Heavy metal goes molten during Rocklahoma fest
BY GEORGE LANG, newsok.com
Published: July 10, 2009

PRYOR — Rocklahoma’s heavy metal kickoff Thursday was practically molten thanks to the fierce July sun. But the third-annual hard rock event at the Catch the Fever festival grounds near Pryor still enjoyed strong attendance and fleet-fingered solos from stalwarts of metal’s 1980s heyday.
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While sets today, Saturday and Sunday will feature performances by more pop-oriented bands such as Warrant, Ratt and Stryper, Thursday’s line-up was hard as nails, featuring performances by Metal Church, British heavy metal legends Saxon and headliner Anthrax.

Eddie Trunk, host of "That Metal Show” on VH1 Classic, said the success of Rocklahoma gives bands of that era an opportunity to commune with thousands of fans and has succeeded in bolstering the reputation of an often-maligned genre.

"To me personally it means a lot because it justifies how many people out there who still love it and care about it,” Trunk said. "For many years, people were made fun of for liking this music — they were marginalized and minimized. I fought that for so long — there are very wrong stereotypes about it. What it really shows to me is this is a new generation’s classic rock.”

Trunk took the stage at 5 p.m. to introduce Anvil, the early ’80s Canadian band featured in the current acclaimed documentary, "Anvil! The Story of Anvil.”

Thanks to the documentary’s success, Anvil is now experiencing a career resurgence after many of the bands it influenced, including Anthrax and Megadeth, passed it by commercially.

Trunk said that Anvil, along with more commercial bands such as Ratt and Skid Row, are pulling crowds now because they had solid hits in their prime that have endured in fans’ memories.

"What I’ve seen happen are some very mixed things, to be honest with you,” Trunk said. "I’ve seen bands who thought there was this big demand for their music, only to come back out and find out that it’s really not there. And then I’ve found that there’s bands that are pleasantly surprised that there’s more of a draw. What it comes down to is this: Do people really care and do they really miss you? Do you have hits that still endure? If you only had a hit or two or put out a record or two that didn’t really connect 20 years ago, it’s going to be a tough road. It really is.”

As for Anvil, when the band took the stage for their first festival performance in a 30-year career and launched into its set, guitarist Steve "Lips” Kudlow, wearing a Canadian maple leaf T-shirt and an ever-present smile, was so enthusiastic he tripped over a step during his opening solo.

"Watch that first step,” said Kudlow, invoking Bugs Bunny. "It’s a lulu!”