{"id":2302,"date":"2012-06-11T15:39:34","date_gmt":"2012-06-11T22:39:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thefirst3songs.com\/?p=2302"},"modified":"2014-07-30T21:39:49","modified_gmt":"2014-07-31T04:39:49","slug":"qa-with-legendary-rocker-alice-cooper","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/thefirst3songs.com\/?p=2302","title":{"rendered":"Q&A with Legendary Rocker Alice Cooper"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>In the last year Alice Cooper could be seen everywhere from a special guest on stage with Vince Gill to still rocking out with Rob Zombie and this past weekend he even popped up singing Lady Gaga at Bonnaroo. He can do anything in music, entertain every audience, and still be cutting edge enough to be a premier name in music after almost 50 years in the business, countless awards and nominations, and 36 albums. He shows no signs of slowing down and he is set to continue his monumental career as his band goes on the road with Iron Maiden this summer and fall.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Amy was privileged to speak with the legend to preview his upcoming show in Dayton before hitting the road with Iron Maiden. They spoke about longevity and one of the more bizarre stories of being a tenant in the Queen City. They will be performing at the Fraze Pavilion in Dayton on Wednesday \u00a0June 13th<\/sup>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Amy: Your show in Dayton is coming up.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Alice: Yes, we start this tour in June with Iron Maiden. We will be out there as their guest star on the show, their guests, so that\u2019s an hour show. The show we are doing there in Dayton is our regular show which will be a full out Alice Cooper show.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Amy: I am actually a photographer and I\u2019ve photographed you many times. You are one of my favorite artists to shoot.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Alice: Well we give photographers a lot to shoot. If you are going to go all that trouble to do all that theatrics and really coordinate the show like that, then I want to see lots of shots. I love seeing different angles, people will hand me an envelope full of pictures and I will go, \u201cThat\u2019s a great shot. That\u2019s a great shot.\u201d And it gives me a different perspective of what the show looks like because we only see it from the stage. We never see it from the audience point of view.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Amy: I have interviewed many of your past guitarists, Jason Hook and Al Pitrelli and people that have toured with you and everybody always has spectacular things to say about you as a mentor and just to be around. One of my questions is how do you choose band members on your tours now?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Alice: Honestly, I am very instinctive about guitar players. Of course the guitar players are the gunslingers. They are the guys that you can sit and listen to and go, \u2018When I quit singing, I want to hear something take over,\u201d and it better be a guitar that can take over what I\u2019m doing when I step back, I want that guitar player to step up. So getting a Damon Johnson, when we first got Damon, every guitar player wants to stand back a little bit and I say, \u201cNo, no, no, when it is your solo, you take two steps forward into the light and let it go.\u201d A lot of times lead singers don\u2019t want their lead guitar player to share the limelight. I want everybody in that band to have their moment on stage where they are the star. So when you get Orianthi, who is a natural, she is a natural star up there. I mean the girl is such a great player.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Amy: Is she going to be with you?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Alice: Yes, I mean she is such a great character for a Alice Cooper show. And you get Ryan Roxie on this tour and Ryan is a show unto himself. He has his own production going on over there which I really like because he really brings it every night. And Tommy who I have in the middle as a rhythm guitar player has got his own show going on. It\u2019s great to get guys to come out of their shells and just when you get on stage be a rockstar. I don\u2019t want you to be a side man.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Amy: Again, it\u2019s always been amazing to talk to all these people who have worked with you over the years and I know they appreciate it as well.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Alice: I think it is because I let them play. I want you to play. When it is your turn to play, I want you to be Eric Clapton, I want you to be Jeff Beck, I want you to be the guy and sometimes it takes a little bit of getting used to. These guys are not used to being the center of attention, they are used to being the guys that stand in the background and play. Sometimes it\u2019s hard for Johnny Depp, when Johnny plays with us, I kind of have to push him forward a little bit because he likes to hang back a little bit.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Amy: We are in Cincinnati. Can you tell me what your craziest Cincinnati story is from your past?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Alice: I have the best Cincinnati story you have ever heard. This is a true story. We finally left L.A. We decided we had to move some place out of L.A., out of New York, some place in the Midwest. So we go to Cincinnati and we play this show there and we get a standing ovation. We decided the first standing ovation we get, that is where we are going to move. So we played in Cincinnati and got a standing ovation, I think it may have been after the Cincinnati Pop Festival, the one we did with Iggy and we found this area down by the college. It was this big, beautiful house for rent. So we came in and rented this house at the beginning of summer, and we went in and painted it and did everything like that. For three months we lived there until in September, all of a sudden, there was a knock at the door, we walked outside and there were 10 guys that are football players and they are going \u201cWhat are you doing at our house?\u201d And I said, \u201cWhat are you talking about? We rented this house indefinitely.\u201d And the guy goes, \u201cThis is our frat house. I don\u2019t know who rented this to you but they didn\u2019t own the house. You are paying rent to someone that doesn\u2019t even own the house.\u201d Some guy rented us a frat house and he didn\u2019t even own it. He just walked in and put up a For Rent sign because nobody was there and we just assumed he just owned the house. So for these guys, it was kind of cool to them that Alice Cooper was living in their house, but we had to leave because it was their frat house.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Amy: So did you pick another city or did you hang around town?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Alice: We moved to Detroit then but it was really funny because we really thought Cincinnati was where we were going to live and then we got ejected by the frat house.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Amy: I guess it could have worked out a lot different. You could still be in our hometown. You have spoken openly the last few years that you have become a Christian and about your Christian beliefs. Did that change how you put your show together?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Alice: I think what it is, you do a certain amount of your own, not censoring, but you start shaping the show whereas there may be a couple of songs that I used to do that now when I sing those songs, I don\u2019t believe that anymore. So, it is hard for me to sing that. It hasn\u2019t been any big hits, \u201cSchool\u2019s Out\u201d, \u201c18\u201d, \u201cBillion Dollar Babies\u201d, all those songs have nothing to do with Christianity or nothing to do with something that I couldn\u2019t sing as a Christian. Most of it is social satire anyway, but there are a few songs that I looked at and I went, \u201cYou know what, I don\u2019t believe that anymore,\u201d so I am going to stay away from that show. I am just being true to myself to be honest with you. It really hasn\u2019t affected how I do my stage show because I don\u2019t believe Alice was promoting anything that was anti-Christian. We were like a musical horror movie and I think if people took Alice Copper as entertainment, as pure entertainment, there is certainly a dark side to my sense of humor but I don\u2019t think there has ever been anything in there that was, that any Christian couldn\u2019t see and have fun with.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Amy: It\u2019s all in good fun. It\u2019s all perspective.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Alice: Yeah, and I think if you look at it as a social satire, I am fine with it. I don\u2019t really have a problem with that. I am still very involved, I read twice a day, I have two different times of devotional for myself. I hope and I try not to just be a Christian in \u201cOh, I\u2019m a Christian.\u201d I try to live that life. It is a one-on-one relationship with Christ so I really try to keep that as my lifestyle. In other words, you aren\u2019t ever going to see me at the strip club after a show.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Amy: I know you gave up drugs and alcohol a long time ago for good reasons. Is there still ever a struggle on the road to stay sober?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Alice: No, never has been. I was literally healed from that. People say you are cured, I say no, it was much different. I never went to AA. I never had to do any of that. I came out of a hospital and it was gone. It was gone as if I had cancer and cancer was gone the next day. It was totally taken away from me. I never had a struggle with alcohol. When I came out of the hospital, I was absolutely straight as an arrow. I never had a desire or a craving for alcohol which even the doctors say is weird. I know because I have a lot of friends that are in AA and they struggle with it all the time. They say, \u201cHow do you do it?\u201d and I say \u201cI am not an alcoholic anymore. I was one but I am not anymore.\u201d I wouldn\u2019t challenge myself. In other words, I wouldn\u2019t sit around and say, \u201cWell I think I will take a drink of beer.\u201d Because I know that could be a trigger that takes me back to where I was. So I won\u2019t even approach that, but at the same time I don\u2019t have any desire to do that.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Amy: Well my Mom saw you in 1974 and she still talks about it today as I go shoot your shows. It was one of her memorable experiences with you and some chickens in Nashville at Memorial Coliseum\u2026<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Alice: Well the music hasn\u2019t changed much since the \u201870s to now, if you look at the bands that are still out there Aerosmith,\u00a0 Ozzy, Alice, Thin Lizzy, we are all still playing the same kind of music. I think it is funny that 16, 17, 18 year old kids are more into Classic Rock than they are into modern Rock so I think there is a large audience for us that has never seen us. One of the reasons we are playing the Iron Maiden Tour is because I don\u2019t think the Iron Maiden audience has ever seen Alice Cooper so I want to expose them to Alice Cooper.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Amy: Has touring for you changed from now to then?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Alice: It\u2019s a lot easier now. When you are physically in better shape and you are mentally and spiritually in better shape, Sheryl and I have been together for 36 years, and I never been happier in my life. My kids are great. All my ducks are in a row. Physically, I am healthy. Touring is easy then. Physically, it is a workout and you have to get used to traveling and you have to get used to being away from your family a lot even though now my family can travel with me any time they want to. My wife will go out for three weeks then go home for a week and come back out for two or three weeks. So, touring to me is easy.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Amy: You spoke about music now and what people are listening to. Are there any current bands you listen to these days?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Alice: I wish there was, my pet peeve right now is that 80-90% of the modern Rock bands are just testosterone-free. I am listening to these bands and going, where is the spark? Where is the fire? These bands are whining like crazy. I hear these bands and go what is wrong with these guys? And then I look at a picture of the band and I could go into a mall and pick any five guys, it\u2019s like they are trying not to be rock stars. They just want to be normal guys that play in a band with no image and no fire just we are in a band. \u201cWhat is wrong with that?\u201d That\u2019s crazy. If you are in a rock band, you get in a rock band to be something different. I guess modern Rock bands really just want to blend in and I think it is the most boring time in Rock right now that I have ever seen.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Amy: Well you have your Lady Gagas\u2026<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Alice: There are exceptions. Jack White is amazing. The Foo Fighters are amazing. I don\u2019t know the Black Veil Brides music very much but I love the image. At least they are going out of their way to be something that when you see them on stage you say, \u201cThat\u2019s the Black Veil Brides.\u201d But when I see 99% of the other bands up there I say those bands can be anybody. I just don\u2019t get the fact that everybody is so against having image.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Amy: Well are you working on any new music, maybe another album?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Alice: The Welcome to My Nightmare<\/em> album has been out for about a year now and that was our highest charting album for quite a long time. So after this tour, we will go back in the studio again, Bob Ezrin and I will, but we were very, very happy with Welcome to my Nightmare<\/em>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Amy: I briefly spoke to you at the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame Induction this year in Cleveland. I know you weren\u2019t performing but what your favorite part of the night?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Alice: You mean the last one. I thought Guns N Roses were amazing. I thought Slash and the boys were the best band there. They just rocked that place.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Amy: We are heading into a critical election year, are you planning on backing any candidates this time?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Alice: Boy, I\u2019ll tell you at this point right now I almost want to go independent. I am not political in the least bit. I am not in the least bit political. So when somebody says, \u201cWho are you voting for?\u201d I\u2019m going, \u201cWow!\u201d It\u2019s like saying, do you want a poke in the eye or a poke in the ear. Nobody is making me smile now.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Amy: And it is very narrow now.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Alice: Yeah, as far as I\u2019m concerned, I wish there was somebody out there that had some spark that would make a difference but I don\u2019t think either one of these guys are.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Amy: Do you have any plans to slow down or stop touring?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Alice: No. For me, physically everything is fine right now. Until I physically can\u2019t tour, I think I will be touring every year.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the last year Alice Cooper could be seen everywhere from a special guest on stage with Vince Gill to still rocking out with Rob Zombie and this past weekend he even popped up singing Lady Gaga at Bonnaroo. He can do anything in music, entertain every audience, and still be cutting edge enough to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[194],"tags":[1242,1624,1337,1622,1336,1335],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/thefirst3songs.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2302"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/thefirst3songs.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/thefirst3songs.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thefirst3songs.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thefirst3songs.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2302"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/thefirst3songs.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2302\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2308,"href":"http:\/\/thefirst3songs.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2302\/revisions\/2308"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/thefirst3songs.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2302"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thefirst3songs.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2302"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thefirst3songs.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2302"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}