Anvil to Play Rocklahoma
Sunday, May 17, 2009 at 12:20AM From the official release:
PRYOR, OK—Eighties Rock Band Anvil has been signed on to play Rocklahoma on Thursday, July 9.
“Anvil! The Story of Anvil” is the directorial debut of screenwriter Sacha Gervasi (“The Terminal”) and was produced by Rebecca Yeldham (“The Kite Runner” and “The Motorcycle Diaries”). The film follows Steve “Lips” Kudlow and Robb Reiner and their band, Anvil, which released one of the heaviest albums in metal history, 1982’s Metal on Metal. The album influenced an entire musical generation of rock bands, including Metallica, Slayer, and Anthrax, who all went on to sell millions of records. Anvil, on the other hand, took a different path—straight to obscurity. The film is both entertaining and touching as it follows their last-ditch quest for the fame and fortune that has been so elusive to them. “Anvil! The Story of Anvil” is a timeless tale of survival and the unadulterated passion it takes to follow your dream, year after year.
With the support of VH1 and VH1 Classic, a feature documentary, and an immeasurable amount of will and determination, the band is picking up where they left off twenty-five years ago. “Anvil! The Story of Anvil” is distributed by VH1 in association with Abramorama. This fall, VH1 will release the film on television and DVD under its Emmy Award-winning “VH1 Rock Docs” franchise. “Anvil! The Story of Anvil” premiered at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival, where it received acclaim from critics and audiences alike. It went on to win the Audience Awards at the 2008 Los Angeles Film Festival, 2008 Sydney Film Festival, and 2009 Jameson Dublin International Film Festival, as well as the Best Documentary Feature Awards at 2008 Galway Film Fleadh, 2008 Calgary Film Festival, 2008 Edmonton Film Festival, and 2009 Jameson Dublin International Film Festival. The film was also nominated for the Truer Than Fiction Award at the 2009 Film Independent Spirit Awards. The film was released in the UK to critical acclaim on February 20, 2009.
“This film is so much more than a documentary about the roots of metal. It's a story about the power of perseverance and friendship and the passion that drives them,” said Tom Calderone, President of VH1. “ ‘Anvil! The Story of Anvil’ has a huge heart and
will resonate with all of our viewers. This is the type of project that drew me into the VH1 fold and makes me especially proud to work here.”
“Anvil! The Story of Anvil” will be shown in its entirety Thursday Night at Rocklahoma on the jumbo tron screens following the performance of Anthrax.
Rocklahoma July 9-12 in Pryor, Oklahoma has been called by many throughout the world as the “Woodstock” of Eighties Rock Music
The lineup on each of the four days is as follows:
Thursday: Anthrax, Saxon, Overkill, Anvil, Metal Church and Leatherwolf.
Friday: RATT, Night Ranger, Warrant, Danger Danger, Helix and Hericane Alice
Saturday: Stryper, Thin Lizzy, KIX, KEEL, Lizzy Borden and Gypsy Pistoleros
Sunday: Twisted Sister, Skid Row, Great White, Nelson, Bonfire and Vixen
Reader Comments (35)
Fuck you. You have no idea what I have sacrificed , and will continue to sacrifice to save the industry.
And you call it a fucking EGO???
There were many people in this world who made shit happen because they believed in it enough to make it happen (from Abraham Lincoln to Jesus) - they also had peeps call them egotistical and arrogant and tried to silence them because they wanted to 'buck the system'.
I'll get off my soapbox and do things my way. I know who my friends and enemies are. I'm sorry you don't like my tenacity. But I didn't get 3 stages at Rocklahoma because I sat back and and pretend to be an egomaniac. I got them because I fucking fought for it and wanted them badly enough.
So that's it. Call me whatever you want , but it ain't gonna stop me from obtaining my goals.
Let me make myself abundantly clear. I have never said you CAN'T listen to this or you CAN'T listen to that. I stated my opinion about what I think SUCKS.
If you can't stand the heat get out of the kitchen.
OUT.
"Insult anyone and everyone that doesn’t adhere to the same rigid taste in music as yourself"
Thats EXACTLY what YOU are doing. Except I have the widest range of music in my collection of anyone you'll ever meet. From Spyro Gyra to Slayer - so don't call me rigid.
"3.Engage in petty bickering, attempting to one up everyone "
When have I one-upped ANYONE?? Voicing an opinion is tring to one-up someone??????
"Boast about your label, who you know, and how long you’ve been in the business"
Dude - go back and look at your posts. Everytime I see your post it's something about "how you partied with so and so" or "you've been in this business for 20 years and have been there blah blah blah".
Talk about the pot calling the kettle black.
I have NEVER name-dropped. EVER!!
"Make HUGE, sweeping statements about your vision for saving the world"
Saving the music industry - yes thats my vision. And considering I just bought my first FM Radio Station today - I am one step closer. Thanks.
"Remain completely oblivious to everyone sitting back and literally watching your ego rage out of control every time you post here"
Because I think most ClearChannel bands suck - that is called having an ego??
Unbelievable.
1 - I agree with you, first that A7X were the best band there, and second that success does not equal quality. But, lack of success does not prove quality either. I am stoked for Anvil at ROK. They are hardly a successful band ( and yes, I knew who they were and owned the CDs well before the movie ). But, I am not on some quest for indie cred. I just like who I like.
2 - If the 90s come back, it will be in a few years, when the people who liked grunge, are willing to spend money on feeling 15 again, as happened to Poison/Motley/et al. Nostalgia is inevitable, anyone who said otherwise, was a moron. And anyone who says it's impossible for the 90s generation to feel it, is kidding themselves. Will I get into it ? Of course not. Screw grunge, I hate that crap. But, it's music, and it's the music of a generation. They will make it profitable for it to come back, eventually.
I think A7X is the band that stands a chance of being remembered. Great songs, great show, can REALLY play. How is that not what the 80s was about ?
I thought Motley was sad, tired and played out. A7X wiped the stage with them. It was sad.
Clutch was also incredible, but I doubt you'd think so, they are not metal, they are more of a jam band, IMO.
As for the bands at ROTR not mattering 10 or 15 years from now, some of them have already been around that long and are still making it.
Evil, evil clearchannel....
I am seeing some inconsistancies in your posts. See the following:
I have the widest range of music in my collection of anyone you'll ever meet. From Spyro Gyra to Slayer - so don't call me rigid.
A little further down (same post) find this:
"I have NEVER name-dropped. EVER!!"
Now seriously. I have tried to defend you when my friends here tell me you're off your rocker. But, turns out, they might be right.
That may be true for some, but there were thousands of "Those Kids" buying cds, and standing in line to meet the bands.
I counter, YOU weren't there for the music. If you were there at all, you had no interest in seeing bands succeed on stage. You were there to spew negativity and your close minded views.
IF you were there.
He's right, to a point. But, in the same way, when that many people went to see Poison in 1988, the same percentage were not THERE for the music, either. How many Maiden/Motorhead/Poison/Motley shirts did we see on the weekend ? What I don't get is, some of these people are his market, they are who may well buy CDs from him, and he wants to attack them.
And, Sam, I've tried to be fair and not accuse you, but if you were there, and you did not look us up, that's just plain bizarre.
Christian , I'm sorry I cannot agree with your comments , but it's just the way it is. Maybe I enjoyed Crue because they played songs that I knew and actually had uplifting songs. A7x is a good band , but they ruin it for me every time with those ridiculous screamo vocals. I used to be into Death Metal when I was 18....I grew up.
I was there to critique and see what the big deal was. There wasn't. Rocklahoma means a lot more to ME and it's still the greatest multi-day event in America. No attitudes , no bottle-throwing , no fights , no angst. Just talent. And with bands like Bonfire and Stryper and Icon within its line-up , there isn't one band at ROTR that I wanted to see more than any of those 3.
I don't care how popular a band is , it's the fundamental message they leave us with and if Slipknot's "Fuck the World" is something you enjoy then they have succeeded. I tend to like a little more positivity in my music , thanks.
Music has always conveyed a powerful message to the youth. It drives them. It motivates them. Kids are more fucked up today than ever before. Yeh I did some dumb shit too as a teen but nothing like these kids , nothing like this generation.
The reason festivals like Rocklahoma and Rock Gone Wild are so important , is the 'scene' itself. The atmosphere it creates. The positive energy. I didn't feel that at ROTR and it doesn't matter if 10 or 10,000 show up at these festivals - if you cannot appreciate carrying the torch for that kind of atmosphere , then that's pretty sad.
It's not being stuck in a decade. Talk to someone like Ronnie Dio or Dee Snider about 'being stuck in a decade'. It's not an 'era' , it's a lifestyle. You're either in or yer out.
Ask yourself. Are you in or are you out?
What I do know after spending a weekend at ROTR and listening to a lot of conversations is that despite whatever success you have achieved, you have become a punchline, and you're taking your artists down with you.
Is that how you plan to save music?
1 - you think all 80s bands had uplifting lyrics ? Really ? So long as we're on Crue, what's 'you're all I need' about ? You sound like an old fart when you talk about 'kids today'. I don't think they are any more messed up than we are. The bands lyrics do what they are supposed to do. That is, they alienate old people, before anything. Fade to black, anyone ? One assumes that people = shit is cathartic to kids today, as fade to black was for me when I felt bad as a teen.
2 - A7X is not screamo. He's a better singer, and sings more than, say, Lemmy, or Udo.
3 - yes, the bottle throwing is stupid, and the pit is too violent for my tastes. It's rarely I am not at the barrier at a show.
However, I had a good time, and I saw some awesome bands. I discovered a few bands. I saw some bands I thought sucked. When I hated a band at ROTR I hated it more than I will at ROK, b/c ROTR was a more diverse festival. But, I would never see a band as cool as Clutch at ROK, so for me, it evens out, and either way, I don't have an 'in or out' mentality. I spend a lot of time and money supporting and enjoying 80s bands. I refuse to convince myself that I should deny myself other music I enjoy, that that would somehow benefit the bands I grew up with, if I live in a bubble and become another old fart who mutters about kids today and their music.
More bands with singers not as good as A7X:
Anthrax ( as of this year )
Overkill
Anvil
Testament
Venom
"Insult anyone and everyone that doesn’t adhere to the same rigid taste in music as yourself” (my statement)
“Thats EXACTLY what YOU are doing. Except I have the widest range of music in my collection of anyone you'll ever meet. From Spyro Gyra to Slayer - so don't call me rigid.”
No, Sam, I have never intentionally insulted anyone on this board or anywhere else for not having the same tastes as myself. Yes, I have snickered about Hinder, but I’ve also tendered all my comments about bands I don’t personally care for with a hearty “more power to ‘em”. Go back and read my posts about Adam Lambert. You on the other hand have dozens of posts about how whole genres, decades, and generations of musicians and bands have sucked and how anyone that likes them are sheep. So, yes, I call you rigid. If you’re so eclectic in your musical tastes then why do you put down every band you don’t personally like? And “the widest range of music in my collection of anyone you’ll ever meet” is a pretty sweeping statement.
“When have I one-upped ANYONE?? Voicing an opinion is tring to one-up someone??????”
No, voicing an opinion is voicing an opinion, ranting is ranting. You can say “I like Tammy Wynette” without saying “I like Tammy Wynette and if you don’t then you’re just a fucktard”.
"Boast about your label, who you know, and how long you’ve been in the business" (my statement)
“Dude - go back and look at your posts. Everytime I see your post it's something about "how you partied with so and so" or "you've been in this business for 20 years and have been there blah blah blah". Talk about the pot calling the kettle black. I have NEVER name-dropped. EVER!!”
Bullshit. I may occasionally post an amusing anecdote from my past because I think it might be of interest to others here; if not then I apologize for monopolizing the board with my witticisms and stories. And get it right, Sam, I’ve been in this business for 30 years, not 20. I’m proud of my achievements – on whatever level – but I don’t think that makes me any better than anybody else.
You didn’t seem to have an issue with my history or my taste in music when you signed my band to Retrospect Records, did you?
Congratulations on buying your first FM station. Seriously. As far as the ego question, yes, you do seem to have a runaway ego. Some of your posts, SOME of them are actually very well thought out and make sense. I don’t doubt that you know a lot about music; I don’t doubt that you’re an accomplished musician. I also don’t doubt that at your core, you’re a nice enough guy. But when you get ramped up you make statements that just piss people off and it’s at the expense of your reputation and in turn, the reputation of the artists on your label. You’re costing yourself sales, man.
Just my two cents.