Super Duper Alice Cooper is a new documentary film due for release in the Spring of 2014 that will be previewed at the Tribeca Film Festival in NYC in April. While the film’s storyline seems to be based on Alice’s time fronting the band from whom he would eventually take his name as a solo artist, it appears, sadly, that it also focuses fairly tightly on the myth and legend of Alice (AKA Vince Furnier) as an individual, rather than on the story of the band which was made up of five individuals. Not that the filmmaker isn’t allowed to make the film he wants, if he wants to just focus on Alice. But it’s like every time somebody refers to the band called Alice Cooper as a “He” it just makes me want to scream. And this is kind of more of the same. Alice Cooper was a band.
I have heard that Dennis Dunaway and Neal Smith, as well as producer, Bob Ezrin were interviewed for the film although there are no on camera appearances. But at least fans will get to see classic performance footage of the original band including Dennis, Neal, Michael Bruce and the late Glen Buxton. This would be my main motivation for seeing the film.
Alice Cooper was a Band: Michael Bruce, Neal Smith, Vince Furnier, Dennis Dunaway and Glen Buxton
Yeah, I know the nominations were announced yesterday, but when I heard that Alice Cooper had been nominated for induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame after being snubbed for the past seventeen years, I wanted to make sure I had the story straight as to whether this was a nomination for the band, or just the individual. Because if Alice Cooper the solo artist was nominated before the band that made it possible for him to even have a solo career, I would seriously never, ever stop throwing up. I talked to my friend Neal Smith first thing this morning and he assured me that the nomination is for the band, to which I can only say, it’s about fucking time. The original band called Alice Cooper includes Neal (drums), Dennis Dunaway (bass), Michael Bruce (guitar) and late guitarist Glen Buxton, as well as vocalist Vince Furnier, who changed his name legally to Alice Cooper when the band broke up in 1974.
“Before there was Ozzy Osbourne, Marilyn Manson or KISS, there was Alice Cooper, the original self-proclaimed “rock villain.” Born Vincent Furnier, Cooper and his mighty band of the same name – lead guitarist Glen Buxton, rhythm guitarist Michael Bruce, bass player Dennis Dunaway and drummer Neal Smith – pioneered the dark spectacle of heavy metal with their huge blues-rock sound and extravagant stage show. Drawing from horror movies and vaudeville, Cooper brought a new level of visual theatrics to arenas with guillotines, electric chairs, boa constrictors and fake blood; their 1973 tour broke box-office records previously held by the Rolling Stones, and raised the bar for major rock tours. What made it stick were some of the catchiest, most reckless hard-rock songs of all time: “Eighteen,” “School’s Out,” “No More Mr. Nice Guy.” Along with the New York Dolls and David Bowie, Alice Cooper was a starting point for the glam rock of the Seventies; it’s impossible to imagine the hair metal of the Eighties without them; you can hear and see the band’s influence in bands from the Sex Pistols to Guns n’ Roses. The original lineup split in the mid-Seventies, and singer Cooper would continue on with an evolving lineup; in the meantime, the pure shock value of America’s first shock rockers has faded — but their legacy is safe.”
My only problem with this statement is how the first sentence still makes it sound like Alice Cooper was one guy with a backing band, but I guess making an effort to get the story straight is too much to ask. Congratulations guys and good luck!
