Alice Cooper and Rob Zombie have added an additional date to the ‘Freaks On Parade’ co-headline tour in September. They play the Azura Amphitheater in Bonner Springs, KS on September 15th. Pre-sale tickets go on sale on Wednesday using the code FREAKS23 while the general sale begins on Friday.
Last week saw the sad news that the legendary Jack Curtis passed away on Wednesday at the age of 88. Curtis was the man who "discovered" the Spiders – who became Alice Cooper – booking them for regular shows at his VIP Club in Phoenix and helping them record their first record. But beyond that Jack was a hugely influential figure in the Phoenix music scene for decades. Dennis Dunaway posted the following tribute:
"Jack Curtis was like Arizona’s Dick Clark. His clubs allowed no drinking and he hired good local bands and paid them fairly, you might even say generously. On occasion, he brought in national and even international acts.
There was a main [VIP Club] stage at one end of the rectangular room. And at the other end of the room was our stage, The Spider Sanctum (named by Jack). The concept was non-stop entertainment. When band’s like The Byrds would finish their set, the Spiders would start playing and the crowd would simply turn around.
Jack’s wholesome personality made him a prime target for our shenanigans. We could make him blush, and we could make him want to strangle us. But we knew he wouldn’t fire us because the VIP Lounge had a 900 capacity but we were packing in 1,000 to 1,100 kids each night.
The Spiders rehearsed at the VIP and Jack was usually doing paperwork. One day, as he was leaving, we knew it was his birthday, so we all followed him out to his car so we could see the look on his face when he discovered we had filled his car with balloons. He was in such a hurry to get to a dinner engagement that we only had time to remove enough balloons for him to fit into the driver’s seat. He drove off that way.
He was fun to tease but, like all Phoenix musicians, we respected him.
He once said, I don’t know what it is, but whatever it is, you guys have it. That meant a great deal to us."
