{"id":434,"date":"2016-05-26T21:01:00","date_gmt":"2016-05-26T21:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/acloserlookmedia.com\/?p=434"},"modified":"2024-03-24T21:05:06","modified_gmt":"2024-03-24T21:05:06","slug":"anvil-hits-a-chord-for-metal-fans-at-last","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/acloserlookmedia.com\/?p=434","title":{"rendered":"Anvil hits a chord for metal fans at last"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

<\/a><\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Until eight years ago, Canada\u2019s Anvil was virtually unknown outside the underground metal community. Then the release of the documentary \u201cAnvil! The Story of Anvil\u201d broadened the band\u2019s fan base. The film\u2019s chronicle of the hardscrabble band\u2019s struggles may have reminded some of the classic mockumentary \u201cSpinal Tap,\u201d but this was no joke.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While most rockers their age would have thrown in their sweaty stage towels \u2014 the then-50-year-old guitarist Steve \u201cLips\u201d Kudlow was a truck driver delivering meals to children to pay bills in between dive-bar shows \u2014 Kudlow and his longtime bandmate, drummer Robb Reiner, carried on playing mostly empty rooms, determined to make it big.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A look at an act goaded by a dream of stardom and playing for bigger audiences, the documentary was both traumatic and funny. Since forming in 1978, the group has endured the entrance and exit of five bassists and three second guitarists before eventually becoming a formidable trio in 2007.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now in their 38th year as a band, Kudlow and Reiner \u2014 along with bassist Chris Robertson, who joined in 2014 \u2014 are finally making a living doing what they do best: playing heavy metal. Anvil plays San Francisco\u2019s DNA Lounge on Tuesday, May 31.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If anyone needs proof that Anvil still has loyal fans, the band launched a crowdfunding campaign on PledgeMusic<\/a>, which achieved 114 percent of its goal to pay for recording expenses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of business we need to handle ourselves today, and we were all amazed at the fan support. Anvil is a brand name people know, and we offered fans packages ranging from buying one of my guitar amps to having dinner with the band,\u201d said Lips, his preferred surname, in his hometown of Toronto. \u201cIt couldn\u2019t have gone any better.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI would tell anyone who wants to criticize us that we are exactly where we are meant and want to be,\u201d he added. \u201cSome people expected us to commercialize or sell out, so to speak. They would say things like, \u2018Why didn\u2019t you take advantage of the movie and write a f\u2014 pop song?\u2019 We\u2019re Anvil, damn it! That is not what we do!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The band has been releasing a steady stream of records, including its latest, \u201cAnvil Is Anvil, \u201d on Steamhammer SPV. Propelled by standout tracks that include \u201cDie for a Life\u201d and the up-tempo \u201cRun Like Hell,\u201d the new record should please longtime fans and newbies alike.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the band is still not a chart-topper in the U.S., playing for a couple of hundred rabid fans a night is more than ample reason to keep going until the wheels fall off, Lips said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a large contingency of people that still hate us, which is really quite interesting. … It\u2019s the Internet trolls who have made it hard for everyone to get ahead, no matter how good or bad,\u201d said Lips. \u201cMe? I\u2019ll take the never-ending shows as long as I can get \u2019em.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anvil:<\/strong>\u00a08 p.m. Tuesday, May 31. $15-$18. DNA Lounge, 375 11th St., S.F. (415) 626-2654.\u00a0www.dnalounge.com<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(SF Chronicle)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Until eight years ago, Canada\u2019s Anvil was virtually unknown outside the underground metal community. Then the release of the documentary \u201cAnvil! The Story of Anvil\u201d broadened the band\u2019s fan base. The film\u2019s chronicle of the hardscrabble band\u2019s struggles may have reminded some of the classic mockumentary \u201cSpinal Tap,\u201d but this was no joke. While most […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-434","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-media"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/acloserlookmedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/434","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/acloserlookmedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/acloserlookmedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acloserlookmedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acloserlookmedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=434"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/acloserlookmedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/434\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":439,"href":"https:\/\/acloserlookmedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/434\/revisions\/439"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/acloserlookmedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=434"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acloserlookmedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=434"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acloserlookmedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=434"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}