ALICE COOPER - "Just Remember I'm The Original Vampire"
September 18, 2009, 15 years ago
Hard rock legend ALICE COOPER spoke with Erin McCracken from York Daily Record recently about a number of topics. A few excerpts from the chat follow:
Cooper grew up in Detroit during the height of Motown. As a teen, he liked THE YARDBIRDS and THE BEATLES.
But when he got a little older, he started to like edgier music by bands including AEROSMITH. He wasn't afraid to push the envelope further and created an evil character to play onstage. Back then, people weren't in on the joke, he said.
"I was terrifying everyone - even the hippies," he said.
But eventually, people caught on and wanted to be shocked and rocked at the same time. As his fame grew, Alice, like musical peers IGGY POP and LOU REED, dabbled in drugs.
Being offstage became just as deadly as being onstage.
"You had to decide to live or die," he said.
He said he's glad he got sober, if only to be able to hear all the new music being produced.
He admires other renaissance men like JACK WHITE and ROB ZOMBIE.
"Just remember: I'm the original vampire," he said.
With the barrage of bad horror flicks out there these days, it might be harder to shock audiences. But Alice isn't worried.
He continues to strap on his gear, slather on his makeup and change his voice and posture to creep fans out as Cooper.
"What would all those heroes out there be without a villain?" he said.
Read the entire interview here.
