Darn Tootin' I'd Go To This One

If all the dates weren't so dingdang far away:

Alice Cooper & Rob Zombie Tour!
It's a bill that fans of horror and hard rock could only dream of until now: For the first time ever, the "gruesome twosome" — ALICE COOPERand ROB ZOMBIE — will play an exclusive limited run of North American tour dates beginning April 26 at the MTS Center in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

Rob Zombie commented, "The dream or nightmare comes true! Me and The Coop have been talking about touring together for about 15 years and finally the moment is here. This will be without a doubt a rock 'n' roll spooktacular for all the cool ghouls."

Alice Cooper added, "I'm looking forward to these concerts with Rob. It's sort of like Dracula vs. Frankenstein, we're like this generation’s classic monsters. When we're not onstage frightening audiences, we'll be backstage trying to scare each other."

ROB ZOMBIE/ALICE COOPER - "The Gruesome Twosome Tour"dates:

Apr. 26 - Winnipeg, MB - MTS Centre
Apr. 27 - Saskatoon, SK - Credit Union
Apr. 28 - Edmonton, AB- Rexall Place
Apr. 29 - Calgary, AB - Corral
May 01 - Vancouver, BC - Pacific Coliseum
May 02 - Kennewick, WA - Toyota Center
May 04 - Casper, WY - Casper Events Center

Tickets go on sale February 23.

Happy Birthday, Alice Cooper

I love you.

A Very Special Message From My Friend, Alice Cooper

Long-Time Alice Cooper Assistant Brian "Renfield" Nelson Passes Away

Don't have much more than that, but long-time readers know that I am a huge Alice fan. What I know of Nelson is this: He was the biggest Alice fan, and had been collecting memorabilia since the early 70's, and became Mr. Cooper's assistant in the early 80's (How cool a job that must have been!). Here are some things I have pieced together about Brian, from the UK site Sick Things:

The Alice Cooper Archives are basically the private collection of Brian 'Renfield' Nelson, Alice's personal assistant. Everything you may have heard about it is probably true. Ren has the Leopard skin boots from the 'Billion Dollar Babies' Tour, the gold jacket that he wore when they were the Spiders, his leather bondage outfit from the 'Madhouse Rock' tour, Alice's birth certificate, passports, and contracts amongst literally thousands of items. The Alice display that was at the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame was mostly taken from Ren's collection.

In his own words:

The 'Special Forces' tour was my first tour. My first AC concert I went to was the 'Billion Dollar Babies' show, New Year's Eve in Buffalo-the last show the original band did in the US (chronicled in Bob Greene's book), I saw the 'Welcome To My Nightmare' show, I saw the '77 show about 4 times, 'Madhouse Rocks' about 4 times, 'Flush The Fashion' show about 5 times and then have seen every single show starting from 'Special Forces' to present-and I even get in for free!
(Brian Nelson, June 1995)

I was just a dumb kid in Buffalo, NY (now I'm a dumb guy in L.A.) who in 1972 became obsessed with Alice Cooper and insanely addicted to collecting Alice memorabilia - EVERYTHING. Any how, when I got a bit older, I started going to various cities whenever I could to see AC shows. Once I was in Chicago in '77 and by a stroke of luck and a lot of begging, I got my first backstage pass. Had a bunch of brief encounters with Alice at shows and tours afterward (after that first pass-it was pretty easy for me). After awhile he started recognising me and remembering what my deal was (I used to carry around business cards with my name claiming I was the "World's Biggest Alice Cooper Fan" - it was a good attention getter).

Cutting to the chase-at one point-after the 'Flush' tour [Nov. 1980] - I managed to get Alice on the phone. He needed a personal assistant type (he had just gotten rid of someone) and figured if I was going to go to all these shows anyway-I might as well go along with them. It is kind of incredulous cuz he didn't really know me. Anyway, He flew me out to LA - put me up at his house and the rest is history. I'm still a fan (obviously) and I have never stopped collecting.
(Renfield, June 1995)

Here's the official statement from Alice's web site:

It is with extreme sadness that we need to inform the community of Alice Cooper fans of the passing of Brian "Renfield" Nelson, Alice's long-time archivist and personal assistant. It was a sudden, completely unexpected, and untimely passing. We would appreciate it if you would keep him in your thoughts, appreciate his many contributions to Alice's life and career over the years, and respect Brian's privacy and the privacy of Alice and his extended family (at home and on tour) at this time.

Alice is currently on tour in Russia, because the show must go on, which is as Brian would have wanted it.

I think he's right.

Alice Is Consistently Good

Going to an Alice Cooper show is a welcome treat. If you have seen him before you know what you are going to get, but it is still a treat. he is a true pro, and I don't think you will ever see a bad show. last night at the Pageant was no exception. If I have one quibble, it's that the show has basically been the same for the last three tours. Same musicians (excellent), same songs (they're all good, but mix it up a little, please!) and same drum solo (ugh). On an extremely positive not, even though he has a new album out, he only played one new song from it. Praise Allah.

As Alice ages, he really seems to grow into his roll. Most rockers would be trying to hide the wrinkles, but with the make-up Alice is looking in some ways scarier and more skeletal. I like. Hell, even if he loses his hair, which he isn't, it would work.

Alas, the opening band continues a long string of bad openers. Sorry Tat, we'll never hear from you again.

Those are critiques from a long-time fan; don't let that from discouraging you from seeing him, EVER, because overall the show was an awesome experience, as always. Especially since I was right on the floor, 10 feet away from him. Nice.

Alice Cooper- Serious

Don't forget Alice at the Pageant tomorrow night.

"From the Inside" (1978) was written after Alice spent his first major stint in rehab, which was basically an asylum. If you have read the previous post, you know that it didn't stick and he really started to spiral out of control in the early eighties. The album is semi-autobiographical and features some strong songwriting, especially in the lyrics department, as he was co-writing with Bernie Taupin.

Loved by many Alice Cooper fans, myself included, the album didn't do as well as expected. I remember seeing it in the cut-out bins all the time, and being bewilder why every household didn't have one of these works of genius (hey, I was 15, I didn't know any better). The song "Serious" featured Rick Nielson on guitar. Here's a live version, with Alice looking lean and hungry:

Alice Cooper Week Continues: Clones

In the early 80's Alice really wasn't doing well with alcohol. He really doesn't talk much about the music for this era, which included "Flush The Fashion", "Special Forces", and "Zipper Catches Skin". The albums aren't necessarily heavy and have a good dose of humor and some new wave feel to some of the songs. Since he's basically disowned them and they are hard to find, it should come as no surprise that I consider them lost classics for Alice fans.

Here's the French video for Clones (We're All), from "Flush The Fashion". Alice isn't looking too healthy in this one:

Alice Cooper This Thursday

Here's some Alice on the Muppet Show singing "School's Out" to get you ready for Thursday's show at the Pageant:


And here's Mr. Cooper for president. Monkeys that smoke are always funny:


And one more, shilling for Staples:

Alice Cooper August 7

Oh, yeah, he's back and coming to the pageant. Unfortunately, he has a new album coming out. See, here's how an Alice show works: If he has a new album out, he feels beholden to play at least 5-6 new songs, which just don't ever seem to be any good. There are few newer songs that have made it into his sets past the "new album tour", the exception being "Lost in America" from 1994's "The Last Temptation". Here's the problem with any Alice disc in the past 15 years (has it been that long? Ah, jeez, I still love you man, but that's a long time...): they are generically heavy, and mediocre, with not a lot of sense of humor and finesse. The Alice that I love, the one reflected in his hits like School's Out, No More Mr. Nice Guy, Elected, Under My Wheels, Be My Lover, etc. always had a fun aspect, and a quick wit. Then all of a sudden we were subjected to Brutal Planet, Hey Stoopid, and I can't go on. I have bought each album, hoping that this one would be a "return to form". Well, you know how that goes. Yes, I will buy the new one. I'll let you know how it is, and I hope to be pleasantly surprised/shocked that it is good. And I will be there, because even with the new songs, he is a great showman.

Pick up ANY of his older albums and you will be in for a treat. I recommend "Welcome To My Nightmare", "Killer" and "Love it to Death".

To be fair to Alice, he did have some good songs on "Dirty Diamonds", released in 2005. They weren't brutal metal, and had a sense of humor: Perfect & The Saga of Jesse Jane. Here are some lyrics for Jesse Jane:

I'm in jail in a texas town

in my sister's wedding gown

I drive a truck all night long

listening to Judy Garland songs

Now I'm locked behind bars of steel

I was just looking for a happy meal

I park my rig and went inside

They've never seen such a lovely bride

Jesse Jane, are you insane?

Or are you just a normal guy

Who dresses like a butterfly

Jesse Jane

And it goes on from there, with Alice eventually pulling a pistol from his Wonderbra, killing them all dead...

Will he get it back on track with the new album? Man. I hope so.