On April 15th, Canadian metal legends Anvil played the Red Dog in Peterborough, Ontario and were joined for three songs by original guitarist Dave Allison. Check out fan-filmed video below of Allison performing "Metal On Metal", "Forged In Fire" with Anvil for the first time in 27 years. 

 

 

Goldminemag.com recently caught up with Anvil frontman Lips to discuss the band's latest album, Anvil Is Anvil, and quitting his day job late in life for a full time career in music. Following is an excerpt from the interview.

GM: You’re done with day jobs and you’re 60 now… congratulations, but it appears that that fact means nothing as far as slowing down or thinking any differently about your work. Is that fair to say?

Lips: "I’ve retired into work! I went from back-breaking fucking horrible shit to doing this rock thing, and it’s like I’m on a constant vacation. Every fucking night on the road is a Friday or Saturday. I lose all perception of time, place, date. I don’t know the day of the month. You couldn’t dream of something this good to retire to! I don’t understand why these bands are doing their farewell tours. They should be so fucking grateful that they can continue. Choosing not to is beyond my understanding. We’re making up for a lot of time that we didn’t get to tour. I didn’t burn myself out on the road in my 20s and 30s because I had to make a living at home. Having said that, me making a living at home, I was able to maintain a still wonderful relationship with my wife. I have children that are all grown up. My youngest is in university. It’s not like the world is on my shoulders. A lot of the pressures that you get in younger years are gone. So now I go away and I don’t feel guilty that I’m not home. It’s quite comfortable. It’s not back-breaking. It’s a great place to end up being."

GM: I loved it when somebody asked Willie Nelson when he was going to retire, and he said, “All I do is play music and golf; which one do you want me to quit?”

Lips: (big laughs) "Well, he’s right! That’s why I say that if it’s natural what you do and it’s not a physical impossibility, then certainly you go for it as long as you can. Why wouldn’t you? You derive so much enjoyment from it, it’s not something to really retire from. It’s not like a job. I’ve never looked at music as a job. It’s what I do. What else would you do? Is breathing a job?"

Go to this location for the complete interview.

The band's tour schedule is as follows:

April
21 - Kingston, ON - Overtime Sports Bar      
22 - Hamilton, ON - This Ain't Hollywood
27 - Québec City, QC - L'Anti Bar & Spectacles    
28 - Montreal, QC - Foufounes Electrique   
29 - Jonquière, QC - Salle Le 4 Barils      

May
5 - Ottawa, ON - The Brass Monkey
26 - Sudbury, ON - The Asylum    
27 - Sudbury, ON - The Asylum

June
1 - Kitchener, ON - Starlight
2 - Toronto, ON - Coalition