Anvil frontman Lips feels you don’t start with a bassist of Chris Robertson’s caliber but you earn it
Anvil frontman Lips feels you don’t start with a bassist of Chris Robertson’s caliber but you earn it
Anvil co-founder and frontman Steve “Lips” Kudlow was recently interviewed by Andrew Daly for Vinyl Writer Music. Lips was promoting Anvil’s 18th studio album Impact Is Imminent, which was just released via AFM Records three days ago (on May 20, 2022).
During the interview, Lips provided some high praise for his bandmates — drummer Robb Reiner and bassist Chris Robertson. “… And then you add a combination of having a bass player that is as dialed in, and as incredibly spontaneous as your drummer, it’s actually quite amusing. At some point, it’s like, “All I’m doing is hitting a chord, what the fuck are you guys doing back there?” [Laughs]. It’s just amazing, those two are just amazing. Some of the chops that I’m hearing going on and what’s actually on this album are insane. All people have to do is sit and listen to the bass playing, and the drumming, and after a while, they’re gonna come to realize what’s going on, and they’re gonna go, “What the fuck am I hearing? They’re both crazy.” You can hear that they both connected as human beings to the music – it’s actually there – and they really align with each other. It’s magical stuff, man. I mean, I’ve always aligned with Robb anyway, so that’s always been there. It’s one thing to actually find a bass player that actually fits, but it’s another to have what we now have, where it’s a phenomenon. Honestly, there’s a sound that emanates, there’s a certain sound that sometimes comes from between the bass and drums, there’s an enveloping tone, I can’t even describe it. I’ve never heard anything like that in the studio before, but I’ve heard it when we play live many times, but finally, that tonal quality is actually being captured on an album for the first time. I’ve actually heard it, and it’s like, “Holy shit, man, my fucking balls are falling out of my fucking underwear.” [Laughs].
Honestly, man, it’s really exciting. It’s just something really phenomenal to have. And you only acquire something like that when you’ve worked hard enough, and created a legendary name of a band, which you need in order to attract somebody of Chris’s caliber. You need to mean something to people so that they want to belong in the band, and with that, you’re giving them something in return. You’re offering them something if you understand what I’m saying. Trust me, I know from experience, you don’t just start out with a player like this – you earn it. And that’s how I feel about what’s happened, it’s not an easy thing to acquire, and it’s not just the abilities of that person, it’s their personality as well. That’s got to work in a huge way. It’s a huge part of it, especially for Anvil. So, this really is a magical time for Anvil this the second time around. It’s the right place, the right people, the right time, and everything is falling into place. We’re earning our way to what we want to do, and that’s all there is to it. What we want to do is continue on, be able to play, and enjoy our lives. Are we gonna make a million bucks? No. And that won’t be enough anyway, so what difference does it make?”
You can read the rest of the interview with Lips at Vinyl Writer Music‘s website.
Anvil‘s “Take A Lesson” video (from Impact Is Imminent album):