Legendary ALICE COOPER/LOU REED guitarist DICK WAGNER penned his autobiography last year, entitled Not Only Women Bleed. antiMusic’s Morley Seaver spoke with Dick to talk about his many adventures in the rock & roll circus. An excerpt follows:

Q: Congrats on the book. It works on two fronts. It’s cool to read about the behind-the-scenes of parts of rock history. And for those that just want to read about the amazing life of a rock star, there’s enough sex, drugs and rock and roll to fill the bill. Having come clean about a number of things that you felt guilty about, did you feel any weight off your shoulders when you had un-burdened yourself on the pages?

A: "That’s a good question. I didn’t really feel any weight off my shoulders. I’ve reached a point in my life where I realized that life takes you on a journey and it’s not really in your control. And you do some things that you regret but you try not to regret anything. It keeps you more peaceful. But yeah, I guess it was a bit cathartic. I got to open up myself more and learn about myself. And I found myself dealing with the human condition which is what we all go through. We all struggle. We all have our own story. And I just decided to write mine down. I didn’t start off to write a book. I was just writing some short stories. I had written a particularly good short story and that triggered something while I was writing about it. Then I put that story down and before you know it, I realized I was writing a book. It took me a little while before I decided to do it. I always thought about writing a book but that’s such a formidable task…to complete a 300 page book. And I had never tried it before but I was basically out of commission at the time. I couldn’t play. So I started this writing spree and it ended up being a book."

Q: An important part of your history includes your involvement with Steve Hunter. Many musicians have an ego that precludes them from sharing the spotlight yet you remained a very strong tandem with Steve for many years. Was it merely a forced working relationship or did you actually see the twin leads as a selling point for further success?

A: "I loved it. I love the combination of two guitars. With Steve it was pretty magical. Steve and I are not close friends by any means, but we put up with each other, let’s put it that way. I can’t get him to go out and play music with me but, I tried. Over all these years I’ve been the one to try to instigate things for us and he’s just not into it. He’s a nice guy, he really is but he and I are not close friends. That’s why you haven’t seen any more from us. He’s been reluctant and he doesn’t want to work with me, I guess. Maybe he thinks I’m not quite good enough any more. I don’t know."

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Wagner has found a new lease on life after being diagnosed and treated for Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus (NPH), an incurable brain condition whose only treatment option is brain surgery. Approximately 375,000 adults are living with NPH in the United States, a condition that has come to be referred to as “the curable” dementia as it is often misdiagnosed for Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease. After brain surgery and a shunt implantation, he is back on the musical circuit inspiring his wide fan base. Wagner’s triumph over NPH is an integral part of his story.