US 2022 Dates

The Clearwater show mentioned in the last update has now been confirmed along with seven more shows for the beginning of next year. The dates are as follows and tickets go on pre-sale tomorrow with general on sale on Friday.

28th January – Cincinnati, OH, ICON Music Center
29th January – Toledo, OH, Stranahan Theater
31st January – Wabash, IN, Honeywell Center
3rd February – Louisville, KY, Palace Theatre
4th February – Cherokee, NC, Harrah’s Cherokee Event Center
5th February – Savannah, GA, Johnny Mercer Theatre
7th February – Clearwater, FL, Ruth Eckerd Hall
8th February – Orlando, FL, Hard Rock Hotel Orlando

Also confirmed is this years Christmas Pudding show which will take place on December 4th at the Celebrity Theatre in Phoenix with the acts appear yet to be confirmed.

Vevo have a series of videos, mainly from Trash, Hey Stoopid or The Last Temptation, with Alice giving short introductions. You can see the full playlist here.

If you have Apple music Alice co-hosts show 303 of ‘Rock Classics Radio with Jenn’ which you can find here.

News Round Up

Alice Cooper Band Recording ‘Road’ Album

With the tour over the band seem to have relocated to Nashville to finish recording the next album, provisionally titled "Road". Various posts to social media have suggested they have been recording during the tour in various hotel rooms as well. Of course this doesn’t mean a release will be anytime soon but it does look like we will finally get an Alice Cooper album recorded by the current band which is long overdue.

It looks like Alice will be playing at the Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater, FL on February 7th in advance of the Monsters Of Rock Cruise. While there’s no official announcement anywhere yet the show is featured in the new venue events leaflet on page 24.

Nita’s new single ‘Dead Inside’ seems to be a hit, reaching #1 on the Billboard hard rock sales chart with over a million streams in the first week! Nita’s solo tour begins in just a couple of weeks and there are now VIP ticket upgrades available which includes a 1 hour VIP experience including Q&A, autographs and group photos. Get yours here.

The Progressive Insurance/Baker Mayfield adverts featuring Alice, first trailered some weeks ago is now online and you can check it out here and here.

Alice’s vocal on children’s song ‘Heart Parade’ by Splash’N Boots now has a promo video with a puppet Alice. And if that isn’t enough puppet action check out a video of sock puppets performing ‘Feed My Frankensock’… no… really…

Ultimate Guitar is running an ‘Alice Cooper Cover Song Contest’ with four winners getting AC merchandise. Find all the details here.

Chuck Garric is featured in a cool new cover of Danzig’s ‘Twist Of Cane’ which you can check out via YouTube.

Nita Releases New Single

Nita Strauss Releases New Single

Get ready to have your face melted as Nita Strauss releases the first song/video from a forthcoming second solo album. ‘Dead Inside’ features Nita’s first solo song with vocals and she’s brought in Disturbed front man David Draiman to provide that voice on an epic modern metal track which bodes well for the rest of the new album. You can check out the video above or on YouTube. Nita has promised more special guests will appear on the forthcoming record which is due later this year.

Ace Frehley has started to join the Cooper band on stage in the last week for ‘School’s Out’ and you can see video on YouTube. It seems to have happened at three shows in a row so it looks like it will be a regular occurrence for the rest of the tour.

In other tour news Nita was hit by a broken cane at the during the opening number in Charlotte, NC a few days ago! Alice slapped the cane against the stage and the cane snapped, with half of it flying across the stage and hitting Nita in the head! Luckily she was okay, with just a large bruise on her forehead to show for it. Check out the video here at around the 2.30 minute mark.

Alice Cooper will be appearing at the ‘Days of the Dead‘ convention at Crowne Plaza O’Hare in Chicago between November 19th and 21st. Alice will be signing stuff at various times over the weekend so keep an eye on their site for schedule and tickets.

Danzeisen Dairy are releasing a special orange edition of their Alice Cooper milk bottles for Halloween called ‘Orange Scream’ which are apparently in Arizona stores now. Every bottle solid donates money to Alice’s Solid Rock teen centers. Presumably as before there will be a way for non-Arizona residents to get their hands on these collectable bottles at some point.

New Audio Book Out Today

New Alice Cooper Audible Book Released + Nita Strauss Tour

I mentioned this a couple of weeks ago but there was very little solid information in the announcement I saw, then suddenly it’s here! Today saw the release of Audible’s ‘Alice Cooper: Who I Really Am: The Diary of a Vampire‘, a two hour+ audio book featuring Alice telling his own life story. It’s available now via AmazonUK and AmazonUS and if you aren’t already an Audible member you can probably get it for nothing via their free introductory trial offer (just remember to cancel before the first payment is due).
To launch the audiobook American Songwriter has an interview with Alice talking about it, and they have posted a selection of clips to Soundcloud as well.

Nita Strauss has announced a series of ‘Winter Wasteland’ US shows begin next month in New Orleans. The full list of shows is below. Nita has also announced that she will be releasing the first track from her forthcoming second solo album at some point this month so keep an eye on her site or social media pages.

November 10th New Orleans, LA, The Hangar
November 11th Houston, TX, Scout Bar
November 12th Dallas, TX, Amplified Live
November 13th San Antonio, TX, The Rock Box
November 15th El Paso, TX, RockHouse Bar & Grill
November 16th Tuscon, AZ, Encore
November 17th Phoenix, AZ, Rebel Lounge
November 18th Los Angeles, CA, Whisky A Go Go
November 19th – Reno, NV, Peavine Taphouse
November 21st Sacramento, CA, Harlows
November 22nd San Jose, CA, The Ritz
November 24th San Diego, CA, Brick By Brick
November 27th Denver, CO, HQ
November 28th – Kansas City, MO, Uptown Theatre
November 30th Destin, FL, Club LA
December 1st Orlando, FL, The Haven
December 2nd Atlanta, GA, Masquerade
December 3rd Spartanburg, SC, Ground Zero
December 4th Greensboro, NC, The Blind Tiger
December 7th New York, NY, Market Hotel
December 8th Baltimore, MD, Ottobar
December 9th Pittsburgh, PA, Jergels
December 10th Harrison, OH, Blue Note
December 11th Flint, MI, Machine Shop
December 12th Toronto, ON, Horseshoe Tavern
December 14th Cleveland, OH, The Odeon
December 15th Chicago, IL, Reggie’s Rock Club
December 16th Minneapolis, MN, Skyway Theater
December 17th Milwaukee, WI, The Back Room @ Colectivo
December 18th Angola, IN, The Eclectic Room

Lastly for now Alice himself turns up on a new track called ‘Alice Cooper’s Nightmare On Surf Street’ by ‘Beachfront Vinny‘ which you can find on Spotify. I know nothing more about it, but Alice does a spoken word intro before it goes into a rap over various horror-type musical themes.

Alice for Graspop

Alice Cooper has been confirmed as playing at next years Graspop Metal Meeting in Dessel, Belgium on June 19th. Tickets for the festival appear to go on sale later this month.

October 1st was proclaimed ‘Alice Cooper Day’ by Major Tom Barrett in Milwaukee, the day Alice played at the BMO Harris Pavillion. The Major tweeted “The Godfather of shock rock and stage theatrics, Alice Cooper has entertained countless Milwaukee fans since his first Wisconsin show in 1973. I welcome him back to the “good land” today by proclaiming October 1 as “Alice Cooper Day” throughout the City of Milwaukee.”

The Financial Times has a lengthy new interview with Alice which you can see here.

Detroit News has an article about the new ‘Alice Cooper Court’ in the city which you can read here.

I think I mentioned a few weeks back that ex-Cooper guitarist Damon Johnson is currently out on the road with Lynyrd Skynyrd standing in for Gary Rossington while he recovers from recent health issues. Damon will also be playing an acoustic opening set at some of these shows before his new band The Get Ready open a few more shows in November. Then in late November Damon and The Get Ready will be in the UK opening for Buckcherry on their UK tour, as well as headlining a show in Glasgow on December 9th. You can find all the details here.

GRASPOP

Back On The Road

Alice Cooper back on Tour

Well, the US tour is up and running and already Alice and the band seem to be firing on all cylinders. As expected this is the same basic stage show as two years ago before the pandemic cut the touring short, but there are three new songs from ‘Detroit Stories’ slotted in during the first half of the set. Lots of videos have appeared on YouTube already of course. The tour is under very strict covid rules with regular testing, masks and distancing (no guest passes/Meet and Greets’s etc) while offstage so we can only hope they continue to stay safe and well for the full tour.

Away from the tour the Detroit street that is being named after Alice has been finalised as “Alice Cooper Court” at Eloise Asylum (30712 Michigan Avenue) in Westland, Michigan. The official unveiling will take place on Thursday September 23rd at 2pm and will be hosted by WCSX DJ Big Jim O’Brien. The ceremony will also feature an appearance by tribute act ‘The Nightmare’.
For anyone is interested you can find out more about the Eloise Asylum on Wikipedia. It certainly seems an apt location for Alice Cooper Court!

Alice’s appearance at the London Film and Comic Con in November has unsurprisingly been cancelled (again). However it seems that currently no refunds are being offered as they are trying to re-book Alice for a later date.

Alice and Rock & Brews restaurants have launched a ‘Poison Burger’ which features Alice’s branded ‘Poison Reaper’ hot sauce. Alice has recorded a short promo for the burger and you can see that, and see if there is a Rock & Brews Burger joint near you (US only), on AC.com.

Atlantic City Weekly has a new interview with Alice, but it’s blocked outside of the US. Luckily AC.com have you covered for this as well so you can read it here.

Chuck Garric posted a short video to facebook, saying he’s just finished recording Alice’s vocal for a new Desmond Child (Trash/Hey Stoopid etc) song while on the road. This could be for Child’s solo album which Child first talked about a long time ago, or maybe it’s for something different! Chuck, of course, is an experienced recording engineer, and records the Alice’s chat for the ‘Nights With Alice Cooper’ radio show while they’re out on tour.

‘Brutal Planet’ is being released again on double vinyl by eONE, mastered at 45rpm for the first time. It’s due out on November 26th as part of the Black Friday Record Store Day and comes on “color in color” vinyl.

Ryan Roxie sat down ‘In The Trenches‘ with Ex-Coop Eric Dover for a long chat last week which you can check out here. He also posted a ‘Tour Kick Off‘ episode with several clips from the pre-tour rehearsals. Next up on Friday at 5pm (UK) Ryan will be chatting to Glen Hughes and Doug Aldrich of The Dead Daisies.

Lastly Wes Payton has a book out which features a rock star character which, as a fan, he naturally based on Uncle Alice. It’s called ‘House Painter Pirate Hunter’ and you can find out more on AmazonUS or AmazonUK. In the UK it’s free if you have KindleUnlimited.

More European Shows Added

Alice Cooper announced more European Shows

AC.com has now listed more shows in mainland Europe for next year. The full list of shows now runs:

4th June – Atlas Rock, Gävle, SE
6th June – KB Hallen, Copenhagen, DK
7th June – Spektrum, Oslo, NO
13th June – Compensa Hall, Vilnius, LT

15th June – Charlotta Festival, Dolina Charlotty, PL
17th June – Stadhalle, Zwickau, DE
18th June – Rock The Ring, Hinwil, CH
21st June – Mitsubishi Halle, Dusseldorf, DE
22nd June – Jahrunderthalle, Frankfurt, DE
24th June – Hellfest, Clisson, FR
25th June – Retro C Trop, Tilloloy, FR
28th June – Stadhalle, Vienna, AT
29th June – Summer Festival, Milan, IT

UK Tour Announced

Alice Cooper announced UK 2022 Tour

Alice Cooper and The Cult have announced co-headline UK arena tour for May/June 2022. The dates are as follows:
May 23rd 2022 – Swansea Arena
May 25th 2022 – London The O2
May 27th 2022 – Manchester AO Arena
May 28th 2022 – Glasgow The SSE Hydro
May 30th 2022 – Birmingham Resorts World Arena
June 1st 2022 – Leeds First Direct Arena
Tickets go on sale on Friday September 17th with the usual presales before.

Also announced is an Itallian show in Milan for June 29th at the Ippodromo Snai San Siro as part of the Milano Summer Festival, and a show in Norway on June 7th at the Spektrum.

UPDATE: And now another show, this time the Legends of Rock festival in Strzelinko. Poland on June 15th with Michael Monroe

US TV and Competition Time

Alice is featured on the next episode of ‘Rock My Collection’ on AXS TV in the US which airs on Sunday evening. You can check out the trailer here.

The East Valley Tribune has a new short interview with Alice but unfortunately they don’t want anyone outside the US to read it.

Alice will serve as a ‘Fiesta Bowl Parade‘ grand marshal when the Desert Financial Fiesta Bowl Parade hits Central Phoenix in Arizona on December 18th. The parade "honors an individual or group whose actions align with the Fiesta Bowl’s commitment to driving economic growth, championing charitable causes and executing innovative experiences." Alice appeared on Arizona’s Fox10 news for the announcement.

I mentioned the new Official Alice Cooper Colouring Book already a month or so back, but if you’ve yet to get your hands on a copy you may be in luck. Rock’n’Roll Colouring have kindly offered us a couple of copies to give away to two lucky winners of this very simple competition. Simply pick an Alice Cooper song lyric which mentions a colour, and email it with the subject "Competition", and your name, to ‘si @ sickthingsuk.co.uk’ (removing the gaps). Most obscure/unique lyric will win a copy of the book. Simple. Entries will close next Friday and I’ll contact the winners directly for addresses etc.

Detroit Signing

Alice Cooper announces Detroit Signing

Alice Cooper is set to be signing copies of ‘Detroit Stories’ on September 23rd at Rock City Music in Livonia, MI between 4.30 and 6.30 local time. To attend you have to buy a ticket for $25, but this does includes a copy of ‘Detroit Stories’ on either CD/DVD or vinyl. Only copies of the new album will be signed, and there will be no posed photos. All attendees will need proof of vaccination or a negative covid test. Get all there details here.

Word is getting out that ALL VIP meet and greet packages for the upcoming US tour have apparently been cancelled due to the ongoing pandemic. If you haven’t received an email yet be patient, you’ll likely be contacted closer to your show. Fans are being offered three options: 1. A partial refund, but you still get the VIP bag and contents, 2. a partial refund down to just the price of your ticket, or 3. a full refund. The first option seems to be the default unless you contact them and request one of the others.
This shouldn’t really come as any great surprise, as currently numerous US tours are being cancelled or postponed on a daily basis, as members of either bands or crews are testing positive after a few shows. Currently it seems the Cooper shows are still on, but make sure you continue to keep an eye on venue sites as obviously this could change.

Alice posted a short statement and video a couple of days ago, commenting of the sad death of legendary Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts:

“We have lost one of rock and roll’s true gentlemen. Charlie Watts kept the beat for the world’s greatest rock band for over 50 years. I consider him the greatest pocket drummer of all time. Every time I would go backstage to see The Rolling Stones, Charlie was the first to greet me. He will be sorely missed and impossible to replace but I’ve no doubt The Stones will go on. My message to Charlie? Rest In Beat!”
– Alice Cooper

According to Rolling Stone Alice will be taking part in Audible’s new ‘Words + Music’ storytelling series. The AC edition will be released on October 7th and entitled: ‘Who I Really Am: The Diary of a Hollywood Vampire‘, “where he’ll not only share tales from his lengthy career, but ‘introduce’ fans to the person that created and crafted the Alice Cooper persona.”

Ryan Roxie is interviewed by ‘Slasher Pepper’ in a new video posted to YouTube.