IN CONCERT
What: Slow with Pink Mountaintops and Bad Hoo
When: Thursday, Nov. 29, 8 p.m.
Where: Capital Ballroom (formerly Sugar), 858 Yates St.
Tickets: $25 at Lyle鈥檚 Place and
For three decades, Slow frontman Tom Anselmi would get asked if his legendary but long-defunct Vancouver rock band was thinking about reforming. His answer was always no.
Not maybe, not let me think about it. Simply no.
鈥淚 never even discussed it with anyone else in the group,鈥� said Anselmi, who is now based in Los Angeles and helped rebrand nightclubs for a while. 鈥淟iterally, [the idea of reforming] has never come up. I suppose the members knew better than to ask.鈥�
While band members were active in various musical projects, such as Tankhog and Copyright 鈥� and guitarist Christian Thorvaldson played for a while in the Matthew Good Band 鈥� the topic of a reunion remained a non-starter until recently, when Anselmi got tired of staving off the repeated requests.
Still unsure if a reunion 31 years after the fact was a good idea, he turned to close friend Elliott Lefko, a Toronto-bred, Los Angeles-based executive with the concert promotion company that produces the Coachella festival. 鈥淚 was blown away by his response,鈥� said Anselmi.
Lefko probably felt the same way many Slow fans did. Those who saw the group in the 鈥�80s generally believe Slow鈥檚 career was cut short long before it had reached its potential as the next big rock band out of sa国际传媒.
While Anselmi and the original band 鈥� drummer Terry Russell, bassist Stephen Hamm, and guitarists Ziggy Sigmund and Thorvaldson, all of whom live in Vancouver 鈥� started rehearsing, a tour through sa国际传媒 was conceived with Lefko鈥檚 help.
A series of rehearsals, their first time together as a group since their final show in Vancouver on Oct. 13, 1986, went amazingly well. So good, in fact, that Anselmi called Lefko afterwards and suggested they cancel the tour.
Feeling that the band, once a youthful raw-nerve-ending of music and mania, still had something to offer, even with the members now in their 50s, Anselmi didn鈥檛 want to do a one-off reunion tour for inauthentic reasons. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 want to take the cash-grab money 鈥� no one did.鈥�
A short tour was a better fit, Anselmi said, to give the band room to breathe while it readies its approach. Four dates are scheduled, starting with the band鈥檚 performance in Victoria on Thursday night, followed by three Vancouver shows at the Fox Cabaret. The Capital Ballroom show, which might very well attract flabbergasted Slow fans from across North America, will be the band鈥檚 official return to the stage after three decades of uncertainty. 鈥淚鈥檓 very surprised,鈥� Anselmi said. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 imagine this at all.鈥�
Many reunions never get this far, on account of old wounds. Slow had more than most: When the group disbanded, being cited as the cause of a well-publicized mini riot (following a disastrous gig at the Expo 鈥�86 stage in Vancouver) was the least of its worries. Drug and alcohol use and infighting led to the early demise of the group, some of whose members were still in their teens. It was a legacy few thought they could overcome, even after 30聽years of silence.
Anselmi had to start with Sigmund, whom he hadn鈥檛 spoken to since the day the band split. 鈥淭here was unfinished business. Whatever mistakes may have been made over the years, with some guy you played with when you were a teenager 鈥� it鈥檚 one thing to say I鈥檓 sorry, but it鈥檚 another thing to say let鈥檚 get together and fix this right now. That鈥檚 tangible. The minute Ziggy realized that, he became completely ready to move forward.鈥�
Initial reunion discussions began once the band鈥檚 long-out-of-print record, Against the Glass, was re-issued in the fall. Hearing the music again got everyone thinking, Anselmi said. 鈥淭here is always friction. But the minute we all got in a room together, we were excited and grateful. That鈥檚 what I didn鈥檛 expect, and that鈥檚 why this is happening.鈥�
Slow has plans to record new material in January, having written five new songs together 鈥� which amounts to exactly half of their career output to date. More will be forthcoming, with an extensive run of dates being booked for 2018. 鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 even feel like a reunion,鈥� Anselmi said. 鈥淚s everyone better? A lot better.鈥�
Slow is often cited as the precursor to Seattle group Nirvana, albeit not in sound. They shared similar philosophies about mixing music with mania, with celebrity and fame sitting at the very bottom of their bucket lists. Both bands drew heavy attention during their infancy from cheque-writing major labels; Nirvana eventually took the bait, but flamed out just four years after signing their contract. In a strange twist, Slow has yet to reach its potential.
With the reunion, the band few thought would emerge from the 鈥�80s alive has outlived practically every one of its contemporaries.
鈥淎 lot of the stuff that would have happened to the band had we stayed together 鈥� we would have been signed, and inevitably we would have diluted what were doing 鈥� it ended up being a pure thing. It happened, it was over, and now Slow can be anything we want, as long as it鈥檚 true to the chemistry of the band.鈥�
Asked if Slow feels pressure to live up to the legend, he scoffed. 鈥淭his is probably the best rock 鈥檔鈥� roll band in the world right now. This is the real deal. I wouldn鈥檛 be doing it otherwise. I鈥檓 very, very, very fussy, and I don鈥檛 give a f--k about money. But this is really, really good.鈥�
