Catch Up

It’s been extremely quiet in Cooperland the last couple of weeks. Almost no news has come through, so I’m just going to cover the few things tha have to keep up today.

Alice listed his 20 top horror movies (again) for ‘Far Out’ magazine which you can see here.

Calico Cooper was on the ‘Chuck Shute Podcast’ and spent over an hour chatting away from her clothes closet. Well worth listing to here.

The ‘Six String Salute‘ benefit livestream with Tommy, Nita and Ryan was a little disappointing as they just showed (around 4 minutes in) the video of them playing their solos from ‘Black Widow’ which was online weeks ago. However you did get to see Damon Johnson and his band play a few songs which you can check out around 22 minutes into the show.

Speaking of Damon, he’s getting together with Richie Faulkner of Judas Priest to make a livestream tribute to his favourite band Thin Lizzy. It airs live on Friday (25th) at 7pm central time but you can listen any time after that. Tickets are available from Veeps for $10.

Ryan Roxie’s ‘In The Trenches’ podcast last week featured Sickthings Kai Ross-Best, Bill Crowe and Me! You can subject yourself to that here. He followed that up with an interview with Alice’s personal assistant Kyler Clark which you can check out here.
Lined up for future shows are guitar god Joe Satriani and Trash songwriter Desmond Child and Ryan is offering YOU the chance to join them on air to chat and ask your questions! It’s called the ‘In The Trenches Special Sauce’ and he’s the details from Ryan:

"We really hope you are enjoying the In-The-Trenches Podcast with Ryan Roxie. In all of our almost 50 episodes so far, we have brought to you many full-length insider interviews with today’s hardest working rock musicians and entertainers.
Now, we are ready to take In-The-Trenches to the next level, and we want YOU involved. We are planning a number of once-in-a-lifetime episode SPECIALS, interviewing some of the major names in rock n’ roll, and we want YOU TO BE IN THE SHOW. Here’s how it works:
In each SPECIAL episode we have a maximum of 3 ONSTAGE passes available, where you will be inside our virtual studio, ask our special guest your question face to face, and will be immortalized in direct conversation with them forever, for the world to see. So take a look at the names of our next special guests and recording times, and get your VIP ONSTAGE PASS now!
But there’s more good news! We are also inviting exactly 4 lucky souls to a private aftershow ‘fireside chat’ with Ryan Roxie and our special guest of the week. By securing your BACKSTAGE PASS now, you will hang out for 20 minutes after the show and make lifelong memories.”

You can sign up for you special pass now, if you’re quick, at RyanRoxie.com.

Lastly, check out this cool piano version of ‘Only Women Bleed’ by Daydreamer.

Friday Update

Alice’s appearance on the ‘Forbidden Planet 42’ livestream event last week can be seen now on YouTube. In it Alice remembers the signing session for ‘The Last Temptation’ with Neil Gaiman and seems to suggest he’s been talking to Gaiman about working together again! Amusingly he recalls the signing as like an early comic convention… I was there.. Few people knew it was happening (pre-internet it was only really advertised in store) and around 50 people really don’t make a convention!

The Disney Channel have revealed Alice will be back this October reprising his role as ‘Alistair Coop De Ville’ in a new episode of ‘Mickey Mouse Mixed Up Adventures’ airing in the US on October 2nd. The episode is called ‘The Mystery Of Hot Dog Lake’.

Hard Rock 80 has a new, long interview with Ryan Roxie, but it’s in French. You can use google to translate it here.

Ryan’s latest ‘In The Trenches’ interviews are up now featuring Orianthi, and Mike Fasano (Gilby Clark/Warrant). Next Tuesday it’s the turn of Chip Z’Nuff from Enuff Z’Nuff.

Calico Cooper is interviewed on ‘Talking Metal’ which you can watch here. As always Calico is a great interviewee and this is another one well worth watching.

Tommy Henriksen has posted a new AC/DC cover with Team SoloDallas. This time it’s ‘You Shook Me All Night Long’ to celebrate the 40th anniversary of ‘Back In Black’.

Scream Factory will be releasing a huge box set of ‘Friday 13th’ movies on October 13th with a ton of bonus stuff. On the list are new exclusive interviews with Alice and the ‘He’s Back’ video.

Beasto Freak Stream

Beasto Blanco Announce Freak Stream

Beasto Blanco and the ‘Monsters Of Rock Cruise’ have teamed up to present ‘Freak Stream’, a pay per view event on August 15th featuring the band performing live. Tickets are just $10 in advance ($15 on the night) and are available now here. Once you have your ticket you will have access to the stream for a few days so plenty of time to check it out regardless of any time difference where you are.

Alice was on ‘Little Steven’s Roadshow’ last night talking ‘Detroit Stories’ with Little Steven and co-host Drew Carey. You can check it out on YouTube beginning about an hour into the show.

Lzzy Hale has reposted her interview Alice from a couple of months ago as part of her ‘Raise Your Horns’ livestream series which you can check out here.

Another lockdown interview I may have missed at the time is with Radio Freccia back in June and you can see that one here.

Nita Strauss can be seen performing Iron Maiden’s ‘Aces High’ as part of a new lockdown band called ‘The Wheelblocks’ with Chris Jerico (Fozzy), Phil Demmel (Vio-lence/Machinehead), Johnny Christ (Avenged Sevenfold) and Nita’s boyfriend Josh Villalta on drums. Check it out here.

This Week

Weekly News

It’s been a pretty quiet week in Cooperland but Alice turned up briefly on the Manchester Arena 25th Anniversary livestream. He talks about the playing in the UK and they then play a few clips of the Manchester show. You can see him around two hours six minutes into the show.

Various sites have been reporting that Alice is working with Desmond Child (Trash, Hey Stoopid) again after Desmond posted about it. It’s likely however that he is talking about Alice’s appearance on his forthcoming solo album which he first announced last year, rather then a new Alice Cooper album.

Calico Cooper was on the ‘What Does Joey Know‘ podcast last week amd it was a pretty entertaining chat with Calico talking about growing up in the Cooper house with Alice Cooper as her dad. Worth checking out.

Steve Hunter’s ‘Cafe la Rouge’ has a new six track EP out called ‘Covered In Love’. Recorded in Spain while on lockdown it also features legendary bassist Tony Levin and Steve’s wife Karen on vocals. Anything Steve does is worth checking out and you can hear samples and order a copy here. ‘Animal House Radio’ interviewed Steve and Karen Hunter about the new EP which you can watch on facebook.

Ryan Roxie’s next ‘In The Trenches’ on Tuesday sees the return of Kane Roberts for a second chat, while his newest show ‘The Roxie Review‘ had a surprise start when Alice and Sheryl happened to call just as they went live! It also saw a quick appearance by Eric Dover. Both have agreed to be on ‘In The Trenches’ sometime soon so watch out for that.

Weekly Update

Weekly Alice Cooper Update

This weeks news is mostly streaming events, as there isn’t much else happening.

Alice, Sheryl and Dash Cooper, as well as Nita Strauss and many others, will be appearing during the ‘Oh Say Can you Stream’ charity fundraiser which is happening TODAY from 3PM CST (9pm UK time) on YouTube. The event is being put together by Megadeth’s Dave Ellefson and you can find more details and full cast list and timings here. Alice and co are due on between 8-9 CST (2AM UK).

Nita Strauss will be on ‘Sumerian Live‘ on April 15th at 2PM PDT (10pm UK) for a live Q&A session.

Alice has been talking to Forbes magazine about the current situation and his new podcast series. He also posted a short video message to the NWAC facebook page.

The last ‘In The Trenches With Ryan Roxie’ was excellent and featured Calico Cooper and Ryan chatting about Alice, Beasto and Calico’s own career. It’s probably the best one yet and well worth watching here. Next up for Roxie is his regular ‘Sunday Livestream Sunday’ at 5PM UK time. Keep up to date all the stuff Ryan is streaming via his Facebook page where he posts the links for each event.

Damon Johnson was also online a couple of days ago for an acoustic performance from his home.

New Show In Milwaukee

Alice Cooper announces Milwaukee show

Alice Cooper has added an extra show to the US 2020 tour. It’s April 4th in Milwaukee, WI at the Miller High Lite Theatre. Tickets go on sale Wednesday at 10AM local time.

The Adalaide show on February 11th has been upgraded to a larger venue. The show will now take place at the AEC Arena, rather then the smaller AEC Theatre. All tickets will remain valid.

Calico Cooper appears on the new Wednesday 13 cover of Gary Numan’s ‘Films’ which you can hear on YouTube. Alice himself appears on the title track from the last Wednesday 13 album ‘Necrophaze’.

Alice also appears very briefly on the Planet Rock charity single ‘You’re The Voice‘. You can hear him saying a couple of lines at the very start of the song.

Three Sides of the Coin‘ sit down with Alice in Mystic Lake for an interview which covers a few things not normally asked.

The San Tan Sun News has a few words with Alice about the upcoming Christmas Pudding show and the original band reuniting. AZ Central also has an article recalling past Pudding shows and the guests who have appeared.

Nita Strauss is on the front cover of the new ‘Guitar World’ magazine which should be on the shelves now.

Music In Minnesota‘ has posted a review of the Mystic Lake show with some photos.

Astroturf London Guests Announced

It has been confirmed that Dennis and Cindy Dunaway are flying to London to attend the screenings of ‘Live From The Astroturf, Alice Cooper’ and ‘Cold Cold Coffin’ at the Castle Cinema on October 9th. They will be joined on the ‘pink carpet’ by current Alice Cooper band guitarist Ryan Roxie (after his guitar clinic earlier in the evening), Astroturf mastermind Chris Penn and ‘Cold Cold Coffin’ director Brian Cichoki. The Q&A will be moderated by NME and Kerang! writer Ian Fortnam.
There are still a few advance tickets available for both film showings which you can buy directly from Castle Cinema. This promises to be a memerable night so don’t miss out!
The films will also be showing in Hollywood on October 14th which will feature an ‘aftershow party’ at the Viper Room. The Hollywood Q&A will feature Michael Bruce, Dennis Dunaway, Cindy Dunaway, and Chris Penn. You can get tickets for this one here.

A reminder that Dennis, Michael Bruce and Neal Smith and special guest Mike Marconi, four fifths of the original Billion Dollar Babies ‘Battle Axe’ band, will be performing this Saturday (28th September) at the ‘Fore N Aft Benefit’ at Ives Concert Park in Danbury, CT. You can still get last minute tickets here. The band are due on stage at 8PM.

1883 Magazine have a new interview with Beasto Blanco/Cold Cold Coffin star Calico Cooper which you can read here.

‘Heavy 1 TV’ have a new interview with Nita Strauss during which she reveals she is already working on a second solo album for release late next year! You can watch the interview on YouTube.

More New Alice Cooper

Ex-Motorhead guitarist Phil Campbell has released a lyric video for ‘Swing It’ from his forthcoming solo album ‘Old Lions Still Roar’ which is out October 25th via Nuclear Blast. The song features vocals from Alice Cooper, and you can watch it below. The album also features appearances from Dee Snider, Mick Mars, Rob Halford and Joe Satriani

Flaunt.com have a new interview with Calico Cooper AND a new video from Beasto Blanco. The video is for ‘Solitary Rave’ which is taken from the bands latest album “We Are”.

Michael Bruce, Dennis and Cindy Dunaway and Chris Penn will all be in Los Angeles on October 14th for another screening of the ‘Live From The Astroturf, Alice Cooper’ and ‘Cold Cold Coffin’ films. It’s happening at the W Hotel Hollywood, 6250 Hollywood Boulevard, CA (across from Pantages Theater) and tickets are available here.

Sadly we’ve lost two more music legends this week. Firstly Eddie Money, most famous for the hit “Two Tickets To Paradise’, and who toured with Alice back in 1978. Alice Cooper posted the following:

“I first met Eddie when we did some shows together early in his career, and we’ve crossed paths many more times along the way,” he shared with Billboard. “He kept having huge hits, which was no surprise because he seemed to have a voice that was made for the radio. But of the things I can most relate to about Eddie is that like myself, Eddie had his struggles with addiction and he found his way out of it with the help of his family. Another thing about his family is that Eddie brought them all on the road with him. They all performed on stage with him in his band, and that’s the way my family works as well, we have that in common. Eddie Money is and always will be an American icon of Rock N Roll, and I love playing his music on my radio show every night. My condolences to his family and fans around the world.”

Secondly a few days ago saw the passing of The Cars’ Ric Ocasek and again here is Alice’s comment:

“We have lost another great in Rock ‘N’ Roll Hall Of Famer Ric Ocasek of The Cars. Ric and I actually used to be neighbors for a time when we lived in the Hollywood Hills. Ric had a very unique voice for rock ‘n’ roll, there was just nothing complicated about it and that really gave The Cars an edge on the radio. They spearheaded a simplistic new wave of minimalist rock alongside producer Roy Thomas Baker, much to the delight of car stereos and fans everywhere. Condolences to his family and many fans. We’ll miss ya man.”

Alice will be the featured guest at ‘NAIOP Arizona’s Signature Speaker Series’. The event is scheduled for Thursday, October 24th at the Tempe Center for the Arts, 700 W. Rio Salado Parkway, Tempe. Registration begins at 3 p.m. The event, ‘Alice Cooper “Unplugged’, a conversation moderated by Valley celebrity Mark Cordes, begins at 4:30 p.m. A networking reception begins at 5:30 p.m.

According to this press release Alice provides a voice during the new season (5) of Nickelodeon’s ‘Bubble Guppies’ which begins airing on September 27th in the USA. No information as to which specific episode he is in yet.

Paul Rodgers (of Bad Company and Free), Joe Bonamassa, and Judas Priest’s Rob Halford are the first names announced for this years Christmas Pudding show on December 14th. Tickets are expected to be on sale shortly.

MMH Radio have an article on the ’10 Underrated Alice Cooper Tracks’ which you can check out here. It includes some interesting deep cuts.

New York Film Event Announces More Guests

More guests announced for New York Film Show

As previously mentioned both ‘Live From The Astroturf, Alice Cooper’ and ‘Cold Cold Coffin’ will be shown at during a special evening at Theatre 80 St Marks in New York on August 14th. More details on the event have been announced.
Each film showing will be followed by a brief Q&A, Calico Cooper will be doing a special performance to “Cold Cold Coffin”, and then Chuck Garric and Calico will perform their Beasto Blanco version of ‘Feed My Frankenstein.’ Guitarist extraordinaire Ryan Roxie will also be there playing along with Dennis Dunaway and ‘Snake Charm’ featuring Nick Didkovsky and Russ Wilson with background vocals compliments of the Darlings of The Demented, Tish and Snooky of Manic Panic fame. Signed Calico Angel posters and ‘Snakes! Guillotines! Electric Chairs!’ books, as well as some rare memorabilia will also be available for purchase. You don’t want to miss this one if you can get there. Tickets are available now.

It’s no surprise that Lzzy Hale has joined the band during ‘School’s Out’ a couple more times this week, but in Cedar Park, TX they were also joined by Hollywood Vampire Joe Perry, presumably on route to meet up with the rest of the Vampires for the ‘Late Late Show’ performance the following night.
The TV performance was perhaps a little disappointing, in that the band only performed ‘heroes’ again, as with their last TV appearance. There was also a short skit at the beginning of the show, with Alice showing Joe and Johnny the chords to the song in the dressing room, but no interview or other content. A short video posted by Glen Sobel showed they also played ‘I Want My Now’ so maybe that will show up sometime later.

Goldmine Magazine has posted their feature on the original band which has quotes from Dennis, Neal and Michael about the split and reunions.