Alice Cooper

Le fameux "The Nightmare Returns" d'Alice Cooper, enregistré à Halloween 86, sera enfin disponible en dvd le 28 Août :

01. Intro tape
02. Welcome To My Nighmare
03. Billion Dollar Babies
04. Years Ago (instrumental excerpt)
05. No More Mister Nice Guy
06. Years Ago (instrumental excerpt)
07. Be My Lover
08. I'm Eighteen
09. The World Needs Guts
10. Give It Up
11. Cold Ethyl
12. Only Women Bleed
13. Go To Hell
14. Ballad Of Dwight Fry
15. Teenage Frankenstein
16. Sick Things
17. I Love The Dead
18. School's Out
19. Elected
20. Under My Wheels

et pour notre plus grand plaisir, le tracklisting définitif du box dvd/cd de Alice Cooper "Live in Montreux 2005" il & sortie le 29 mai en europe

DVD:

01. Department of Youth
02. No More Mr. Nice Guy
03. Dirty Diamonds
04. Billion Dollar Babies
05. Be My Lover
06. Lost in America
07. I Never Cry
08. Woman of Mass Destruction
09. I'm Eighteen
10. Between High School and The Old School
11. What Do You Want From Me?
12. Is it My Body?
13. Go to Hell
14. The Black Widow
15. Gimme
16. Feed My Frankenstein
17. Welcome To My Nightmare
18. The Awakening
19. Steven
20. Only Women Bleed
21. Ballad of Dwight Fry
22. Killer
23. I Love the Dead
24. School's Out
25. Poison
26. Wish I Were Born in Beverly Hills
27. Under My Wheels

CD:
01. Department of Youth
02. No More Mr. Nice Guy
03. Dirty Diamonds
04. Billion Dollar Babies
05. Be My Lover
06. Lost in America
07. I Never Cry
08. Woman of Mass Destruction
09. I'm Eighteen
10. Between High School and The Old School
11. What Do You Want From Me?
12. Is it My Body?
13. Gimme
14. Feed My Frankenstein
15. Welcome To My Nightmare
16. School's Out
17. Poison
18. Wish I Were Born in Beverly Hills
19. Under My Wheels

ALICE COOPER To Guest On The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson This Week


ALICE COOPER is the musical guest on The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson on Wednesday, August 16th at 12:35 PM ET. For more information on the program head to this locat : http://www.cbs.com/latenight/latelate/

ALICE COOPER To Start Preproduction On New Album In September


The following report is courtesy of Gerald M. Gay from the Arizona Daily Star:

ALICE COOPER killed a man this year. Not just killed him. Beat him, kicked him, shot him in the head and then tried to steal his favorite chair. The man survived. The two were only filming a scene for an episode of Monk, which aired on the USA network July 14. Truth be told, Cooper probably came out in worse shape than his supposed victim.

"I was so sore the next day," said the rock star in a phone interview two weeks ago from his Scottsdale home. "I ended up doing the fight scene for five or six hours. We shot it maybe 30 different times. It was really complicated."

The experience was a workout but nothing the longtime shock rocker couldn't handle. At 58 years old, Cooper is constantly putting his body and mind to the test. He hosts a radio show, Nights With Alice Cooper, five nights a week that is syndicated on rock stations across the country including Tucson's KLPX 96.1 FM. He has stayed active in his native Phoenix area community, holding golf tournaments, overseeing activity at his popular eatery Alice Cooperstown and most recently announcing his fund-raising efforts for a 20,000-square-foot, $3 million Christian teen activity center, scheduled to begin construction sometime next year. All of this on top of one ferocious touring schedule. Cooper just finished several months of touring through Canada, Europe, the Midwest and the West Coast.

"Right now, I am being sort of rewarded for not smoking cigarettes all my life," Cooper said. "I know that I can do five shows a week whereas most of those guys do two — the STEVEN TYLERS and OZZY OSBOURNES. That has a lot to do with how much wear and tear they put on their bodies. I can get up and do an hour-and-45-minutes now and never feel better."

Cooper is even starting production on a new album in September, due out sometime early next year, but for now the longtime musician is still touring off of his 2006 Live in Montreux CD/DVD and 2005 studio release, Dirty Diamonds.

To read the entire interview head to this location.
http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/ent_index/142054

ALICE COOPER's Nights With... Radio Show - Upcoming Guests Include GRAND FUNK RAILROAD Legend Mark Farner, GEORGE THOROGOOD


GRAND FUNK RAILROAD legend Mark Farner and GEORGE THOROGOOD have been named as upcoming guests on ALICE COOPER's radio show, Nights With Alice Cooper.

Nights With Alice Cooper is broadcast on radio stations throughout the United States. Click http://www.nightswithalicecooper.com/affiliates.asp to find the closest affiliate in your area. To listen to the Nights with Alice Cooper Podcast and audio clips head to this location. http://www.nightswithalicecooper.com/listen.asp

ALICE COOPER - "I Hate Reality TV With A Passion!"



Rock legend ALICE COOPER spoke to Canada.com recently about a number of topics. A few excerpts from the chat follow:

Canada.com: What is one thing that people don’t know about Alice Cooper?
Cooper: "Well, I collect watches. I have about 300 watches and I don’t have any idea why. I am very, um, what you would call, um, an addictive personality. I also have 23 TVs in my house. It’s just one of those things where, once I get into it… like I play golf six times a week. When I get into something I like, I do it a lot! I think that was part of the reason why I was an alcoholic too, you know – when I found something I liked, I did it to much. So I had to be very careful of what my addictions where."

Canada.com: I’m sure one of those 23 TVs is tuned to Rock Star: Supernova or American Idol.
Cooper: "I absolutely hate those shows! I hate reality TV with a passion! When it comes to shows like Survivor… when they are all on the island, that’s when the tsunami should hit. Right then! Take everybody off that island. The only reality show I liked is The Contender. I like the boxing one because you’re going to pick somebody in that fight anyway and then when you get the background on these guys – they’ve got kids, they’ve got a mother that’s sick, they’ve got this and that – it turns that boxing match into something different. That’s the only one I like. The others seem to be mean-spirited. And there has not been one rock act on American Idol."

Canada.com: How important is it to you to stay in touch with your fans?
Cooper: "I am extremely accessible. When I come into Toronto, or any city, the first thing I do is drop my bags off and I go down the street and I start walking. (In Toronto) I’ll walk down Yonge St. or along Queen St. – all those cool streets – and I probably sign about 100 autographs a day. I am not one of those people that hides."

Canada.com: So, note to the paparazzi: He said Yonge St. and Queen St.
Cooper: "Oh yeah tell them. I don’t care. I’m not one of those guys that hides. I feel so bad for those guys that get into a hotel and lock the door and that’s the last you see of them. That must be a horrible way to live. This is my theory: When I leave my house and when I leave my hotel room I belong to the public so if they want pictures – absolutely! I don’t think I have ever said no to an autograph."


To read the entire interview head to this location. http://www.canada.com/topics/entertainment/story.html?id=f4bfbd42-008d-4e5f-983c-17f7a092f98a&k=71594

Eagle Vision Announces Simultaneous On HD And Standard Def Formats; ALICE COOPER, BLACK CROWES Releases On The Way


Eagle Vision has announced first simultaneous release on both High Definition formats and standard definition. It will become the first visual music company to embrace both the new High Definition formats with a simultaneous October 2nd release on HD-DVD, Blu-ray DVD and standard DVD of ALICE COOPER's Live At Montreux 2005 and THE BLACK CROWES' Freak ‘n’ Roll… Into The Fog.

The introduction of High Definition is set to revolutionize the industry. Launched in May 2006, its enhanced picture quality is far superior to what is currently accepted as standard. “Eagle Rock is and has always been a forward thinking company and we strive to give our customers the best quality product that is possible” said Lindsay Brown, director of international sales and marketing for Eagle Vision. “We have been filming all our concerts in Hi-Def for several years now and our partners at Montreux Sounds have been filming in Hi-Def since the mid 90’s”. Eagle Vision is the sole representative for the catalogue of the world famous Montreux Jazz Festival.

As well as enhanced picture quality, where possible Eagle Vision intends to feature DTS-HD, Dolby Digital Plus and PCM Stereo, giving an uncompressed sound substantially better than their standard DVD equivalents.

Eagle Vision plan to continue supporting HD-DVD and Blu-ray DVD with selected releases in the future drawn from both their existing catalogue and new productions.

ALICE COOPER To Take Part In Wales All Star Golf Tournament This Weekend

According to ALICE COOPER fansite Sick Things, the rock legend arrives in the UK today (August 26th) to take part in the All Star Golf tournament in Newport, Wales. There is going to be a lot of television coverage of this over the next couple of days starting with a preview tonight, followed by several hours tomorrow and Monday on both ITV1 and ITV2. Check local TV listings for precise times.

(Photo at left courtesy of www.wavejourney.com )

ALICE COOPER - Video Of Wales All Star Golf Tournament Available

According to ALICE COOPER fansite Sick Things, day one of the All Star Golf tournament in Newport, Wales is over. The shows included a 'meet the teams' section, the announcements of the match pairings for tomorrow (August 28th), and then a red carpet show with the guests arriving at the gala dinner this evening. Alice drew the first match tomorrow paired with William Baldwin. They go up against soap stars Bradley Walsh and Ross Kemp. Their game starts tomorrow morning at 11.30am and the broadcast starts at 11am on ITV2. There's a low res video of Alice's appearances tonight http://www.perryspackaging.com/frightclub/AllStarCupDay1.wmv . Check out ITV.com for more info about the event.

ALICE COOPER To Rock Fan Expo Canada

The following report is courtesy of Steve Tilley from the Toronto Sun:

Talking to ALICE COOPER about the devil seems about as natural as talking to Wayne Gretzky about the NHL. Until it gets to the part where Gretzky says he hates hockey and has always been a diehard football fan.

Alice Cooper loves rock and roll, loves shocking people, and loves horror movies - that’s why he’s the guest of honour for the Rue Morgue Festival Of Fear, one component of the massive weekend geek-out that is Fan Expo Canada, kicking off tomorrow at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.

But he’s no fan of Satan. Cooper — born Vincent Furnier, or Vince to his many golfing buddies — is a devout Christian who says his songs caution people about the evil in the world, rather than inviting them to hop aboard the Abyss Express.

“I’m a true believer in God and Satan. I may be one of the only people in the world that believes that Bible stories are literal,” Cooper , 58, said in a phone interview.

“I literally believe that there is a character named the Devil who is definitely out for you and me. He’s out there to get you and me to look away from Christ.”

But just because he won’t party with Lucifer doesn’t mean Cooper — or at least his blood-dripping, snake-cuddling stage persona — is all sunshine and butterflies.

“I kind of look at the humour in horror,” said Cooper, a longtime buff of the film genre. “I think with every good horror movie, if you’re not laughing, there’s something wrong.”

The scares-aplenty UK flick The Descent and the video game-to-film adaptation Silent Hill are a couple of his recent horror film faves. Way, way at the bottom of the list are movies like Hostel, which eschew plot and character in the name of gruesome torture.

“I hate a movie that’s just, ‘Let’s see how sadomasochistic we can get here,’ ” said Cooper, who has probably gone through tanker truckloads of fake blood in his time.

“If everything is red in a painting, then really nothing is red. But if you take a totally white-and-black painting and put in one dot of red, that red just screams. It’s a matter of dynamic.”

Before he comes to Toronto, Cooper will in England for a charity golf tournament, something he does on a regular basis. And speaking of demonic forces, frizzy-haired elevator music maestro Kenny G is one of the few people in the music business who can keep up with Cooper on the links.

“KENNY G is a good stick. Him and I play neck and neck,” said Cooper, who has a handicap of four. “He wins one tournament, I win the next … we kind of go off and on.”

When he’s not golfing or doing his nightly radio show or appearing at fan conventions to field questions about his favourite film decapitation scenes, Cooper is still recording and touring. Next month in Halifax, he’ll play with the Rolling Stones for the first time in his career.

“That’s one of the things you only get to do once in your life, and it took 40 years to get there,” Cooper said.

And yet he’ll still be the fresh-faced young kid among Mick, Keef and the boys.

“When Mick Jagger retires, I know I have at least six years left,” joked Cooper. “He’s six years older than me.”

ALICE COOPER - Billion Dollar Babies-Era Lineup To Sign Autographs At Chiller Convention Next Month


Former ALICE COOPER guitarist Michael Bruce has confirmed that the Billion Dollar Babies lineup (1973) of the band are reuniting for one show at the Chiller Convention this October. Neal Smith (drums), Dennis Dunaway (bass), and Michael Bruce will be at the Convention all weekend signing autographs. They will also be playing a short set on Saturday night. The Convention takes place at The Crowne Plaza in Seacacus, New Jersey from October 27th to 29th.
(Thanks SickThings.co.uk)

ALICE COOPER Revealed As Character In New Cult HD CGI Show, Hungry Hamsters

Response Source ( www.responsesource.com ) has issued the following press release:

American rock legend and cartoon fan ALICE COOPER is to provide his voice talent in the new HD CGI sitcom animation; Hungry Hamsters. Cooper joins a stellar principal cast from the UK, which includes Brian Blessed, Jack Davenport and Harry Hill. Hungry Hamsters is a new comedy animation series of 26 x half hour programmes for television and multimedia distribution, which has been created by comedy producer, Nick Sercombe.

Cooper will be voicing Psalmanazar, the bête-noir character who opposes the Hamsters during their adventures. Chosen specifically for his highly individual personality, Cooper is deemed to make the perfect villain in the programmes and he loves the role, his first he has undertaken in an animation series for television.

Sercombe commented that Cooper was selected for his dry wit as well as his performing talent. “Alice has already made some amusing suggestions as to the visual design of his character, Psalmanazar, and he is really looking forward to getting into the studio next year to record his voice. All the Hungry Hamsters voices have been chosen carefully for their colourful characters and now we have added the enormous theatrical talent of Alice Cooper, which is a real bonus.”

Hungry Hamsters is currently in advanced development at leading Danish studio, Krogh Mortensen Animation. The series is being produced using the most advanced CGI ever used in an animated television series.

Alice Cooper has been one of the world’s most notorious rock artists for over 30 years. With hits such as 'School’s Out', 'Billion Dollar Babies' and 'No More Mr Nice Guy', and an infamous stage show of gothic horror to match, he is an entertainer of unique depth and quality.

ALICE COOPER Schedules Haunted House Meet N' Greet In Michigan


The following report is courtesy of Chad Livengood from Mlive.com:

ALICE COOPER is coming to the village of Homer. Not Jackson, Lansing, Detroit or Toledo. Homer. Population 1,819.

The father of shock rock is slated to appear from 7 to 10 p.m. Oct. 11 at The Homer Mill, 109 Byron St., a haunted house, restaurant and arcade that opened Thursday night. His visit will strictly be a meet-and-greet. He is not expected to sing.

Homer Mill owners Lance and Susan Cuffle were able to hook up with Cooper through a Colorado-based haunted house prop company they hired to help with their new business.

Ed Edmunds, owner of Colorado-based Distortions Unlimited, had hired Cooper years ago for appearances at Brutal Planet in Denver, a haunted house theme park.

"It's incredibly unusual, in a small town, to have Alice Cooper show up," Edmunds said.

Up to 300 VIP tickets and 800 regular tickets for Cooper's appearance will go on sale Thursday, Lance Cuffle said.

The restaurant portion of the old mill is still under construction, but Cuffle said the haunted house will be open to all Cooper ticket holders.

Cooper's popularity has revitalized recently with his new nationally syndicated radio show, Nights With Alice Cooper. WMMQ-Lansing 94.9 FM carries the show each weekday night from 7 p.m. to midnight.

Best known for his on-stage theatrics, Cooper is quite intelligent and humble, Edmunds said.

"He is not a freak or anything," Edmunds said.

Homer village manager George Strand said Cooper's appearance should help the Homer Mill haunted house become a year-round destination business for the village in southeast Calhoun County.

"I think this just adds an additional draw to downtown that might have some spin-off benefit to other businesses," Strand said.

Born in Detroit as Vincent Furnier, he legally changed his name to Alice Cooper, which was his original band's name. He's also a "staunch Republican," according to wikipedia.org.

His most notable titles are 'School's Out', 'I'm Eighteen', and 'No More Mr. Nice Guy'.

Cooper is to perform Oct. 10 at the State Theatre in Kalamazoo, according to his Web site, alicecooper.com.




DISSECTION

Interview With Original ALICE COOPER Drummer Available

Ohio radio DJ Joe Kleon has posted a two hour interview with original ALICE COOPER drummer Neal Smith. The interview is an in-depth look into a band that changed rock music and covers the band's history through the first eight albums. According to Kleon, "Neal is very candid and presents many stories not widely told. This is an inside look into the early years of Alice Cooper." The interview can be downloaded in eleven parts at this location.
http://www.joekleon.com/nealsmith.html

ALICE COOPER Repaying Debt Opening For THE ROLLING STONES


According to Bruce Simon from Launch, ALICE COOPER plays the second of his three opening gigs for THE ROLLING STONES tonight (Friday, September 29th) at the Churchill Downs horse racing track in Louisville, Kentucky. It's been a long time since Cooper opened for anyone, but he told Launch that the Stones were a major reason why he decided to become a professional musician, so he's glad to do it: "The thing about opening for the Stones is that you gotta picture me at 15 years old, seeing the Rolling Stones on TV for the first time, on Ed Sullivan, and realizing that that's what I wanted to do. Any time that you get a chance to be on the same bill as the Rolling Stones, I mean, you, you immediately drop your headliner status and say 'Absolutely, we'll open for the Stones.'"

Cooper will finish up his dates with the Stones on November 8th in Glendale, Arizona, at Cardinals Stadium. Cooper's own tour hits Nashville tomorrow (Saturday, September 30th) for a show at the country music shrine the Ryman Auditorium.

ALICE COOPER To Make Stop At Homer Haunted House

Kalamazoo Gazette has issued the following report from John Liberty:

'Tis the season for ALICE COOPER.

On Wednesday, the day after performing at Kalamazoo's State Theatre, the shock-rocker will make an appearance at a haunted house in Homer, about 15 miles southeast of Battle Creek.

He'll meet and greet and sign autographs for fans from 7 to 10 PM at the Homer Mill, 109 N. Byron St., home to a four-story haunted house.

"For Christmas you have Santa Claus. For Halloween, you have Alice Cooper," said Homer Mill owner Lance Cuffle. Cooper's appearance was confirmed by Cooper's tour manager.

The frightful-looking performer is not expected to sing in Homer.

Cuffle said the visit is the only haunted-house stop Cooper will make during his current tour and is a rare catch for Homer, a village of about 1,800 people

"He's a really nice guy, and he appreciates his fans," Cuffle said.

Cuffle is a friend of Ed Edmunds, who owns the Colorado-based prop company Distortions Unlimited, which builds many of the props Cooper uses for his stage act. Edmunds has also hired Cooper to appear at a haunted house in the Denver area.

Cuffle asked if Edmunds could recommend his haunted house as a destination for Cooper as he passes through the area on his way to performances in Ontario Thursday through Saturday.

"(Cooper) asked (Edmunds), 'Are they good enough?'" Cuffle said. "They said, 'Oh, yeah.'"

ALICE COOPER Casts Spell On Multiple Generations

Niagara Gazette ( www.niagara-gazette.com ) has issued the following report from Alan Sculley:

ALICE COOPER sees an interesting phenomenon on tour these days. He may be getting older, but his audience is going the opposite direction.

“Our audiences have actually dropped 10 to 15 years in age,” he said. “It’s really unusual, that we go out there and we look out there and we see, in every single city, a really young audience ... this is the first time in history, I think, that parents and kids go to the same concert for the same reason.”

To Cooper, there is a basic reason why younger fans are embracing acts that first became popular with their parents’ generation — perhaps even more than new bands.

“I think the reason is, it’s like if you look at the Stones, AC/DC, Ozzy, Alice, pick any of those bands, Cheap Trick, what is the common denominator? We’re all hard rock bands,” Cooper said. “We’re all garage bands.”

Cooper is doing his part to show why at least some veteran rock acts deserve a chance to keep making music for fans old and new. More than three decades after Cooper, who was born and raised in Detroit as Vincent Furnier, shot to superstardom behind the albums Killer (1971), Love It To Death (1971), School’s Out (1972) and Billion Dollar Babies (1973), he is experiencing something of a rebirth artistically with the back-to-back release of his best albums in more than a decade.

Those CDs, The Eyes Of Alice Cooper (2003) and last year’s Dirty Diamonds, have found Cooper returning to the garage rock roots of his early music after a string of albums (The Last Temptation, Brutal Planet and Dragontown) that took his music in a heavier direction.

The two latest CDs show that Cooper was smart to refocus his music on the garage rock style that made his early albums the best of his career.

On Dirty Diamonds, rough-and-ready rockers like 'Woman Of Mass Destruction', 'You Make Me Wanna' and 'Run Down The Devil' all come with haymaker guitar hooks and just the right amount of swagger.

Cooper is now busy taking his show on the road, where he is slipping in a couple of tracks from Dirty Diamonds into what otherwise is a career-spanning set of hits.

“This show is probably closest to an all-out Alice Cooper show than anything we’ve done in a long time... it’s got not only the guillotine... it’s got the disappearing coffin trick, it’s got the snake,” he said. “It’s the entire Alice show.”

ALICE COOPER - "I Always Used To Laugh At KISS"

The following report is courtesy of the Edmontonsun.com:

Thirty-five years ago, parents tried keeping their kids away from him. Today, ALICE COOPER is like comfort food. But he says there were always boundaries even he wouldn't cross.

"I've never used bad language in my show," says Cooper. "I've never used nudity, anything like that. To me, if you have to do that, you aren't clever.

"I always used to laugh at KISS. My joke for them was, `When you guys can't think of anything to do, you just blow something up.' "

Cooper is far from bitter. He can headbang to ROB ZOMBIE, MARILYN MANSON and SLIPKNOT like anyone else, knowing they just took his shtick and amplified it by 10.

Now 58, he loves his status as rock's gruesome grandfather, taking any and all rip-offs as a compliment.

He also knows better than to mess with a classic. The same garish props and effects from his legendary 1970s concerts are still a mainstay, only now there's a tongue-in-cheek charm to it.

"I kind of go with what the audience wants," he says. "If they want the guillotine, you got the guillotine. If they want the straightjacket, it's right there.

"It works now as pure entertainment and as tradition, almost. The audience still loves to see it. You still love to see the guy on the tightrope. It's like, certain things never grow old.

"It's the spectacle of it now (that people like). In the '70s, it was shocking 'I'm not letting my kids go see a guy cut his head off on a guillotine!' anymore. That's not going to be shocking because you can turn on CNN and see a real guy get his head cut off by terrorists. CNN has become much more shock value than Alice Cooper or Marilyn Manson."

To read the rest of this interview head to this location. http://www.edmontonsun.com/Entertainment/Spotlight/2006/10/15/2032299-sun.html

Elvira And ALICE COOPER Share Halloween Spotlight

RadioInk ( www.radioink.com ) has issued the following report:

Elvira, “Mistress Of The Dark,” will be a regular contributor to “Nights With ALICE COOPER” through the remainder of October. During the segments, Elvira will provide reports and advice to listeners, all related to the Halloween season.

For twenty-five years, Elvira – a character created and portrayed by actress-writer Cassandra Peterson – has been synonymous with Halloween. Her notoriety as Mistress of the Dark began when she first appeared as the hostess of a local Hollywood Horror movie show on television, and her fame grew from there. In the last two decades she has appeared in movies, on TV and in live appearances, and her Halloween costume is the best selling female costume of all time.

More on Alice Cooper's "Nights" radio show can be found at this location. http://www.nightswithalicecooper.com/

ALICE COOPER Keeps It In The Family

After this past Monday's show in Montreal, ALICE COOPER's daughter, Calico Cooper, who plays several roles in the onstage production, left the show to head to LA to film a movie.

Alice's wife Sheryl picked up her daughter's parts in the concert in Cornwall on Tuesday and will continue performing the show for awhile.

Sheryl is, of course, a professional dancer that first worked with Alice on his Welcome To My Nightmare tour in 1975. In fact - that's how they met.

ALICE COOPER Loses Stage Sword At Pennsylvania Show; Reward Offered For Its Return


The following message has been posted at ALICE COOPER's official website:

"Alice did a show last night (Friday, October 20th) at Penn's Peak in Pennsylvania. Great show, great audience. During the concert, Alice was doing his thing with one of his swords and it got caught up in the dancer's whip and it went into the audience. Luckily, no one was hurt. But, the sword did wind up in the audience and evidently someone has a great souvenir. Alice would love to get the sword back. He is personally offering a reward of $500 (cash) for its return. Now, there is not even a question of someone being worried about being accused of theft or anything because the sword was NOT stolen! It was lost. Alice lost it himself. If something goes into the audience...it is pretty much fair game. Also, if someone can return it and they would like to come to the show in Reading, PA (very close to Jim Thorpe), Alice will provide 2 free tickets for the show as well as backstage passes to meet Alice and take a picture together with the sword. If you can return the sword, please send an email to alicecooper@alicecooper.com ."

ALICE COOPER - Interview With The Hour Available Online For 24 Hours

ALICE COOPER's interview which aired on CBC's The Hour With George Stroumboulopoulos on Monday, October 23rd in Canada is now available online at this location. http://www.cbc.ca/thehour/video.php?id=1073

The interview will only be available for 24 hours so check it out ASAP.

Toronto's Kinkiest Couple Meet ALICE COOPER

National Post ( www.canada.com ) has issued the following report from Shinan Govani:

In a town where there are as many stories as tribes, I thought you might want to know that ALICE COOPER mingled with some top fetishistas last week.

Getting a jump-start on the Northbound Leather gala - the annual Marquis de Sade-esque fest held just last Saturday - he dropped by Northbound's actual store on Yonge a few days earlier. And, surprise, surprise, the music legend hit it off just fine with the shop's proprietors Anna and George Giaouris (also known as Toronto's kinkiest couple!).

George told Alice that he and the missus run what is the longest running monthly club night in Toronto - one that dates back to the mid-1980s. It's a dog-collar-is-optional kinda theme night that was once called The Betty Page Society, until, of course, the real-life Betty, who now, famously, is a born-again Christian, requested the named to be changed. (You know how it is.)

Well, the mere mention of Betty Page was enough to bond Alice and George (we said bond, not bondage). The entertainer, I hear, explained that he's long had a fascination with the famous pin-up girl, and that, actually, is how he decided on his stage name. "Alice Cooper," he said, "sounds like a little old lady, not a heavy metal rocker."

"Very nice." That was the final summation we got about the Boomer-age rocker. And another thing is this: He told the people in the store that he really does feel more comfortable in front of 20,000 people than he does one-on-one.

partie 1

Original ALICE COOPER Drummer Neal Smith - A Halloween Treat

Special report by Mitch Lafon

Halloween is Alice Cooper and so far this October, BW&BK has brought you exclusive interviews with the man himself, Alice Cooper, original bass player Dennis Dunaway, and current drummer Eric Singer, but why stop there? This time around, we sat down for a 110 minute chat with none other than original drummer, Neal Smith. Smith’s drumming is an integral part of the Alice Cooper sound – what would ‘Under My Wheels’ or ‘Billion Dollar Babies’ be without his rhythms and sense of timing? So, sit back, grab a miniature Halloween sized Oh! Henry bar and enjoy Mr. Neal Smith.

Mitch Lafon: Did it get frustrating that critics would talk more about the spectacle of Alice Cooper than the music?

Neal Smith: “It did get frustrating especially after we had the success with Love It To Death, but that’s when we started using the snake. You have to remember people hated us and over the years I think it’s been watered down of how terrified people were of our band so they’d just say ‘oh, they can’t play’. They’d just say anything to degrade us and after what we went through in our lives to hear some stupid reviewer say we can’t play – then why is this venue sold out and it’s twice as big as the one we played last time and when we come back next time it’ll be twice as big and it’ll be sold out too. The bottom line is that we were entertaining people and if they want a band that can’t play – why don’t they listen to KISS.”

ML: Now, The Alice Cooper Band...

NS: “Don’t say Alice Cooper Band in my presence ‘cause those are fighting words (laughs). We all decided on that name together. Alice was one of the five people that decided on that name and he wasn’t even Alice at that time. Alice Cooper was the band and if the term Alice Cooper Group or Band is to be used; it should be used for anything after 1975 because those were Alice Cooper’s groups. The only time that was ever used with us in a huge public format was in the summer of 1973 when we did 16 Magazine which was just not us. They wanted to ask us what are favorite foods and colors were and the had this whole big spread on Alice and this section on us and called ‘The Alice Cooper Group’ and I went ‘what the fuck is this?’ This was like talking to Mick Jagger and calling the rest of the guys The Rolling Stones Group. That was so lame and when I hear it today it still sounds so lame.”

ML: When the band broke Alice legally changed his name...

NS: “He was pre-empting a lawsuit because we owned the name.”

ML: Are you bitter about that?

NS: “I was never bitter. We made an agreement. Alice took the name of the band and we took the name of the biggest album we ever did – Billion Dollar Babies. Mike, Denis and I took that name and we even had a corporation called Billion Dollar Babies. We still sell a lot of records worldwide through Alice Cooper Incorporated though and the royalties for the last 30 years still filter through Alice Cooper Incorporated.”

ML: Let’s talk about the break-up - Alice said he wanted to push the envelope and go even more theatrical.

NS: “That’s the biggest bunch of bullshit in the world, but go ahead...”

ML: Alice had mentioned that the band wanted to be more musical and just go do an album with no theatrics.

NS: “Just look at what happened with the band Billion Dollar Babies – we spent a fortune on a huge set. Denis was one of the flashiest bass players of the time and most of the time I was flashier than fucking Alice was. It’s an insult to say that, but Alice just had to come up with something and he’s not the spokesman for the band. There’s been so much bullshit he’s said over the years and he’s ‘my brother’, but I won’t make stories up to cover my ass. Whatever reason he had for not coming back... You see Warner Bros. was suing us. Michael and I called WB and they said ‘we don’t care who comes back as long as Alice is in the band’, but Alice didn’t want to come back with us, so he took over our contract. They wanted a band record, but we were going to take a year off and get back together, but Alice reneged on the deal. That’s what happened.”

ML: What was the situation with Glen at that time?

NS: “I only know the facts and the fact was that on the last two albums - Billion Dollar Babies and Muscle Of Love – Glen’s only contribution was smashing a guitar on Sick Thing. That’s all he did on those two albums which is a lot like what Pink Floyd went through with Syd Barrett. They got another guitar player and went on, but we couldn’t figure out how to do that with Glen. Denis and I started working with another guitar player, Michael started working with another guitar player and Alice started working with other guitar players – everybody did it, but we couldn’t do it as a band. Mick Mashbir played on Muscle Of Love. He had been on the Billion Dollar Babies tour. He had been on the Muscle Of Love tour. He went down to South America with us, so he was already in the organization, but he was being paid to come onstage with us and play the guitar parts Glen didn’t know. Glen still played ‘School’s Out’ and ‘I’m Eighteen’ and stuff, but there was a lot of pressure with everybody to try and figure out ‘what the fuck we’re going to do’ – other bands had done it (moved on) easy, but Glen was such a huge part of this band. After the fact, there’s ways we could have done it. Was that 100% the reason (for the break-up)? I wouldn’t say that, but I think it had an awful lot to do with it.”

ML: Was it hard to see Alice go on without you with Welcome To My Nightmare?

NS: “I went out to the shows. I was very supportive of what he was doing. Denis and I were recording my solo record, Platinum God. Michael Bruce was doing an album out in Los Angeles. Alice had done Nightmare and the tour. The deal was that we were supposed to get together and write another album, so everybody was on good terms then. We took a year hiatus from the band to do projects and that was simply it, but even after what happened I’m friends with everybody in the band and I only want to see them successful. I want to see Michael successful, Alice successful and Denis successful – that’s good for everybody. There’s never been anybody in the four of us that has wished evil on anybody else. That’s just not going to happen.”

ML: Did you like the Nightmare record?

NS: “There were two songs I liked on the Nightmare album and had that been a real Alice Cooper album (with the five original members) I would have liked to play on them, but the others I didn’t want to play on.”

ML: What two songs?

NS: “I’m not going to say.”

ML: Do you ever listen to songs like ‘Poison’ or ‘House Of Fire’ and think – ‘had we played on that it would have been so much better’.

NS: “I just take it in stride and I wouldn’t change any of Alice’s songs, but I just feel they’d be better if we had played on them. However, I was really happy to see Alice comeback after all the hell he had been through. He called me in 1985 (after he’d been through all the rehab stuff) and said he was doing great and that Kane (Kane Roberts was working with Alice back) and he were going to use computerized bass and computerized drums on their next album, but they wanted to work it out with a real band. So, he came back here (to my house in Connecticut) to see Denis and I before the Constrictor album. I’ve always left the door open for Alice or anybody if they need help because I have a studio and I’d be happy to work. He said he wanted to do pre-production with Denis and I just like we used to do for two weeks. So, Alice and Kane stayed in a hotel and we worked everyday for two weeks and totally worked it out. We did some recordings and then they took them with them and recorded the whole album, but there’s no indication of any of that (collaboration) on the record. The fact was that it was just great to get together. Denis, Alice and I played together for the pre-production of the Constrictor album and we worked out the arrangements that were used on the record and he went ahead and recorded it. It was the beginning of the second phase of his solo career. He had passed his Zipper Catches Skin thing and came back with a solid rock album. Then four years later when he had Poison... there was nobody happier than me. I just thought that was great. It was a great song.”

ML: Any regrets after the break-up?

NS: “I just feel bad about the songs we could have written that we’ve never written. That’s what weighs on me more than anything.. I mean there’s no hard feelings or that kind of stuff, but what could we have done had we sat down and been writing all those years? What material would have come out? I was also disappointed with Alice in the early ‘80s for his problems with the devils of rock ‘n roll, and for his health. I was afraid he might not make it and I was really happy when he got through that and kept his marriage and family together and finally got his career back on track. It’s not easy in this business and I was very proud of him and very supportive, but ,still the biggest disappointing thing over the time we haven’t been together is the songs that Mike Bruce and Alice would have written together. Even though ‘I’m Eighteen’ has all of our names on it – the original concept of that song was Michael’s then Alice wrote the lyrics. When you see Alice’s name attached to a song it’s because he wrote the lyrics. ‘Second Coming’, I think, was the only song that he wrote the music to on all of our stuff. Alice is one of the greatest rock lyricists ever. Denis writes very great avant-garde stuff which has been missing from Alice for a long time. There’s just nothing that takes you on a journey like ‘Halo Of Flies’ or the trilogy at the end of Love It To Death ( ‘Dwight Fry’, ‘Second Coming’ and ‘Sun Arise’).”

ML: In that short period of time you wrote songs that still sound fresh 30 years later – can you imagine if you had kept writing together?

NS: “It’s the chemistry of us. That’s what I’m talking about and in no other combination does that work. Maybe we’ll get the opportunity again or maybe we won’t, but luckily enough we were able to do a lot of great songs together.”

partie 2

ML: If the stars align would you want to do simply a nostalgia tour with Alice or do more such as recording a new album of new material?

NS: “Is it of interest to me? What did I just say a minute ago? The chemistry of the original band writing is one of the most exciting things and to do that again with Alice, Michael and Bob Ezrin would be great. It would be something I’d be interested in. The band that I like with Alice is not the Greatest Hits album – sure it put our music in front of millions and millions of fans, but my favorite songs are ‘Dead Babies’, ‘Killer’, “Desperado’, ‘Sick Thing’, ‘I Love The Dead’, ‘Generation Landslide’, ‘My Stars’... I like our big theatrical pieces. That’s the Alice Cooper that I love. That’s a big part of what’s been missing. If I put an Alice Cooper Greatest Hits together it would be nothing like the ones that have been released. My interest would be in doing the really intricate songs of the band. That’s where my heart is.”

ML: Switching gears – you’re a successful real estate ‘guy’ –

NS: “I’ve been in residential real estate since 1985. When we had the success of School’s Out, I started investing in real estate. Mike Bruce did it and so did Alice. Back in the early ‘70s it was called a tax shelter and we invested in real estate as a group too. I was interested in it in the early stages of my musical career.”


ML: What keeps you interested in playing drums on a professional level?

NS: “You’re art and your passion always stay number one in your life. I’ve got hundreds of drums around the house and I’m excited about getting my next set with 25 pieces in it. I still love monster drum sets. It’s still a passion for me and it will be till the day I die.”

ML: What are you expecting from the Pudding show (where the original band will play a half hour set of greatest hits in Phoenix on Dec 16th) and how will it be to see Alice’s rear-end in front of you for the first time in years?

NS: “It’s funny you mention that because in 1999 when we played the Glen Buxton memorial weekend #2 in Phoenix – I stood up and spun my drumsticks and Alice said ‘do you know how many times in my life I’ve seen that?’ So, I took my sticks and banged his ass and said real loud into the microphone ‘and do you know how many times in my lifetime I’ve seen THAT?’ That’s all that drummers do – is see the singer’s butt the whole fucking time. I’m certain this will be similar to that. We’ll play half an hour and do the familiar songs.”

ML: You did it in 99 and now this show – do you feel a magic or do you think ‘ah, this is just another show’.

NS: “There’s a big chemistry with this band. There are no other musicians that I’ve played with that are as loose. It’s tight, but the feeling is fun. Everybody did their job great in that band and that’s the one thing people should understand. Everybody did what they were supposed to and beyond. ”

ML: You were risk takers...

NS: “That’s an understatement, we had nothing to lose. From starving to number one and all along the way the only people we had to compete with was ourselves. There was no other competition – none! There were a lot of middle of the road bands out there and we blind-sided them.”

ML: Tell me about the DVD - Good To See You Again, Alice Cooper –

NS: “We had done so much to create an image for the band intentionally and unintentionally that when the movie came out – the lights, the sunlight and we’re outside I was like ‘what the fuck?’ We’ve done all this for years to create an image and an attitude and this was like a home movie. It’s not very Alice Cooperish as far as I’m concerned. When did we ever say we were into comedy and very very bad comedy too by the way? It is what it is and I’m glad it’s finally released.”

ML: What’s the lasting impact of the group?

NS: “The legacy of the band is along the lines of Kiss, Marilyn Manson and Slipknot. There will always be that element of horror movie bands that come into play now and that never existed before us. There was that one whole new genre of music that didn’t exist before us.”

ML: Let’s go over the various albums starting with Pretties For You.

NS: “Pretties For You was a very complicated record that we rehearsed morning, noon and night and that’s all we did. I would always want to be as well rehearsed as possible going into the studio and we took that passion and work ethic into all of our albums. It also started our affiliation with Frank Zappa. Frank wanted to change the name of the band to Alice Cookies and he wanted put every song on a single disc and in a tuna fish can. We we’re like ‘what the fuck are you talking about man?’ We flipped. He wanted a tin with thirteen discs in it. So, that was our first fight with a record company and he wanted to change our name and that was never going to happen. Alice Cookies was not going to happen. Anyway, it was recorded quick and released and we had our first album.”

ML: Easy Action

NS: “We wanted to improved our production so we got David Briggs who had worked with Neil Young. When we did ‘Lay Down And Die’ he called it ‘psychedelic shit’ so that gives you an idea about how much he was into what we were doing or understanding what we were doing.”

ML: Love It To Death

NS: “Love It To Death was, of course, our break through album and getting together with Bob Ezrin. We worked on it a lot out of the studio, but it was recorded in two weeks. We had two albums and Zappa had sold his record label to Warner and they wanted to cut us loose, but we had a contract. They asked us for a four-song demo, so we had to think of somebody that was making hits and every time there’s a hit on the radio it’s a Guess Who song – so we found out it’s Nimbus 9 in Toronto, Ontario and Jack Richardson. That’s who we had to get to, but he refused to get together with us. He finally agreed to come see us at Max’s Kansas City in New York, but he said he’s not coming down. He was going to send this new kid working for him – his name is Bob Ezrin and his theory was that Bob loved classical music and that this androgynous band called Alice Cooper would just scare the hell out of him. Bob saw us at Max’s Kansas City and loved us and he told Jack that there’s a new wave of music coming and either they’d be on it with this band or they’d totally miss it. When Bob Ezrin became out biggest fan that’s the third thing that made this band happen (the other two were hooking up with Frank Zappa and our manager Shep Gordon). We recorded the demo and ‘I’m Eighteen’ was on there and the rest is history.”

ML: Killer

NS: “By that time, Love It To Death had gone gold and Warner Bros. said ‘ok, we’ll record another record’. Warner Bros. always wanted to release us after our most recent record by the way (even Warner Bros. hated us). We had a moderate hit with ‘Killer’ and ‘Under My Wheels’, but the album was a smash overall because of ‘Halo Of Flies’. ‘Halo Of Flies’ to this day is still, in Europe, one of the most popular songs of the ‘70s and I’ll put it up against Yes or Emerson Lake and Palmer or any band of that day and that was the turning point. That’s what finally shut everybody up and the album sold platinum.”

ML: School’s Out

NS: “We were writing songs for the fifth album and I always figured that Glen would put us over the top and we had this idea for a song and Glen had the (hums bars of ‘School’s Out’). He had the intro and we wrote the song around it and Alice writes the lyrics and we call it ‘School’s Out’. From the time it was written that was going to be the single off the album. We needed an anthem that was going to be as big as ‘I’m Eighteen’ or obviously bigger. The album is called School’s Out and we’re recording it in the spring and if we can get it released right before school’s out in the summer – maybe that would be a cool idea. School’s Out blew the fucking doors open for us in L.A. and New York and that’s where you gotta be if you’re going to be a monster band.”

ML: Did the record company demand an anthem type song?

NS: “The record company had nothing to say to us – we always had complete artistic control. That was the one thing that was incredibly important about this band.”

ML: Billion Dollar Babies

NS: “Was our decadent fun. It was the we’d made it and we’re telling the world album.”

ML: Muscle Of Love

NS: “Was a turning point for us because we had done so much and it wasn’t a concept album as much as the other ones. I love the song ‘Muscle Of Love’ a lot and the only song that I really hate that we ever did was ‘Crazy Little Child’. I don’t like that song and I wish it had been left off the album. I just didn’t like the song – there’s just something about it I didn’t like.”

ML: Did Alice Cooper use any ghost musicians or did you guys play everything on the albums?

NS: ‘Under My Wheels’ from Killer – the lead guitar solo was by Rick Derringer and ‘My Stars’ had Dick Wagner playing on it. Dick was a great musician, but boring on stage – I mean he could put me to sleep.”

ML: It’s been suggested by Alice that a Keith Moon drum part may have ended up on the Billion Dollar Babies album...

NS: “Keith Moon never played a note on Billion Dollar Babies and if Alice says so – I’ll kick his ass. I played every note on there. He was at the studio with us and there’s was a jam session. He was so drunk, but he did play on my drums. Marc Bolan from T-Rex was also there, but this was a drunken partying jam after the session was over and it was so bad that it could never be used.”

ML: Quintessential Alice Cooper album

NS: “Drum wise - Billion Dollar Babies. Love it Death has a great drum part on Black Juju, but School’s Out is the real heart of Alice Cooper because Glen had so much to do with that album. It’s representative of Glen’s rebel spirit so I have a special place in my heart for that album.”

For more about drumming or to buy some real-estate visit: www.nealsmith.com .