Pretties for you and beyond

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

Moderators: Si, SickThings, Shoesalesman, Dreary

Post Reply
forglasgowonly
Trash
Trash
Posts: 48
Joined: Thu Oct 01, 2020 7:43 pm

Pretties for you and beyond

Post by forglasgowonly » Fri Jun 25, 2021 4:48 pm

Dennis,

thanks for all your time on this site engaging with fans. It is hugely appreciated. When I first got into the ACG music in the early 80's, it seemed like a totally terrifying proposition. I remember buying an old green Warners label copy of Killer with no sleeve for 50 pence, which I played alone on my wee record player when my parents had gone out. I almost jumped out of my skin at the end of Killer. I was 11. My introduction to Pretties for you was on a compilation called School Days. Not sure if that one was sanctioned by the band, but it came with Easy Action. My first reaction was....."these guys can't play". Now I love it for the avant garde classic it is. Please clear this up....could you play? It's weird because on the life and crimes cd there is a pretty faithful rendition of Hitch Hike which pre-dates Pretties. Is that stuff easier to do, than what you were attempting to play on Pretties?
Oh, and when do you think the original band peaked as a live act?
Also, I bought a typewriter at a church jumble sale and set about typing out all the lyrics. I got loads wrong, and gave up totally with My Stars!

forglasgowonly
Trash
Trash
Posts: 48
Joined: Thu Oct 01, 2020 7:43 pm

Re: Pretties for you and beyond

Post by forglasgowonly » Fri Jun 25, 2021 5:15 pm

Footnote: Just listened again to Fields of Regret. Of course you guys could play. Wonderful bass , and Glen leads.

User avatar
Dreary
Fashion Flusher
Fashion Flusher
Posts: 573
Joined: Tue Jul 19, 2011 3:46 am

Re: Pretties for you and beyond

Post by Dreary » Fri Jun 25, 2021 6:04 pm

forglasgowonly wrote:
Fri Jun 25, 2021 4:48 pm
Dennis,

thanks for all your time on this site engaging with fans. It is hugely appreciated. When I first got into the ACG music in the early 80's, it seemed like a totally terrifying proposition. I remember buying an old green Warners label copy of Killer with no sleeve for 50 pence, which I played alone on my wee record player when my parents had gone out. I almost jumped out of my skin at the end of Killer. I was 11. My introduction to Pretties for you was on a compilation called School Days. Not sure if that one was sanctioned by the band, but it came with Easy Action. My first reaction was....."these guys can't play". Now I love it for the avant garde classic it is. Please clear this up....could you play? It's weird because on the life and crimes cd there is a pretty faithful rendition of Hitch Hike which pre-dates Pretties. Is that stuff easier to do, than what you were attempting to play on Pretties?
Oh, and when do you think the original band peaked as a live act?
Also, I bought a typewriter at a church jumble sale and set about typing out all the lyrics. I got loads wrong, and gave up totally with My Stars!
As a covers band in Phoenix, we were covering the Paul Butterfield Blues Band and the Yardbirds, so we had learned to play pretty well. We had an original song called "Don't Blow Your Mind" that was a #11 hit single in Arizona. At that time, we were pursuing our original concept of including artistic ideas into our band, but it was all focused on our visual shows. When we got to L.A. and got a good look at what was happening there, we decided it was time to incorporate artistic ideas into our own original music. We didn't see ourselves as being commercial artists, so why should we write commercial music? What would abstract art sound like? As for that vision, we were all seriously driven, that is, all but one, until Neal joined.
Beneath our sinister stage attitude was an underlying sense of humor. We were calculating. We were playing a prank on people, and the fans that understood that were in on the prank. The GTO's got it. Zappa got it. The Doors, Jefferson Airplane, the Chambers Brothers, and Jimi Hendrix got it. A band with a girl's name, that dressed somewhat androgynously, and looked very serious about it, was out to challenge the critics and test people's ability to pick up on the prank.
The band continued to evolve but that serious presentation with the underlying humor always remained.
I truly believe that our peak never happened.

User avatar
Daggers & Contracts
Dada God
Dada God
Posts: 2812
Joined: Mon Feb 04, 2013 5:47 pm
Location: 340 Sanitarium

Re: Pretties for you and beyond

Post by Daggers & Contracts » Fri Jun 25, 2021 11:34 pm

Evening Dr. D,
I look (& listen) to Pretties For You & Easy Action as the band learning more about themselves
& learning their way around a Studio.
When the ACG & Bob Ezrin found each other things started to click into place. :clap:
Is this an accurate assessment or have I missed Shep's contribution?
Thanks
I've Got The Answers To All Of Your Questions...

User avatar
Dreary
Fashion Flusher
Fashion Flusher
Posts: 573
Joined: Tue Jul 19, 2011 3:46 am

Re: Pretties for you and beyond

Post by Dreary » Sat Jun 26, 2021 3:39 am

Daggers & Contracts wrote:
Fri Jun 25, 2021 11:34 pm
Evening Dr. D,
I look (& listen) to Pretties For You & Easy Action as the band learning more about themselves
& learning their way around a Studio.
When the ACG & Bob Ezrin found each other things started to click into place. :clap:
Is this an accurate assessment or have I missed Shep's contribution?
Thanks
You're right, they were learning periods, but so is every album. People over simplify the progress that we made on our own before we met Bob Ezrin. After Pretties For You barely made the charts, the band voted on writing more relatable songs. Our progress on that would have been more evident on Easy Action but we were called into the studio way before we were ready. By the time we did Love it To Death, we had learned how to write songs, and simultaneously, we knew we needed a producer that could help us get a hit single. We wanted Jack Richardson and our amazing managers Joe Greenberg and Shep Gordon tracked him down for us. We wound up with Jack's apprentice, however, Jack Richardson oversaw the recording sessions of Love it To Death and Killer.

Post Reply