Anvil
“Justice Will Be Served”
By Bryen Dunn
(SugarBuzz Toronto)
SugarBuzz Magazine
The roots of speed metal band Anvil began in the basements of Toronto around 1973 as two teenage friends shared a passion for loud and heavy music. A few years later they were out playing the dive bars of the day, such as Larry’s Hideaway and The Gasworks. Now 30 years later, the band is enjoying new found recognition by an allegiance of fans around the world that are not even aware of their past accomplishments. “We never really stopped playing”, says drummer Robb Reiner.
As the band began, it was very much a new wave and disco sort of music scene happening. Releasing an album called “Metal on Metal” wouldn’t seem like the most appropriate thing to do at the time, but the band persevered and lived on way past the majority of the 80’s one hit wonders. The band were originally called LIPS, but changed the name to avoid any possible confusion with the funky town sounds of Lipps Inc. The LIPS version of their first album, “Hard N Heavy”, is quite rare as only 1,000 copies were manufactured. The music is the same but the cover art work is a simple lip print, red on white with the name LIPS printed in black.
This year the band is being inducted into the Indie Hall of Fame at the 9th Annual Independent Music Awards on March 14, part of Canadian Music Week. This will likely be the one and only time to see Anvil play at the infamous Royal York Hotel. “This is an achievement that will be received with gratitude. It’s nice to be recognized after all these years”, front man Lips admits. So how does a band remain together and continue to plug along three decades after forming? “The motivating factor is quite simple, we’ve believed in ourselves. When you have this kind of focus you find ways to continue on. All factors weigh against the rock and roll dream of stardom and it is an upward endless battle. It’s all about being in the right place at the right time, and the only way to make that combination work is to always be ready, and by not giving up”, Lips advises.
Anvil has had influence on countless other bands throughout the years, but what bands played a role in determining their original sound and direction? “All bands pay homage to their predecessors, and for us it was bands that came out playing hard rock music in the sixties and seventies. Cream, Jimi Hendrix, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Grand Funk, Cactus are some examples of our influences”, Lips surmises. “The music we all listen to generally works in cycles although every time it comes around it’s a little different. The interesting thing is that these days it’s still electric guitar oriented music which connects it to five previous decades of music to draw influence from”, Lips notes.
The recent resurgence and interest in the band owes a lot to one particular gentleman once referred to as “Tea Bag”. The band met him in 1982 at the Marquee Club in London when 15 year old “Tea Bag” went back stage after the show to meet the band. This lead to him working with the band as a roadie, later being mentored by Reiner on drums, and eventually playing in the band at a couple shows. Then one day he was gone, until 2005 when he was back in their lives after Lips received an unexpected email. “Tea Bag had gone Hollywood”, Reiner laughs. A couple subsequent email exchanges and phone conversations lead to Lips flying to Los Angeles to meet Sacha Gervasi (Tea Bag), chat some more and return back to Toronto. A few weeks later Gervasi flew to Toronto, got together with the band and told them they had a story to tell - Anvil! The True Story of Anvil. “He was so impressed with our tenacity he decided to make a movie about it”, Lips confides. Gervasi has presented an often hilarious account of Anvil's last-ditch quest for elusive fame and fortune
The story of Gervasi could be a separate film in itself. The self-financed feature length movie made its world premiere at the acclaimed Sundance Film Festival in 2008, where Gervasi and the band got to enjoy the long awaited spotlight of their career. The movie played six times to sold out audiences, and one cannot help but draw comparisons to the Spinal Tap saga, as the guys posed for photos appropriately decked out in their toques in true Canadian hoser style. The film has since gone on to win dozens of awards at film festivals around the world, and is finally set to make its much anticipated Canadian theatre debut. “We call it the slow burn rise of film notoriety”, Reiner laughs.
Gervaisi worked on several other productions (The Big Tease, The Terminal) as a screenwriter, but this is his directorial debut. ‘My inspiration came from real life experiences as a young kid touring with my idols. I made a film about people I love with people I love” he says. A bit of pop culture trivia to impress your friends with - 1) he is the father of Bluebell Madonna Halliwell, daughter of former Spice Girl and United Nations Ambassador Geri Halliwell, 2) he was the drummer and co-founder of a music group called Future Primitives with Gavin Rossdale, which he departed from and the band later changed their name to Bush and went on to world recognition, 3) Warner Bros had asked Gervasi to consider adapting a new children's book about a boy wizard named Harry Potter, which he turned down citing the book's "complete lack of commerciality”.
The DVD version of the movie and a follow up book are both scheduled for release sometime later this year. “The actual story is one about relationships, perseverance and dedication. The fact that we are a heavy metal band only plays as a back drop to the story”, Lips mentions. “The book provides answers to all the questions people may have had after seeing the movie”, Reiner adds.
The Anvil Experience is a very interesting concept that the band and management have developed since the release of the film. It’s a combination of film and live performance whereby the movie is screened followed by a full live music set by the band. It’s been hugely successful in New York, Los Angeles and most recently London, where the band did a one week stint of sold out shows at the Metro Theatre. There are also plans to tour this concept across Canada sometime later in 2009.
Their last release “This Is Thirteen” was their 13th release with each of the previous albums staying true to the heavy sounds they are known for. It was produced by Chris Tsangarides who also produced two of their most well known earlier albums, “Metal on Metal” and “Forged in Fire”. Over the course of their existence Anvil has had a few different members pass through. Sebastain Marino was the only non-Canadian Anvil member, who later joined Overkill, and Sebastian Bach (Skid Row) filled in for Lips once at the famed Gasworks Tavern back in 1993. The band recently lucked out again by connecting with their current manager, Rick Sales (Slayer, Bullet For My Valentine), who can only bring further accolades. Reiner says there is a new album on the horizon entitled “Juggernaut of Justice” which he describes as “a genius piece of work”. “We were criminally overlooked 30 years ago, and now justice will be served”, Reiner proclaims.
It should be noted that Gervasi has done a guest appearance on drums playing "School Love" at three different shows in the past, in Toyko, Brooklyn and Toronto. With the Canadian premiere of the movie and the Hall Of Fame induction, there’s likely a good chance number four could happen at some point during Canadian Music Week.
CMW Shows
March 13th, 9pm, Velvet Underground, 510 Queen Street West
March 14th, 8pm, Canadian Room at the Royal York Hotel, 100 Front Street West
Movie Screenings
March 14th, 3pm, NFB Theatre, 150 John Street
AMC Theatres at Dundas Square, Opens Friday April 3
The band will perform at the NYC Premiere Party of the film at The Blender Theatre on April 6, and Keanu Reeves, a long time fan of Anvil will host the LA Premiere at the Egyptian Theatre on April 7. The film will open in LA and NYC on Friday, April 10.
Current Line Up
Robb Reiner - drums
Lips - lead vocals, lead guitar
Glenn Five - bass, backing vocals
Anvil Info -www.myspace.com/anvilmetal, www.anvilmetal.tk, www.anvilthemovie.com, www.anvilmovie.com
CMW Info- www.cmw.net, www.canadianmusicfest.com/