Ryan Roxie: "This is Alice's most cohesive band"

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Ryan Roxie: "This is Alice's most cohesive band"

Post by HardRockSummer » Fri Apr 20, 2018 5:22 pm

Cool interview with Ryan who is talking about his new solo album and his 10 favorite Alice Cooper songs, has some great things to say about the current band.

https://www.musicmaniapodcast.com/news- ... ia-podcast

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Re: Ryan Roxie: "This is Alice's most cohesive band"

Post by mr.barlow » Sat Apr 21, 2018 1:29 am

In my opinion there are three bands that were the cornerstones of Alice's career. I'm not knocking any of the other bands throughout the years as they were all top notch and today's line-up is stellar, however, the three that stand out and were vital to Alice's career are:

The Original Band
The Welcome to My Nightmare Band
The Nightmare Returns Band

The importance of the 1986 touring line-up is often overlooked and underrated. If not for that powerhouse, Alice's comeback would have fizzled out.

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Re: Ryan Roxie: "This is Alice's most cohesive band"

Post by Mr. Skull » Sat Apr 21, 2018 9:53 am

mr.barlow wrote:In my opinion there are three bands that were the cornerstones of Alice's career. I'm not knocking any of the other bands throughout the years as they were all top notch and today's line-up is stellar, however, the three that stand out and were vital to Alice's career are:

The Original Band
The Welcome to My Nightmare Band
The Nightmare Returns Band

The importance of the 1986 touring line-up is often overlooked and underrated. If not for that powerhouse, Alice's comeback would have fizzled out.
Fully agree

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Re: Ryan Roxie: "This is Alice's most cohesive band"

Post by Si » Sat Apr 21, 2018 1:41 pm

Mr. Skull wrote:
mr.barlow wrote:In my opinion there are three bands that were the cornerstones of Alice's career. I'm not knocking any of the other bands throughout the years as they were all top notch and today's line-up is stellar, however, the three that stand out and were vital to Alice's career are:

The Original Band
The Welcome to My Nightmare Band
The Nightmare Returns Band

The importance of the 1986 touring line-up is often overlooked and underrated. If not for that powerhouse, Alice's comeback would have fizzled out.
Fully agree
I'm not sure I would include the whole band as vitally important. Kane yes - definitely, but the rest of the band, as good as they were, had very little impact on Alice's career as a whole. Any number of musicians could have taken their play live.

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Re: Ryan Roxie: "This is Alice's most cohesive band"

Post by cooperrocks » Sat Apr 21, 2018 6:19 pm

I agree with Ryan Roxie. The current band is amazing and very cohesive and frankly (And I don't want to get into a debate on the best lineup etc) this is my favorite Alice lineup Alice has ever had. Love plenty of the others ones, but the current band can absolutely do anything

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Re: Ryan Roxie: "This is Alice's most cohesive band"

Post by guttertrash » Sun Apr 22, 2018 12:04 am

Versatility wise, this is most definitely the most cohesive lineup. Creativity wise, the ACG is head and shoulders above all the rest. I'm glad that Alice has stripped most of the over-playing that was done from the Wagner/Hunter-era through the Kane, Pete Friesen, Reb Beach eras away in general from the ACG songs, because the amazing grooves of those songs were completely lost with all the wankery. This newest incarnation definitely nails it better than any other although Zig Zag would be a nice touch to feel out that sound. That said, seeing the 'reunion' live this past year just solidified my view that the ACG was the best lineup. Neal's swing, and the loose, ragged, but still spot-on feeling that Michael and Dennis bring adds magic to the early songs that is not quite the same when they are not on the stage, and to me the lack of those elements makes most of the later career less stellar.

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Re: Ryan Roxie: "This is Alice's most cohesive band"

Post by jacknifejohnny » Sun Apr 22, 2018 9:47 am

Spot on gutter trash, we’ll said.

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Re: Ryan Roxie: "This is Alice's most cohesive band"

Post by Rhapsody of Fire » Sun Apr 22, 2018 4:28 pm

Keri Kelli was great.

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Re: Ryan Roxie: "This is Alice's most cohesive band"

Post by Swinger » Mon Apr 23, 2018 12:30 pm

guttertrash wrote:Versatility wise, this is most definitely the most cohesive lineup. Creativity wise, the ACG is head and shoulders above all the rest.
To be fair, Roxie said "This is the most cohesive and consistent band that Alice has had touring wise since the original band." so his quote only really counts for the solo band.

And it's true! With the exeption of Nita this line-up has been the same since 2012 and to have a consistent line-up for 6 years is pretty rare for the touring band. Roxie's played with Alice for a total of 16 years. Chuck's been in the band for 15 years straight, and both he and Alice himself have talked about how Chuck's probably gonna play with him til the end. Tommy has become a clear right-hand man in the studio for the past few years. Don't know much about Glen or Nita but they seem to fit right in.

Other line-ups may have been important in different ways but this line-up truly seem like one who loves their job and who Alice loves to work with and who also have the time to do their own projects on the side without having to quit playing with the Coop.
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Re: Ryan Roxie: "This is Alice's most cohesive band"

Post by cooperrocks » Mon Apr 23, 2018 2:04 pm

Swinger wrote:
guttertrash wrote:Versatility wise, this is most definitely the most cohesive lineup. Creativity wise, the ACG is head and shoulders above all the rest.
To be fair, Roxie said "This is the most cohesive and consistent band that Alice has had touring wise since the original band." so his quote only really counts for the solo band.

And it's true! With the exeption of Nita this line-up has been the same since 2012 and to have a consistent line-up for 6 years is pretty rare for the touring band. Roxie's played with Alice for a total of 16 years. Chuck's been in the band for 15 years straight, and both he and Alice himself have talked about how Chuck's probably gonna play with him til the end. Tommy has become a clear right-hand man in the studio for the past few years. Don't know much about Glen or Nita but they seem to fit right in.

Other line-ups may have been important in different ways but this line-up truly seem like one who loves their job and who Alice loves to work with and who also have the time to do their own projects on the side without having to quit playing with the Coop.
Right, that is exactly what he said and I agree with him. The current lineup and once again I don't want to get into a debate over best lineup, etc because it is all subjective, but the current lineup is my favorite Alice lineup ever and that includes the original band (who were also great), but I can honestly say I have enjoyed every lineup Alice has ever had. He always gets top notch players.

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Re: Ryan Roxie: "This is Alice's most cohesive band"

Post by guttertrash » Mon Apr 23, 2018 2:54 pm

I had not read the article. I just saw the thread, but yes, I completely agree that this band is his best solo band by far. I wish they were given the opportunity to write and record an album together. It saddens me that Chuck and Ryan have not been a part of the writing process since Dirty Diamonds.

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Re: Ryan Roxie: "This is Alice's most cohesive band"

Post by Swinger » Mon Apr 23, 2018 6:03 pm

Chuck, Keri Kelli and Damon Johnson did get some co-writes on Along Came a Spider and Chuck co-wrote the bonus track "A Bad Situation" on W2MN, but yeah I agree that it's a shame that the live band doesn't get used in the writing process or even just in the studio more at the moment.
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Re: Ryan Roxie: "This is Alice's most cohesive band"

Post by padre_sliprat » Mon Apr 23, 2018 11:40 pm

Swinger wrote:Chuck, Keri Kelli and Damon Johnson did get some co-writes on Along Came a Spider and Chuck co-wrote the bonus track "A Bad Situation" on W2MN, but yeah I agree that it's a shame that the live band doesn't get used in the writing process or even just in the studio more at the moment.
Maybe live is where they excel? Also, most of the guys have projects of their own to tend to.
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Re: Ryan Roxie: "This is Alice's most cohesive band"

Post by guttertrash » Tue Apr 24, 2018 1:56 am

padre_sliprat wrote:
Swinger wrote:Chuck, Keri Kelli and Damon Johnson did get some co-writes on Along Came a Spider and Chuck co-wrote the bonus track "A Bad Situation" on W2MN, but yeah I agree that it's a shame that the live band doesn't get used in the writing process or even just in the studio more at the moment.
Maybe live is where they excel? Also, most of the guys have projects of their own to tend to.
I wonder if the other members prefer to have their own projects or if they would rather work with Alice full-time and just have the projects since they are not writing and recording with Alice and also have downtime sometimes since Alice is doing the HV shows. It was originally mentioned that the W2MN follow-up would be a band album, but that was not to be sadly.

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Re: Ryan Roxie: "This is Alice's most cohesive band"

Post by Si » Tue Apr 24, 2018 8:14 am

guttertrash wrote: I wonder if the other members prefer to have their own projects or if they would rather work with Alice full-time and just have the projects since they are not writing and recording with Alice and also have downtime sometimes since Alice is doing the HV shows. It was originally mentioned that the W2MN follow-up would be a band album, but that was not to be sadly.
My personal belief, from talking to some members of the band over the years, is that they would jump at the chance to record a full band album with Alice. They want to do it, but it isn't up to them. Certain band members were certainly hopeful it was going to happen before 'Paranormal' (and had material ready) and were disappointed when it didn't. Now they have to wait until the next Vampires album is done before they might get another chance and that could be anther two years.
Doing the album wouldn't get in the way of their own projects.

With every album that comes out I'm disappointed when I see the current band aren't on it on mass. They are more then capable of playing everything on 'Paranormal' and I personally believe that if they had been allowed to play AND write it, it would result it a better record.

But Alice seems to be in a unique position. Most artists, even solo artists, work we mostly the same musicians on album as live (afaik). But Alice has three options, the current band, the original band (always a possibility), or something completely separate. Fans generally would like one of the first two options but we get the third.

That said, I also don't believe the final decision is completely down to Alice. He trusts Ezrin too much to make all the decisions when it comes to a new record and I, personally, think some of those decisions, certainly on Paranormal, were wrong. I simply don't understand the wish to bring in an outside writer for the album when you have the talent on tap in the band. To use Mullins when you have Glen baffles me. I get guess appearances here and there, but does anybody really believe he improved the album?

My personal wish is to see Alice go into the studio with the current band and a set theme or concept. In there they bash out songs that serve the concept AND get away from the need to keep everything around 3-4 minutes, letting the music ebb and flow to tell a story. All classic Alice albums have both the short "single" tracks AND the longer more theatrical songs and the latter is what is sorely missing from most recent albums, going back as far as Brutal Planet. I want to hear a new Halo, Black Juju, Steven etc. Something with atmosphere, that takes you on a ride.
And then PLAY IT LIVE!

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Re: Ryan Roxie: "This is Alice's most cohesive band"

Post by Swinger » Tue Apr 24, 2018 11:03 am

padre_sliprat wrote:Maybe live is where they excel?
Except that everyone in the current band except Nita has already played with Alice in the studio and most of them worked as studio musicians for years before joining Alice. And when it comes to songwriting Chuck, Tommy and Roxie has all proven themselves as very good songwriters both through their work with Alice and their own projects.

The current situation is sorta the opposite of the original WTMN band - that was a great studio-band brought on tour as a great live band - now there's a great live band that for some reason or another isn't playing in the studio at the moment.
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Re: Ryan Roxie: "This is Alice's most cohesive band"

Post by VinceLeeRose » Tue Apr 24, 2018 6:15 pm

I’m fine with Nita being absent from the studio albums as I’m not a big fan of her style of playing. Tommy wrote a lot of songs on Paranormal

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Re: Ryan Roxie: "This is Alice's most cohesive band"

Post by cooperrocks » Tue Apr 24, 2018 6:43 pm

I would love to hear the current lineup do an album with Alice. Roxie is a great writer and I look forward to his solo album, Chuck Garric has put together so really good material with Beasto Blanco and I think could add a slightly heavier element to an album which I would like to see, and I think Nita Strauss is flat out outstanding. I love her shredding style of playing and would love to see Alice do an album with a lot of her riffs.

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Re: Ryan Roxie: "This is Alice's most cohesive band"

Post by guttertrash » Tue Apr 24, 2018 10:49 pm

Si wrote:
guttertrash wrote: I wonder if the other members prefer to have their own projects or if they would rather work with Alice full-time and just have the projects since they are not writing and recording with Alice and also have downtime sometimes since Alice is doing the HV shows. It was originally mentioned that the W2MN follow-up would be a band album, but that was not to be sadly.
My personal belief, from talking to some members of the band over the years, is that they would jump at the chance to record a full band album with Alice. They want to do it, but it isn't up to them. Certain band members were certainly hopeful it was going to happen before 'Paranormal' (and had material ready) and were disappointed when it didn't. Now they have to wait until the next Vampires album is done before they might get another chance and that could be anther two years.
Doing the album wouldn't get in the way of their own projects.

With every album that comes out I'm disappointed when I see the current band aren't on it on mass. They are more then capable of playing everything on 'Paranormal' and I personally believe that if they had been allowed to play AND write it, it would result it a better record.

But Alice seems to be in a unique position. Most artists, even solo artists, work we mostly the same musicians on album as live (afaik). But Alice has three options, the current band, the original band (always a possibility), or something completely separate. Fans generally would like one of the first two options but we get the third.

That said, I also don't believe the final decision is completely down to Alice. He trusts Ezrin too much to make all the decisions when it comes to a new record and I, personally, think some of those decisions, certainly on Paranormal, were wrong. I simply don't understand the wish to bring in an outside writer for the album when you have the talent on tap in the band. To use Mullins when you have Glen baffles me. I get guess appearances here and there, but does anybody really believe he improved the album?

My personal wish is to see Alice go into the studio with the current band and a set theme or concept. In there they bash out songs that serve the concept AND get away from the need to keep everything around 3-4 minutes, letting the music ebb and flow to tell a story. All classic Alice albums have both the short "single" tracks AND the longer more theatrical songs and the latter is what is sorely missing from most recent albums, going back as far as Brutal Planet. I want to hear a new Halo, Black Juju, Steven etc. Something with atmosphere, that takes you on a ride.
And then PLAY IT LIVE!
You nailed my thought on this situation. I think Roxie and Alice wrote the last song that I truly find to be a standout that has elements that hearkens back to the concept of Alice that I enjoy in Six Hours. While not perfect especially considering it’s short length, it showed signs that they had the potential to write songs that returned to the elements that I always cherished from Alice, but then we got three albums with hardly any band participation.

As far as Larry Mullins, Falling In Love sounds so much better live with a straight drumbeat. Using him along with a mostly studio band has lead to wasted opportunities in my opinion.

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Re: Ryan Roxie: "This is Alice's most cohesive band"

Post by padre_sliprat » Wed Apr 25, 2018 2:22 am

Cohesive as in 'slick' and safe.
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