Vincent Damon Furnier, a man that’s much more formally recognised under the performance moniker Alice Cooper, couldn’t be a more household name.
The 67 year-old stands shoulder-to-shoulder with music’s greatest, The Rolling Stones, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, Iggy Pop, and his rock ‘n roll report card is top notch.
Cooper has been rightfully crowned “The Godfather of Shock” for his pioneering incorporation of horror and vaudeville theatrics in his stage performances, has released over 25 studio LPs, sold well over 50 million records, been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, penned many of the world’s most recognisable and anthemic songs of the past century – raises arms and screams “you’re poison” – and is a bloody brilliant golfer.
Not only that, but Cooper defies any “too old” rule with his current band, touring heavily, “I mean I usually 100 cities, I‘d say I was on tour at least half the year” he told us.
“We don’t give the audience a chance to get their breath”It was this very reason that we were so damn blessed to speak with the Shock God, who is hitting Aussie shores this May, supporting the one and only hair metal legends, Mötley Crüe for their last ever tour.
The horror icon spoke with us at length about the state of rock ‘n roll and how it can be fixed, his adoration of one Aussie band in particular, what he’d do to Lady Gaga onstage (NSFW) and of course, the forthcoming tour with the Crüe.
A dream come true for so many screeching guitar lovers out there, Cooper detailed how such an ultimate lineup came into fruition, “we realised that we’ve never worked with Mötley Crüe, they called us up and said ‘we’re going to go on our final tour, it would be great if you send us off in style’ and I said ‘absolutely, it’d be great, that’d be fun’.”
Love The Beatles?
Get the latest The Beatles news, features, updates and giveaways straight to your inbox Learn more
Having smashed apart the US with the ‘Girls Girls Girls’ ‘80s rockers, Cooper spoke the jovial competitive nature between the two bands, “both bands bring it every night. I mean, it’s like, the audience gets exhausted I think by the end of the show, we don’t give the audience a chance to get their breath. You know, and all the theatrics and all the music.”
The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer is an artist whose feet will forever remain in the world of rock, and is a rock purist.
Having spoken fellow Aussie publication Musicfeeds, Cooper stated that the last great rock band were none other than Melbourne outfit, Jet. He extended on this to us, “that album and that band, they were what I consider to be a really, really good drunk bar band. I like that, I think that’s what bands should be.”
From singing Jet’s praises, he then appeared a tinge downtrodden when questioned about his thoughts on the state of rock, “too many rock bands don’t have fun with what they’re doing” he explained, “they get too complicated, they forgot to have fun.”
“You know, if you took the banjo out of your band, you might have something”Focusing the rock ‘n roll microscope, he diagnosed what he believes to be ailing the rock scene right now, “there’s so many bands, young bands, I look and them and go ‘why do you have an accordion in your band?’
“You know, if you took the banjo out of your band, you might have something. It seems like the younger bands are now afraid to rock. They want to do folk music, they want to be poetic.
“I say rock is way, way, way soft. Right now, we’re in a very soft cycle right, and the divas have taken over. Katy Perry, Shakira and Lady Gaga have taken over, they certainly have a handle on putting on a show, whereas the guys don’t seem to be doing that.
“The guys seem to be very introspective, and very ‘oh, I don’t wanna sweat up here, I wanna wear Levi’s and a pair of hiking boots and sing about the forest’” like batting away a fly, he frustratingly says to them, “Oh stop, you know?”
Cooper provided some advice for up-and-coming acts trying to keep the rock dream alive, “I always tell young bands, if you want to write about something, write about your girlfriend. That’s what The Beatles, The Stones, The Who, The Kinks, everybody, you know, it’s an endless supply of information to write about your girlfriend.”
Having created such an ever-lasting legacy, Cooper has no problem moving tickets to his epic live show, although he attests that he’s no longer shocking anyone, and that it’s impossible to do so in the world today.
“As long as there’s CNN you can’t shock an audience because CNN is more shocking than anything we can do. It used to be that the fantasy that was invented by an Alice Cooper, Marilyn Manson and Rob Zombie, was good enough fantasy to give an audience a shock.
“Alice gets his head cut off every night onstage and in 1970, that was like controversial. Now you turn on CNN and there’s a guy really getting his head cut off, which is ten times more shocking than when it was in 1970, reality has become more shocking than the fantasy.”
In saying that, there’s no cause for concern, Cooper assures that his live shows are still as raucous and electrifying as ever. “I still do the guillotine, I still do the straightjacket, I have the insane nurse up there, and you know, and it’s a pure Alice Cooper show ‘cause I think the audience would really hate if I changed that.”
“We would put you on a spit and barbecue you and then the audience would come up and eat the dress off you”There’s strong merit in Cooper’s words, shock rock is definitely no easy sell and artists are consistently forced to reinvent themselves. One need only look at Lady Gaga, a personal pal of the ‘School’s Out’ rocker who has continually needed to push the bizarre envelope to remain relevant on the shock factor.
Cooper recounted a conversation he’d had with Gaga on a potential future collaboration, commenting on her infamous meat dress, he said to her, “on our show, if you were to wear the meat dress, we would put you on a spit and barbecue you and then the audience would come up and eat the dress off you” as he burst into a fit of infectious laughter, before assuring us he was dead serious.
Unfortunately, the upcoming tour supporting Mötley Crüe won’t see any members of the crowd come up onstage and eat meat off a popstar, however, there’ll be all the insane shenanigans and a whole lotta debauchery you won’t find at another rock concert in the world.
MÖTLEY CRÜE & ALICE COOPER ‘THE FINAL TOUR’ AUSTRALIA 2015
Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne – Tuesday May 12
Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne – Wednesday May 13
Allphones Arena, Sydney – Saturday May 16
Brisbane Entertainment Centre – Tuesday May 19
Adelaide Entertainment Centre – Thursday May 21
Perth Arena – Saturday May 23
