ve had day jobs for about 16 years. It started off in a florist shop in the early ’90s, I got laid off, and then I ended up working at a fish company right next door. They got to know me, but the fish guy I was working for became extraordinarily jealous because I’d leave and go out and do tours and he was a musician himself and it tore him apart to watch me try to live this dream. One time, I took a leave of absence to record, I think [1999’s] “Speed of Sound,” and when I came back, he wouldn’t even give me my job back. I guess I don’t blame him. I ended up at a catering company, and that’s where I was at during the movie. Later I tried telemarketing, and that was bad. Then around the time of Sundance, I began working for my sister, and she told me, when you have to go, you have to go. I’d work for a week then be gone two weeks, and then it became I’ll be gone a lot longer, and then one day I told her, “I guess you better find someone else.”
Q: Anyone you owe favors to now? Anyone you said “when I get famous, I promise to do this” to?
A: Probably my sister, but it’s a promise I’ve made to myself more – to myself, I owe everything, man. We did pay her back the money she lent us, though, and there’s another part of me that sees years and years of dedication from her. I hope to be able to make enough to take her and her family to Hawaii. None of us have ever been and I thought what an amazing idea to have my entire family in Hawaii. We’ll get there.
Q: I have to imagine more touring is on the way. Plans to record a new album as well?
A: Well, we’re so booked up that that’s become an issue: when do we have time to record the new album? We have all the songs written, but to find the time is crazy. The movie is coming out in other countries now and we have to go to those places, and we’re basically booked through September. It’s been an incredible process. Someone said, OK, you’ve got your 15 minutes [of fame]. But it’s been two years so far.
Q: Did you ever give serious thought to hanging it up for good? What would have made you do that?
A: No, never. It was all my choice from a very young age, so it wasn’t something I did to get mass recognition and be a millionaire. It was about being able to make songs and get them out. We have an underground following and we always have, and we made enough of an impact in the early ’80s to not only inspire guys like Slash but also retain someone like Sascha, who like thousands of other people stays dedicated to the bands he loved as a teenager. The best analogy I’ll use is that we weren’t the Home Depot, we’re the corner hardware store. We both sell screwdrivers, but we’re just not doing it commercially. I have my clientele and there’s no reason to quit on the people supporting it.
ANVIL At the House of Blues, 15 Lansdowne St., Boston, 7 p.m., Saturday. Tickets $20-$30 at the box office and Ticketmaster. Doors at 6 p.m, show is 18-plus.