Anvil’s Steve ‘Lips’ Kudlow: Our Main Currency Is Drumming

A few weeks ago, Anvil bassist Glenn Five left the band after a 15 year run. Upon his departure, Five made it clear that he didn’t leave the band on bad terms or harbor any animosity but did say that he felt more like a hired hand than a contributing member of the band, “The truth is, sadly, that [guitarist] Lips [Kudlow] and [drummer] Robb [Reiner] have always considered me as little more than just their bass player. The other guy in their band.”

Although Steve 'Lips' Kudlow and Robb Reiner haven’t said much about the split, Kudlow did recently comment on his longstanding chemistry with Reiner in an interview with the Dallas Observer. When asked if there could be an Anvil without both Steve and Robb, Kudlow’s answer was a simple one: “No.” He expanded upon that saying, “The simple answer is no. It will always have to be both of us, and there are a hundred and one reasons why. We started to play together in 1973, and we were inseparable.”

That time spent together has made them very in tune with each other. "I'm the perfect guitar player for a drummer because I know what he's always doing,” said Kudlow. “Robb always knows what I'm doing, too. Our musical vocabulary is virtually identical. We'll put songs together by simply discussing them.”

Kudlow went as far to say, “The main currency of Anvil is drumming. Anvil is about drumming. I write songs to accentuate drums, because I've got a great drummer.” Now that’s some high praise for his bandmate!

Anvil are on tour through the end of February, check out all the remaining dates here.