A question for the "Newbie" Alice fan.....

[TonyfromNH]

I will use the label of "newbie" for a fan that can count the number of years that they have been an Alice fan on one hand. Ok let's say "Dirty Diamond's" to present day. Considering that time frame is only 10% of Alice's career thus far, that still may be a liberal interpretation of "newbie".

I would like to know which of you really "Dove in head first" after either hearing something by Alice or seeing him live. I assume most will say "live' is what did it. If so, what "made" you go to the show...win tickets, a friend, etc???

When I say "Dove" in, I mean who got "sick" really quickly and have attended a crazy number of shows in a short time frame, had the entire catalog almost immediately, spent a ridiculous amount of money on merchandise...things along those lines. I want to know WHO here is VERY in need of some serious "help".

I first heard Alice in 1975, but my first album (Goes to Hell) wasn't purchased until a few years later. From that point I went CRAZY...love to have the money back, but be able to keep the memories.

Damn, I thought I was under the "general" category..sorry!

[NotSoPerfect]

*raises hand* It's like.....it's like you're describing ME! I became a fan during Dirty Diamonds, and need to count my shows.....from Sep. 2, 2005 to now we're around 2 dozen (or more?).

I went because Alice and Cheap Trick were playing in town the day before my birthday and it was my Dad's idea of a birthay present. I finally decided to go because I liked Cheap Trick and "maybe Alice wouldn't suck." A week later, I was searching Ticketmaster to see if there was another show a reasonable distance away!

I've now bought tickets for a 2nd Vegas series, been to the Pudding 3 times (am planning a 4th), and have seen Alice in 9 different states.

I could say more, but I'll keep it short.

[TonyfromNH]

I wish I could win the lottery!

Granted my grand total over the years would be out of this world (not compared to some I am sure) but only because I have 28 years on you in terms of my first "investment" but on a years to dollars spent ratio you would blow me out of the water.

Are you by any chance single LOL....ah never mind, I'm not. (Wife slaps me in the back)

[NotSoPerfect]

Well....here's the thing. I've NOT gone crazy in terms of memorabilia and such. I mostly get official CD/DVD releases, and about 1 t-shirt per tour. Plus...I've been super good about NOT getting hotels for shows. If it's within a 4-hour radius, we don't get a hotel. And if it's farther away, we often don't go. Aside from Vegas and Pudding shows, I think we've gotten a hotel.....NO more than 5 times.

And, I'm generally pretty good at not spending too much money that I don't need to. For some reason, this just kinda became my thing!

And I just counted. After Vegas in October, I will have seen 29 concerts. Adding in the Pudding (and let's tack this year's on, just because) it's 33 times.

Yup, I'm a sickthing! Even told Calico last year that if the show hits this area, I seem to have no self-control!

[NotSoPerfect]

Plus....I'd say 6 of those shows cost under $15, and at least another 5 cost me $25 or under. Helps to ease that cash outflow!

[Shoesalesman]

As requested by TonyfromNH, this topic has been moved to General Discussion.

[sparkinthedark]

And, I'm generally pretty good at not spending too much money that I don't need to.

"generally" being the operative word.

[Give the kid a break]

Good thread, here's a different point of view-I consider myself a HUGE fan of AC, have been since the tender age of 12/13, so lets just say early 1980-ish. However, since I was so young I couldn't get to any of his concerts until I was old enough to drive. (my parents would no way take me to an AC show) I did see 2 shows late 80s, however I had NO friends who were fans, so I had to bribe two friends to go to one show, and made a boyfriend attend the next. However, in regards to my obsession, I would listen to AC records and pour over the album covers,lyrics, posters and pix I had of him for hours. I had a decent collection of albums, frequenting Harvard Square for rare finds and such. Buttons, posters, records, etc. I never ever lost my passion for the Coop & it has always been my dream to meet him.
Fast forward a few years, a marriage and 2 kids later, I was lucky enough to find a lovely neigbor who is a HUGE fan, and he ignited the fire in me to start attending shows and such. I've seen AC 2 more times with him and am going to CT in the fall. Since I've found SickthingsUK I've also had the pleasure of enjoying everyones stories, photo's and memories of the Coop.
So, I guess I wouldn't count the # of shows or amount of memoriabilia as the only measure of a true fan. Some of us have always had the passion, but not the means to collect or attend as others have been able to.
But I LOVE seeing all the collections, and am jealous of all that cool stuff. And it is still my dream, one day, to meet the Coop.

[NotSoPerfect]

Since I've found SickthingsUK I've also had the pleasure of enjoying everyones stories, photo's and memories of the Coop.
So, I guess I wouldn't count the # of shows or amount of memoriabilia as the only measure of a true fan.

I agree, numbers are certainly not the only way to be a huge fan! I gave them to show how I, personally, "dove" in, but staying a fan for the long-haul is just as important!

[Shoesalesman]

I want to know WHO here is VERY in need of some serious "help".

I DO need serious help (hey, just ask around here), but it has nothing to do with Alice.

I dove into Alice instantly after seeing the video for He's Back (The Man Behind The Mask) on Much Music in 1986 when I was 15 years old. Within a month I had the back catalog on various formats, minus an elusive Easy Action and From The Inside.

We didn't get as many shows coming our way like other countries did, but I have seen him every single time he's been here from Trashes The World onward. Over the years I've built up my collection of whatever I could get my hands on, especially clippings from newspapers and magazines. My favorite clipping has to be the original 1975 Edmonton Journal article/photo of Alice in an Oilers hockey jersey with his head still wrapped up due to his fall from the stage in Vancouver. Hope this myspace link works... http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.c ... ID=9000902

[Give the kid a break]

wow, that is one heck of a photo!

As far as needing help, hmmmm, my kids think i'm nuts, my mother can't believe I still am in love w/Alice, my husband tolerates my obsession, and well, I'm just fine with all of it:)

There are much worse things than Alice, dontchathink???

[TonyfromNH]

There are much worse things than Alice, dontchathink???

Yup, try my wife's second obsession...Rick Springfield

Not to the point she wants him tattooed on HER body, but she wouldn't mind having his face tattooed on MY face.

[Shoesalesman]

Not to the point she wants him tattooed on HER body, but she wouldn't mind having his face tattooed on MY face.

[Dave Conway]

Good thread! Some food for thought there. I will soon be 50....so have been keen on Alice for a long time. I got Schools Out and Billion Dollar Babies albums at thier original release, a mate had Go To Hell, so I knew that too....

However, while I had always wanted to see Alice, I did not do so until 03 and the Bare Bones tour, following which I have collected the back catalogue of studio albums and some of the DVD's. I get a shirt per show (and some for the rest of the family) and go to shows within a reasonable travel distance.

One thing I have noticed, is its more difficult to learn albums if you buy them all at once. When I was a kid I would sit with B$B on the turn table and the word sheet on my lap. This Christmas I got ZCS, SP & DD all at once, just playing them in the car does not give the same insight!

[Shoesalesman]

This Christmas I got ZCS, SP & DD all at once, just playing them in the car does not give the same insight!

I had Alice overload for a while too, but it seems I got into a certain album for a year, then I'd move on to another one. Even after I managed to get into all of them I'd get a craving for something I had already exploited to death. For example... Goes To Hell was all I listened to in '96, then School's Out in '97, heck... Trash got sole spin on the CD player for something like 10 months a few years back.

[Give the kid a break]

Tony please tell me you are kidding, really, Rick Springfield? Oh, My, God.... aaahahahahahaahaha!!

Back to the original post, I have to say that the Clones video reeled me in, hook line and sinker I was in LOVE

I taped it and would watch it over and over, I loved that song, loved the record, and that is when I started purchasing his previous records, Schools Out, Love it to Death, WTMN, Goes To Hell, etc.

And, I have to add that you cannot be considered a "newbie" if you've seen Monster Dog. The whole way through. More than once. Oh yes, I did......

[NotSoPerfect]

Haha! I've watched it twice..and can guarantee I will again! Is it bad if it.......like it? Seriously, I love BAD horror movies like that!

[Marcelocooper]

And, I have to add that you cannot be considered a "newbie" if you've seen Monster Dog. The whole way through. More than once. Oh yes, I did......

Saw only once, but didn't see it again only because here in Brazil it was only released once, and it took me a long time till I could get my copy of the VHS, and right after that we stoped using the old VCR for good.

[Gorehound]

I definitely qualify for the 'in need of help' category.

My Mum has WTMN on vinyl but no longer had the means to play it and she randomly got talking about it with a friend from work and wished she could hear it again after all those years. She mentioned it to me and that if it were available on cd she'd love it for Christmas. So I bought her it for Christmas (2005) and she got me to listen because, having always been a horror fan, she knew I'd love the lyrics. I did and from then on I was hooked, ordered the entire discography off amazon maybe a couple of weeks later and saw my first live show a few months later.

Weird thing is I always knew who Alice was growing up, or at least if someone had shown me a pic I could've said 'that's Alice Cooper' (and in fact I remember asking Mum why a guy would call himself Alice haha). But I'd only heard School's Out at an age when I was too young to appreciate it and I didn't know about the stage show or anything, otherwise I'd have discovered him years ago. But on the last day of school the song came back to me and I was singing what little I could remember, it was like a sign of what was to come

[Prince Alice]

Awesome Thread! I don't really count my self as "newbie". I did come in during Dirty Diamonds...BUT that wasn't my first album, I was at the music shop in town looking for some other thing (Steve Vai I think), Then my dad walks up with "Monsters and Mascara" because it had Clones(we're all) on it! So, I listened to that and liked it pretty well...Almost, a week later back at the music shop I pick up a copy of "Dragontown", because of the song titles and cover! I had never heard anything like it before, I liked Cheap Trick, Brian Setzer, and The Beatles, I had never heard music that heavy. But I loved it!! After that the collection started growing, and growing, in a couple of months I had most of his albums and a good deal of DVDs. No other artists were willing to even say what Alice put in his lyrics so easly, and I loved that(minus on a few songs ) Then I saw The Nightmare TV Special...And finally I got the chance to see the master himself live the week of Halloween! Now I'm in The Quiet Room with the other Inmates (sickthings)