Catch that title? Every Anvil album name since their debut 41 years ago (1981’s Hard ’N’ Heavy) consists of three words, with the first and third words starting with the same letter. 19 times in a row, including their new album, Impact Is Imminent, which was released last Friday (May 20th). Drummer Robb Reiner says he has a book filled with potential album titles, with the same rule applied; the first and third words starting with the same letter. Impact Is Imminent is actually the first album in their history where each word starts with the same letter. But I digress. This artistic tale isn’t just about music. Robb Reiner also holds another wooden stick in his hand, albeit with a brush on the end. He calls it Fine Art Paintings, special Kodak moments that light up on canvas, when he’s not sitting on his drum stool. And he’s been snapping photos for decades, during his travels around the world pounding the pavement with cohorts frontman Steve "Lips" Kudlow and bassist Chris "Christ" Robinson.
But you try not to show your poker face. There is a shortlist of bands that touch you so deeply, you decide to make a career out of it. Reporting on music. So yes, Anvil are most certainly one of the “Bands That Built BraveWords” as it were. And to be invited into your idol’s home is about as surreal as it gets.
But before BraveWords gets the grand art tour, Reiner walks us through two truly Holy Grail moments in his career with collectibles to show! The first, a gift from a drumming icon that was a major influence on him and his style.
“How I acquired Cozy Powell’s pedals (above) was very basic,” he explains a truly remarkable tale of acquisition. “We were touring in the UK and a fellow, he was from New Zealand, was in a band that was supporting us. And of course I can't remember his name at this moment. He was a really nice guy and we were playing a lot of venues. Some venues you couldn't put the whole back-line up, but I said, 'Hey, you can play my drum kit'. And he was completely blown away by that, you know? Nobody does that, right. So, a few shows through that tour, here and there he would play my drums. So, in the last gig, he comes up to me with those (pointing to the pedals) and he presents them to me. I got these from his personal collection. He used to work for Cozy Powell as a drum tech, when he played with (Queen’s) Brian May at some point. So, Cozy gave him some stuff, he had a case, some snare stands, some pedals. As a thank you to me for letting him use my drums, he gave me those. I'm a big Cozy fan. I couldn't believe it. I didn't even want to take them. I said to him, 'Hey, dude, you don't have to give me anything. It was my pleasure'. He knew I was a big drum collector guy, and it was going to a good home. I put them in there with these ones - mine are right beside them, and they sit there. Those are a couple of Cozy Powell's drum sticks, and I've got a few pairs of those. So that's how I acquired them. It's a very uneventful story. He had ten pedals, and that's five and nine.”
And just a few feet away, we travel downstairs to visit the Reiner basement, where you walk into a drummer’s dream room and encounter an artifact so important to Canadian heavy metal history.
“As you can see, I've got a really cool collection of snare drums," he points at a truly massive wall of heavy history. "I collect snare drums. I know, it's got nothing to do with art. This is my vintage collection. I know you're not a drummer, that's cool, but if drummers come here and see this shit, they go fucking nuts. But this one here, this is the most famous drum, I guess (pictured below). This was recorded on the first three Anvil records (Hard N’ Heavy, Metal On Metal and Forged In Fire). That's the snare drum from the day and that was the sounds on those three records. It was created by that thing. You know John Tempesta? He offered me like 25,000 for that, because he collects shit too, but I told him, 'Yeah, that's cool, maybe I'll bequeath it or something', but I'm not selling it to nobody!’ Forged In Fire, one of your favourite Anvil albums, this is the sound that was recorded on that record. It's in pretty good shape still, isn't it? But it's special because of the size. It's ten inches deep. And it's made out of stainless steel, the whole thing. You know what this was? This was a Tom Tom. This was actually a Tom Tom and I converted it into a snare drum, by just putting all the snare drum shit on it, and snare drum heads, and now you got a snare drum. But it was actually a Tom Tom. Back in those days, you know, when I was a kid you had to be innovative, like 'What am I going to do? I want one of those! I want a big fat thing, but they don't make them.'"
BraveWords: So tell us about the inspiration, because some of these “Kodak moments” are everyday images from your travels. Yet they impacted so deep that you decided to spend hours painting them.
Reiner: “So, where does all this stuff come from? Where do I dream this shit up? Virtually every place that you look at, I've been at, so that's part of it. So, I'm kind of documenting my life, I guess. But not so consciously. But it's turned into that. They are all based on my photographs. ‘Yeah, that will make a good image'. When I look at nature, I see everything this way. Anywhere I look. If you square it up, I go, 'That can be a picture'. I walk around outside and I see buildings, I love buildings. The certain sunlight reflection and all that. When I see certain things, I'll go, 'Yeah' and I'll take a snap of it. Later, if it still makes me feel really good, I'll make a sketch. I'll make a little noodle, doodle. Then I'll go, 'That will definitely work', and then I'll proceed. So all these places, I've been.”
“I’ll tell you about this one. It was never published in the book it just sits here. This is the only copy I've ever made of a picture. That's an Edward Hopper, famous artist. I painted that probably in the '80's, when I was first getting the hang of painting. So that's what that is. That's a New York Summer (see above), and I've never been at that spot. But all these other ones, if you want to ask me where they are, I can probably remember
.“
BraveWords: The drum sticks on the seat is a powerful image.
Reiner: “That's the second, there's two of them. That's called Waiting To Play, Still Hope. The first one was just Waiting To Play - No Hope. This is like more hope, now. I created that, it's a drum stool in a room, and a door with some light coming in, something simple, I dreamt that up. What I do is I change the moods of my painting from whatever the picture might have. The mood is altered. the lighting, the colouring. Sunlight in certain places and the rest is like dusk or twilight. I like to do that with some of them. This one here (below) is across the
street from the studio in Germany (Soundlodge Studio in Rhauderfehn) where we recorded the last three or four albums. So the studio would be right here and if you walk outside, that's what you see."
There's a path, and the studio is in a residential neighbourhood, and you wouldn't think that. It's just like if you came into a house like this and it has a recording studio. The studio is this whole building here, and the house is attached to it. So that's where we were making the last bunch of Anvil records. I just saw the light on the path and I said, 'Yeah'. These are born out of nothing, and it’s in the middle of nowhere. It's about two hours outside of Hamburg. Close to Holland.”
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