Granted, us here in Fresno never got near the theatrical release of the VH1 documentary “Anvil: The Story of Anvil,” which has been acclaimed as one of the best documentaries of recent years. But it did air on VH1 recently and dropped on DVD today. To watch good friends like Steve “Lips” Kudlow and drummer Robb Reiner see their dreams come true after 35 years is heartwarming.
The 30-date North American tour launches Jan. 7 at House of Blues Cleveland and hits places like Chicago, Buffalo, Atlanta, Seattle and Spokane through Feb. 13. Some of the marquee venues the band gets to play include Irving Plaza, Theatre of Living Arts and The Fillmore.
Anvil was expected to be one of the top hair-metal bands of the ’80s but things never worked out for them. But unlike other bands, Anvil stayed together and, even if they were playing to 100 fans (or less), they never lost hope despite no agency or management to speak of.
That all changed with the documentary. Since then they signed with Pinnacle Entertainment, which knows how to book tours for acts like Oasis, Rob Zombie, Slayer and Zappa Plays Zappa. Certainly Anvil’s tour has been in the works for a while and it looks like the folks at Pinnacle gave Anvil the best road trip they ever could have had.
The VH1 fan club presale began today and runs through Oct. 8 at 10 p.m. The Live Nation pre-sale begins Oct. 7 at 10 a.m. and runs through Oct. 8 at 10 p.m. The public onsale begins Oct. 9 at 10 a.m. All times local. For more information, please click here for Anvil’s Web site.