HorrorBox Time

Just in time for Halloween Alice has launched a new horror themed card game. From the press release:

“This is 2020, which means all things are upside down and backwards. You’re going to be staying home a lot, so why not play HorrorBox.  It’s something totally new, fun for everyone. I helped write a lot of the stuff in it.   You will become The Addams Family, if that’s a goal in your life.” -Alice Cooper

Just in time for Halloween, the Godfather of Shock Rock himself, Alice Cooper, has partnered with FITZ Games to launch ‘HorrorBox’, a first-of-its-kind, haunted comedy card game with a focus on all things horror. Co-written by a team of horror fanatics, with help from Alice himself, the game prompts players to select from question cards like “Pennywise tricked me by…..” and “The tenth circle of hell is for….” Entertaining answer cards such as “Setting up my haunted house as an Airbnb” provide countless pairings for endless laughter. To kick things up a notch, dare cards are sprinkled into the question cards, cueing players to “drink something that looks like blood” or “knock on your neighbors door and say you’re next.”

Alice has even posted a video launching the game which you can see here.
There’s a base game box available, and various expansion packs, or you can get everything in one big package. So far it seems this is only on sale in the US. but it’s likely somewhere over here will stock it soon and save us the likely horrific postage charges.

Also announced this week is a new talent show, with a difference. Alice will be one of the judges on this new talent show which will involve real musicians playing their own original songs! What a concept! The new show will be called ‘No Cover’ and Alice will judge along with Lzzy Hale and Gavin Rossdale (Bush). The show is being launched by ‘Hit Parader’ magazine and Sumerian Records (Nita’s record company) and will be filmed at the legendary Troubador club in West Hollywood in December (covid permitting). No info about when or where we’ll be able to watch it yet though. If you have a band you can apply to the show now via their website here.

““I can’t wait for No Cover,” says Alice Cooper.  “To me, a band really isn’t a band unless they are writing their own material, and if you know anything about me you know that I have a very high standard for not only the songs but also the performance. I’m looking for the band who has it all – the one who can not only write it and play it, but perform it and make me BELIEVE it.”

Alice’s Rock’n’Roll Fantasy Camp interview on November 28th will be gatecrashed by none other than Shep Gordon. Get these too together and you never know what will come up. Tickets are still available at Universe.com.

The last Record Store Day of 2020 has been and gone, and the long awaited ‘Live From The Apollo Theatre Glasgow, Feb 19, 1982’ live album is finally out (along with yet another version of ‘Dirty Diamonds). Sadly they haven’t put much effort into the sleeve, no gatefold with photos etc, but it’s still a terrific recording of a legendary show. A bit of advice: if you missed getting a copy at the weekend make sure you do a google search before paying inflated prices on eBay, as last time I looked there will still online stores with copies for normal price.

Alice’s appearance on AirB&B’s ‘Spooky time’ last week was actually a lot of fun, at least for the kids who joined in! Alice was in costume and make up as was Sheryl who popped in a few times as well. You can still watch the broadcast on YouTube.

And speaking of Sheryl Cooper, she was Ryan Roxie’s guest for ‘In The Trenches’ this week and this is one you don’t want to miss. Lots of chat about the 1975 tour, meeting Alice and falling for him, and daughter Calico dropped in as well. Definitely check this one out on YouTube. If you are waiting for Ryan’s interview with Michael Bruce which was announced a few weeks ago, it’s been delayed, but is still coming up. Keep an eye on Ryan’s social media channels for news of a new date.

And as I mentioned Calico, there’s a new interview with her in ‘French Fries’ magazine that you can read here. Calico, Chuck and Beasto Blanco will be on the haunted ship ‘Queen Mary’ on Halloween night for a ‘virtual haunt and music fest’ including a special performance by Beasto. Calico let slip on the ‘Trenches’ podcast that they’ll be playing a Motorhead cover, but with her singing it not Chuck! Should be interesting. You can get all the info about this special event and buy tickets to join in here.

Yahoo still seem to be getting content out of their interview with Alice from a couple of months ago. They’ve just put up an article with Alice talking about ‘The Muppet Show’ which you can check out here.

On October 30th there will be a special Halloween release of “Love Potion No. 9” by Fiona Silver which is of interest to us because it features Dennis Dunaway! The songs currently being played on Song being played on Sirius XM, WRAT New Jersey, CFMU Hamilton, Ontario, WJCU Cleveland, and more. No link for the video yet but it should appear on Fiona’s YouTube channel here.
Update: and now you can see it below

Also on October 30th – Signed copies of Blue Coupe’s ‘Eleven Even’ re-release will be available at participating independent record stores across the US with the option of hosting virtual in-store meet and greets with Blue Coupe. I originally announced that this was happening on Record Store day but I was mistaken, so check you local store tomorrow!

The ‘Daughters of Noise’ have released a new version of ‘Clones (We’re All)’ which isn’t half bad. Check it out here.

The Amazing Randi R.I.P.

The legendary James Randi, better known to Alice Cooper fans as ‘The Amazing Randi’,
sadly passsed away yesterday from "age-related causes", He was 92. Randi was hired by the Coopers to design the special effects for the ‘Billion Dollar Babies’ tour, and joined the Alice Cooper group on both the ‘Billion Dollar Babies’ and ‘Billion Dollar Babies Holiday’ tours in 1973. He played the mad dentist during ‘Unfinished Sweet’ and the executioner during ‘I Love the Dead’, operating the original guillotine he built for the show.

Away from the Cooper world Randi was a scientific investigator who debunked paranormal and occult phenomena, going as far as offering a million dollars to anyone who could demonstrate paranormal abilities under scientific testing conditions. Over 1000 people have applied over the years but no one has ever managed to win the money. In 1996 he founded the James Randi Educational Foundation, a non-profit group that encouraged and educated the public and media on vetting unverified and outlandish claims, something much needed in this day and age. If you haven’t watched the James Randi biography film ‘An Honest Liar’ it’s highly recommended.

“I am so proud to say that for a brief time the greatest of them all, The Amazing Randi, was a part of our traveling troupe. He was our illusion guru and taught me everything I know about how magic could meet rock and roll. His genius helped the Billion Dollar Babies show become the spectacle no one had ever seen. He was rock and roll’s Gandalf.”
– Alice Cooper

Our condolences go to his family and friends.

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Vote Wild Party

Alice Cooper releases new ‘Elected’ video

Alice Cooper has released a new “campaign” video for the classic track, “Elected.” The new video features call-backs to the original 1972 music video, in which Alice Cooper first announced his “candidacy” and the formation of the ‘Wild Party’. There’s also a range of ‘Elected 2020’ merchandise available now.

In addition to Alice’s Fantasy Camp chat the legendary Shep Gordon is also holding a ‘Rock’n’Roll Fantasy Camp Masterclass’ on October 20th with a portion of the proceeds going to the ‘Maui Food Bank’. There’s only 25 places available to join in live, which have sold out, but you can still join the live stream for this special event and you can get tickets now here.

Halloween Tales

Alice has teamed up with Airbnb to offer a chance to spend a (virtual
) hour with Alice on October 21st and listen to him tell a spooky Halloween story. The event will last an hour with up to 10 families able to listen in to Alice reading the story in full costume. All money raised will go to ‘North Star Reach’, a camp that provides experiences for children with health challenges.

“Love a good scare?” says Cooper. “Me too. With Halloween all but cancelled, we’ll have to take our penchant for terror to the scariest place I know — the Internet. Join me for a spooky story session to celebrate the season. We’ll read about spiders and spirits, goblins and ghosts and monsters and mutants — all of my favorite things, really. And we’ll do it in full costume. It’ll be a scary good time. (And suitable for children ages 6+ with an appetite for fright.)”
“Let’s suit up and make this a spooky story time to remember.”

Tickets go on sale today and you can get more info here.

Alice will also be taking part in an online Q&A for the KLOS and the ‘Rock and Roll Fantasy Camp’ on November 1st. 25 rich people will be able to interact with Alice live during the interview but anyone can get a ticket to watch live. All the details are over at Universe.com.

Dennis Dunaway can be spotted around 25 minutes into this John Lennon tribute video marking his 80th birthday.
Dennis will also be taking part in a virtual chat with ‘Louder Than Words’ on November 8th which is open to fans to take part. This is a ticketed event and you can get tickets now via Eventbrite.

Beasto Blanco are taking part in another live streaming event. They will be playing as part of the ‘Virtual Haunt and Music Fest’ via ‘The Dark Zone’. This is a cool four day event that takes you aboard a virtual haunted ship and you can find all the details here.

The latest episodes of Ryan Roxie’s ‘In The Trenches’ podcasts have featured Joe Satriani and Desmond Child, and if you missed them you can catch up here.

Finally, you may have seen on the facebook page that Sickthing Paul Forsyth is trying to raise money to help a friend get a much needed new wheelchair, and to that end he is offering the very last unworn ‘Nation of Ovine’ t-shirt (size XL) via ebay. This is the last "sheep shirt" in this design ever, and all money raised will go towards a good cause. There’s just three days to go so check out the auction here, and the just giving page here for the full story.

It’s Hot Tonight

Alice Cooper releases his own branded Hoot Sauce

It’s still pretty quite, but there is a little news to cover before it’s too out of date.

Alice has launched his own brand of hot sauce in the US via ‘United Sauces‘. There are three strengths – mild, medium and hot – and they go by the names ‘Welcome To My Nightmare’ (mild), ‘No More Mr Nice Guy’ (medium) and ‘Poison’ (hot). You can also buy a three pack with one of each but unfortunately they want a $36 to ship outside the USA, more then the cost of the sauce!! Is it even legal to ship hit sauce internationally? A shame as they look cool.

You know it’s close to Halloween when you can download your own official Alice Cooper pumpkin stencil. Check it out at AC.com. You have to fill out the AC mailing list form, but you should be on that already.

Cherry Red in the UK are reissuing the old Billion Dollar Babies ‘Battle Axe’ triple CD and apparently it’s semi-legitimate this time. From a quick look it seems to be exactly the same content as before (album, demos and live discs) but with new packaging so if you missed it the first time now’s your chance. It’s out November 27th and you can pre-order now.

Ryan Roxie’s guest on ‘In The Trenches’ tomorrow is none other then Joe Satriani! Check it out from 5pm UK time tomorrow here.

Alice tribute act ‘Billion Dollar Alice’ are hoping to go ahead with a Halloween party on October 30th at Stone Prior Covern, Bromsgrove in Worcestershire. Support comes from Damned tribute ‘Smash It Up’ and other acts and you can get more info at sonicrocksolstice.com. The club will have limited capacity due to social distancing measures, and it will entry by ticket only so get one in advance.

Alice  Cooper Hot Sauce