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F our years ago, Steve "Lips" Kudlow
was driving trucks for a caterer and
playing shows with his band, Anvil,
in a local Toronto sports bar. Over 20 years
had passed since Anvil toured with the big
gest and best heavy metal bands in the early
'80s, opening for Iron Maiden and Motorhead,
and developing a reputation as metal's Next
Big Thing. But instead of building on the pop
ularity of Anvil's sophomore album, Metal on
Metal, and its successor. Forged in Fire, a com
bination of bad record deals, bad management
and the changing times collectively plunged
the group into obscurity—which is where they
languished until 2008, when the critically
acclaimed documentary Anvil! The Story of
Anvil was released [Ed. note: The documentary
is screening at Cin£ on Thursday, Feb. 2].
Anvil! was filmed by Sacha Gervasi, a
screenwriter perhaps best known for writing
The Terminal for Stephen Spielberg. As a teen
ager, Gervasi had toured with Anvil as their
roadie and drum technician. When he realized
that Anvil was stilt releasing albums and tour
ing even as die two remaining founding mem
bers of the band—singer/guitarist Kudlow and
drummer Robb Reiner—were approaching 50,
he flew Kudlow down to Los Angeles to dis
cuss the possibility of making a documentary
on the band's strange journey.
"When Sacha told me he wanted to make
a movie about Anvil," remembers Kudlow, "I
burst into tears because I saw the result right
there. We really had a lot to express, and I
thought that the movie would be an extraordi
narily compelling thing—if it was honest."
Anvil! follows Kudlow and Reiner through
their mundane day-jobs in Toronto and then
on an ill-conceived and poorly executed
European tour that finds the band sleeping
in train stations and nearly coming to blows
with a venue owner in Prague. In another
scene, the band is tapped to play Monsters of
Transylvania, a festival held in a 10,000-per
son arena, with 5,000 people expected to
attend. Fewer than 300 show up.
The documentary billed Anvil as a real-life
Spinal Tap, and similarities do abound. But
what sets the two apart is Kudlow's irrepress
ible optimism which surfaces even as the
band faces bankruptcy. Yes, Anvil's plight is
ridiculous, but at the same time, viewers can't
help but pull for Kudlow, who is just about
the nicest gentleman playing a guitar with a
ditdo that you’d ever hope to find. Kudlow's
goofy charm and dedication to his craft made
the film a success, and the success of the film ‘
enabled Kudlow and Reiner to quit their day-
jobs to focus exclusively on Anvil.
"It's a dream come true," he says. "But
nothing is exactly the way you think it's
gonna be. There are things that come with
success that you would never expect in a mil
lion years, and you gotta roll with it... It's
all about your state of mind. It's all a quest
for happiness, regardless of whatever external
thing you got going on in your life; it's all
about a search for happiness."
And Kudlow is happiest onstage. He still
dresses in leather with a subtle bondage
theme, and he still breaks out the trusty dildo
that he uses to play guitar on a few songs.
"The feeling hasn't changed at all," K».dlow
says about playing live. "Being out on the
road is what it's all about. That's where we
find all of our happiness—other than in bed
with our wives!"
Of course, the profile of the band's audi
ence has changed dramatically. Now, fans
of the documentary greatly outnumber fans
of the music—not that Kudlow draws such
distinctions.
"Honestly, it doesn't make a difference,"
Kudlow says. "If you're there because you like
me as a person and like the movie, I'm happy
with that I don't distinguish between the
two. There's something greedy about that.
When I go out onstage, people know me, not
necessarily my music. Thanks to the movie,
people in the audience have met my mother;
they've been to my house for Christmas. Me
and my music are one and the same."
Anvil is currently touring in support of a
new album, Juggernaut of Justice, and the
band's label is in the process of re-mastering
and re-releasing some of Anvil's early records.
According to Kudlow, another documentary
may be in the works, too. No matter what
happens, though, Kudlow is focused on find
ing balance in his life and moving forward.
"When you look back at everything in your
life," Ire says, in foU Zen-master mode, "it's
always through rose-colored glasses—even the
worst of times. You shouldn't compare your
past ail of the time; you gotta live for better
things, so that your future becomes the past
that you look at with rose-colored glasses."
John Seay
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