Post by Gilby Admirer on Aug 23, 2006 17:55:36 GMT -5
www.canada.com/topics/entertainment/story.html?id=f4bfbd42-008d-4e5f-983c-17f7a092f98a&k=71594
Still shocking and rocking
Alice Cooper opens up about reality shows, his fans, and his timely addiction
Maurie Sherman, CMP
Published: Wednesday, August 23, 2006 Article tools
Alice Cooper is creeping up on 60 but he’s showing no signs of slowing down. The godfather of shock rock still puts on make-up and hits the stage with his theatrical spectacles.
Born Vincent Damon Furnier in Detroit (he legally changed his name to Alice Cooper), Cooper grew up surrounded by family members active in the Apostle of the Church of Jesus Christ – and by the sounds of Brit bands like The Beatles, Pink Floyd, and The Who.
He fronted several rock bands in the 1960s but – although his act was always wild – didn’t earn the “shock rocker” label until an unfortunate poultry incident in the 70s. Wrongly assuming chickens can fly, Cooper tossed one into the crowd during a concert – only to watch it be torn apart by rowdy fans. News reports erroneously claimed Cooper bit off the chicken’s head and drank its blood. With publicity like that, Cooper wasn’t about to cry, er, foul.
Since then, Cooper has had a string of albums and successful concert tours (a 1973 tour broke box office records held by the Rolling Stones) as well as singles like “Eighteen,” “No More Mr. Nice Guy” and the massive hit “School’s Out.”
By the 1980s, Cooper had become a pop culture icon and made guest appearances in horror flicks and on TV shows. He also gave up drinking.
In 2003, he got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Since then he has hosted a syndicated classic rock radio show and released his 24th studio album, Dirty Diamonds. He owns restaurants in Phoenix and Cleveland and spends his down time on the golf course.
Cooper will be spending a lot of time in Canada this season. He will be appearing at the Festival of Fear and Horror in Toronto on Sept. 2 and 3 and will open for the Rolling Stones in Halifax on Sept. 23. He’ll also tear apart the Avalon Ballroom at the Fallsview Casino Resort in Niagara Falls on Oct. 13 and 14 before heading to Montreal’s St. Denis Theatre Oct. 16, the Civic Centre in Cornwall, Ontario Oct. 17 and the Memorial Centre in Kingston, Ontario on Oct. 18.
But before he’s allowed back into Canada, Cooper had to answer some questions for canada.com.
Most young rock bands play video games and party backstage. What do old rockers like you do back there?
The funny thing is I get there before a show and I watch really bad kung fu movies – and I mean really bad ones. I’m not talking about ones that you would ever recognize. Things like The Seven Golden Vampires vs. The Shaolin Monks, you know. I don’t know why that became an idiosyncrasy of mine but I get there about an hour-and-a-half before the show, watch that, get ready, start to put the make-up on, and by the time I am ready to go on, it’s got me relaxed and ready.
You’re still touring. Do you ever get tired of being on the road?
I’ll tell you what, I would have been tired had I not have quit drinking. I quit drinking 25 years ago. When I was drinking I was getting very tired of the grind. Now it’s been 25 years since I have had a drink I do a much higher energy show at the age of 58 then I did when I was 28.
So, like a fine wine, you get better with age
Exactly. Just a higher energy level. I get up there on stage and do an hour and 45 minutes – it’s full blast. We do 30 songs and 28 of those are hard rock. Alice Cooper songs without a break, so I’m by far in better shape now then I have ever been in my life. It’s amazing, I don’t know why your body does that, but it does. I think it had a lot to do with the fact that I never smoked cigarettes. Cigarettes, I think, will put 20 years on your life, on your lungs. A lot of bands my age now that smoke, could only do two shows a week.
You’re going to be a guest of honour at the Festival of Fear and Horror in Toronto. What can your fans expect from you – will you be signing all their crap?
I think most of it will be a question and answer session but I know there will be a chance for people to buy tickets to either take their picture with me and get some headshots or whatever signed. There is a lot of history with Alice Cooper and I certainly brought horror to rock and roll! I always thought horror and rock and roll were in bed together, as long as you add comedy to it. You have to have comedy with it, or it doesn’t really work as well. There are very few horror movies that don’t have a punch line in them somewhere. I think that I kind of created this sort of horror/comedy vaudeville but it was all based in rock and roll and nobody has done that before. Some of my best friends are still in the horror genre, people like Wes Craven, John Carpenter and Tom Savini, those are the guys that I go and see all their movies and talk to all the time.
What is one thing that people don’t know about Alice 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.
I’m sure one of those 23 TVs is tuned to Rock Star: Supernova or American Idol.
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.
Well, there is Rock Star: Supernova…
Oh man, I sit, and I tell you, those guys are buddies of mine!
Then shake some sense into them!
They’re making money off it, so let them do it. You know, I watch that and go, this is turning rock ‘n’ roll into Mc Donald’s!
How important is it to you to stay in touch with your fans?
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.
So, note to the paparazzi: He said Yonge St. and Queen St.
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.
- with files by John Kennedy
© Cheeky Monkey Productions 2006
Still shocking and rocking
Alice Cooper opens up about reality shows, his fans, and his timely addiction
Maurie Sherman, CMP
Published: Wednesday, August 23, 2006 Article tools
Alice Cooper is creeping up on 60 but he’s showing no signs of slowing down. The godfather of shock rock still puts on make-up and hits the stage with his theatrical spectacles.
Born Vincent Damon Furnier in Detroit (he legally changed his name to Alice Cooper), Cooper grew up surrounded by family members active in the Apostle of the Church of Jesus Christ – and by the sounds of Brit bands like The Beatles, Pink Floyd, and The Who.
He fronted several rock bands in the 1960s but – although his act was always wild – didn’t earn the “shock rocker” label until an unfortunate poultry incident in the 70s. Wrongly assuming chickens can fly, Cooper tossed one into the crowd during a concert – only to watch it be torn apart by rowdy fans. News reports erroneously claimed Cooper bit off the chicken’s head and drank its blood. With publicity like that, Cooper wasn’t about to cry, er, foul.
Since then, Cooper has had a string of albums and successful concert tours (a 1973 tour broke box office records held by the Rolling Stones) as well as singles like “Eighteen,” “No More Mr. Nice Guy” and the massive hit “School’s Out.”
By the 1980s, Cooper had become a pop culture icon and made guest appearances in horror flicks and on TV shows. He also gave up drinking.
In 2003, he got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Since then he has hosted a syndicated classic rock radio show and released his 24th studio album, Dirty Diamonds. He owns restaurants in Phoenix and Cleveland and spends his down time on the golf course.
Cooper will be spending a lot of time in Canada this season. He will be appearing at the Festival of Fear and Horror in Toronto on Sept. 2 and 3 and will open for the Rolling Stones in Halifax on Sept. 23. He’ll also tear apart the Avalon Ballroom at the Fallsview Casino Resort in Niagara Falls on Oct. 13 and 14 before heading to Montreal’s St. Denis Theatre Oct. 16, the Civic Centre in Cornwall, Ontario Oct. 17 and the Memorial Centre in Kingston, Ontario on Oct. 18.
But before he’s allowed back into Canada, Cooper had to answer some questions for canada.com.
Most young rock bands play video games and party backstage. What do old rockers like you do back there?
The funny thing is I get there before a show and I watch really bad kung fu movies – and I mean really bad ones. I’m not talking about ones that you would ever recognize. Things like The Seven Golden Vampires vs. The Shaolin Monks, you know. I don’t know why that became an idiosyncrasy of mine but I get there about an hour-and-a-half before the show, watch that, get ready, start to put the make-up on, and by the time I am ready to go on, it’s got me relaxed and ready.
You’re still touring. Do you ever get tired of being on the road?
I’ll tell you what, I would have been tired had I not have quit drinking. I quit drinking 25 years ago. When I was drinking I was getting very tired of the grind. Now it’s been 25 years since I have had a drink I do a much higher energy show at the age of 58 then I did when I was 28.
So, like a fine wine, you get better with age
Exactly. Just a higher energy level. I get up there on stage and do an hour and 45 minutes – it’s full blast. We do 30 songs and 28 of those are hard rock. Alice Cooper songs without a break, so I’m by far in better shape now then I have ever been in my life. It’s amazing, I don’t know why your body does that, but it does. I think it had a lot to do with the fact that I never smoked cigarettes. Cigarettes, I think, will put 20 years on your life, on your lungs. A lot of bands my age now that smoke, could only do two shows a week.
You’re going to be a guest of honour at the Festival of Fear and Horror in Toronto. What can your fans expect from you – will you be signing all their crap?
I think most of it will be a question and answer session but I know there will be a chance for people to buy tickets to either take their picture with me and get some headshots or whatever signed. There is a lot of history with Alice Cooper and I certainly brought horror to rock and roll! I always thought horror and rock and roll were in bed together, as long as you add comedy to it. You have to have comedy with it, or it doesn’t really work as well. There are very few horror movies that don’t have a punch line in them somewhere. I think that I kind of created this sort of horror/comedy vaudeville but it was all based in rock and roll and nobody has done that before. Some of my best friends are still in the horror genre, people like Wes Craven, John Carpenter and Tom Savini, those are the guys that I go and see all their movies and talk to all the time.
What is one thing that people don’t know about Alice 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.
I’m sure one of those 23 TVs is tuned to Rock Star: Supernova or American Idol.
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.
Well, there is Rock Star: Supernova…
Oh man, I sit, and I tell you, those guys are buddies of mine!
Then shake some sense into them!
They’re making money off it, so let them do it. You know, I watch that and go, this is turning rock ‘n’ roll into Mc Donald’s!
How important is it to you to stay in touch with your fans?
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.
So, note to the paparazzi: He said Yonge St. and Queen St.
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.
- with files by John Kennedy
© Cheeky Monkey Productions 2006
