Toronto Rock 'n' Roll Revival

Alice Cooper co-founder and Hall Of Fame inductee Dennis Dunaway answers your questions!

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slickerthanaweasel
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Toronto Rock 'n' Roll Revival

Post by slickerthanaweasel » Thu Jun 23, 2022 4:39 am

Hello Mr. Dunaway! I am a student currently collecting information about the Toronto Rock ‘n’ Roll Revival festival from September 13, 1969. My goal is to write a book about the event by the time I graduate college. I know there are a few threads about this show already but I’m hoping these questions can provide a deeper understanding of the event. For such a momentous festival there is surprisingly little information about it out there! The section about it in your book is one of the most detailed accounts I have been able to find. So my questions here are not directly answered by the information given there.

If you can remember, Who played before the Alice Cooper Group, and who played after Gene Vincent? Alice often claims that you played between John Lennon and the Doors but this is simply not true because we know Gene played after you.

Speaking of Gene Vincent, can you recall any songs you played for the Gene Vincent set, other than presumably “Be Bop a Lula” and “Woman Love”?

We know the ACG played a few rockabilly covers before your main material to fit with the Rock ‘n’ Roll revival theme. Do you remember what any of those songs were?

Neal Smith said in an old interview that after throwing the chicken, Alice fired a flare gun which caused the audience to trample it while trying to avoid the flames. Do you remember the flare gun and could Pecker have been trampled on accident, rather than being “ripped to shreds” as is most usually said?

This last one is vague. I have thought about it for a while and I’m not sure if there is a solid yes or no answer. Do you think the band’s new reputation from the chicken incident influenced the group’s transition from being avant-garde into being more horror-themed, such as on Love it to Death and Killer, or was that just due to the natural evolution of the group?

Any information you can offer is greatly appreciated. And if you recall any other anecdotes about that day I’m all ears. No matter how insignificant they seem, they are infinitely interesting and valuable to me.

Thank you in advance for reading over my questions,
Anthony

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Dreary
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Re: Toronto Rock 'n' Roll Revival

Post by Dreary » Thu Jun 23, 2022 5:37 pm

The promoter for the Rock and Roll Revival found himself in over his head so our managers Joe Greenberg and Shep Gordon offered to take over organizing the festival providing Alice Cooper is included in the show. In the spirit of fitting an avant garde act onto the bill, we were to back up Gene Vincent.

We didn't do rockabilly covers on our own, but we did back up Gene Vincent. We rehearsed with him the day before our performance. He was visibly nervous to meet us. We had read that he suffered from stage-fright in his glory days, and we knew he hadn't performed in years, and that this would be the largest crowd he had ever sang to, so we wore blue jeans and t-shirts to let him know that we were fans and out to make sure his show would be great. Our witty charm, especially Vince and Glen, quickly made him feel more at ease.

We just had a guitar amp for the vocal mic which concerned Gene. But Glen told him to test the mic. Glen had hooked up his Echoplex with tons of echo and when Gene tried it, he smiled. We asked what song he would like to start with and he just sang, Well... and we all knew it was Be-Bop-A-Lula. We also did Woman Love and (I THINK) Race With The Devil, Who Slapped John, Crazy Legs, and Bluejean Bop.

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Re: Toronto Rock 'n' Roll Revival

Post by steven_crayn » Thu Jul 14, 2022 8:36 am

Dreary wrote:
Thu Jun 23, 2022 5:37 pm
The promoter for the Rock and Roll Revival found himself in over his head so our managers Joe Greenberg and Shep Gordon offered to take over organizing the festival providing Alice Cooper is included in the show. In the spirit of fitting an avant garde act onto the bill, we were to back up Gene Vincent.

We didn't do rockabilly covers on our own, but we did back up Gene Vincent. We rehearsed with him the day before our performance. He was visibly nervous to meet us. We had read that he suffered from stage-fright in his glory days, and we knew he hadn't performed in years, and that this would be the largest crowd he had ever sang to, so we wore blue jeans and t-shirts to let him know that we were fans and out to make sure his show would be great. Our witty charm, especially Vince and Glen, quickly made him feel more at ease.

We just had a guitar amp for the vocal mic which concerned Gene. But Glen told him to test the mic. Glen had hooked up his Echoplex with tons of echo and when Gene tried it, he smiled. We asked what song he would like to start with and he just sang, Well... and we all knew it was Be-Bop-A-Lula. We also did Woman Love and (I THINK) Race With The Devil, Who Slapped John, Crazy Legs, and Bluejean Bop.
Hi Dennis,

From the book Gene Vincent and Eddie Cochran: Rock'n'roll Revolutionaries by John Collis

“Vincent's tearful, drunken performance did not even survive the first cut. He went on after Alice Cooper and was backed by Cooper's band, picking his way through the chicken feathers and other detritus of Cooper's act. He had been drinking all day in excessive heat, and did not take to the stage until early evening.”

Steven
Lead guitar on Social Debris. Album on iTunes, Amazon & Spotify, title track featured on TV

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