"Anvil! The Story of Anvil"

Is there a point when it’s time to change your plans? You know, something just isn’t working right that you have been working on for so long? How about a business you started that just isn’t taking off? What about an acting career that has nothinged out, which led to you faking a stunt about putting your kids up in a balloon to get on TV?

Well, if the band “Anvil” is any indication, you should never quit pursuing your passion.

“Anvil” is a Candian metal band that has/had a legitimate talent. They were known back in the early 80’s as a new type of metal that brought the “heavy” into the mix. They shared the stage and influenced the likes of Slayer, Twisted Sister, Metallica, and Guns N Roses. And while all those bands went on to brainwash your children, “Anvil” was never let out of its cage to bang its head all over your stereo. No label picked them up, no band they inspired took them on tour. Many years, albums, and dwindling shows later, “Anvil” was finding itself to be a has been comprised of 4 old men who never graduated from Metal University.

So what happened? Where did they go? Should you and I care? The documentary “Anvil! The Story of Anvil” answers all these questions. It picks up in modern day where the guys get hooked up to go on an international tour. Some of the shows are genuinely great, as they share festival stages with other well known metal bands. Some of them are miserable, as we painfully share in the genuine heartbreak these guys go through. It is here where the Spinal Tap references are more than applicable.

Speaking of guys, while bass and lead guitar have been a rotating play list for “Anvil,” drummer Robb Reiner and lead singer Steve “Lips” Kudlow have been faithful and true back to where it all started in the earliest of the 1980’s. They are the kind of best friends who might as well be related. They fight and spit like brothers, and they would die for one another like brothers. It gives the movie a heart and soul that other films of its nature just don’t have. They are the reason you will end up caring, even if you hate the music.

But, as much as I cared about the guys and their never ending passion, it begs the question – When do you stop?

While watching the film, I couldn’t help but wonder. Lips and Reiner’s passion for their music and friendship is so strong, that “Anvil” is the marriage and the wives are the mistress. They work low end jobs to pay the bills. Each man has given up everything for the dream of being a full time touring musician. Even though the ship left the port when Nirvana docked in the 90’s, they still tightly held on to the dream.

Regardless, I absolutely loved this documentary because I know what it feels like to want to play music so badly that you would give up everything to do it. Ask anyone who plays music: If someone today were to present you with the opportunity play music for a living, would you drop everything and do it? The answer is “yes.” When you are fulfilling your passion, you feel a type of happy that doesn’t exist anywhere else in the world. Nothing compares to it. This is the sort of thing where no matter if 10 or 1000 people show up, you still play with the same energy because you love the sound. You feel that feeling, and you get high on it. It is a beautiful thing to know your passion, and to relish in it. Playing music for these guys has never been a job they had to do. For them, it's why they breathe.

Since the film came out, “Anvil” has been getting more and more recognition. But I think that it may not be for the reasons they had hoped for. It is their story of the years and years of never giving up that makes me root for them, not their music. It is a double edged sword of recognition, but also novelty. Old school metalheads either knew about the band and forgot, or they have always cared. These are the ones “Anvil” will affect the most. But the rest of us probably wouldn’t go out and buy the soundtrack.

“Anvil” is a weird sort of gambling addiction for the guys. They go to the tables and play their cards, only to sometimes win. That type of positive reinforcement is called addiction. They tasted something once and have been trying to find it again ever since. However, I know of more than a few folks who are paying off recording debts in their parent’s basements while pimping out their myspace music page. You get stuck, and like an addiction it can ruin your life. You believe that someday something will happen. You’ll get that experience again, or that feeling will come back. Why go to school and get a degree if the band might take off? Why risk not playing a show? You have to wonder how far you go to hang onto the dream before moving on.

As a whole, I have a really mixed reaction. I can’t help but be happy that since the film released, they have only gotten more recognition due to the timely “don’t give up” message. It’s true, don’t give up on your passion. But the other side of me says sometimes, it’s best to know when to quit, or at least change your plans. I am grateful that in the case of “Anvil,” they stuck it out till the end.

You will be too.