LOS ANGELES (New West Records) - Bloody guillotines, sparking electric chairs, slimy boa constrictors, and dripping blood and eyeliner...Alice
Cooper has, for the past three decades, been a master rocker in the theatre of the macabre. Discovered in 1969 by Frank Zappa,
Alice Cooper rose to national infamy in the early '70s as your parent's worst nightmare, melding
Detroit punk/glam metal and horror movies, and unapologetically employing violent stage props - hangman's gallows, sword-impaled baby dolls, outlandish stage clothes and eye make-up - were just par for the course at an
Alice Cooper show. He created and popularized a sound and stage persona that paved the way for acts like KISS, Ozzy Osbourne, Marilyn Manson, Slipknot, Guns & Roses and
Rob Zombie (Zombie confessed during VH1's Top 100 Metal documentary, "We've all been ripping
Alice Cooper off for years."). In some cases, he even took them out on their first tours.
Yet with a string of gold and platinum albums, sell-out arena tours and a star of the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Alice shows no sign of slowing down. With tongue still firmly planted in cheek,
Alice Cooper brings his sharp-witted social observations and melodic guitar-driven hard rock to his New West debut release Dirty Diamonds, due out August 2, 2005. Co-produced by Steve Lindsey (whose credits include
Leonard Cohen and Elton John) and Rick
Boston (Rickie Lee Jones) the album is primarily written and performed by Alice with his band, featuring longtime guitarist Roxie Ryan, recent addition Damon Johnson (formerly of
Brother Cane) on guitar/bass/backing vocals, Chuck Garric on bass/guitar/backing vocals, and drummer Tommy Clufetos. Written and recorded in 13 days in Los Angeles, Dirty Diamonds continues the back-to-basics philosophy established with 2003's The Eyes of
Alice Cooper album. "I wanted the sound of a classic Stones album," said Alice. "When I listen to the Stones or the Yardbirds, there are occasional mistakes going on. Not major mistakes, but you just can't beat the feel of those records. I believe you can cook all the juice right out of a song by recording it too much."
Alice will take Dirty Diamonds on the road this summer with special guest
Cheap Trick (tour dates below). And while back in the day, conservative groups rushed to denounce Alice as a menace to society, his controversial shows were wildly successful and revolutionary. Maybe to some, he was marching to a different drummer. In a famous 1973 interview in Rolling Stone magazine, Alice summed up how he and his band looked at things with the now-famous quote, "The hippies wanted peace and love. We wanted Ferraris, blondes and switchblades."
Alice Cooper on tour
All of the dates below are with special guests Cheap Trick
except Aug 21 in Detroit
Sat, Aug 20 Cincinnati, Arena
Sun, Aug 21 Detroit, Michigan
State Fair
Mon, Aug 22 Toronto, The Docks
Tues, Aug 23 Toronto, The Docks
Thurs, Aug 25 Vienna, VA, Wolf Trap
Fri, Aug 26 Atlanta, Chastain Ampitheatre
Sun, Aug 28 Farmingville, NY Brookhaven Ampitheatre
Mon, Aug 29 Holmdel, NJ, PNC Bank Arts Center
Tues, Aug 30 Syracuse, NY,
State Fair
Thurs, Sept 1 Rockford, IL On The Waterfront
Sun, Sept 4 Loveland, CO Budwieser Events Ctr
Mon, Sept 5 Pueblo, CO
State Fair
Fri, Sept 9 Grand Junction, CO, Rock Jam
Sat, Sept 10 Albuquerque, NM,
State Fair
Weds, Sept 14 Alpine, CA Viejas Concerts in the Park
Fri, Sept 16 Los Angeles, The Greek
Sat, Sept 17 Phoenix, Dodge Theatre
