Alice Cooper talks Hollywood Vampires
MF: Now, for those who don’t know, Hollywood Vampires is your new supergroup with Johnny Depp and Joe Perry from Aerosmith. What made you guys decide to do an album?
AC: Well, I’ll give you a little history. This is how it all came about. I had a drinking club called the Hollywood Vampires in Los Angeles in 1972 to ’73. And every single night it was Harry Nilsson and Keith Moon, and when John Lennon was in town it was him. And it was all the guys that drank. And we would show up every single night at The Rainbow and we were called the Hollywood Vampires, right? And it was sort of a drinking club.
Well, I watched all of those guys die. I mean, every single one of ‘em, except for John, died from drinking or drugs or whatever it was. So we decided I wanted to do an album, a covers album. I’ve never done a covers album. And I decided that I wanted to do an album that was dedicated to my dead, drunk friends.
And the way that this came about was I did Dark Shadows with Johnny Depp, the movie Dark Shadows, and it was fun. So one night we went out and we decided to go to this bar and play, this little bar called the Hundred Club, and Johnny came with us.
He’s a great guitar player. He’s a really good rock and roll guitar player. And, you know, then we started talking about doing this album, and it was Johnny, myself and Joe Perry from Aerosmith and a bunch of other guys actually started recording this album. So we decided, “Yeah, Hollywood Vampires have an album now.” And that’ll be due out, probably, in September.
MF: And we hear that Paul McCartney made a guest appearance?
AC: Yeah, we did a song. So one night, Paul McCartney drops in, because he knew all those guys that we were dedicating this album to.
When you’re in the studio and you’ve got Johnny on guitar and you’ve got Joe Perry on guitar, everybody in the room is from another band but they’re unbelievable, and there’s a guy sitting at the piano named Paul McCartney?
Believe me, everybody in that room was in awe, because we were on a session with Paul McCartney. You don’t get any better than that.
MF: As you may know, Johnny Depp is here in Australia at the moment, filming the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie, and he recently got onstage with Marilyn Manson when he was here for Soundwave. What are the odds of another Depp cameo during Alice Cooper’s Australian set?
AC: [Laughs] We never know where he’s gonna show up. You know, we’ll be playing one night on the tour, and we’re in Albuquerque, and I look around and there’s Johnny on guitar.
He just decides to show up when he decides to show up, which is cool ’cause he knows all of our songs! We never know when he’s gonna show up.
Let’s put it this way - I wouldn’t put it past him. [Laughs] He’s a free bird. He’s one of those guys who just does what he wants to do. And he’s the nicest guy in the world, he’s just such a sweet kid.
MF: So Hollywood Vampires are playing their first show at Rock In Rio this September. Any word on the rest of the touring line-up?
AC: We’re just putting that band together now, so we don’t really know. We have Johnny and Joe Perry and myself and now we’re gonna start filling it out with pretty much whoever’s not touring [with other bands], and whoever wants to play is gonna come up and play.
I can’t tell you who the band is right now, but it’ll be a phenomenal band. It’ll be one of those bands that everybody goes, ‘Are you kidding? Look who this is!’
MF: Gene Simmons infamously said rock music is dead. What’s your take on that?
AC: I don’t believe what Gene said. You know, I know Gene. And it’s one of those things where it goes through cycles. Everything goes through cycles.
I remember a period of time in the late 70’s when Alice Cooper and Aerosmith and KISS could not get played on the radio because of disco. I mean, we all continued on, and we made records, and they would play our ballads, but the radio only wanted to hear disco. And that’s what’s kind of going on now.
You know, music right now on the radio is just diva music. And I’ve got nothing against any of those girls, you know, I think it’s great. But it’s not rock and roll. What it is - it’s young adult music. Now, one of the last great rock and roll bands was a band called Jet, from Australia. That band was really good. I mean, they were a bar band, a great bar band.
And there’s another good band that’s in Ireland right now - 18-year-old kids called The Strypes. These kids sound like The Yardbirds and The Small Faces combined. So I think that there is rock and roll out there. And there’s kids right now in a garage with Fender guitars and amps and they’re learning Alice Cooper songs and they’re learning Guns N’ Roses and they’re learning The Rolling Stones. So there will be a resurgence.
Foo Fighters are probably one of the best rock & roll bands out there right now. They’re just a relentless rock & roll band and I love that band. Rock and roll’s not dead at all.
Source: http://musicfeeds.com.au/features/alice-cooper-tells-us-all-about-supergroup-the-hollywood-vampires-australian-motley-crue-tour/
AC: Well, I’ll give you a little history. This is how it all came about. I had a drinking club called the Hollywood Vampires in Los Angeles in 1972 to ’73. And every single night it was Harry Nilsson and Keith Moon, and when John Lennon was in town it was him. And it was all the guys that drank. And we would show up every single night at The Rainbow and we were called the Hollywood Vampires, right? And it was sort of a drinking club.
Well, I watched all of those guys die. I mean, every single one of ‘em, except for John, died from drinking or drugs or whatever it was. So we decided I wanted to do an album, a covers album. I’ve never done a covers album. And I decided that I wanted to do an album that was dedicated to my dead, drunk friends.
And the way that this came about was I did Dark Shadows with Johnny Depp, the movie Dark Shadows, and it was fun. So one night we went out and we decided to go to this bar and play, this little bar called the Hundred Club, and Johnny came with us.
He’s a great guitar player. He’s a really good rock and roll guitar player. And, you know, then we started talking about doing this album, and it was Johnny, myself and Joe Perry from Aerosmith and a bunch of other guys actually started recording this album. So we decided, “Yeah, Hollywood Vampires have an album now.” And that’ll be due out, probably, in September.
MF: And we hear that Paul McCartney made a guest appearance?
AC: Yeah, we did a song. So one night, Paul McCartney drops in, because he knew all those guys that we were dedicating this album to.
When you’re in the studio and you’ve got Johnny on guitar and you’ve got Joe Perry on guitar, everybody in the room is from another band but they’re unbelievable, and there’s a guy sitting at the piano named Paul McCartney?
Believe me, everybody in that room was in awe, because we were on a session with Paul McCartney. You don’t get any better than that.
MF: As you may know, Johnny Depp is here in Australia at the moment, filming the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie, and he recently got onstage with Marilyn Manson when he was here for Soundwave. What are the odds of another Depp cameo during Alice Cooper’s Australian set?
AC: [Laughs] We never know where he’s gonna show up. You know, we’ll be playing one night on the tour, and we’re in Albuquerque, and I look around and there’s Johnny on guitar.
He just decides to show up when he decides to show up, which is cool ’cause he knows all of our songs! We never know when he’s gonna show up.
Let’s put it this way - I wouldn’t put it past him. [Laughs] He’s a free bird. He’s one of those guys who just does what he wants to do. And he’s the nicest guy in the world, he’s just such a sweet kid.
MF: So Hollywood Vampires are playing their first show at Rock In Rio this September. Any word on the rest of the touring line-up?
AC: We’re just putting that band together now, so we don’t really know. We have Johnny and Joe Perry and myself and now we’re gonna start filling it out with pretty much whoever’s not touring [with other bands], and whoever wants to play is gonna come up and play.
I can’t tell you who the band is right now, but it’ll be a phenomenal band. It’ll be one of those bands that everybody goes, ‘Are you kidding? Look who this is!’
MF: Gene Simmons infamously said rock music is dead. What’s your take on that?
AC: I don’t believe what Gene said. You know, I know Gene. And it’s one of those things where it goes through cycles. Everything goes through cycles.
I remember a period of time in the late 70’s when Alice Cooper and Aerosmith and KISS could not get played on the radio because of disco. I mean, we all continued on, and we made records, and they would play our ballads, but the radio only wanted to hear disco. And that’s what’s kind of going on now.
You know, music right now on the radio is just diva music. And I’ve got nothing against any of those girls, you know, I think it’s great. But it’s not rock and roll. What it is - it’s young adult music. Now, one of the last great rock and roll bands was a band called Jet, from Australia. That band was really good. I mean, they were a bar band, a great bar band.
And there’s another good band that’s in Ireland right now - 18-year-old kids called The Strypes. These kids sound like The Yardbirds and The Small Faces combined. So I think that there is rock and roll out there. And there’s kids right now in a garage with Fender guitars and amps and they’re learning Alice Cooper songs and they’re learning Guns N’ Roses and they’re learning The Rolling Stones. So there will be a resurgence.
Foo Fighters are probably one of the best rock & roll bands out there right now. They’re just a relentless rock & roll band and I love that band. Rock and roll’s not dead at all.
Source: http://musicfeeds.com.au/features/alice-cooper-tells-us-all-about-supergroup-the-hollywood-vampires-australian-motley-crue-tour/