Alice makes yet another appearance in Scandinavian comic book 'Nemi' this month (Xmas issue). Eagle-eyed watchers will know that this is about the third time Alice has made an appearance in the book as the creator is a big fan.

AZCentral has a short mention and quote from Alice about the Diamondbacks baseball team.

According to Blabbermouth.net 'Monster Dog' will get an official US DVD release on February 15th through Eclectic DVD and Jef Films. No info if there will be any extras yet, or if this will get a UK release as well.

If you have a fast connection and fancy listening to Alice Cooper music online you could pop along to Streets Of Portland.com for an online feed of Alice tracks 24/7!

Yahoo have a few pics from last night here.
UPDATE: More pics can be seen a AZcentral by clicking the link on the right side of the page.
UPDATE: And more here at KDKB

Thanks to Mistershivers on the message board for this report of last nights fun and games:
Just got back from the show. 4 1/2 hours that went by pretty quick. High lights were Dan Quayle front row center for the show. He left after intermission. Cheap Trick closed out part 1 and was backed by Alices band, Alice said that he practiced with the band doing the vocals during the week. They did "I Want You To Want Me", "California man" and "Surrender". Gin Blossoms did a nice set of 3 and Roger Clyne and the peacemakers did a nice set. Glen Cambell did "Rhinestone Cowboy" and "Little drummer boy" on the bagpipes.Sinbad was funny as were most of the comedians.
Sinbad introduced Nugent who did 2 songs "Klstrphnky" and "Wang Dang Sweet Poontang" with his touring drummer and Alice's bassist, then had Jack Blades come out for "Cat Scratch Fever". He then brought out Shaw and Cartellone for 3 more Damn Yankees songs. These guys were hot and on the money. They did "Don't Tread On Me", "High Enough" and "Coming of age". Funny bit where Shaw and Blades did a countryfied 'Eighteen' on acoustic guitar which Nugent grabbed then smashed on stage. Alice's set was "No More Mr Nice Guy", "Eighteen", "Be My Lover" and "Schools out". Damn Yankees joined Alice's band with Glen Campbell for a smoking "Run Rudolph Run" which featured solos from everyone, and a few others joined in on 'Jingle Bells' as the finale.
Pudding was chocolate and the show opened with some guy in a medival outfit and mask doing bells which were set up on this huge contraption. The other guests were locals and were pretty good but it was the Damn Yankees night. Hard to believe how good the harmonys and all were. Jessi Colter (Waylon Jennings wife) did a couple of nice songs including a cool bluesy version of 'Silent Night'.
They handed some magazine called' Risen' out pre show that had this pro christian interview of Alice. Some of it was weird because Alice said some stuff that was off the mark in the interview. Worth the money and it was time well spent. Emcees were Mike Wilson, Mark Cordes,and Danny Zelisko.

In what will hopefully be a series of interviews SickthingsUK board member Wickedyoungman got to interview Alice Cooper Guitarist, Song writer and solo artist Eric Dover and the results are now online for your reading pleasure. In it Eric talks about working with Alice and his great new band Sextus, whose debut album will be out in the new year. You can read the interview in the interviews section.

The Meet And Greet at Airpark Chrysler tomorrow appears to be canceled.

The Nights With Alice Cooper site has just added two new interview clips, one with Kelsey Grammer and the other with Jerry Springer. Click on the link to download.

There's a short article appeared here in advance of this weekends annual Christmas Pudding show in Phoenix.

It appears that Alice will be appearing at Airpark Chrysler in Scottsdale, AZ on Saturday the 18th December from 12:00-3:00 pm. This was apparently advertised on the radio show last night and those that attend get a free autographed pic of Alice.
(Thanks Psychopat)

Also watch for the latest episode of "Battle For Ozzfest" which apparently features Cooperstown Cleveland.

EQ Magazine has a short article about Alice bassist Chuck Garric. Beware though it's VERY technical and maybe of interest to musicians only.

By now everyone should have heard the tragic news about the Damage Plan show in Ohio on Wednesday night when Ex-Pantera guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott and audience were shot dead during a live show. I'm sure the whole SickthingsUK community's thoughts go out to the families of those killed or injured in this horrible affair.
Message Board member Devon has posted an exclusive message from Dick Wagner on his thoughts about the incident which I'll repost here:

"I've been a professional musician for 40 years and have never seen a situation like the shootings in Columbus, Ohio. There has always been "Security" at concerts, but there has not always been such a climate of violence in the society, and so unfortunately the notion of what "Security" means in this era, has no relationship to situations I grew up on and performed in. The unfortunate violence experienced in Ohio is a warning to all that it is time to re-think the "Coolness" of guns and all types of violence. Peace and Harmony children. It's so much better for your well being."
Dick Wagner (Dec. 9th 2004)

It's been really quiet recently with the tour over and the band now working on material for the new album, but this article caught my eye as it has a few favourable mentions for Alice. It's about a recent cover version of "Elected" that seems to be getting some exposure.

Thanks to Des for spotting this article at Creem Online about Alice`s appearances in comics over the years. Certainly worth a look.

This evenings XM broadcast went off without a hitch. The band played the whole original 'Greatest Hits' album in order: Eighteen / Is It My Body / Desperado / Under My Wheels / Be My Lover / School's Out / Hello Hurray / Elected / No More Mr Nice Guy / Billion Dollar Babies / Teenage Lament '74 / Muscle Of Love.
There were also three short interview segments and Alice made a few amusing comments between songs about how they didn't have the stage show ("By now you`d all be covered in blood..."). Overall a success.
The show is replayed three more times over this week and you can all hear it by taking advantage of the 3 day free trial over at XM radio. No credit card needed.

Quick reminder that the XM Radio "THEN..AGAIN...LIVE: Alice Cooper " Greatest Hits re-recorded show is airing tonight (21nd) on US digital radio at 8pm and repeating Mon, Wed, Fri and Sat at various times. XM schedule

I posted this to the forums a couple of days ago but figure it should be on here as well. A new message from Ryan Roxie.

Greetings To Mole-Mongers, R77'ers and The AC faithful world-wide...

I am the Mole!

In the immortal words of George Harrison, "All things must pass"......and after being on a crowed tour bus and/or stuffy dressing room with the same guys (and one girl) for the past year I have amended the quote to: "All things must pass gas....."

And so it is, the end of The Eyes of Alice Cooper Tour 2004....never more, never more.....never more....at least until next year!

I gotta tell ya, this was one of the most rewarding tours I had ever been on....and most of the credit goes to you, the ones reading this post....'cause you are the die-hards, you are the faithful, you are the ones! You are the ones that give us the chance to play our songs, promote our own music and cd's, and live out our big rock show fantasies. So before this starts sounding like a sappy, cheesy, Ashley Simpson lip-sync lip service ass-kiss-fest, let's just leave it at saying "Thanks for coming out to the shows and giving us the much appreciated support!" Now, let's talk about the Real World (nooooo, not the MTV show!!.....)

Damn! It feels weird to be part of the "real" world again.....yeah that's right buddy, the real world where one has to actually pay for their own stuff!....a world where green fees & golf carts are not comped. A world where there is no lifetime supply of Chocolate or Coronas. A world where when you go to a restaurant you actually see your OWN hand picking up the check instead of someone else's (anyone else's pleeeeeze!) A world where your evenings don't end in the morning, and your mornings don't begin in the afternoon, and your afternoon don't even really exist then at all do they?(I think I even managed to confuse myself this time!)

What kind of world is this this "real" world?.....madness I tell you! Take me back to the "fake" world of the Big Rock Show Tour where everything really is like an After School Special, and people do actually live happily ever after...........But no, it's time to come back. Just like it was time to stop making those Rocky sequels, or time to stop releasing R.E.M. albums....it was time to come back to the light, come back home!

And that is where you find me friends....Home. Home, that's a funny word, 'cause when your humble narrator is on tour, "Home" is whatever town I'm in any given night. That's why when I write to you all, I really have this sense that I know a tiny bit about your world (even though I probably don't have a clue!).....but as fate, luck, or destiny might have it, the next "Mole Report" I write might be coming to you from an entirely new Home!.....let me explain:

As many of you might know, or none of you have ever heard....I'm married to an amazing Swedish girl and we are lucky enough to have a super cool little guy........Now, I don't talk about it much (do real Moles get married and have kids?...hmmm, I'll have to watch more Animal Planet), but I don't talk about it so much 'cause I don't want to let the "mole out of the bag" so to speak....! If all you American,or Canadian, or Japanese, or every other nationality of men where to find out how cool the Scandinavian women and culture are, you'd all be suiting up in your bright orange vests, jumping in your pick-up trucks and be going Swede-hunting before I had a chance to actually start my own master race colony there! ha! So here is the plan....or the Simple Plan for those of you keeping score at home.

After many, many years of talking about "the Move", we have escalated the operation to planning "the Move"......now this is not to say that "the Move" will actually happen...but let me tell you, the difference of one's own mental state from "talking" to "planning" is huge! The opportunity is there.....so only time will tell. In 6 months I shall be communicating to you from a very warm or cold climate depending on fate and/or a good real estate agent!....

So why tell you all about something that may or may not happen..??? STUFF....!!! That's why, STUFF!!! I've got too much stuff, and when I say stuff, I mean I got waaaaayy to many T-shirts and bottle-openers....so don't be surprised if the Mole announces a huge closet clearing in the near future.....what good is my 110 volt crimping iron gonna do me in a 220 volt country! So stay tuned, you might soon be the owner of a barely used wet-suit, or better yet, a brand new 10lb bag of Johnny Kat litter! The good news is, if I do decide to have the Great Closet Clean-Out of Roxie 77, all profits will go to my favorite charity, The Art of Elysium www.theartofelysium.org That's right, they are still doing amazing and fulfilling work bringing music and hope to many at the Children's Hospital in Hollywood Ca. They have big plans to expand their entire operation soon so check out their website and see what these good people are doing to help others that really need it!

So what's up in the creative world of R77 and The AC Group you might ask? Well.........unless you are suffering from severe short-term memory loss, or simply have my Mole reports Spam-guarded, you already know that the official release of the Roxie 77 debut CD "Peace, Love & Armageddon" is here and available at the Roxie 77 website. And yes, don't think it doesn't fit beautifully underneath both a Christmas Tree AND a Yamakah...hint, hint, Ha! The title of the R77 cd even sounds like a Holiday Season album....aside from the whole Armageddon thing of course....and what about all this talk about the new AC album...??? Well......

I'm sure that many of you have heard the rumblings of a new Alice record in the works....well you are correct sir! But if you think you have the direction of this next record all figured out, then.....fill us in!! I don't think that even us (the band) will know exactly what type of path this next album will take until it's already shrink-wrapped, but I can tell you this: We are going to do our best to maximize the sheer Raw Power of the sleazy rock n' roll Alice, but ALSO explore and expand on the Theatrical & Dramatic side of Alice....So look for an album that crosses "nervous" with "nightmare" and comes up with something totally all its own, but still totally Alice.....there, now that I've just written the press release, let's move on... ha!

So after 83 shows, 30 rounds of golf (oh yeah, Alice got me and the rest of the band hooked finally on that little white ball....better that then hooked on that little white rock!) 5 different band line-ups, and about 70,000 frequent flyer miles (why can't tour bus miles count as well, I'd have earned enough Greyhound Tickets to visit each and every one of you twice??!!) what did I learn,or should I say what did I see from the Eye's of Alice Cooper?

I saw that no matter what the critics and pessimists think, the Torch of Rock is burning bright through out the world! You, the people, no matter what the Multi-national Corporations try to spoon feed you... you WANT your rock n' roll, you NEED your rock n' roll, and you GOTTA HAVE your Wal-Mart Super Stores! (hmmmm...guess the multi-nationals got us on that one!)

I also learned that one shouldn't always Blame Canada....infact, one should embrace Canada.......amazing landscapes, people, and money exchange! We toured there for so long this time that I feel I might of picked up the accent and really started to understand what the country is aboooot...eeeeehhhhh??!!

And finally,I Iearned that no matter how many miles you might travel away from it, Home is right there where ever you are.....Home is on the tour bus with 9 other people: laughing, yelling, mocking & praising with a common goal in mind: get to the next show! Home is playing a place that you've never been before and looking out to see so many great and supportive fans appreciating the fact that we have brought the rock show to THEIR home......and ultimately, Home is being away for half the year doing something you love dearly, but also having to leave something that you love even more, and the first word out of the little guys mouth when he see's you is, "papa!"

It's good to be Home........have a great Holiday Season and we'll see ya in 2005

Peace, Love and Desperate Housewives.....

- the Mole
Roxie77.com

Alice will be on the Biography channel's 'Beyond the Tracks' tomorrow at 8pm. I expect this to be yet another repeat of the Planet Rock programme they've been showing for months but who knows, maybe it is something else. I don't have the channel so won't see it anyway.

The Phoenix New Times has the following today (thinks Pat)

ALICE IS LOOKING FOR YOU....... Proof is in the pudding
Alice is inviting local artists from all musical backgrounds to participate in the proof is in the pudding talent search.
The winning artist/band will earn the opportunity to join Alice Cooper and many others onstage at christmas pudding on Dec. 18,2004 at the dodge theatre. The first 2 rounds will take place on Nov. 24 and Dec.1 at Cooperstown. Judges will invite a select number of participants for the final battle on Dec. 8. Musicians of all genres wanting more details or to participate can fill out a registration form at Cooperstown from Nov 1-8.

Alice will apparently be one of several celebrity auctioneers at this years Guitarmania on Nov. 6th in Cleveland according to The Cleveland Plain Dealer.

Thanks To JerseyGirl who spotted this interview in the Reno Gazette Journal.

There's a new "Q" magazine special edition on the stands which has a feature on Alice Cooper. Overseas fans can order a copy here if you can't find it in the stores.
(Thanks Giles)

There's a cool review over at the CelebrityAccess.com site but unfortunatly it's again one of those subscription sites so thanks to Tim for posting it through. You can read it below.

Alice Cooper At The Greek - By Bob Lefsetz

I don't do public nostalgia. Oh, I LOVE individual nostalgia. Just me in front of my computer, listening to the old tunes, surfing my old haunts. But when a group of people get together to relive the old days, to try and recapture their youth, it's just creepy.
I don't want to go see the Rolling Stones. Not even sure I want to see U2, having to endure barely fortysomethings remember when they were in college doing drugs and plotting an overthrow of the universe when now they're accountants and salesmen.

But I went to see Alice Cooper because of Toby.

Our values are all screwed up. We revere those with POWER! Even though, ESPECIALLY in the music business, so many of those with power are ASSHOLES! People you couldn't COUNT ON as a friend. Who, ironically, don't even have friends themselves.

Then there are others, who never made it to the top because their elbows are not sharp enough. Who are more concerned with living their lives than casting an image. THESE people you can count on. THESE people you jump through hoops for. Because you know these people will jump through hoops for you.

And for recent memory Toby Mamis has been Alice Cooper's go-to guy. The man who keeps the road open and clear. So when Toby asked if I wanted to come see his boss I said yes. He'd been on the road. It would be good to see a familiar face. And we could talk about his new home in Utah, and our annual trip to Aspen.

And the other reason I went was because of David.

David's thirteen. Three years ago he used to ask me about Blink-182. But shortly thereafter, he did a u-turn. He only wanted to talk about Led Zeppelin. And we're not talking Whole Lotta Love, he goes DEEP! Hell, on the drive to the venue he was pissed he couldn't call the radio station to win the contest by naming Down By The Seaside as the Zeppelin song they were spinning. Then again, he didn't understand it's not about being RIGHT, it's about being the fifteenth caller. You see he only listens to terrestrial radio when he's forced to. He's not schooled in its heinous ways. Normally, he's listening to iTunes and his iPod.

And it was on a trip with his family that I was stunned by the contents of said iPod. He not only had Pink Floyd, he had SYD BARRETT! And he had all of Killer. Alice Cooper's masterpiece.

So when I knew I was going to the Greek I asked David to come along. He didn't really believe it. He thought I would flake as the day approached. But you don't flake when it comes to rock and roll. Rock and roll's just too important.

Traffic was heavy. We missed the initial act. And although the Misfits were on just after we'd gotten our tickets, I ran into Mike Krebs, who books the Greek. So we hung out discussing the scene, the summer at the Greek. Turns out contrary to the national spin, the summer at the Greek was GREAT! We chuckled as to who was truly responsible for this, and then David told Mike he'd gone to the Warped Tour and the two of them started discussing punk drummers. I mean I know Bad Religion and NOFX, but not the individual PLAYERS!

And then, after a failed attempt to find Toby behind the stage, I started to hear the intro music. I don't need to catch every note. But I knew David did. So while Mike was engaged with Shep Gordon, we hightailed it out of there and rushed to our seats.

Now Alice Cooper just about invented rock spectacle. It's his blueprint that everybody's following. Not only Marilyn Manson, but Madonna even. They emphasize SHOW, which Alice PIONEERED!

So I expected movable sets. A ton of props. And tapes.

Yup, all the modern acts play to TAPE! Even Van Halen had the synths on tape. Or hard drive. Whatever they use today. Point is, it's not LIVE! And the audience doesn't even EXPECT IT to be live.

But Alice Cooper was straight out of 1972.

Sure, it wasn't Dennis Dunaway, Michael Bruce and the crew I knew from the old album covers, then again, these players were BETTER! They were just on the edge of VIRTUOSO! They missed no notes. It was pure guitar army assault. Enough to make KISS look like posers.

And the last time I saw Alice, he was flogging a new album.

But this time, he gave that up. It was pure greatest hits.

And what I didn't expect was to get caught up in it.

Because, you see, I was a HUGE Alice Cooper fan.

It was the initial track off Killer that hooked me, Under My Wheels. A great riff with a sense of humor.

And then the follow-up, Be My Lover, as great a straight-ahead rock song as any superstar ever cut.

And usually when I take a newbie concertgoer to a show I pay attention to THEM! Making sure they don't get lost, making sure they're having a good time.

But as Alice was running through those tracks from Killer I was tossed back to MY college years. Hearing that album in my dorm room every day of the winter of '72 and then needing to drive to Boston to SEE him. Needing to get CLOSER!

And that show is STILL in my Top Five. Along with Ziggy Stardust, the Who doing Tommy at the Fillmore and U2's indoor Zoo TV show. But, Alice is STILL doing a lot of the same shtick. He's still throwing cash into the audience, he's STILL puncturing giant balloons into smoke and glitter.

I'm thinking it's pure nostalgia, as I look around at the fiftysomethings and their children. (Yup, the U2 generation COMPLETELY missed Alice Cooper.)

But then Alice went into I'm Eighteen.

Lines form on my face and hands
Lines form from the ups and downs
I'm in the middle without any plans
I'm a boy and I'm a man

I started with Killer. And THAT was so good that I purchased its predecessor, Love It To Death. And I always took Alice with a grain of salt. An intelligent middle class denizen singing for the alienated working class. But then it occurred to me. I'd just turned NINETEEN! This was really MY life. I might have been going to a sophisticated college instead of haunting the streets. I might have been READING Creem instead of living it. But my attitude was the SAME!

I was going to college because I was SUPPOSED to. I just didn't have the COURAGE to follow not only my dreams, but my DESIRES! On the surface it looked like I had it together, but really I was in the middle without any plans. And to the outside, I was a man, but inside I was certainly a BOY!

I got a baby's brain and an old man's heart
Took eighteen years to get this far
Don't always know what I'm talkin' about
Feels like I'm livin' in the middle of doubt

Oh, I was wise. I felt EXPERIENCED!

But really, I was just a punk. Like every late teenager. And on one hand I KNEW IT! Hell, I was in college, not holding down a high-paying job. Then again, I FELT worldly!

I'm a boy and I'm a man
I'm eighteen and I LIKE IT

Oh, I had all the questions, and the doubt, both self and external. Then again, at moments I felt so ALIVE! And I lived in a world that adults couldn't even COMPREHEND! Invested in this rock music. Which wasn't just entertainment, but a trusted companion, that both pointed the way and got me through.

And as I'm standing there, thrusting my arm in the air, singing at the top of my lungs, I realized this wasn't nostalgia, this was the last vestige of something that used to EXIST!

Nobody does this anymore. Everything's safe.

Except maybe Eminem two and a half years back.

Then again, as brilliant as the lyrics were, do we really want to hear those beats TODAY?? They sound so PASSE! Whereas all that stuff from Killer' sounds classic, almost CONTEMPORARY!

I needed the record to understand life. I needed the record to get through. WE ALL DID!

That's not even what's being sold today.

Music used to drive the culture.

Don't talk to me about DVDs, or video games. It's not about the COMPETITION, it's about conceding the essence of the art form. Musicians used to be about EXPLORATION! CHALLENGE! Marketing was secondary. Hell, without catchy tunes, Alice Cooper is Marilyn Manson, a secondary character whom everybody has heard of, but whose music most people have never HEARD! Yes, Alice had a lot of trappings, but at the core was the music. GREAT MUSIC! Classic riffs. Classic concepts.

Oh, when I heard Elected I thought of how no act today, DESPITE THE VOTE FOR CHANGE TOUR, came up with a ditty satirizing something so positively scary we almost don't want to think about it. (And, believe me, the '72 election was seen as being just as important as today's, and was just as divisive.)

School's Out, although a cartoon, showed that kids were members of a secret club. PARENTS might be afraid they were going to destroy the school, but listeners were just too cool to do this, they LIKED that the parents were paranoid.

Maybe that's the problem. It's not as easy to freak out the parents today. They want to go to the show too.

Thirty years ago, as much of a showman as Alice Cooper was, his music had MEANING! We went not only to hear the hits, but to feel the SOLIDARITY!

Hell, today's kids are best friends with their parents. We were best friends with the music. Parents have an agenda. They're trying to steer you straight, turn you into little mini-mes. Whereas the music laid it down straight. Hell, if acts laid it down straight today the parents WOULD be freaked out. To find out that their kids don't want to be doctors or lawyers, don't want to get an MBA, but would rather sit around, smoke dope, and listen to records. Telling them society is messed up, and they want to drop out and follow this ragtag bag of leaders. Hell, that's what WE did. I don't know about you, but my parents didn't want me to be in the music business. A business you've got to STRUGGLE to stay in. One with no pension plan, just forced retirement WAY before your sunset years. But I had to. You had to. We had to get closer to the power, to the truth.

And that's why today's generation doesn't want to get into the music business. There's no power and truth LEFT! If you're a revolutionary, if you want to change society as an individual, if you want to change the course of history you go to work in the TECH industry. Where renegades are accepted. And REWARDED!

If you're a kid you can't even WORK YOUR WAY UP in the music business. There's no room for you. No, the baby boomers own the business, they don't care where YOU'RE AT!

So today's kids MESS with the baby boomers. By creating Napster, by trading P2P. Yup, today rock and roll is in the DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM! P2P is Alice Cooper. And the powers-that-be DON'T LIKE IT! And maybe some twentysomething entrepreneur will figure out a way to use this distribution system to break wholly new acts, that don't fit the baby boomers' mold. Who won't pose for Us, who won't go on Today, who will refuse to be on MTV because it CHEAPENS THE ART! And if you remove the art, all you're left with is product. It's commerce, not religion.

And make no mistake, the music of yore WAS religion.

I said not a word to David during the show.

But when it was all over, he could only utter one. WOW!

There are a couple more interviews up on the new nights site here, this time with Rob Zombie and The Scorpions. Also on the United Stations site there's a new show demo here.

Finally some of those outside the broadcast area (that will be 99% of us then) will be able to hear some of Alice's radio show! Check out Nights With Alice Cooper on this new site. It's still under construction but its a HUGE move in the right direction!! The Halloween interviews are promised to go up on the site and hopefully more after that. In fact there's already a couple of interviews up there, one with Edgar Winter and another with Ronnie James Dio! Result!
Now if they'd just set up some streaming for the show we'd all be in heaven :)

The Arizona Times, always there to support Alice, have a review of last nights Phoenix show here. A good review but with a few rather obvious mistakes.

United Stations have released a press release with the lowdown on what's happening on Alice's radio show during Halloween week (not that most people can hear it). Sounds good. Scheduled guests for the week of Oct. 25-29 include:
Paranormal Buff and Ghostbusters Creator DAN AYKROYD
HalloweenFilm Director JOHN CARPENTER
Nightmare On Elm Street's WES CRAVEN
X-Files Superstar DAVID DUCHOVNEY
Sexy Fright Legend ELVIRA
The 'Bat Out Of Hell' Himself, MEATLOAF
Metal Monster DAVE MUSTAINE
Ghosts Among Us Author LESLIE RULE
Perennially Costumed GENE SIMMONS
Twisted Sister's DEE SNIDER
Madghoul.com's Paranormal Scholar MICHAEL SZUL
World Renowned Paranormal/Amityville Expert LORRAINE WARREN
Frankenstein (the song) Creator EDGAR WINTER
Frightening American ROB ZOMBIE

It looks like the "Trashes The World" DVD will finally get a US release on November 18th according to Circuit City. The European release had no extras at all but who knows what may be on a US release.
(thanks Damienalice)

The Ventura County Star has a article about Alice`s show there on Oct. 26th.

A few weeks late but the "Bart Simpsons Treehouse Of Horror #10" is out and shipping. My copies arrived this morning so check the newsstands (US) or comics shops (UK) now!
Alice's story is entitled "The Legend Of Batterface" and is 11 pages long. It's a tale of Homer's childhood told by a stranger from Shelbyville, who wears makeup and has a pet boa!! On top of that the whole back cover is an advert for the Eyes album. Worth picking up.

Eric Dover's Sextus project is nearly done. Entitled "Stranger Than Fiction" it's in the final mixing stages with a release set for January 2005. Track listing is set to be as follows: You Might Should Know / Tricki Tina / The Mystery of O / Crazy Crazy Crazy 4 U / Kiss Me To Tremors / Wild To Make You Mine / Glitter Girl / Wishing You Well / The Break Of The Morning / On The Freakside / Too Many Issues / Obcessed .
Anyone who heard the early versions of some of these songs on the old MP3.com will know that this will be well worth waiting for. More info on the weird world of Sextus can be found at Sextus.com.

Ever fancied going to an Alice Cooper School? Well it could be possible in the not to distant future. The Phoenix Journal has a report that the new owners of Grand Canyon University (that's the place that gave Alice his doctorate a few months back) are considering opening an "Alice Cooper School For The Performing Arts". Stage Executions 101 anyone?

Springfield News Leader has an amusing story about a rumour that Alice is moving to White Plains. As if he'd leave Phoenix. The very thought! :)

Ever get the feeling Alice has been on a press spree in the last week or so? Yet another short interview has turned up at The King County Journal in which Alice talks about the "new" album, "The Eyes Of Alice Cooper". Better late then never I suppose!
(Thanks Susie)

Board member Wickedyoungman recently conducted an email interview on behalf of the message board members with the one and only Dick Wagner, and you can read the results now in the 'Interviews' section.  Well worth a read.

The Tucoma News Tribune has a short interview with Alice where in relates three of his favourite road stories. the chicken story, the gallows failure story and the Snake reliving itself story.

There seems to be a bit of a rush on press the last couple of days. Here's another item in the form of an interview in the Times Standard. As usual there's nothing particularly new but it's entertaining none the less.

The Edmonton Sun continues their coverage of the show in Edmonton with this review.

More chat from Canoe.ca has appeared since I posted the entry below! This one from the Edmonton Sun, as is this one by the same author where he runs down some of his favourite AC albums.

KURK will be running a competition to win backstage passes and stuff for the 30th October show in Reno. "Listen to Chris Payne during the afternoon overdrive at 5pm to get backstage passes, dinner at the Silver Legacy w/ Limo ride and Autographed guitar"

Canoe.ca have a short new interview with Alice up on their site.

The Star Phoenix has a new interview with Alice where he talks about album sales amongst other things.

There's a new interview over at Puma Press in which Alice talks about fame, fans and the radio show. Worth a read.

Ryan Roxie's excellent album "Peace, Love & Armageddon" now appears to be officially available at roxie77.com. You can pay by paypal (credit cards) and there's also an offer to get the CD with a T-shirt at the same time. Don't wait, just buy it. Its a great album of pop/rock tunes in a Cheap Trick way and worth every penny. Highly recommended! There's samples on the site as well so you can try before you buy!

The latest edition of Circus Magazine (USA) dated November 20, 2004 has an article entitled "Alice Cooper-- 70s icon of rock returns". There's a three-page interview with Alice and colour photographs inside.
(thanks Susie)

The Dodge Theatre website has announced that tickets for Alice's annual Xmas bash go on sale on October 16th at noon.
Full details:
Tickets on sale Saturday, October 16th @ Noon at the Dodge Theatre Box Office, at all Ticketmaster outlets (Tower Records, Robinsons-May, Wherehouse Music & Fry's Marketplace), via the internet at www.ticketmaster.com. To charge by phone, call 480-784-4444 (Phoenix Metro Area) or 520-321-1000 (Outside Phoenix Area).
Ticket Prices: $103*, $88, $53, $33 (All dates, acts and ticket prices are subject to change without notice. All tickets are subject to applicable taxes, service and handling charges).
$103 tickets include entrance into the VIP pre-show reception. Mingle with the celebrities! Food provided by Cooperstown.

Grand Canyon University, after promising it for months, have finally put video of Alice's honorary doctorate presentation online. You can find it on their site here. There are two versions, one for broadband and one for slow connections.

Tickets appear to be on sale for the annual 'Alice Cooper's Christmas Pudding' show at Dodge Theatre in Phoenix on December 18th. Alice and the band are due to appear as usual, along with Weird Al Yankovic and others to be announced. Get all the info here.

I've just received some details about a new exhibition about Salvadore Dali which will have the Famous Alice Cooper Hologram on display.
The exhibition is at the Palazzo Grassi in Venice from 12 September 2004 to 16 January 2005 and is open from 10am to 7pm every day, except 24, 25 and 31 December 2004 and 1 January 2005. The website is here.
After this the show moves to the Philadelphia Museum of Art in February, and it is hoped the hologram will travel as well, though that's not 100% certain at present. In addition to the Alice hologram is a drawing Dali describes as a preliminary study for the hologram, though there is no apparent relationship between the two works.

Ryan Roxie has posted out a message that references some of the strange events that happened on the US tour:

Greetings To Mole-Mongers & The AC faithful world-wide!

I am the Mole! And I swear to God, if we had just hired a camera crew to travel with us on this past 2nd leg of the Eyes of Alice Cooper Tour 2004 we would most definitely have had the #1 rated reality T.V. show in America (and possibly the world!) So much drama and bizarre events have taken place in these past months that I would have titled the show: the "lives" of Alice Cooper.

But being that there wasn't even a video camera (that WE know of) within 50 ft. of the following episodes, you will just have to trust the 'ol Moles shaky recounting of these listed events as the gospel truth. Not withstanding the Moles insatiable desire for writers embellishment, the following situations definitely, maybe, really, possibly occurred exactly how they are described below:

Top 5 things to come out of the Bizzaro World of the Alice Cooper Camp, but not making the CNN ticker..... except for the snake incident:

1. The Ebola "Eye" Virus hits the tour: what started looking like a simple case of someone using the opening bands eye liner and protracting a simple eye irritation turns out to almost blind the entire band and crew! Eric Dover and Cali were the two that the eye fungus hit first and hardest......causing them to perform shows with large "Jackie-O" type glasses and even some shows Mr. Dover performing with an Eye-patch (and those of you who saw those shows thought that Eric was just trying to revive a Prince Purple Rain-era outfit.....well, maybe he was!) The Captain Morgan look was fun, the real threat of spreading the crippling eye fungus disease was not....luckily (except for Cali or Dover) it didn't spread beyond the two (and all their friends back home that merely looked at them!) So once again.....the AC camp dodges a bullet and doesn't have to change the name of the tour to "The bleeding virus fungus laden Eye's of Alice Cooper Tour 2004".....how would that fit on a arquee anyway!

2. One Week.....Three Busses: when you are on the road, the tour bus is your home....well guess what, we moved houses 3 times in 1 week! We are not entirely sure that management changed busses and drivers in search of the perfect ride or in search of the perfect right fielder for the AC softball team currently known as the Nightmares.....what we DO know is that following a heroic win where our former driver was awarded the MVP of the game, a change was made. And immediately following the change the Nightmares lost their next game.....could this be worse then the Cubbie Curse?.....only time will tell! Also, regarding fun little bus necdotes, on a recent bus drive from Market C to Market F we were forced to pull over to the side of the road while just 500 yds. ahead of us, we witnessed a traveling "meth-lab" truck burn to the ground....trust me, I couldn't make this up if I tried!

3. The Return of Teddy Zig-Zag: As if changing busses wasn't hard enough....changing band members too?? With over 2 1/2 weeks left with the 2nd Leg, who could the Alice Cooper camp rely on to finish up the dates? The immediate thought was to find another guitarist, but wait......isn't there someone ALREADY in the organization that hasn't made an appearance on The EYE's tour yet, but HAS performed on the album....you got it, the answer is soooooo simple: Teddy Zig-Zag!! Coming in with just 48 hrs. of time to prepare himself for the big rock show, Zig-Zag showed amazing grace and courage getting thrown into the ring of fire......congrats Teddy....."heeeeeee's baaaaaaaack! The Man Behind the Spanish Wrestlers Mask!" For those of you that came to the 2 transition shows with just 1 guitar, or as I like to refer to them as the "Led Cooper" or "Alice Van Halen" line-up, you witnessed a little AC history......the first time that the big rock show was performed with a 4-piece line up.....kudos to the Alice Cooper road crew of technicians and sound/lighting designers that really stepped up and helped turn a potentially sucky situation into a nice shot of adrenaline right into the butt of the band! (ambiguously gay comment.....I know)

4. The Rise & Fall & Rise of the AC Nightmares: As many of you know, or may not know, the Alice Cooper Organization has put together a softball team comprising of Band, Crew and Management with sublime and horrific results.....the amalgamation of these three ingredients have created a synergy that can only be compared to popcorn, raisenettes, and a bad 80's movie.....actually, the team has had some really exciting and well played games and its over all record now stands at 4 wins--1loss......but man was that loss ugly!.....for more play by play on each of the games go check out:
Like we said before, the Nightmares will take on any Radio Station, Convalescent Home, or Hooters Restaurant that feel they have the (soft)
balls to take us on!

5. Snake bites off more then she can chew: the world infamous boa that graces Alice's shoulders night after night during "Sick Things" apparently wanted just a little bit more to eat after her weekly fill of filthy rodent....don't we all? But an electric heating pad? The sight of an electric cord coming out of a snakes mouth is scary enough.....the fact that the cord was still plugged in is even more surreal! The Luck of Alice Cooper must be passed onto his snake, because just like a bizarre after school special, the Snake went into Emergency surgery, survived, and is recovering nicely in a nice Snake hospice. The Snake shall hopefully live happily ever after....... filthy rodents and electric blankets beware!

Soooooo.....there ya go, a little update to keep ya'll in the loop of what's REALLY going on in the Life and Crimes of the Alice Cooper Camp.....and for those of you that know the Mole as the official spokes-animal of Roxie 77, then you must be getting pretty excited about the Official release of the R77 debut CD: Peace, Love & Armageddon.....it's just upon us, and in a matter of days or weeks (not years I promise!) we will be posting up info on exactly when, where, how & why to pick up the new disc either through the Internet, or through your favorite Mom & Pop multi-national corporate record shop...... so c'mon by the site and help celebrate Armageddon..... it's finally here!!!... ironic, no?!?

And as we get ready for this Third and final leg of the 2004 Eye's of Alice Cooper big rock show, remember: We see you out there at the shows! We appreciate your enthusiasm, support and amazing energy you give us. Don't be afraid to say hello and have us sign your breasts (unless you have a hairy chest, in that case the sharpie is ruined!)..... and by all means, let the Mole know when you are going to come out to a show..... 'cause even though he does live underground, he's always willing to come up for air...... Breath, Breath, Breath!!!!!

Peace, Love, and the upcoming NFL 2004 Regular Season!

Enjoy the noise....

- the Mole

www.roxie77.com

Streetsofportland.com are hoping to stream The Nightmares' baseball game from Portland once it has finished. It's supposed to be happening around 4pm Portland time. They also have a Ryan Roxie interview sometime tomorrow on 'SOP Radio', Unfortunatly their site doesn't have any info about this that I can find and their streaming is setup for broadband users only so that counts me out! Sorry for the vagueness but that's about all I know.

UPDATE: The Nightmares won 19-14. Alice was not there.

Alice appeared as expected at the Roseland Ballroom in New York on Saturday. He guested with Cheap Trick doing a version of "I'm Eighteen". Not sure if that's the only track he did as so far I only have one review to go on. Cheap Trick are a great band. Lets hope a recording of this turns up somewhere.

There's a new interview over at Asbury Park Press. In it Alice mentions the new album will be done in November with Mudrock returning to produce, and there's a cool road story about Schwarzenegger. Worth a read.

Thanks to WeirdKat for spotting that the immortal "Monster Dog" is set for a reissue in the USA on VHS. Amazon.com are listing it for a October 26th release, just in time for Halloween. There's not much detail on the page but you can pre-order it from the USA here. Hopefully it'll get a UK releases as well. A DVD would be nice!

Thanks to Ryan Foster for spotting this. This is obviously related to the XM show reported a few weeks ago. Obviously that wasn't transmitted live as originally thought (the info was somewhat vague on this point). If ANYONE can actually revieve XM digital radio I'd appricaite it if they could contact me. XM radio can be found here.
---
XM is proud to present a New Exclusive Music Series: Then...Again...Live!
Imagine taking one of the most classic albums of all time, and asking the original artist to reinterpret it live-in sequence, before an audience of fans-from today's vantage point, and with the benefit of 21st century technology...
Well, XM dreamed it - and did it - with stunning recreations of albums that are musical touchstones to entire generations of fans including Cheap Trick's At Budokan, The Allman Brothers' Eat A Peach, Jethro Tull's Aqualung, and Lynyrd Skynyrd's Pronounced Leh'-Nerd Skin'-Nerd.
Each episode features the LIVE performance of a legendary album, inter-cut with the artist's personal observations on the landmark work.
Alice Cooper - Greatest Hits
November 21 @ 8PM ET
The father of all shock rockers proves the depth and diversity of his theatrical, pop-skewed hard rock on this multi-platinum compilation that showcases unforgettable anthems, raucous rockers and potent ballads alike in a seamless onslaught of hits.
XM Live - XM 200

Joe Bouchard posted some news through to the BDS list. Here's the gist of it:
Joe Bouchard & Friends, featuring Dennis Dunaway, will be playing at Ale Mary's Pub in Millbrook NY on Saturday Sept 25. Performing with the Friends will be Dave Wonsey on Djembe and mini-kit. Patty G will also sit in for a set.
Dennis Dunaway has a great new project in the works. Patty got to do percussion overdubs Wednesday night and all I can say is it was a lot of fun and the music is great. No word as to when it might be released, but the songs will delight the fans for sure.

Apparently Alice was on WMGK on Monday in a short interview during which he spoke about the political comment, the Staples advert, and announced that there's a new guitarist duputising for Eric Dover when the tour resumes. The name he said is uncertain but believed to be Kevin Johnson. Obviously Eric's not going to be back in time for the tour to resume.

UPDATE: The new guy is Damon Johnson, previously with Brother Kane. He will fill in for 6 weeks. Check him out here.

Quick note about some upcoming VH-1 Alice soundbite appearances for US readers:
24th September The Greatest: 25 Greatest Rock Star Cameos
27th September The Greatest: 100 Greatest Shocking Moments in Rock & Roll
1st October The Greatest: 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock
Mostly repeats of course but there they are in case you missed them before.
(Thanks Andy)

Alice is featured in the current issue of Rolling Stone in a list of "50 greatest portraits". The pic included is the Annie Liebowitz shot used on the cover of an old issue of RS as well as on the recent Miller beer can (coincidence?).

In other news, the yawn inducing saga of the Rock and Roll Hall Of Shame rolls on with the release of the 2005 nominees list and yet again Alice has been snubbed (12th year now?). The hall, in their infinte stupidity, are now saying artists including U2, Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five, Randy Newman, the O'Jays, the Pretenders, Buddy Guy, Wanda Jackson, the J Geils Band, Conway Twitty and Percy Sledge have had more influence on rock and roll history then the likes of Alice Cooper, Black Sabbath etc.
I don't need to say how obviously stoopid this is as it's become a broken record. Some of these acts aren't even rock and roll acts and show the hall is now really scraping the bottom of the barrel. While some are certainly worthy of inclusion (but not before Alice and co.), others nominations are just ludicrous when compared to some of the acts that are still missing from the hall.

According to a poll run by the Arizona Republic Alice is officially the greatest act to emerge from the Phoenix area. As if there was any doubt! Shame they list him as a 70s star though. They should know better.
Good to see The Tubes in there as well. One of my other fav. bands (and with connections to Alice) who will be back in the UK in December and aren't to be missed.

Two tickets for Alice Cooper's concert at the Mid-Hudson Civic Center in Poughkeepsie, New York on Sunday, September 26, 2004, are up for auction on Ebay. The tickets also include passes to meet Alice after the show. The auction ends Monday, September 20, 2004 at 1:08 p.m. PDT.

The auction was sanctioned by Alice Cooper and all proceeds go to the Sweet Relief Musicians Fund. Sweet Relief was founded in 1994 by Victoria Williams to provide assistance to all types of career musicians who are struggling to make ends meet while facing illness, disability, or age-related problems. For more information on the organization, visit www.sweetrelief.org.

It's been rather quiet the last couple of weeks, other then the endless repeating of the political comments anyway, but here are a couple more press mentions, The first is an article about the Staples advert. It seems a journalist at 'Pieces of Flair' has finally realised that Alice DOES say 'School Is Out Forever' in School's Out! Check it out here.
Next is a couple related to the political comments but worth a read anyway at Terminal City and The Chattanoogan.

A couple of press items worth a quick look.
First is about a new cook book that appears to feature a recipe by Alice at Contactmusic.
Second is an interesting update on the snake/heating pad story by the people who hired Alice the snake in the first place here.
And next there's article that shows there is a least one journalist who seems to understand what Alice was talking in "that" interview. Check it out here.

Thanks to Celtic Bob for pointing out his cool review and pic from the Toronto show. Take a look here.

The recent Alice political quotes, as reported yesterday, have appeared in todays copy of the Washington Post. It's probably in other papers as well so US fans should keep their eyes open.
(Thanks Steve)

When I first saw the following a few days ago I didn't think much of it, but it seems to be snowballing and being picked up but various US papers so...
Alice has spoken out against artists who are mixing politics and rock and roll. It seems a bunch of politically interested musicians, including Bruce Springsteen and REM, are planning a series of concerts in support of John Kerry, who is running for the US presidency. Well, Alice has branded them traitors to rock'n'roll, while siding with current president Bush, and it's all getting a lot of press.

Anyway, that's the background and here are a couple of examples of what's being said. The first is from San Antonio's WOAI which seems to get the main quotes complete.
The second is a similar article, this time from Worldnetdaily and adds a slightly different slant, leading as it does with the heading "Alice Cooper: Anti-Bush acts treasonous morons" which is maybe not quite what Alice had in mind!! It also has an extra quote regarding some of the acts siding with Kerry.

Robby emailed me to point out that the 'Teenage Lament/Caught In A Scream' message board is now back up after a few problems in the last week or so. It's a new format so you will have to re-register. You can find it here.

Thanks to Anders for pointing out that there are some new pics up at Dick Wagner's site of him on stage with Alice a few nights ago. Check them out here.

There's also a review I may not have mentioned here.

The Cooperstown Nightmares have made up for their defeat a few days ago by thrashing a Rock 94/Dougall Media No-Stars team 24-8 yesterday night in a charity game. Alice went 5 for 5 and scored four times! More info here plus there`s some video footage here.

There are a couple of short interviews at the Winnipeg Sun today here and here.

Amazon are listing yet another Alice Cooper compilation album, this time called "School's Out and Other Hits", for release on Sept. 14th. We can probably guess the track listing within a couple of songs (you never know though) but the fact that it's on Rhino Records makes it an official release. No track listing yet or cover though.
It's only £6.99 and you can order it from here.

Norwegian Metal mag "Monster" has an article and pic on Alice in their current issue which is ISSUE 3/2004 - Volume 17. You can get more info from their site here including some text in Norwegian about Alice.

AmazonUS are listing a new DVD for 26th October called "Spooks and Creeps". It's a collection of short stories one of which features Alice introducing and doing the voice of a pumpkin ('Pirate Jack') called 'Freakshow'. The Alice film is about 10 minutes long. It's been released before under another title but I don't recall it. More info is available here.

Ryan Roxie's new album, 'Peace, Love & Armageddon', is due for its official release very shortly via roxie77.com and EVERYONE should get a copy. Why? Because its excellent that's why. I've had it for a while now and it's been a fixture in the car for ages. Good time Glam rock at its best.
Ryan has posted to ask for volunteers to help promote the album through any means available, to get the word out about this great album. You can read his full message below. The email address to "express an interest" is droid@roxie77.com.

Greetings to all Mole-Mongers world wide! The Mole Wants YOU !!!

Wants you to what?.... exactly. The Mole wants you to join the Team....... nahhh..... not the Alice Cooper softball team, The Nightmares (who are undefeated btw!).... the Mole wants you to join the Roxie 77 Secret Society Street Team!

It will be everything you thought being on a Street Team could be...... hard work, no pay (in fact, it might cost you a little), and probably very little opportunity to move up the corporate ladder....... still interested? Of course you are! Because what being on the R77 SS St.Team WILL give you is a sense of pride (let's just called it Roxie Pride shall we?) And a feeling of uniqueness amongst the millions and millions of people that have never even heard of Roxie 77! ha!....Plus, think of this as your opportunity to join your very own Secret Society! Hey, all of a sudden your right up there with Kerry/Bush and their cute little Skull & Bones Society.....and YOU didn't have to go to Yale to join it!

In all actuality, it probably won't be that much work, but it will be a lot of fun! The first step in becoming a member of the R77 Society Street Team is to get in contact with me, the Mole, or Droid, the web-master guru and express your interest. Hopefully we will be able to exchange the "secret" handshake in person at one of the upcoming AC big rock shows (www.alicecooper.com) If we have enough advance notice we can even set ya up before the concert (or in the parking lot etc.)with a few dozen postcards to promote to more potential Roxie 77 Street Team mates..... so basically your only requirement for being on the R77 St. Team is to tell other people about the R77 St. Team...... almost as easy a job as pole-cleaner at Crazy Girls or being a guitarist for Alice Cooper.....

As you know, the long-awaited "official" release of the Roxie 77 debut CD, Peace, Love & Armageddon is just upon us, and we could use all the support and help that we can get to get this thing noticed by as many as possible. You know how much we here at Roxie77 appreciate the email, kind words, and overall R77 luv that you've shown us.... The official Roxie 77 "wonka" shirts are now available for sale at the Big Rock Shows this AC tour 2004 for a mere $15.....the same price you'd pay for a Clay Ackin Cd!.....So email us before and we'll set up a time and place to pick up the Roxie77 Wonka Shirt extrodinare.....you'll be glad you did!!

So ask not what Roxie77 can do for You, but what You can do for Roxie77......yeah, yeah, yeah, we ripped off the quote....but it is election year! The R77 Cd's will be available on the website and in person (seeing you at the AC Big Rock Show) in the very near future as well as the ultra-cool Roxie77 "wonka shirts".......There will be special deals offered for those who are in the know....and if you are in the know, you're already a Roxie 77 Society Street Team Member!!

Peace, Love & Armageddon is here!!

Enjoy the noise, and join the team.....

Roxie!

www.roxie77.com

Richard Frezzle has put up some great shots of the 8th August Champion. PA show on his site here. Watch out for the one showing Reb Beech guesting with the band!

Thanks to Patrick for spotting that the the official Graspop site has around 30 pics of Alice performing at the festival this year. Navigate to the photos section and select 2004.

From Wagnermusic.com
"Its August and I am home for a short while. Alice Cooper is comin' to town on the 15th and I'm gonna do a little number with him. That will be a trip!!! I hope to pick up the conversation I had with him last year about us writing together again. We were gonna do it but I guess life got in the way."
(Thanks to Anders for spotting this)

The *German* edition of Metal Hammer magazine has a review of the Munchen show and a big pic of Alice. It's in the August issue.

There's a review of the Musikfest gig here and photos here and here.
(Thanks Steef)

From Jollyjon:
"The Alice Cooper Allegedly Confessional first threw back its crushed loganberry curtains, plumped up its motheaten chesterfield and opened for business in 1997. We should like to think that since then many penitants have received a modicum of respite from the undoubted cranial dysfunction caused by the huge preponderance of their assimilated Cooper congeries. Now in late 2004 the confessional is back ready to pander to the growing number of Sickthings finding Alice out in the ether. Do you carouse, revel, gambol, wassail, caper, cavort, rollick and generally delight in the Alice Cooper terpsichorean muse? You do? Oh good, we had a feeling you did. Feel free to confess your strange addictions, your annoying proclivities, your pleasureableness tendency , the huge preponderance of your assimilated Cooper congeries , the whole armamentarium of your Furnier devices and your desire to wallow in the whole Alice Cooper morass."

Check out the confession book here.

Yesterday`s show as reported below featured the unusual sight of Alice playing a show with only one Guitarist. This is the first time this has ever happen. So what's the deal. Well, Eric is indeed off the tour temporarily. He'll hopefully be back in September. However here's the real scoop. Taking his place from Tuesday's show in Columbus is the one and only Teddy Zig Zag!! Nice to see him back in the band. It's assumed he'll be playing keyboards, although he does play a little guitar and its not unheard of for Alice to switch a keyboard player to guitar for a short tour (Paul Taylor).

In other news I can confirm that the Snake/Heating Pad story that's all over the place at the moment is basically true (it has some factual errors). The snake is fine and has already been replaced in the show by a new "big fat Boa".

There's a short new interview based around Alice's Detroit roots at the Style Weekly

Ken at Alicecoopersweb has mailed to say he now has a hires Mpeg version of the Staples advert up on his site for those who want a high quality version of the advert.

The Hartfort Courant has a review here. Its a subscription site(free) or you can just click "Full Story" to read .

Vintage Alice Cooper Still Spectacle In Leather
August 2, 2004
By KENNETH PARTRIDGE, Special to the Courant

As Freddy Krueger and Hannibal Lechter are to film, Alice Cooper is to rock `n' roll. The three characters share a dark affability and over-the-top charm that amuses more than it terrifies, purposely inviting audiences to cheer on their villainy regardless of the body count.

Saturday night at the Oakdale Theater in Wallingford, Alice Cooper didn't do much gouging, though he did brandish a sword, feign suicide and pretend to slit the throat of a female dancer, who also happens to be his real-life daughter. Cooper and his band relied on timeless rock angst and demonic Rolling Stones chord progressions. Predictably, the crowd was on his side.

Dressed in at least three dead cows' worth of leather, Cooper didn't look much different Saturday than he did in the mid `70s. As he segued from the opening "Hello Hooray" into "No More Mr. Nice Guy," he prowled the stage with black baton in hand, scowling at the audience through makeup-smudged eyes without once breaking character.

The same honesty that lets Cooper put on his spectacle-laden show without pretension or irony, also drove him to confront an issue that was no doubt on the minds of many fans: his age.

With "Between High School and Old School," he seemed to admit his records aren't exactly making the high school rounds anymore. But cleverly he portrayed the younger generation's ambivalence as a response to his own artistic dilemmas: "I can't decide between my rules and your rules!"

Judging by Cooper's choice of opening band, Boston's Runner and the Thermodynamics, it's clear he's trying to play up the garage rock aspect of his legacy as much as the heavy metal influence he's become known for. A product of the same Detroit scene that spawned the Stooges and the MC5, Cooper has a legitimate claim, and songs like "School's Out" and "Poison" sounded more like fuzzed-out pre-punk than sign-of-the-beast metal.

With the night's final song, "Elected," Cooper made a bid for president. His message was sincere, if apathetic: "We've got problems in Hartford; we've got problems in Wallingford; we've got problems in Stamford, and personally, I don't care!" He may lack foreign policy experience, but at least he's got Sen. John Kerry's cheekbones.

A few other reviews: Now Toronto, Concord Monitor

There is apparently an advert running on some channels in the UK (It's been spotted on TMF) for the "Unity" album that features "Stand" by Alice. He's seen speaking in the advert.

Alicecooperweb have kindly put up a version of the Alice Staples advert. Unfortunatly its in ASF format which is a pain. I can only get audio and no video from the site. So I've uploaded a realmovie version for those who are having problems with the asf which you can watch/download here . Fast connections can stream, everybody else should right click and save as to download it.

Thanks to Hunter for spotting that Citizen Online have a short interview up here which seems to have taken place during a visit to a local radio station WNHI.

According to PRNewswire Alice will be appearing at one of the Miller "50 Years Of Rock And Roll" shows on 17th and/or 18th September at the Roselands Ball Room in New York City.
This seems to be a follow-on from the Miller Beer Company putting famous music names, including Alice, on their beer cans this month.

September 24th (US) will see the release of a "Bart Simpsons Tree House Of Horror" issue 10. Why should this be of interest to us? Well, obviously because Alice is featured both on the cover and inside that's why! Released by Bongo Comics, here's the details:
"Join Bongo and it's special guest writers - Alice Cooper, Gene Simmons, and Rob Zombie - as they take you on a heavy metal, Halloween-inspired rock'n'roll odyssey of head banging, heart pounding, tongue-wagging, dead-raising, nightmare-welcoming frights and frivolity guaranteed to blow your mind. And it doesn't get any better than when extra special guest writer, Pat Boone himself, gets into a metal mood and tells a twisted tale of dastardly demons and righteous redemption. The four Monsters of Rock are joined by sidemen Bill Morrison, C. Scott Morse. Tone Rodriguez, Ty Templeton, and Chris Yambar for the Halloween jam of the century! Treat yourself a terrific time of Treehouse-inspired terror and rock the night away! Heavy Metal comes to Springfield this September"
(Thanks To Andy Michael)

Seem to have missed mentioning this one earlier in the week. The Toronto Sun has a review of the Toronto show here (thanks Stephen)

Thanks to Brett for the following:
On the new VH1 program, "When Kiss Ruled the World," the band actually gives Alice a very generous nod and speak of how in awe of him they were when they first saw him in concert. That opens the door for the "4 Alice Coopers" story.
Probably the most complimentary acknowledgement of Alice from Kiss that I have seen in a long time. The Beat Club footage is shown for a few seconds.

Here's a review of last nights show at the London Free Press. It appears the US show is slightly different to the European ones with Calico now dressed as Uma Thurman from 'Kill Bill' for a sword fight. 'Elected' has now been added to the setlist at the expense of the BP medley. Unsurprising as its an election year.

There's an article in The Guardian about tomorrow nights "X-Rated: The Music Videos They Tried To Ban" that's on Channel 4 at 10pm that features a quote from the show by Alice.

A rather amusing review has turned up on Chart Attack in Canada. While generally positive there are some laughs to have from some of the comments. Especially where the writer says how much better this years band were to last years "tubby, balding 40-something's". The fact that with the exception of the drummer it's the same band seems to have escaped him!!

AC.com has updated with a few more statins carrying Alice's radio show which runs monday-friday nights. Here's the complete list:

WNHI - 93.3 Boston (Manchester), NH
WGMO - 95.3 Minneapolois - St. Paul, Wisconsin
KDKB - 95.3 Phoenix, AZ
KTUN - 101.5 Denver, CO
WWUZ - 96.9 Richmond-Petersburg, VA
WVNA - 105.5 Huntsville, AL
WIBA - 101.5 Madison, WI
WAOR - 95.3 South Bend, IN
KURK - 92.9 Reno, NV
KKBX - 101.9 Fargo, ND
KZEL - 96.1 Eugene, OR
KARX - 95.7 Amarillo, TX
WRQR - 104.5 Wilmington, NC
WMTD - 102.3 Bluefield-Beckley-Oakland, WV
WRCK - 107.3 Utica, NY
KYJT - 100.9 Yurna-El Centro, AZ
KZMZ - 96.9 Alexandria, LA
WIMK - 93.1 Marquette, MI
WUPK - 94.1 Marquette, MI
KIKX - 104.7 Twin Falls, ID

The Toronto Star has a review of the Molson Ampitheatre show here. They seemed impressed!

There's been quite a lot of small press mentions about the new Staples advert featuring Alice (mirroring what happened last year in the UK when he appeared in the Sky+ advert). Here's a slightly different one reporting that Alice was visiting Staples in Toronto today.

For those that can see it, SportsCenter on ESPN shows brief footage of Alice throwing out the first pitch of the Twins/Tigers game tonight. Then more brief footage of him in the stands (finishing an autograph ?). This appears half-way through the program. (Thanks to Damienalice)

Ryan Roxie has updated his blog today which you can find here. Good news is that the Roxie77 is getting an official release soon. This is a really great album and highly recommended if you didn't get one of the initial limited run last year. 7 months on and it's still a regular play here. Grab it when you can!

Wanna own an Alice Cooper Watch? No, not just any old knockoff from Ebay but one of Alice's personal watches! Its well known that Alice collects watches and it appears he's parting with part of his collection and you can buy them online. Check out Nightrider Jewellery for all the info. You also get a autographed Certificate of Authenticity and a pic of Alice wearing the watch. Beware though as these aren't cheap.

There's a new interview in the North West Indiana Times dated 16th July 2004.

North West Indiana Times - 16th July 2004
Alice Cooper re-energized

Aged, but still hip rocker to appear tonight at Star Plaza

BY TOM LOUNGES
Times Correspondent

The archetype for all theatrical rock artists, Alice Cooper long ago set the bar high for the likes of Marilyn Manson, Slipknot and other mask-wearing wannabes, even beating KISS into grease paint by nearly four years.

And he still is going strong.

Cooper rang up The Times long distance from Switzerland recently to chat about his return engagement to Star Plaza Theatre, his new radio show, his latest accolades and album "The Eyes Of Alice Cooper," which has re-energized both his spirit and his fan base.

"Yeah ... Doctor Alice is in," laughed the rock icon, referring to his recent honorary doctorate degree bestowed by Grand Canyon University, a liberal arts school in Phoenix.

"When you think about it, even if a kid went to school to study being an entertainer for 12 or 14 years, I've still got three times the experience that he or she does. So I should be a doctor for logging in all the road time and the millions of miles. (It's like) I've been interning for the last 35 years," he laughed.

Cooper may speak light of his degree, but he is deeply appreciative to the university, along with those who also made it possible for him to get his recent "Star" on the Hollywood Boulevard Walk of Fame.

His star is well won. Twenty-five years ago, he donated $27,777 to the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce to fix the "O" in the landmark "Hollywood" sign, in memory of his good friend Groucho Marx.

Cooper also spearheaded a 1978 campaign to restore the entire sign, which by the late 1970s, had fallen into a sad state of disrepair.

"These kinds of things usually come to an entertainer at about this point in their career, when they've been at it for decades and are getting older," he said of his recent honors.

"In a way, that is good, because it is kinda cool that your kids are there to see you get your doctorate and to share these kinds of things with you. I think you can appreciate this kind of stuff a lot more than ... if it happened earlier."

Though older than most rockers on the road today, Cooper is not ready to rest on his laurels.

"When you have these things happen, you have to make sure you don't start thinking 'This must be the end of my career, because I'm getting all these accolades now,'" he said. "I'm not even thinking about retiring!"

Cooper is so unwilling to retire, that he has taken on a new job, that of classic rock disc jockey for the United Stations Radio Network, an independent leader in original network radio programming. Cooper's show "originates from a toxic waste dump" in Arizona and is beamed via satellite to USRN affiliates.

"I'd done just about every type of entertainment possible during some point in my career, except radio," said Cooper, of why jockeying songs appealed to him.

"I agreed to do this show as long as they let me create radio theater with a cast of characters like 'Inga' the 90-year-old stripper and 'Fletcher' the rat catcher, voiced by Billy Bob Thornton. I get to play whatever I want ... Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin and Van Halen ... but I also play The Stooges, Frank Zappa and things that radio audiences today don't normally get to hear."

Of everything this past year, Cooper is enthused about "The Eyes of Alice Cooper", which has been likened to Cooper's groundbreaking 1972 album, "Love It to Death."

"I didn't want to make a perfect-sounding record. I wanted a dirty, old-fashioned rock 'n' roll record with all the warts and that is what we got," he said.

Along with the vintage sound re-created by recording and performing with circa-1972 stage gear, Cooper has brought back a lot of props from his heyday.

The original "Love It To Death" tour backdrop hangs behind him again on stage, while his once trademark snake again slithers around his neck for the first time in years.

Cooper appreciates that fans have embraced his new music. "I'm seeing nearly as many people in the audience singing along on the new songs as on the old ones," he crowed. "Looking out and seeing that makes me feel great!"

Jollyjon and I have been through all the entries for the Setlists competition and I'll let Jollyjon make the announcements in his own unique style:

It was a difficult choice blah blah blah but by and large setlists with direction and lighting went through to the shortlist and for fevered discussions in the top field. It's fair to say that we're 'Dada' bias and 'My Stars' / 'Blue Turk' will always get extra credit.

Our nominations for the "Never gonna happen awards" (but still amusing) are :-

- 10 minute breaks mid show
- Sheep falling from ceilings (honorable mention though)
- Huge 5ft joints
- Schools Out as opening track

OK

In reverse order :-

3rd place: Denise Firman & Rob Upton (a tie)

2nd place: Alex Bergdahl
Great great song selection. Maybe just a little too out there. I'd pay good money to see this show WITH THEATRICS. Not for the casual fan I'm afraid. Alice would see the potential and write a great new theatrical show to go with. Yes 'Dada' into 'Former Lee Warmer' yes! yes! yes! 'My stars' yes! yes! If only you'd said full theatrical show!

1st place: Simon Keen
Unique new show well thought out. Love the idea of distinct acts to a show. The design of this show tops the list whilst the setlist we feel is 2nd to Mr Bergdahl's. That said a master stroke putting in 'I Love America'. We NEED to hear that live. Wonder how much a Hummel weighs? May need to scale down vehicle wise in smaller intimate venues? Camper Van might have got on the Dublin stage or maybe a foldout concetina cardboard limo (nah maybe not) Can you imagine the front row at Hammersmith when 'Slick Black Limo' kicks in! Great stuff.

----

I'd like to add that JJ and I agreed on the winners seperately. both putting together a short list which, when compared, almost exactly matched. This made the final results easier to decide. I'd like to thank everyone who took part. It was great reading all the lists and there were some very good ideas in there. You can see all the entries here and there's a topic open in on the message board if you wnt to leave comments.
So finally, if the winners (that's Denise, Alex and Simon. I have Robs)could email me their snail mail addresses I'll get the prizes in the post over the next week or so. Simon gets the CD's, posters and stuff. The runners up will get a package of posters, flyers and assorted bits and pieces. Thanks to EVERYONE who took part. Hopefully we'll do it again some time.

Yes. Lady Macbeth is in the news again. Click here for more about Sickthing Bill Crowe's travels with the Coop from Scotsman.com.

Amazon are finally offering pre-orders on the new "Unity: Athens 2004" album. This of course is the album featuring the new track, "Stand", by Alice and rapper Xzibit. I've heard it. It's not awful but also not that inspiring to be honest. Kinda more "Brutal Planet" then "Eyes". Still, Alice does get the lion's share of the vocal so that makes it worth getting on its own. You can pre-order here.

Thanks to Matt for spotting that Musicfest are running a competition to win tickets for their show on August 7th as well as winning your own Python!!! To Quote: "Winner will receive two VIP front row tickets to the concert and a gift certificate from Superpetz to redeem for a python or a creature of your choice." All you have to do is fill in a form on their site.

Our own competition is now closed to new entries. Thanks to all those who took part. Now it's time for the judging!
If you are interested in seeing the entries you can now do so by clicking here

The Lancing State Journal has a review of last nights show plus some photos. Click here for the pics.

On top of that Darrel emails that there's a interview at The Post Crescent although it looks awfully familiar so maybe a duplicate of one elsewhere on the net.

Also there's some photos from the "Bob And Tom Golf Outing" at WIBA-FM.

Patrick in Belgium writes to say that there is a 2 hours special on the Graspop festival airing on TMF (The Music Factory) tonight at 21.00. No details as yet but as Alice headlined this year and has played there in previous years it's probably safe to expect some Alice content in the show.

There's a new interview, conducted last spring, with Neal up on his site here. It contains some interesting stories about the early days!!

From a post to usenet:
"Dennis will be playing a set for a benefit concert in Danbury, CT on Sunday July 18. The show starts at 6 pm at Tuxedo Junction. A Zeppelin tribute band called Hindenberg will also do a set. Hindenberg includes players from Rat Race Choir, Ace Frehley's Band, Zebra, and another Zep tribute band Physical Graphiti."
I know nothing more then this.

Also watch out on July 18th for the "Michael Douglas & Friends" Golf show to be shown on ABC Sports (USA) following screening of the British Open Golf championship. The tournament took place on May 1st-2nd this year.

And lastly for US watchers The Travel Channel will be showing a show featuring Cooperstown at some point tonight (Tuesday). Hopefully Americans will find a few more details to help them out.
UPDATE: It seems to be called "Food Crazy" and is on at 8pm (Eastern)

Well the US tour is now underway. Reports indicate there are no changes from the European leg. Same setlist so far although I wouldn't be surprised if 'Elected' is added in at some point soon. Apparently Eric Dover took a tumble from the scaffolding at the first show but appears to be ok.
Also check out the merchandise stand where they have left over stuff from last year at half price apparently. Result!

New Interviews at the Des Moines Register and the North West Herald have appeared today. Thanks to Krissy for spotting them.

Alice is to appear in a new advert for Staples, the office supply company, in the USA. The advert features Alice buying "back to School" supplies for his "daughter". The campaign starts on July 19th. News story here.

Thanks to Peter for reporting there's some reviews and pics of the Vienna show at the Incipitum website. He also has his own Alice tribute band and you can find out more info about them at here.

The Sunday Post today has a short article and pic about Sickthings own Bill Crowe and his snake, Lady Macbeth, which was used on Alice's Euro-dates this year.
UPDATE: You can see the article online here.

This Monday (5th July) Alice Cooper will be on CNN International in the show 'Living Golf' at 20:30 GMT (22:30 CET).
Update: It seems Sky guide is showing this as being on at 21.30 in the UK. This would make sense if its on at 22.30 in Europe.

Jollyjon write to report:
Premiering Tonight: Covert Ovine Films Mini Epic "They Are Coming To Take Me Away" available by selecting Up The Smoke 2004 from our sadly lacking menu at The Alice Cooper Allegedly. An 11mb download the .rm file needs Real One Player to view available free at real.com.
This is a short movie featuring some of the sickthings at Hammersmith Apollo last weekend.

There is a small feature on Alice's favourite books today in the Daily Express. Apparently he chooses books by Stephen King, Ian Fleming and one on Groucho Marx among.

United Stations have posted another short sampler mp3 from the "Nights With Alice Cooper" show which you can download from here.

Thanks to the generosity of Jollyjon (Jollyjon.com) and Maria in Sweden I've got a few tidbits lying around here and was going to run a competition to win them. No huge prizes but there's some posters, flyers and press articles as well as a couple of old CD singles up for grabs.

To that end I thought it could be cool to get people to put together an ideal setlist, with a few pre-set suggestions. These being:

1. It has to be realistic. You would, for example, get "bonus marks" for creating a setlist that actually seems like something that could be performed to a normal Alice audience. By that I mean that skipping School's Out in your list just doesn't make sense to me as its the ultimate Alice anthem and the song that made his career. There's a couple of others like that as well but I'll let you guess those. Missing out ALL the big hits just isn't logical.
Also keep it to around 20-22 songs or 2 hours absolute maximum. Anything over that would be very unrealistic.

2. Be imaginative. Alice's shows aren't just about the songs so a few stage directions, ideas about the performance or reasoning for the order of the songs would catch the attention. You could include past stage props or new ones. Up to you. Just a suggestion but a logical set list and order will go down far better then a simple list of songs in a seemingly random order.

3. Knowing my taste in Alice music is probably a definite advantage!! However I will try to be as unbiased as possible and will get Jollyjon (and possibly another) to look over the entries as well.

4. Combining songs is fine. Alice has done it. So medly's starting with one song and switching into another halfway through is totally acceptable as long as you state that's what you mean.

So what do you think? A bit of fun and you could get a little parcel in the post as well. Can't lose!! I'll even put up a page with the best ones once the winner(s) are decided.

All entries should be emailed direct to me at comp@sickthingsuk.co.uk and I think a couple of weeks or so should be enough time. Judges decision final, etc etc.
Get thinking!