Hellter Interviews Dennis Dunaway (Alice Cooper Band)!!
Hello Grue-Lings,
Our guest today is the legend of rock himself Dennis Dunaway. Dennis is and was the bass player for Alice Cooper. (1962–1975, 1999, 2010, 2011, 2015, 2017). He co-wrote I’m Eighteen and School’s Out, two of the biggest Alice Cooper hits. He was inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2011. He still plays live with bands Blue Coupe and 5th Avenue Vampires. He also released a memoir in 2015 called “Snakes! Guillotines! Electric Chairs!” Please welcome the one and only Dennis Dunaway:
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HELLTER: Since the original Alice Cooper band split in the late 1970’s. Has the original band and Alice performed together live since, and if so what shows did you do together?
DENNIS: As a group, or individually, Michael Bruce, Neal Smith and I have joined Alice on stage for various shows over the years.
The original group has played at several all-star concerts called X-Mas Pudding hosted by Solid Rock Foundation.
Of course, we played at our Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in the Grand Ballroom at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City. That was a night of nights.
When Revolver magazine presented Alice with the Golden Gods Award, we played a thunderously loud set at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles.
After that show, we did a film with special holographic cameras that was later presented at a Jagermeister Ice Cold event at the Battersea Power Station in England. We weren’t actually there but our holographic images performed with special effects that made everything look frozen. Each of us busted out of blocks of ice and Alice’s cold breath could be seen as he blew across the crowd.
Ever since the release of my book Snakes! Guillotines! Electric Chairs! in 2015, I’ve been doing tons of promotional events.
One was at Good Records in Dallas, Texas. I found out that Alice would be in town and asked if he could join Michael, Neal and I at my book-signing event. We streamed the show live and ended up releasing a vinyl single of “Eighteen” and “Is It My Body” mixed by Bob Ezrin.
Then again, by pure coincidence, Alice was in Nashville during another one of my book events. And with the success of the Dallas show, and our recent recordings with Alice for his Paranormal album, Alice decided to include the original group in a segment of his arena show.
The success of that lead to 5 similar shows in the UK in November.
Anything beyond that depends on fans making a big enough noise to reach the ears of the promoters.
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HELLTER: I hope the fans make alot of noise then. You and Alice both have your own music projects you work on. Have you and Alice remained friends threw the years?
DENNIS: I’m an artistically minded musician, and an entertainer, and I enjoy what I do. Michael, Neal, Alice and I have known each other sing high school. We’re still friends because we’re like family.
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HELLTER: That’s so cool you stood friends. What was and is your favorite Alice Cooper song to perform live and why?
DENNIS: That’s like trying to choose your favorite child. We put so much heart and soul into getting those songs right, that I always enjoy playing any of them. I lean toward the darker songs so I’ll say “Black Juju” because I get a thrill out of that dark drama.
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HELLTER: Love that song. It’s been announced that you and the original Alice Cooper band and Alice Cooper will be going on your first mini tour for the first time in a very long time. How did this come about?
DENNIS: The various get-togethers I’ve mentioned have a lot to do with it. And I think my book refreshed a lot of positive memories of the group’s original dream. It’s been a long time coming, and it’s way overdue, but the planets are finally lining up.
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HELLTER: When is the date for the first show and are you excited to be going on tour with Alice Cooper again?
DENNIS: Leeds on 11 November, then Glasgow the 12th, Birmingham the 14th, Manchester the 15th, and Wembley on the 16th.
We are all very excited, including Alice’s currant touring band. That’s an extra bonus. The whole entourage had a blast in Nashville and we’re all very excited about the UK shows.
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HELLTER: So amazing for the fans to see the original Alice Cooper lineup. Since the tour can only be seen in the UK. Does the original Alice Cooper band plan on bringing this tour to the USA or is it strictly a tryout tour for the UK?
DENNIS: We all know there is enough interest out there, but the promoters have to be convinced. And that’s up to the fans to help us get the word out.
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HELLTER: I’ll help spread the word then. What are you looking forward to the most on being on tour with your old friends and band members?
DENNIS: We’ve always had a blast behind the scenes, but with Michael, Neal, and Alice, it’s that very first note in a live set that sends my spirit soaring. Glen’s rebellious guitar sound is missed dearly, but he’s always in our hearts. Ryan Roxie will be playing Glen’s parts, and I know that Glen would have liked him.
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HELLTER: I’m sure Ryan will do Glen proud. Do you guys plan on doing more amazing stage shows and props on this tour?
DENNIS: Alice has tons of props in his show. That’s what the original group brought to live rock shows. We have lots of ideas kicking around so we’ll see what’s feasible.
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HELLTER: I do love the live props. Anything else you would like to discuss or promote? Any music your doing on your own that’s about to come out or any shows your doing without Alice Cooper?
DENNIS: Time will be tight on the UK tour but I’m planning to squeeze in a couple of book signing events.
Hopefully my other band Blue Coupe with Joe and Albert Bouchard of Blue Öyster Cult will return to the UK soon.
My wife Cindy, who did the stage outfits and album cover outfits for the original Alice Cooper group, is now working on a book about her designs and those great days of collaborative creativity.
DennisDunaway.com is where you can get the scoop.
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Below is a older interview that I had with Mr. Dennis Dunaway:
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HELLTER: How did you first meet Alice Cooper and come up with forming the band? And how is your relationship with Alice now?
DENNIS: We met in Art Class at Cortez High School in Phoenix, Arizona. I started in the school’s second year in 1961. Vince (aka Alice) started the following year and we became friends over our mutual interests in the Surreal, Dada, and Pop Art movements.
I saw Duane Eddy and the Rebels play and I wanted to start a band. Then the Beatles stormed America and I started our band, the Earwigs from Cesspool, England. It was a spoof of the Beatles, but we instantly fell in love with performing, and decided to incorporate our artistic ideas into the band.
Alice and I have been friends since we were 16 years old. We’re like family. Neal Smith and Michael Bruce are also like brothers. The same goes for the late Glen Buxton.
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HELLTER: Nice. Was Alice Cooper the one who came up with adding Horror Theater on stage besides the music or did you all come up with that idea as a band? I personally love the guillotine act.
DENNIS: The Earwigs played the Halloween “Pit and the Pendulum” Dance at Cortez in 1964. We had giant spider webs, tombstones, coffins and a Guillotine. Like I said, we were artists and incorporated artistic ideas into our band.
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HELLTER: How did you end up playing bass and who were your musical influences?
DENNIS: Glen Buxton actually played guitar at our first two shows, but the rest of us faked it. Then everyone decided what instrument they wanted to play and bass was left so that’s what I play to this day.
I learned blues patterns by listening to the Rolling Stones records. The whole British Invasion was our schooling. And then the Yardbirds came out with a new progressive approach. I heard Paul Samwell-Smith on bass and realized that bass was an untapped rock instrument.
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HELLTER: I love the Yardbirds. How do you feel about the band being the creators of shock rock?
DENNIS: I’m proud of that, of course. We’ve been called Art Rock, Avant Garde Rock, Glitter Rock, Theatrical Rock and Glam Rock. We didn’t fit into any existing label so they made some up.
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HELLTER: I love The Alice Cooper Band. You co wrote Schools Out and Im eighteen. Two of the biggest Alice Cooper hits ever. How do you feel about the huge success both of those songs had? And did you feel that these songs would be special when you co wrote them?
DENNIS: The original group worked intensely hard on every song we did. Of course hit singles are something to be proud of. I love hearing people say how much those songs are a part of their lives. “School’s Out” was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame this year.
When we recorded “I’m Eighteen” I wasn’t sure it would be a hit, but we all felt confident on “School’s Out.”
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HELLTER: What song or songs with the Alice Cooper band was your biggest challenge?
DENNIS: Physical endurance is needed for the bass parts on songs like “Return of the Spiders,” “Halo of Flies,” and the last half of “Gutter Cat vs. The Jets.” Especially when we were doing take after take in the studio. As for writing, “You Drive Me Nervous” was stubborn – it took years, and so was “Dead Babies,” which ended up being a marriage of the best parts of two different songs.
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HELLTER: Whats your favorite song from your time in Alice Cooper and favorite song to play live?
DENNIS: I love so many. I guess “Halo of Flies” and “Caught in a Dream.”
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HELLTER: Love those songs. What was your favorite prop that Alice used on stage, guillotine, snakes, etc?
DENNIS: Dropping panties from a helicopter onto the Hollywood Bowl crowd was pretty good.
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HELLTER: That does sound really cool. Any wild road stories about the horror and often bloody stage show of Alice Cooper?
DENNIS: The only real blood was ours from when we failed to duck full cans of beer, darts, hammers and even M-80s that crowds threw at us.
One night the Gallows trap door didn’t drop so Glen and I, and even Alice were stomping on it to get it to open. And one night, I saw lightening when my microphone wasn’t grounded and I was in a wet metallic jump suit.
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HELLTER: Oh wow (laughs). That’s crazy. What is your association with Frank Zappa?
DENNIS: Frank gave us our first recording deal. I liked him a lot and we hit it off artistically. When he heard me mention Stockhausen, he spent an afternoon playing his collection of electronic composers just for me. He also did that when he found out that I like Do-wop.
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HELLTER: Zappa had some classic music. After the original Alice Cooper band stopped performing, what projects and bands did you work on? And do you still do music today?
DENNIS: I played bass on Neal Smith’s Platinum God album, and then Neal, Michael and I wrote and recorded the Battle Axe album, which we thought was going to be the next Alice Cooper extravaganza. We even built the gigantic stage and did four shows, which got a positive article in Rolling Stone. I wrote hundreds of songs and played bass with The Flying Tigers, who did a demo with the great Jerry Wexler. But in the eyes of the music business, we had lost our name and our reputation and everything we had worked so hard for went with it.
I write, record, and tour with Blue Coupe, which is a hard rock trio with Joe and his brother Albert Bouchard of Blue Oyster Cult fame. Joe played bass with them but he plays guitar with Blue Coupe and Albert plays drums, even though they’re both multi-instrumental. It’s a driving hard rock sound with lots of harmonies. Our backup singers are Tish and Snooky who own the hair dye company Manic Panic. We have 2 CDs, Tornado on The Tracks and Million Miles More.
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HELLTER: You said you played prisons, cowboy bars, and teen clubs. Do you enjoy playing those smaller venues or the big venues?
DENNIS: I’m a musician so I enjoy playing most anywhere. If people are there enjoying it, all the better, although I have paid my small venue dues many times over. I love the old theaters with a balcony because the sound beats arenas and you can get the full impact of your show across to the back row.
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HELLTER: Whats the story behind you and Alices painting business?
DENNIS: We painted metal rain barrels to look like wood, and then we took 3 months to paint a large mural on someone’s living room wall. By then girls were in the picture so we weren’t very reliable.
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HELLTER: Describe your feelings on finally being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? And were you upset Alice Cooper band kept on getting overlooked for the HOF?
DENNIS: It was an amazing experience in every way. I love the museum and all that it stands for. As far as the long wait, we will always regret that the great Glen Buxton wasn’t there with us.
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HELLTER: Do you like horror movies at all, if so, whats some of your favorite horror films?
DENNIS: I love the original Dracula and Frankenstein. Bella and Boris will forever be the masters for me.
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HELLTER: The Autobiography thats out now is called Snakes! Guillotines! Electric Chairs! My adventures in the Alice Cooper group. Describe what the book is about and what story stands out the most to you in the book?
DENNIS: Snakes! is about some starry eyed teenagers that get the idea to incorporate art into a rock band, and how the world resisted that idea every step of the way. And how all five of us believed in our dream and never gave up until we made the rest of the world into believers.
The Chapter about Glen Buxton stands out in a very emotional way for me.
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HELLTER: What was it like for you to take a trip down memory lane and write about your experiences in the Alice Cooper group?
DENNIS: It took years to write, and even more years to find people that believed in it enough to make it into a book. In that respect, it’s very much like the original Alice Cooper group. It’s best for an artist to keep moving forward and not look back, but since I had never written a book, which is just another form of art, I was moving forward creatively.
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HELLTER: At a recent book signing at Good Records Dallas, The orginal Alice Cooper band with Alice reunited and played the classic hits on stage. From what I read, the fans went crazy. How did that come about? And was it planned?
DENNIS: The planning began in November when Chris Penn contacted me. The details of how I made it happen are my secret, but the real reason that I was able to pull it off, is that Michael, Neal, Alice and I have always remained friends.
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HELLTER: Thank you for joining us today on Gruemonkey.
Dennis: My Pleasure guys.
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CHECK OUT DENNIS SOCIAL MEDIA:
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