pissed me off. His wife seemed bitter because she thought she struck gold with a future millionaire, but it didn't turn out that way. His sister was truly repulsive, though. At least the wife respected his dreams.
It's one thing to be practical but still supportive, while it's another to just be unsupportive. Lipp's wife was really cool and much more in tune with what drives him to keep rocking.
I agree with every word you said.
shareThe sister respected their dreams -- she said they never got the credit they deserved -- but was also realistic that it just was not going to happen. They were the ones who need a reality check. I mean, they actually thought that EMI Canada might sign them, a heavy metal band, 20 years after that type of music was in?
And to say the wife was not supportive? Wow. She ran the household as a single parent, supporting the family and taking care of the kids and the house for months on end so Robb could go off and play rock star while earning no money. She was letting him fulfill his dream. Most men get that kind of thing out of their system way before their 50s, but she was willing to let him continue doing his thing. So she was candid that a great deal of the burden falls on her to keep the family housed and fed, that doesn't make her unsupportive.
You must be the change you seek in the world. -- Gandhi
I agree with MuchToBeGratefulFor. They got to play rock star and travel the world. Go all over Europe and Japn, while their wives stayed home and took care of the kids and the house. I bet that their wives have never taken a vacation or even left Canada.
The OP never said Rob's wife wasn't supportive, he said she seemed like she thought she was marrying into a gold mine, not just marrying him out of love. I didn't get that at all though. I thought that she would have loved to have "lived the dream" just like Rob wanted to, but I don't think she married him for that reason. Otherwise, she'd have been out the door years ago.
The sister on the other hand, her comments about how he should just give it up were pretty annoying. He was doing what he loved, without hurting anyone. Rock on man.
You'd lose that bet. While they certainly don't go every tour....they have gone to Europe, Japan, etc..
sharei don't think i've ever seen or heard anybody more truly unpleasant than robb's sister.
shareWhile I agree that Robb's sister was a little bit of a bringdown I think it's pretty realistic of her to say, after some 35 years, that it's over. One of the things that just amazed me really was the patience and support shown by both Steve and Robb's respective families. If I had family like that there's no telling what I could have accomplished. Instead, most family, after a couple of years are saying enough is enough, get a haircut and get a real job(my thanks to Mr. Thorogood).
Everyone gets everything he wants.
People keep saying that common sense should tell these men that they'll never make it big? If that's true, why did they just recently make it big?
People who said that it's not realistic to expect men in their 50's to become rock stars playing music from the 80's just don't know how the music industry works. It can be done.
I agree with that. I can't really blame Robb's sister for being frustrated and tired of it either, though.
Everyone gets everything he wants.
What, they have some fleeting fame and a few bigger gigs just because they were the subject of this documentary? That's "making it big"?
And to say this shows "it can be done": even if they have "made it big", it has nothing to do with THEIR talent. It It was because the documentary got noticed, and that was because it was considered a well-made documentary that got shown at film festivals, etc. If it was a piece of crap that hadn't gone anywhere, nothing would have changed for them. There is no larger message here about how the music industry works.
You must be the change you seek in the world. -- Gandhi
The message is that the longer you keep going at it, the greater the chance you'll strike a lucky deal.
What do you consider making it big?
Right, if you keep at it long enough, you might get lucky: one of your groupies will direct a documentary about how you never quite made it, and your disastrous tour to try one last time to make it. The chances of that, I estimate, are now zero, now that it's been done for Anvil. The novelty is gone.
What other act that never made it after 20 years, suddenly does better when the men are 50 and the band is still playing music that was the rage 20 years ago? Nobody. It only happened to Anvil because of the documentary made about them. And it's not going to happen to anyone else. I still see no great lessons for aging musicians who never made it back when they could have.
You must be the change you seek in the world. -- Gandhi
The heavy metal band Manowar (formed 1980) were much smaller than Anvil in the 80's, and just within the past ten years have gone to playing in front of crowds of 30,000 people. They're in their 50's and play 80's-style heavy metal, too.
Stuff like this happens; that's just the music biz.
Well, there you go. I seem to recall Manowar from the 80's, maybe it's my 41 year old mind playing tricks on me. I am thinking that I can't remember Anvil from the 80's maybe because their name just wasn't that clever, man there was a slough of 80's metal bands with all kinds of mean, aggressive names. Remember bands like Diamond Head (all one word?) and Grim Reaper?
Everyone gets everything he wants.
Or maybe you remember Manowar from the 80s and not Anvil because Manowar always had more of a following than Anvil ever did? That's certainly the impression I got from reading about them online. That they always had a pretty decent following in Europe. Doesn't really follow the trajectory of making it big after never having gone anywhere for 20 years, that people are saying is possible in the music biz.
You must be the change you seek in the world. -- Gandhi
Well, Anvil during their prime were touring with Bon Jovi, Twisted Sister, Scorpions, Whitesnake, etc. They did have a decent following in North America, and they were associated with the right crowd to launch them into fame. I think that would have given them an edge over Manowar. As for Grim Reaper, they were promoted quite a bit in the mainstream, but really never went anywhere, but they only made 3 albums; if they stayed at it, they might have gone somewhere.
I'm glad another user mentioned Diamond Head, because although they never really made it that big, they now get a ton of attention after Metallica began covering their songs extensively. Now, Diamond Head songs have been featured on Guitar Hero/Rock Band (can't remember which) more than once. Big royalties I would expect to come out of that.
What I'm trying to say is that fame can take a strange turn of events. Even if a band never makes it big, the royalties from being covered by huge bands or being featured in a video game could earn you a nice retirement. Things are unpredictable in metal because of the nature of the fanbase and culture. I know Lips from Anvil said that thanks to this movie, retirement won't be an issue when it comes.
amen.
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Robb's wife has a great rack. But someone needs to tell her that the '80s ended.
shareAt least Lipps siter was more supportive, she gave him a loan to continue his dream. And Robbs Dad was supporttive, whereas Lipp's wasn't, so i guess it evens out.
Besides they made it. It doesn't matter how they got there (or when) they got there. Rock on!
"What are you, some kind of doomsday machine, boy?"
I wonder if Robb continued with Anvil to avoid spending a lot of time with his wife and sister.
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