ANVIL Frontman: 'We're Struggling The Same As We Always Have'

John Soeder of The Plain Dealer recently conducted an interview with guitarist/vocalist Steve "Lips" Kudlow of Canadian metal legends ANVIL. A few excerpts from the chat follow below.

On ANVIL's "success" following the release of the band's hit documentary, "Anvil! The Story of Anvil":

"By 'success,' do you mean 'money?' If you mean in terms of money, I'm not successful. I'm [expletive] broke!"

On how the movie changed ANVIL's career:

"Not in enough ways. We're struggling the same as we always have. Gigs are not easy to come by. A lot of stuff hasn't changed.

"As far as being noticed on the street and people coming up to you and asking for an autograph or a picture, it's endless.

"I'm not complaining. . . . People have been embracing the band on many different personal levels. When we play, people aren't necessarily there for our music. They're there because they know us from the movie.

"We're playing in front of people who have never been to a metal show in their life. They may very well buy our CD. But God only knows if they're listening to it.

"When they buy our CD, it's an emotional buy: 'I really like these guys, and they deserve to have their record sold and for me to buy it.' Whether they're really enjoying it, I don't know."

On the virtue of perseverance:

"You get condemned for it, too.

"People say, 'If you've done that many albums and you never made it, you guys must suck.' Everybody figures if you don't make it instantly, you're never going to make it.

"To me, success is really doing what you love and getting away with it.

"It's as simple as that. Most people don't do what they love, which is quite sad."

Read more from The Plain Dealer.

ANVIL played its rendition of "Hanukkah! Hanukkah!" on "The Hour Holiday Special" on CBC in Canada. The performance, which first aired on December 21, can be viewed below. It is also available for download at this location.