So, WHY ALICE?

[TonyfromNH]

I am asking this question at my daughter's request.

When the Portsmouth and Boston Herald talked to my daughter they both asked "So, WHY Alice"? She responded with "Why Not"?..."he's fun, he's horror, he's theater". She was then sure to say that the "WHY NOT" was not meant to be "fresh".

Considering her age, I thought her answer was great. She is wondering if we all share a common denominator such as she has mentioned. Don't get me wrong, we don't sit her down with us to watch "The Exorcist" etc, but with her birthday actually ON HALLOWEEN, I think it is somehow in her blood.

So, for her, I ask you guys:

WHY ALICE?

[AC Collect]

My Whole family liked alice, I was bought up to like him, I took one look at him and said, that's what I wanna be like, and from then on ive looked up to him, hes my hero. He was the first one, he directed everyone to shock and glam rock. and whoever can do that is a genius. He's got such a strong brilliant voice, and he can really rip into heavy metal songs yet calm it with beautifully writen melodies as well. Alice is a legend. and your daughter is right, WHY NOT?!

[Shoesalesman]

Speaking from a 1986 perspective...

The two things I was really into right before I got into Alice were Horror Movies and Heavy Metal. It's like slasher flicks and metal went behind the shed for some smoochin' and the love child was Alice Cooper.

Not sure who was the thrower and who was the catcher but Alice was the product. And he was an only child of that union as far as I'm concerned.

It seemed the natural choice for me to follow Alice's music because it covered both loves at the time.

[Billie1966]

For me it's because there is nobody like him before or now. Seeing Alice conjures up thoughts of Halloween and horror movies. He is better today than he was in the 70's. It's also a sentimental thing for me. My brother Kevin was a huge Alice fan.. We were supposed to go see Brutal Planet together, but he was killed by a drunk driver in 2001. so whenever i go see Alice I always imagine him sitting next to me.

Danny~

[Master Shake]

I was actually thinking about this the other day actually (the sort of things that run through your head just incased asked, film crews and interviews etc which i dont really like btw haha)

I think despite some really great music I think is sometimes REALLY overlooked it really comes down to the concept as the major bonus for me. The man is the ultimate show man with a mix of great music, great stage presence, great performances, great themes and theatrics plus in adition the show is genereally a lot of fun and thats what you need. I dont mind people taking music seriously but the fact, well certainly you get the impression he love what hes doing to me it just makes it that little bit more fun and enjoyable. He to me is the ultimate package.
You would never be bored at an Alice concert! Plus i also think the sheer diversity of his music (the genre crossing) would make most people like at least a couple of songs.
Ive always known Alice, my earliest musical memory is listening to years ago but the obsession didnt start till i was 18. He was the product of everything i had come to love; classic rock, metal, halloween, old horror movies then the costumes all with a sense of humour right down my line.

[Holly Grail]

in a few words that's the reason : I LOVE rock and Alice is deep into ALL , ALL genres of this music(classic,hard,ethnic,metal,pop-rock,....and many others).Plus he is the ultimate perfomer all over the world something that keeps me interesteed to every live he does .

[damiennalice]

I was a huge Kiss fan just prior to knowing of Alice. Im not sure why Alice soon took over in favorite for me it just happened. Knowing of the kind of show Kiss did was probably an easy transition into Alice and the more I found out about the man/group the more I liked. I didnt get to see ACG and my first Alice show was in 1980 - a far cry from a 1973 or 1975 show but it was still a show; something more of a visual to see. I liked the music. I liked hearing about the old days. Now,its standard operating procedure for me. Sometimes its just difficult to explain.

[RemarkablyInsincere]

It ultimately comes down to the music. If the music isn't there, I don't care.

Everything else just takes it to a different and more fun level.

[WickedYoungMan]

I was born into the land of Alice.

[Jumping Jack]

Why Alice?

Because he wrote some of the greatest songs from the golden era of RNR and now performs them live better than he did back in the day.

Pity he is remembered more for the schtick and spawning posers like Kiss and MM than for his songwriting.

[Somwhere In Auckland]

Alice was my first musical experience growing up as a kid, grew up on Alice and he is all I ever knew in music at the time.

All these years later still no one comes close, loved how for most part of his career he was never a follower, the Alice Cooper way was to be over the top, was to invent things, and I have always admired that.

The fact that he has never stuck to one style, just listen to his 25 albums for proof.

The fact that all these years later, there have been so many Alice copies, and no one can do it better than him STILL.

Why Alice? because you will never see anyone else like him EVER. PERIOD.

[Dragonlady]

There are many reasons. Of course the music and lyrics is the main one.
I also admire the fact that Alice doesn't feel the need (anymore) to play a character outside of his shows. He's not thinking highly of himself and always gives you things as they are.
All these rock stars who behave like teenagers and think they are gods simply bore me to death.

Musically it would take me three pages to detail why I love Alice. But as a person he's really a role model to me and a big inspiration. I love his sense of humour too, I felt a bit like an alien until I heard him, no one around me had that dark and silly sense of humour. I don't know where I got that love of the macabre (in the grand guignol sense) but until very recently I knew no one else who had that same way of seeing things.

[Dave Conway]

Right, as briefly as I can:-

1. There is a 'nostalgia' eliment for me. I was buying Alice when I was 12...and now I am nearly 50 and still loving it.

2. His music has an aggresive drive which really appeals to me. I have SOME stress, believe me, and kicking off to B$B is an amazing way to let off steam.

3.He is relevant. Most middle aged men can relate to the first 4 tracks of 'Eyes' !

4. Hes a genuine top bloke and great role model.

5. I am not a musician, so can't get pretentious, about tunes etc, but there is just something about some chord changes that is SO exciting.

Ok, 1000s of other reasons, but thats enough for now.

.

[BellaDonna]

Because I was always 'different'. I never really fit in - I still don't. Always paid for it, always will. I never understood why being different was something to be sneered at, I still don't.

He was 'different' then and still is. He had the 'grapefruits' (family board!) to be an individual then and continues to do so now. None of the bad reviews in the world could've stopped them (original group) nor does it stop him now. His age doesn't matter - timeless. Full blown showman. I love that. Someone who has the nuts to be different, to 'carve their own niche'.

BD

[Baz]

When i was 14 my bro bought me my first stereo, no CDs back then, but i didn`t own one album, so a lad who lived opposite who was about 18 or so, gave me a few albums to listen to.
Among them was LITD, and from those first chords, I was hooked.

[glamprincess]

When the Portsmouth and Boston Herald talked to my daughter they both asked "So, WHY Alice"? She responded with "Why Not"?..."he's fun, he's horror, he's theater".

There's a lot of people much older than your daughter who would not come up with such an intelligent response. Your daughter sounds like a bright girl who is advanced for her age. And you can tell her that....

[WickedYoungMan]

There's a lot of people much older than your daughter who would not come up with such an intelligent response.

Namely on Metal Sludge.

[daytripper]

I think I decided on Alice when Billion Dollar Babies came out. I loved that song. I was still a little young to know who was Alice and who was Zeppelin before B$B. But then I found the Album in big brothers room. I wanted to know more. I started buying Teen Magazines and looking for Alice. Then I saw him on TV on The Midnight Special. That was about 1975. When I saw the fun that was a part of the music, and the stage show...I was hooked for life. Aside from all the fun and rock music...Alice was just so cool and a real cutie too...
To this day......Alice is always in my head.

[jch_n_va,usa]

For me the biggest factor is the songwriting. Alice has always been great storyteller & has never been one dimensional. He can write so many different ways to tell the story. I think Bob Ezrin described it best at the begining of the "Prime Cuts" video when he talked how Alice is all these differernt characters.

[Gunner]

I was 7 years when I first saw Alice Cooper doing SO on TOTP in 1972 and it was the most exciting and different 'thing' I had ever experienced. It was the music (the vocal mainly), but I thought Alice's look was exciting! I loved the following singles of Elected and Hello Hooray but was initially somewhat disturbed to discover the 'dark side' of the band and wondered why on earth such a great band needed to 'upset' people so. However, after a while, the mysterious, shocking and dangerous aspect of this man began to add even more to the enigma of the whole thing, and it is fair to say that I became somewhat obsessed. Never recovered.

Somewhat unrelated, but with respect to Halloween, do you know what it really represents??