The recent success of Anvil has been one of the best stories in metal in a long time. The documentary Anvil! The Story Of Anvil has resurrected their careers and exposed their music and story to a new generation of fans.Anvil's latest CD This Is Thirteen has also been recently widely released. I spoke with vocalist/guitarist Steve "Lips" Kudlow about their unlikely ride from working day jobs to opening for AC/DC in stadiums.
Chad Bowar: In the time frame between the time the movie was done shooting and it was released, what were thinking would happen when the public saw it? Did you anticipate the huge impact it had?
Steve "Lips" Kudlow: I expected everything that has happened. It's as simple as that. I did from the first moment that Sacha told me he was going to make a movie. I couldn't help but feel that way because that's the kind of person I am. I didn't know how anybody else would feel. If you think about it from my perspective, I've been doing this for 36 years, basically my entire life since I was a teenager. Then along comes a kid (Sacha) that we let into the fold. We took him on the road. And because of doing this, 20 years later in 2005 this same individual got in touch with us and said he was a screenwriter for Steven Spielberg. That's pretty bizarre.
Then a couple weeks after that, after we rekindled the old friendship, he said he wanted to make a movie about us. What would your reaction be? And we had the story. 30 years of obscurity, but yet we kept going. That's a really interesting angle. I wonder what people would think of that? They would probably be blown away. That was what I thought, because it's not common to bet your life on one thing, but I have. I thought it would be a great demonstration to the world to show the dedication that somebody can have for art.
That was the perspective it was coming from. It was coming from a true perspective, not a blown out of proportion story that nobody is going to believe. Most movies are made about people who are ultimately huge and successful, so you already know the end result. It's a genius thing that Sacha did, in that the outcome is in the hands of the audience of the movie. If people want to see a happy ending, they get involved. It's quite remarkable. It resonates with most people. It doesn't matter what you do or what you're involved in. The movie isn't necessarily about heavy metal, it's about the human spirit to want to persevere, to make your dreams come true. That's what it's about. We all want that.
Read the complete Anvil Interview
(photo courtesy VH-1 Classic Records)
Comments