CFN “reporter” and resident metalhead Neil T. Weakley recently caught up with the band Anvil at their movie premiere.
Neil: How did director Sacha Gervasi go from being your roadie, to writing a Spielberg movie (“The Terminal”), to directing your movie?
Anvil: We met Sacha when he was 15 years old and basically turned his life inside out and around. To be invited to go on tour with this band was a pretty incredible thing. It left a life-long impression, then he went off to school and made something of himself, became a screenwriter, got back in touch with us, and it was as if there was never a parting at all.
He felt so compelled, so inspired by our tenacity and dedication, he decided to make a movie about us, and we let him have access to such a level that it could never be done with (anyone else), in any other circumstances. This was a dear friend, we trust him with our lives, we really trust him, and it’s a beautiful, exquisite drama, absolutely amazing.
Neil:I agree. There’s so much heart in it.
Anvil (Lips): Yeah, he had the access, that’s why it’s something that could only happen once, and it took 30 years to transpire.
You also have to understand, this was not Mr. MGM or something, this is a very independent fan. It’s a beautiful thing.
Neil: That comes from a good place.
Anvil (Lips): All of it does, everything is from the heart.
Neil: Any new bands you guys are into?
Anvil: No. We’re pretty much into the classics. Old School.
Neil: Have you ever trashed a hotel?
Anvil (Lips): Um, yeah, years ago…years ago they did give us this apartment to live in, and uh, this was up in Quebec in the early days, and the guy shorted us money so we took all our groceries and stuff, and we put hamburger meat between the mattresses, and put peanut butter in the electrical wall sockets…
Neil: Oh, that must have smelled good the next day.
Anvil: You know, stuff like that.
Anvil (Robb): There was a time when we trashed hotels, leaving women naked on beds, too.
(Lips): Yeah, we did that once.
(Robb): With garbage thrown all over stuff.
Neil: Only once?
Anvil (Lips): Only once. And then of course there was the time that we had this roadie that shit in a boot. And one of the other guys took a leg of a chair and mashed in it there so she couldn’t just scrape it out.
Neil: (laughing) That’s rock n’roll.
(Random fan comes in and says “hi” to the band. We all agreed that that was pretty cool.)
Neil: When the band was called “Lips”, what were some other names you considered before changing to “Anvil”?
Anvil: Well, we had a list of names, nothing that was worthy of mentioning. Uh, “Ramrod”, “Rockrod”, all kinds of stupid things. Anvil was the magic one.
Neil: Where did you come up with that?
Anvil (Robb): Oh, I wrote it on list of things, we were in a hotel room just thinking of names and it was just one of one of them. Yeah. It just seemed so sensible, it’s just the object, the shape of it seemed so metal.
Anvil (Lips): Well, it’s the almighty metal name; it’s a hunk of heavy metal, isn’t it?
Neil: You guys wrote a song, “Mothra”. I’m a Godzilla fan, have been for years. Do you guys have any favorite Godzilla movies?
Anvil (Lips): “Godzilla vs. Megalon”
(Robb and Glenn Five): “Rodan” Yeah. They’re all good. They’re cool monsters.
Neil: We’re a bunch a comic book fans at Comedy Film Nerds. Were you guys into comics books at all?
Anvil (Robb): Absolutely, I love Batman and Superman comics.
(Glenn Five): Yeah, Batman was the coolest, X-men.
(Robb): I had a pretty cool collection of old comics.
(Lips): (unintelligible)
(Glenn Five): Supermein, best Jewish superhero.
I like how one of the members of System of a Down just spent $350, 000 on Superman # 1…
Neil: I did not hear that, wow – the Action Comics one?
Anvil (Glenn Five): yeah, 350 grand. And it was a “metal” band that bought it.
Neil: OK, three-way grudge match: Batman, The Comedian from the Watchmen, and Lemmy from Motorhead. Who wins?
Anvil: Lemmy!
(Robb): Lemmy all the way!
(Glenn Five) Although Batman is the only superhero without super powers, Lemmy still would kick his ass.
(Lips): Lemmy is a medical miracle.
Neil: How he’s alive I’ll never know.
Anvil (Lips): His doctors don’t know either!
(laughter)
Neil: so who wins a drinking contest, you guys or Motorhead?
Anvil: Motorhead!
(Robb): We don’t drink. We smoke, we like to smoke a lot of green. Yeah, that’s our thing.
Neil: That’s good.
Anvil (Robb): – I know it’s good.
Neil: What summer movies are you guys looking forward to this year, anything?
Anvil: (Glenn Five): Watchmen. I haven’t seen it yet.
Neil: The new Star Trek movie is coming out, the Wolverine Movie…
Anvil: (Glenn Five): Wolverine, yeah.
(Lips): Yeah, yeah, I could handle seeing the Wolverine movie. Somehow I can’t get into the new Star Trek, not without Captain Kirk or Captain Picard.
Neil: Favorite show?
Anvil: Yeah, the original.
(Lips): Good ol’ William Shatner. Another Canadian.
Neil: What do you say – is there going to be a sequel to this?
Anvil (Robb): We’ve talked out it. We’ve talked about making a TV series, too. So who knows? We’re just kinda watching this thing grow. Yeah, it’s been great.
Neil: So what’s next?
Anvil (Lips): Well, we’ve got a number of shows to do with this movie we’re calling the Anvil Experience. We come out and play at the end.
(Robb): Tours, and we’re recording a new album; we’re rockin’ and we’ll carry on rockin’.
(Glen Five): We’re doing what we’ve always been doing, but the rest of the world can join us this time.
(Robb): It’s lots of fun, and we’re just planning it one day at a time.
Neil: Just keep on rockin’
Anvil: That’s right.
(Glenn Five): Metal (complete with the sign of the goat hand sign)
(Lips): It’s metal tonight. (with both hands doing the sign of the goat)
Neil: Well I’m glad you guys were able to spend a few minutes, I really appreciate it.
(Then Neil asks for a CD, of course.)
Thanks guys, very much, I appreciate it.
CFN
