Originally written November 22nd, 2010

Updated December 17th, 2010

 

Since 2010 is almost over, I wanted to write a bit about my hero.  There used to be a time where I always found someway to incorporate Alice into any communication I was having.  It was crazy.  People used to get so annoyed.  They would never say anything, I just realised it on my own.  So I supressed myself for the longest time in talking

about him unless he was doing something new.

 

Well, I'm gonna be as brief as possible about how I got into Alice and then I will get into Y2Coop.

 

Alice Cooper (originally AC was a group name ala Pink Floyd etc.) released their first album in 1969 called Pretties For You on then Frank Zappa's record label Straight Records. Same year I was born.  It didn't fair too well. They released a second album Easy Action which faired a little better.  Zappa then sold his label to Warner Bros and history was made with the hit I'm Eighteen in 1971.  Flash forward a couple years to March 1973. Alice's biggest hit record and most commercially successful album was released, Billion Dollar Babies. I like this as it was released the same month as my birthday.

 

23 years later, August 1st, 1986, I'm sitting in a movie theater.  At this time, I have never heard of Alice Cooper. I'm watching Friday the 13th, Pt 6 - Jason Lives.  There's a couple songs in the movie by Alice but I really didn't pay attention.  It wasn't until the credits rolled that I heard He's Back (The Man Behind The Mask). I'm sitting in my seat wondering who is this guy singing about my favorite horror movie character.  I asked my best friend if he knew who Alice Cooper was.  He searched his room for a moment and handed me an 8-track of 1975's Welcome To My Nightmare. I didn't have an 8-track player, so he played it for me.  I did not leave my chair for a second.  I was mesmerised by this music.  He gave me the 8-track, and I still have it to this day.  On September 22nd, 1986, Constrictor was released. OMG!!! I was hooked!  Between then and February 20th, 1987, I had to have everything this guy ever released.  Then, that night, I got to see the man himself live in concert on the Nightmare Returns tour at the Mid Hudson Civic Center. About halfway through the show I could hardly talk, but I sang every song till the end.  A couple years later in 1989 around April or May, I got to meet Alice for the first time. It was in the same movie theater as above which I was working at now at the time.  He came in with his wife to see Cyborg.  He was working on his album not far from my hometown and he wanted to see the movie.  He hung out with me and the crew for about 20 minutes talking and signing stuff for us.  A couple of the employees told him how I drove them crazy at night playing his music in the theaters after it was closed for the night while they cleaned up.  He apoligised laughingly to them.

 

Since then I have been to about a dozen of his shows, and have been fortunate enough to hang out with him a few times.  I even helped escort him out of the House of Blues after a show one night.  I told him to just grab my jacket and hang on! LOL!

 

Alice is one of the nicest guys you could ever meet in the music industry.  Alice actually takes the time to make you feel important and thank you for being a fan. And everyone that has worked for him from the musicians, to the road crew, his management and even his family are always the best.  In 1987 I got to meet Kane Roberts, who was Alice's guitarist and co-writer on the Constrictor and Raise Your Fist and Yell albums and tours. A couple of friends and I got to hang out with him for a few hours at his drummers house and were one of the few people invited to see his new video Rock Doll off his first solo album before it's release to MTV. Brian Nelson (RIP) who was Alice's personal assistant for many years was always there with an ear whenever I called or emailed him.  He even allowed me to his home whenever he wasn't on the road just to sit and shoot the shit for a couple of hours about the shows and road stories.  If I know Brian, he's probably up there sharing stories with the big guy. Ryan Roxie, Eric Singer, Eric Dover and Teddy Zig Zag. Great guys. Alice taught them well. And Calico, Alice's daughter. She's always a sweetheart. And I gotta mention Slash. If you ever get to meet Slash, do so.  He's the coolest! I will be a die-hard fan no doubt till the day I die, thanks to Alice being the person he is and because of the people he surrounds himself with.

 

So, onto Y2Coop. On February 4th, 2011, Alice will be 63 years old.  I never thought that almost 25 years after discovering his music, that he would still be going strong and still rocking my ears.

 

In 1999, Rhino Records released the long awaited box set (a 4 cd set) The Life & Crimes of Alice Cooper.  I thought this was a sign at that time that maybe we weren't going to get much more out of him. Boy was I wrong.  Y2Coop started with a bang on June 6th, 2000 with Brutal Planet and he hasn't slowed down since. From 2000 to 2010 we received 5 studio albums, 3 live albums and three concerts dvd's. He received a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2003. He received an honorary doctoral degree from Grand Canyon University in 2004. January 26th, 2004, Nights with Alice Cooper began airing all over the US.  He was inducted into the Michigan Rock and Roll  Legends Hall of Fame in 2005. He was given the key to the city of Alice, North Dakota and a living legend award at the Classic Rock And Roll Honour event in 2006.  In 2007, he received the MoJo music magazine hero award and the Rock Immortal award at the Scream awards. On May 26th, 2010, Alice performed on the season finale of American Idol. Also in 2010, he finally received a nod from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with a nomination for the Hall. There's a lot more, but this is getting long as it is.

 

The last 10 years has been the best a fan could ever ask for. 2011 will be the start of a new decade and we already have a new album in the works. Welcome To My Nightmare II is underway.  A personal highlight that I'm waiting for, is that he recorded 3 new songs with original group members, Michael Bruce, Dennis Dunaway and Neal Smith. Bob Ezrin is also on hand.  For those who don't know, Bob Ezrin is considered by many fans as the sixth member of Alice Cooper. He helped shape Alice in 1971 and has been a producer and co-writer on many of Alice's albums since.

 

I hope that we get many more years of Alice.  He has stated in a recent interview that Mick Jagger is 6 years older than him and still going.  He said that whenever Mick retires, he's striving to go at least another 6 years after that.  I remember a long time ago, late 80's or early 90's, he said that as long as people kept coming to the shows, he will keep performing. Even if it meant they had to wheel him out in a wheelchair. Alice is in great shape and in great health. He has continually toured every year for the last 25 years. Plays golf every day and loving life.  I wanna see Alice sing I'm eighteen and I like it when he's 88. Even if it is in a wheelchair! Long live the Coop!