Vampires Tour Ends and Michael Bruce Induction

Vampires Tour Ends and Michael Bruce Induction

The eventful (if you believe any of the endless Jonny Depp clickbait) Hollywood Vampires tour is now complete after a trio of US shows, with the Bethel Woods show seeing a not entirely unexpected guest appearance by Dennis Dunaway for ‘School’s Out’. Reports are that the band were firing on all cylinders this year and better than on any previous tour. The Boston Globe, KNAC, and People have short reviews and/or photos.

Swiss site exlibris, who if I recall correctly were the first site to show images of the forthcoming ‘Road’ album, have again possibly jumped the gun a little with 30 second samples of every track from the new album. ‘Road’ is due to be released on August 25th.

Michael Bruce’s induction video from the Arizona Hall of Fame ceremony can been see here. There was also a report on Channel 3 Phoenix with Michael performing his blues version of ‘I’m Eighteen’ retitled ‘Forever Eighteen’, and further footage here, here, and here featuring interviews with Michael. The show closed with Michael and others performing ‘School’s Out‘.

Nita Strauss has been talking to the SDR podcast and revealed that Alice has been recording with her "other" boss Demi Lovato. She’s also been chatting to KNAC.

Last year Dynamite Comic announced that they would be releasing “Alice Cooper vs The Prince Of Darkness” and we’re still waiting for it. However now they have announced another Alice Cooper title which is due in shops on October 4th. This new 5-issue series is written by Rodney Barnes with art by Edu Menna and has some cool covers.

Hollywood Vampires UK Tour Roundup

With the conclusion of the Hollywood Vampires UK dates we can do a quick round up of the press and happenings during the tour. Ronnie Wood and Imelda May joined the band in London for the Jeff Tribute and Train Kept a Rollin’, while Black Sabbath legend Tony Iommi appeared in Birmingham for a unique version of ‘Paranoid‘ with Alice singing it! Not something you see everyday. Jimmy Page was also at the London show (again) but sadly didn’t make it onstage (again!).

Unsurprisingly the tour generated a great deal of press. Also unsurprisingly most of it just revolved around Johnny Depp’s every move or satorial choice. As usual I will ignore all those and concentrate on worthwhile articles or reviews about the band and/or shows.

Firstly there was the surprise appearance of Alice on ‘Good Morning Britain’ on Monday. It was a short interview and there wasn’t really anything new said but nice to see him back on UK TV. You can see a version of it on YouTube., but sadly they have blurred out the images and footage (presumably for copyright reasons). If you’re in the UK the show is currently still available on ITVX. You want Monday 10th July show and Alice appears around  1 hour 56 minutes into the show. 

There’s been various show reviews/photos, including Scarborough: Yahoo, Yorkshire Post, Northern EchoSoundsphere Swansea: WalesOnline  Planet Rock. Manchester: Daily Mail, RamZine, JustJared. London:, Far Out, The Telegraph (paywall), The UpcomingDaily Express, TotalRock, Birmingham: BirminghamLive, BirminghamWorld and here, Express & Star, Metal Planet.

While in Manchester Alice was out and about shopping and was spotted buying a T-shirt for Johnny Depp. This, of course, also made the news.

The Arizona Republic has an interesting article about the early days of the band in Phoenix and their mentor Jack Curtis, who will be inducted into the ‘Arizona Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame’ on Sunday, with comments from Dennis Dunaway.  They also have a new article on Michael Bruce’s induction into the AZ Hall of fame on the same day.

Nita Strauss made her solo show at the Whisky in LA special by geting engaged to long time boyfriend and band drummer Josh live on stage. Congrats both! Naturally it was caught on video which you can see here. There’s also new Nita Strauss interviews this week from Metal Global,  and the Mistress Carrie Podcast.

If you remember back in April 2022 Solid Rock announced there would be Alice Cooper Arizona car license plates, and then it all went quiet. But now it appears they are finally available to order and it also appears anyone can order one! On top of that $17 from each sale goes to Solid Rock.

New Nita Strauss Album Released Today

New Nita Strauss Album ‘The Call Of The Void’ Released Today

The new Nita Strauss album ‘The Call of the Void’ is out today and there’s a new animated video for ‘Digital Bullets’ featuring Chris Motionless from Motionless in White who opened for Alice a few years ago. You can check out the video here or below. Nita will be live on ‘Rock Feed’ on Sunday at 9.30pm which you’ll find here.

The Northern Echo has a review of Wednesday’s Scarborough Hollywood Vampires show.

The ‘Talk Louder Podcast’ has a long interview with Neal Smith promoting his new ‘Killsmith Goes West’ album. Check it out here.

Lastly, just a note to say that I know the Twitter feed on the news page is currently broken. For some reason Twitter have disabled/broken their own embed code, so there isn’t much I can do. Hopefully they will fix it but with the mess Twitter is in at the moment who knows. If it isn’t fixed after a while I’ll search for some alternative.

Billion Dollar Babies on Blu-Ray

Rhino Records have released a new version of 1973s ‘Billion Dollar Babies’ album on Blu-Ray Audio. It’s the first proper re-release of the original quadraphonic (early surround sound) mix of the album and is not the same as the surround mix released on the DVD-A some years ago, as that was a completely new mix especially for that release. It’s currently only available directly from Rhino themselves in the US, but it seems it will be available in the UK from ‘Dig’ from August 4th with pre-orders available now. Ordering from them in the UK is likely to be substantially cheaper than ordering from the US and avoids the risk of addition import and VAT charges when it arrives in the country.

Electric Eye have a review and lots of photos from the Hollywood Vampires Paris show a few days ago.

Nita Strauss spoke to 97.7 QLZ this week which you can listen to via YouTube, where there is also fan-shot video of her full show from Mechanicsburg, PA last week.

Alice Hits The Road

Alice Cooper hits the ‘Road’ with new album

While we’re still waiting for the official press announcement, details of the new album have been surfacing over the last few days from various retailer listings and the appearance of the short video teaser above [since removed for some reason] suggests a full announcement won’t be long coming.
What we know so far is that the album is entitled ‘Road’ and it will be released on August 25th by earMusic in various combinations. There are *at least* three different CD versions: CD, CD/DVD and CD/Blu-ray. Then there are also *at least* three double vinyl versions, in black, red and orange, which also come with the DVD. There will also be a deluxe limited edition vinyl+CD+Blu-Ray+merchandise version. The DVD contains last years Hellfest performance which was streamed live at the time. (I’ll post order links up once both AmazonUK and US have finalised their listings)
The album was produced by Bob Ezrin and features the current live band (Tommy, Roxie, Nita, Chuck, Glen) plus guest appearances by Kane Roberts, Tom Morello, Keith Nelson (Buckcherry) and Wayne Kramer (MC5) who all also co-write at least one song. The track listing as listed on Amazon is:

  1. I’m Alice
  2. Welcome To The Show
  3. All Over The World
  4. Dead Don’t Dance
  5. Go Away
  6. White Line Frankenstein
  7. Big Boots
  8. Rules Of The Road
  9. The Big Goodbye
  10. Road Rats Forever
  11. Baby Please Don’t Go
  12. 100 More Miles
  13. Magic Bus

Amazon.com has the following description:

“The road will make you or break you. To survive it, you need to be as tough as asphalt and move fast enough to make the competition eat dust. Throughout 2022, Alice collaborated closely with the members of his touring band as well as long-time producer Bob Ezrin, putting together what would become his brand-new studio album “Road.” You can feel the energy and lightness that the band brings with every riff and hear the story behind what inspired them. Bringing everything full circle, it channels the spirit of old school Alice with instantly recognizable grit and plenty of gusto. It’s everything you’d hope for from him and more. And this time his trusted longtime bandmates— Ryan Roxie [guitar], Chuck Garric [bass], Tommy Henrikson [guitar], Glen Sobel [drums], and Nita Strauss [guitar]—are riding shotgun. Kane Roberts (a touring and recording collaborator with Alice’s in years past who briefly rejoined Cooper on the road in 2022) makes a special guest appearance, contributing the raucous and rip-roaring “Dead Don’t Dance.” Other special contributors to the album include Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello, who co-wrote, and plays and sings backing vocals on “White Line Frankenstein,” and Buckcherry’s Keith Nelson and MC5’s Wayne Kramer, who also co-wrote new songs with Alice.”

Obviously I’ll post the full release information as soon as it’s released

In other news, Nita Strauss has released another track from her forthcoming second album. This one is called ‘Victorious’ and features "Dorothy" on vocals. Nita says: "Victorious is the anthem I always wanted, a song about inspiring change, marching forward relentlessly, being willing to save yourself instead of waiting for someone to do it for you, and never backing down from a fight, Dorothy was the perfect powerhouse voice and personality to stand and deliver, and knock this one out of the park.” You can see the video below.

Radio Eksen in Istanbul, Turkey have posted a short interview with the Hollywood Vampires which you can check out here. It’s in English. The band began their European tour a couple of days ago with a similar set to the last tour but with a couple of nods to Jeff Beck added in.

The "Sally Steel Rocks! Show" has posted the second part of her interview with Alice talking about being on Hollywood Squares, what he feels his best song was, what he was like in high school. You can check it out here.

Beasto Blanco have signed a deal with COP International for two new singles later this year followed by a new album in 2024. You can read the full press release here.

Vampires Donate To Disaster Relief

The Hollywood Vampires have announced that all income from the June 10th show in Istanbul will be donated to the Disasters Emergency Committee

The Hollywood Vampires have announced that all income from the June 10th show in Istanbul will be donated to the Disasters Emergency Committee to help with aid after the devastation earthquakes in Turkey recently. They have also released ‘Raise The Dead‘ from the ‘Live In Rio’ album/DVD which came out Friday.

The News-Gazette have an interesting article which claims to show the contents of the Alice Cooper Tour Rider, that is, the part of a concert contract that shows what must be provided at each venue on the tour for the band’s comfort during their stay at the venue. While there’s nothing particular weird on there it does offer some insight to how things are done on the tour.

Alice is on the front cover of the latest issue of ‘Rock’n’Roll‘ magazine in Sweden.

Nita Strauss is interviewed by UltimateGuitarTV on YouTube and ‘The Rock Experience‘ about her new album.

Vampires Postpone US Shows

Vampires Postpone US Shows

The Hollywood Vampire have postponed their three US shows this week after Johnny Depp sustained a “painful injury to his ankle following his recent appearances and has been advised by his doctor not to travel.” The statement continues: “He is devastated by this turn of events, but looks forward to resting up so all four Vampires can bring their absolute best to the tour in Europe.”
The shows have already been rescheduled with all tickets remaining valid for the new dates. They now play:

July 28 – Boston, MA – Wang Theatre Boch Center
July 29 – Manchester, NH – SNHU Arena
July 30 – Bethel, NY – Bethel Woods Center For The Arts

Alice was interviewed on AXS TV’s ‘Power Hour’ last week part of which is now on YouTube.

‘Forbes’ magazine has a review and photos from the Champaign show including commenst from Nita. Check it out here.

Nita Strauss has released a new video on YouTube for ‘The Golden Trail’ featuring Anders Fridén of In Flames.

New Vampires Show and Nita’s Solo Tour

The Hollywood Vampires have added an extra show to their European tour. They play
Summerstage Autostadt – Wolfsburg, Germany on July 21st. Tickets go on sale Monday May 8th at 10AM CET.

Nita Strauss has announced two months of US solo shows for June and July. The ‘Summer Storm’ tour, which will feature opening act ‘Lions At The Gate’ runs as follows:

June 13th Nashville, TN @ Exit/ In
June 14th Atlanta, GA @ The Loft
June 15th Greensboro, NC @ The Hangar 1819
June 17th New York, NY @ The Meadows
June 18th Toronto, ONT @ Horseshoe Tavern
June 19th Mechanicsburg, PA @ Lovedrafts
June 21st Harrison, OH @ The Blue Note
June 22nd Flint, MI @ The Machine Shop
June 23rd Angola, IN @ The Eclectic Room
June 24th Bloomington, IL @ The Castle Theatre
June 25th Madison, WI @ The Majestic Theatre
June 26th Omaha, NE @ The Waiting Room
June 28th Denver, CO @ The Bluebird Theater
June 29th Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge
June 30th Boise, ID @ Neurolux
July 1st Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theatre
July 2nd Vancouver, BC @ The Rickshaw Theatre
July 3rd Seattle, WA @ El Corazon
July 5th Sacramento, CA @ Goldfield Trading Post
July 6th Los Angeles, CA @ Whisky A Go Go
July 8th Las Vegas, NV @ The Space
July 9th Phoenix, AZ @ Crescent Ballroom
July 11th San Antonio, TX @ The Rock Box
July 12th Dallas, TX @ Trees
July 13th Houston, TX @ Scout Bar
July 14th New Orleans, LA @ The Parish at House of Blues

OnMilwaukee has a short interview with Alice. Of amusing note is their reference to his ‘Pretty Things’ album… obviously meaning ‘Pretties For You’. A mistake copy and pasted to AC.com!

WANE has the story of Alice and Sheryl out shopping in in Fort Wayne and buying a new sword, which sure enough you can see during the opening of that nights show. Unfortunately their report and videos are geolocked to prevent the information reaching Europe…

Mike Allen’s new book ‘Living and Touring with Alice Cooper and Other Stories‘ has apparently been selling well and Mike has been on Hudson River Radio chatting about it, and his time with the original band. Check it out here.

‘I’m Always Chasing Rainbows’ from ‘Goes To Hell’ is featured on the new ‘Guardians Of The Galaxy’ mixtape and possibly the film as well. check out the full list here.

Lastly Classic Rock recalls the old story of Alice and Joe Perry trying to write songs for ‘Monster Dog’ in a haunted house. An oldie, but to be fair one not repeated as often as many other old stories. Alice is also featured in the latest issue of Classic Rock Magazine.

Hollywood Vampires Release My Generation Clip

The Hollywood Vampires have released a new live video of ‘My Generation’

The Hollywood Vampires have released another clip from the forthcoming ‘Live In Rio’ album/film. This time it’s their cover of The Who’s ‘My Generation’ which you can check out here or below.

With the start of the new tour rapidly approaching Ryan Roxie is again offering his "All Excess Pass" for the whole 2023 schedule. Buying a pass gives you access to all sorts of offstage videos, Q&A’s, contests and post show livestreams and can be purchased here.

Neal Smith was on the ‘Interviewing the Legends’ podcast last week promoting his new solo album ‘Killsmith Goes West’. You can check out the 46 minute show here.

You can also see video from Dennis Dunaway’s VersoFest Q&A at Westport Library here.

Hollywood Vampires US Dates

Hollywood Vampires Announce US Dates

The Hollywood Vampires have added three US shows before their European dates in June. Pre-sales start tomorrow and the public on sale Friday April 7th. The dates are as follows:

May 30th 2023 SNHU Arena, Manchester, NH
May 31st 2023 Wang Theatre-Boch Center, Boston, MA
June 1st 2023 Bethel Woods Center For The Arts, Bethel, NY