Astroturf Charts

With the tour on a short break it’s been rather quiet the last week or so, but to keep up to date here’s a few things that have happened.

‘Live From The Astroturf’ is out, although there seem to have been a few delays on the CD pack from some sources. It’s doing pretty well as well with chart positions around the world including being the #1 in the UK Music Video chart for two weeks, #5 in the US Classic Rock Radio chart, and appearing at the #1 spot in both the US Billboard chart and the German Album Chart shortly after release.

On October 3rd Alice, Sheryl and the band took advantage of their day off and went to check out Nita Strauss with Demi Lovato in Denver. then the following night Nita made an appearance during ‘School’s Out’ at the Cooper show in Loveland, CO.

Speaking of Nita there’s a new interview with her from Rock 92.9 which you can check out here.

This years Christmas Pudding Show has been announced. It will take place on December 3rd at the Celebrity Theater in Phoenix with Sammy Hagar, Rob Zombie and the Gin Blossoms among the guests.

Alice is set to briefly show up during a new documentary movie about country legend Johnny Cash. Entitled ‘Johnny Cash: The Redemption of an American Icon,’ the film will be in US theaters between December 5th and 7th.

Today is Astroturf Day

‘Alice Cooper, Live From The Astroturf’ Released

Today sees the official EarMusic release of the ‘Alice Cooper, Live From The Astroturf’ movie and associated vinyl/CD. To mark the event there is a new official video for ‘Under My wheels’ which you can see below.
The Dallas Morning News has a new article telling the story of the album

Blue Coupe’s postponed show in Hamilton, Canada has now been rescheduled for October 28th and tickets are available now.

Alice In Greece

Alice makes an appearance with Desmond Child in Athens

Alice Cooper made an appearance at Desmond Child’s show in Athens, Greece last night, and you can watch him and Kip Winger performing ‘Poison’ and ‘Bed Of Nails’ now thanks to YouTube.
Athens Voice also has a new interview with Alice (try this for a rather dubious Google translation).

While the hoped for livestream from Hellfest didn’t happen, the show at the Graspop festival a few days before WAS livestreamed and you can watch it now on YouTube.

Beasto Blanco (with Chuck Garric and Calico Cooper) will be playing as support to German Band ‘Bohse Onkelsz’ for three shows in July. This means their previously announced show at Rascals in Moline, IL has had to be moved a couple of days forward to July 25th. Refunds are available of you can’t make the new date. All other previously announced shows are unaffected and go ahead as planned. The German shows are:

July 20th – Jahrunderhalle-Frankfurt, DE
July 22nd – Waldstadion -Frankfurt, DE
July 23rd – Waldstadion-Frankfurt, DE

There’s a new FunkoPop Alice Cooper figure due in November, this time based on ‘Welcome To My Nightmare’ Alice with top hat and tails. It’s available to pre-order now.

And finally here is the full press announcement from earMusic for their version ‘Live From The Astorturf, Alice Cooper’ with details about of the different packages available.

Hollywood Vampires In Europe

Hollywood Vampires Announced European Dates For 2023

The Hollywood Vampires have announced six shows for June 2023 in Europe and tickets will go on sale on June 27th. Expect more shows to follow. The current dates are as follows:

June 20th 2023 – Rudolf Weber Arena, Oberhausen, Germany
June 21st 2023 – Rockhal, Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg
June 24th 2023 – Olympiahalle, Munich, Germany
June 27th 2023 – Stadtpark, Hamburg, Germany
June 28th 2023 – Citadel Music Festival, Zitadelle Spandau, Berlin, Germany
June 30th 2023 – Summer in the City, Zitadelle Mainz, Mainz, Germany

There’s more details about the new EarMusic edition of ‘Live From The Astroturf, Alice Cooper’ up on AmazonUK. It’s due to be released on September 30th and available to pre-order now on AmazonUK and AmazonUS. The track listing is as follows:

1. The Eighth Wonder Of The World
2. Caught In A Dream (MB Vocals)
3. Be My Lover (Alice + Ryan Roxie Join)
4. Whatever He’s Doing It’s Illegal (Banter)
5. I’m Eighteen
6. We Haven’t Done This One In About, What, 40 Years? (Banter)
7. Is It My Body
8. Threatened For A Month (Banter)
9. No More Mr
10. I Guess Things Are Getting Better For You (Banter)
11. Under My Wheels
12. It’s A Dangerous Place To Be (Banter)
13. School’s Out (Chuck Garric Harmonica)
14. More Fun Than It’s Supposed To Be (Banter)
15. Elected (Encore!)
16. School’s Not Over Until You Vote (Outro)
17. Desperado (Soundcheck)
18. (Instrumental Bonus-Track – Theme From The Documentary Film ‘“live From The Astroturf, Alice Cooper’)

LA Weekly has a new interview with Alice talking about ‘No Cover’.

The Reelz channel show ‘The Story of the Songs’ which aired last weekend in the States has turned up on demand from Channel 5 in the UK, so if you are in the UK you can watch it online here.

There’s yet another Alice Cooper biographical book on the way. This one is from journalist and long time Alice supporter Gary Graff and is called ‘Alice Cooper at 75’. It’s not due until next February 21st but pre-orders are up on the publishers site now. It’s going to be a 208 page deluxe book in a slip case and will include various extras. You can get all the details so far released here.

Dennis Dunaway will be the subject of a new 2 part podcast from ‘Rock The Nations’ coming soon. They’ve posted a preview which you can listen to here. Presumably the full podcast will follow shortly.

Justine Hawkins of The Darkness, who opened for Alice several times back in the mid-2000s and The Hollywood Vampires more recently, has posted an episode of his video podcast all about Alice Cooper. You can watch it here.

Back In The UK

News from the UK Tour and other happenings

Back from the UK tour for a bit. It’s a sadly shortened setlist for these shows due to The Cult being co-headliners, so only around 75 minutes or so a night. Chuck missed the opening show in Swansea so Hollywood Vampire bassist Chris Wyse stepped in at short notice to help out. Chuck was back in London though, and Chris joined in on ‘School’s Out’ as well. The show is as expected, with the ‘Nightmare Castle’ set again. ‘Shut Up And Rock’ has been added to the list as well.
If you’re going to any of the UK shows yet to happen try and get there early enough to catch Creeper. We were all very impressed by their entertaining and energetic performances, just a shame their stage time is so short.

Other news to catch up on:

There’s been a couple of show reviews so far from Swansea by The Guardian and Metal Planet.

As mentioned previously the ‘Live From The Astroturf’ movie will finally be seeing a general release on August 26th on CD, DVD, Blu-Ray and four more coloured vinyl – just when you thought they had run out of colours! This time it’s "Curacoa" (whatever colour that is) in Europe, Glow In The Dark (US/Germany), Apricot (Worldwide) and Gold (another Good Records Dallas exclusive with a print and trading card). Each vinyl comes with a DVD while the CD comes with the Blue-Ray. All versions have the bonus of an instrumental ‘Desperado’ recorded during rehearsals which wasn’t in the previous releases.

Good Records are also holding an album launch party on August 27th with a screening of the film and chat with various people behind the project (but not any of the band it seems unless it’s a surprise) followed by local band The Mumbles performing ‘Love It To Death’ in it’s entirety. The evening will close with other Dallas musicians playing a selection of Cooper classics. Tickets are available here.

Ryan Roxie is again offering his "All Excess Pass’ which offers various merchandise and access to a private instagram channel with special backstage videos and message, live guitar lessons and all sorts of other bonuses. Get all the info here. You can also check out a new Roxie interview from Boomerocity.

Super7 are releasing a new Alice Cooper "ReAction" figure which comes with a microphone, a snake and a billion dollar bill. Must admit personally I don’t think this one is that great (and I normally love this sort of thing) but decide for yourself.

And lastly for now, US TV channel ‘Reelz‘ will be showing ‘Alice Cooper: Story of the Songs’ on June 19th with Alice talking about ‘School’s Out’, Welcome To My Nightmare’ and ‘Poison’.

Dunaway’s To Attend Manchester Film Showing

Dennis And Cindy Dunaway in Manchester, UK

Dennis and Cindy Dunaway have confirmed they will be attending the Manchester, UK screening of ‘Live From The Astroturf, Alice Cooper’ on Saturday March 14th at the ‘Odeon, Great Northern’ where it will be shown as part of the Manchester Film Festival. They will take part in a Q&A session after the film with autograph and photo oportunities. You can still get a ticket for just £6.75 here.

‘From The Inside’ and ‘Flush The Fashion’ period Alice Cooper guitarist Davey Johnstone made a surprise appearance at the Auckland, New Zealand show a couple of days ago, the first time Davey has appeared on stage with Alice for decades! He was apparently at a loose end after his long time boss, Elton John, canceled shows due to illness, so joined the band for ‘School’s Out’. You can currently see footage of the show here.

There have been a few more reviews from the recent shows including ‘The Music‘, ‘Scenestr‘ and ‘Stuff

Midweek has a new interview with Shep Gordon although there isn’t any Alice Cooper content.

Upcoming Events

Just popping in to highlight a couple of things coming up. I’ll do a full news update after the tour.

Firstly of course is tonights London premiere of ‘Live From The Astroturf, Alice Cooper’ and ‘Cold Cold Coffin’ at the Castle Cinema in Hackney. The first showing is now sold out but there are still a few tickets for the later second showing. Dennis and Cindy Dunaway will be there along with others who worked on the films and it promises to be a fun night! Last minute tickets can be obtained at Castle Cinema, and there is no guarantee there will be any left on the door.

Then there is Ryan Roxie’s guitar clinic at ‘Sixty Sixty Sounds’ in Denmark Street, London, which is also tonight. This starts around 7pm so it’s possible to attend both this and the late film (10.45) showing in Hackney. Again, spaces are now very limited but you can still email info@sixtysixtysounds.com and ask to be put on the list. It’s free!

Lastly, just after the Alice Cooper tour ends in Cardiff Ryan Roxie and ex-Alice/Slash’s Snakepit guitarist Eric Dover set out on their own string of UK club shows as ‘Lost Angels’. It’s not often we get the chance to see the multi-talented Eric Dover in the UK so well worth the trip if you can make a show. The full list of dates appears below. There are also a few VIP packages at £55 still available for each show and you can check availability and get more info at https://lostangelsvip.blogspot.com.
The full line up for these shows is Ryan and Eric on guitar/vocals, Troy Patrick Farrell (White Lion/Gilby Clarke Band) on drums and EJ Curse (Gilby Clarke Band/Silent Rage) on bass. ‘Saints Of Sin’ will open most of the UK shows.

There will be a full news update after the tour when I have time to go through everything!

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.

‘Live From The Astroturf’ London Event

‘Live From The Astroturf, Alice Cooper’ will receive its UK premiere at the Castle Cinema (First floor, 64-66 Brooksby’s Walk
Hackney, London E9 6DA) on October 9th. Dennis Dunaway’s short film ‘Cold Cold Coffin’ will also be shown. There are showings at 9.15pm and 10.45pm, and tickets are available now from Castle Cinema.

Below you can watch the new ‘official visualizer’ video for Wednesday 13 ‘Necrophaze’ which features a guest appearance by Alice. The song is the title track of Wednesday 13’s new album which is due September 27th.