Tag: Alice Cooper

That time I asked Alice Cooper’s personal assistant if the Coop needed a second personal assistant

Rock fans might not recognize anybody in the above photo--which was taken on Alice Cooper's tour bus in 1997--except for Cooper himself.

Al Pitrelli says that Megadeth is back to making aggressive, snotty, purist heavy metal again

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON SEPT. 6, 2001 By Steve Newton Two Christmases ago, guitarist Al Pitrelli received a wicked gift he wasn't expecting. It started with a seasonal dingle from a long-time friend, Megadeth drummer Jimmy DeGrasso. "It was our basic 'Merry Christmas' phone call," Pitrelli relates from his New York City home, "followed by, 'So, … Continue reading Al Pitrelli says that Megadeth is back to making aggressive, snotty, purist heavy metal again

That time the Foo Fighters turned into bar band the Holy Shits and raunched out on early Van Halen

By Steve Newton Back on June 20, 2014, any hardcore '70s-rock fans in attendance at the Firefly Festival in Dover, Delaware, got a special treat when the Foo Fighters went back in time to raunch out a bit. "Lemme tell ya something," said Dave Grohl near the end of his band's headlining set, "we're gonna … Continue reading That time the Foo Fighters turned into bar band the Holy Shits and raunched out on early Van Halen

The 70 greatest opening tracks of the ’70s

By Steve Newton Remember how you'd set the needle down on the opening track of a new rock album and the first tune would just blow you the funk away? Me too. "(Ain't Nothin' But a) House Party" (Bloodshot, J. Geils Band, 1973) "All the Way From Memphis" (Mott, Mott the Hoople, 1973) "Already Gone" … Continue reading The 70 greatest opening tracks of the ’70s

Album reviews: Alice Cooper, Dragontown (2001)

  ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, NOV. 15, 2001 By Steve Newton Alice Cooper used to be the king. In the early ’70s he released four successive LPs—Love It to Death, Killer, School’s Out, and Billion Dollar Babies—that continue to rank among the top 100 guitar-rock records of all time. Back then Cooper and … Continue reading Album reviews: Alice Cooper, Dragontown (2001)

Album review: Alice Cooper, A Fistful of Alice (1997)

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, AUG. 21, 1997 By Steve Newton Strolling around the Mexican resort town of Cabo San Lucas last year, I stumbled across a bar called the Cabo Wabo Cantina, which had a sign in the parking lot proclaiming “Reserved for Sammy Hagar”. Realizing that this must be the watering hole … Continue reading Album review: Alice Cooper, A Fistful of Alice (1997)

Album review: Alice Cooper, Hey Stoopid (1991)

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, NOV. 28, 1991 By Steve Newton “Hey, hey, hey, hey...hey stoopid!” Why do I keep singing that line to myself when people are within hearing distance? Shouldn’t a 30-something guy like myself have grown out of such juvenile practices? No friggin’ way. Alice Cooper is still my hero, even … Continue reading Album review: Alice Cooper, Hey Stoopid (1991)

Alice Cooper fan offers eye-witness account of the Coop’s famous rib-busting wipeout in Vancouver

By Steve Newton Yesterday I posted my first-ever interview with shock-rock king Alice Cooper, which I'd conducted 30 years ago, after Cooper had released his Constrictor album. During our conversation the Coop mentioned the infamous onstage wipeout that occured during the opening song on his Welcome to My Nightmare Tour at Vancouver's Pacific Coliseum on June 23, … Continue reading Alice Cooper fan offers eye-witness account of the Coop’s famous rib-busting wipeout in Vancouver

Spider dreams and the new American Horror Story Season 6 poster

By Steve Newton I've got an intense fear of spiders. Not small ones--or even bigger ones as long as they're of the "daddylonglegs" variety. No, it's the dark, hairy, menacing ones, the ones we used to call "wolf spiders", that would hang out in our Chilliwack basement when I was a kid. "They're a lot … Continue reading Spider dreams and the new American Horror Story Season 6 poster