Sacha was also witness to the less salubrious aspects of road life. It was like I’d died and gone to heaven.” I learnt so much over those two months and by the end of the tour Robb would even let me join the band onstage. “I watched Robb play every night and I was thinking, ‘This is unbelievable: here I am watching the best drummer in the world.’ At that time he had turned down a gig with Ozzy because he wouldn’t turn his back on Anvil. Although still very much a minor, Gervasi used the fact that his parents were divorced and living on either side of the continent to his advantage and soon found himself on the road doing backline, merchandise and – much to his delight – setting up Robb Reiner’s drums. Impressed by their new British friend the band offered young Teabag a summer slot as roadie on their American tour. I showed them all the sights – Westminster Abbey, Carnaby Street, Abbey Road – and they christened me Teabag.” “They told me that they’d never been to London before,” said Sacha, whose motormouth delivery and genuine enthusiasm seems to have powered most of the publicity for the movie, “so I offered to be their tour guide and they adopted me as their mascot. The movie has already won awards all over the world with fans including Pearl Jam, Ozzy Osbourne, Weezer and Keanu Reeves, and glowing reviews from heavyweights like Michael Moore (“The best documentary I’ve seen in years!”) and the Wall Street Journal (“No other film that I saw at Sundance bought me to tears as much as Anvil!”).Ī tale of triumph over tragedy, it is skilfully crafted and avoids falling into tired clichés and cynicism by virtue of the fact that Sacha Gervasi, the man who put it together, was and still is a genuine fan.Īfter reading our Anvil feature in Sounds, the schoolboy Gervasi caught the band at the Marquee and blagged his way backstage only to be welcomed by the disaffected, amiable Canukes who seemed more interested in the genuine fans than the NWOBHM royalty who had come to pay their respects. ![]() The closing scenes are guaranteed to get even the hardest of rockers reaching for the Kleenex. Full of unrehearsed hilarity – a highlight being the final date of a disastrous European tour which culminates at the Monsters Of Transylvania rock festival, where only 200 Romanian headbangers show up and the support act is a raffle – there are also moments of victory (like when the band are reunited with producer Chris Tsangerides to record their new album, This Is Thirteen). “Sometimes I close my eyes and imagine I am playing to a full house,” Lips admits during one of the many melancholy moments in the film. There is no stage, lights or even a roadcrew, but the band are still playing as if their lives depend on it. The documentary kicks off with the band at the height of their powers, performing at a sold-out Japanese festival, and then quickly cuts to the present day and the less salubrious surroundings of a Toronto bar populated by their faithful few older fans (or ‘dogs’, as they describe themselves) in various states of disrepair, some of whom appear to be drinking beer through their studded noses. 26 years later, Lips and Robb are still plying their trade – still believing that their big break is just around the corner. ![]() ![]() They had the keys to the proverbial kingdom and then they disappeared. In the early 80s, Anvil (Steven ‘Lips’ Kudlow, guitar/vocals, Robb Reiner, drums, Ian Dickson, bass, and Dave ‘Squirlly’ Allison on guitar/vocals) had everything going for them: a major record deal, top producer, heavyweight management, positive press, and a successful string of shows at the legendary Marquee club (witnessed by rock royalty like Motorhead and Def Leppard). It is a tragicomedy/homage/all-too-familiar tale of what happens to the 99 per cent of the musicians who don’t make it in this business – but maybe this time it comes with a happy ending. Gervasi’s film, Anvil! The Story of Anvil documents the relative rise and spectacular fall of the Canadian cult heroes who at one time were acknowledged as the precursors to the thrash metal movement.
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