LONDON — In the midst of the pandemic shock rocker Alice Cooper, tap dancing was replaced by touring.
The 73-year old rock icon turned from Queen touring and performing to 95,000 people to a zero audience. The transition was difficult, he admitted.
It was like being on a drug, because adrenaline is your drug at the stage. I mean, everybody’s sober. He said, speaking from Charlotte in North Carolina, “But you miss that adrenaline. That one-on-one.”
Cooper doesn’t like Zoom and didn’t convert to online performances during lockdown. Don’t fake it.
Cooper spent his time in Phoenix with his family, learning tap dancing. Cooper’s new moves were not going to make it onto the stage, even though he can now soft-shoe.
Cooper finally got back on the road and admitted that he was “giddy” going into rehearsal. He also said, “I feel more at home onstage than offstage.”
He will be playing live dates through November and is expected to be on the road most of next year. His snakes are a key element of his live show. He says they have an unpredictable nature.
He said, “The funny thing is about the boa constrictors that they have their own minds onstage.” I let her go where she wants to go, and she can improvise from there. Each night is different.”
Cooper stated that it was becoming more difficult to travel with his snakes because they now require passports and permits.
He could declare his snake as therapy animal. He said, laughing, “I think that the only difference would have been that my snake might eat someone else’s therapy animals.”
Apart from making up lost time on tour his latest project, “Who Are You: Diary of a Vampire” is an Audible Original.
Cooper narrates the piece, sharing anecdotes about his life on tour and acoustic recordings from “School’s Out”, “I’m Eighteen” and “Poison.”
His long-time collaborator Bob Ezrin produced the tracks. Cooper said it was “really enjoyable” to perform stripped-down versions his songs with only a guitar or piano.
The Audible Original runs just over two hours and Cooper has many more stories to tell. His career spans over 50 years.
He smiled and said, “I have to wait ’till approximately eight more people die before i write that book.”
