Blue Coupe

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

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sickthing
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Blue Coupe

Post by sickthing » Sat Jun 26, 2021 6:04 pm

Anything going on in the world of Blue Coupe these days?

What are your favourite songs with the band?

What is the creative process like? Is it very collaborative? Do you work on each others song ideas to make them fit the band sound more?

What about the bass style you use, how is it different to Alice Cooper?

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Dreary
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Re: Blue Coupe

Post by Dreary » Sat Jun 26, 2021 8:01 pm

sickthing wrote:
Sat Jun 26, 2021 6:04 pm
Anything going on in the world of Blue Coupe these days?

What are your favourite songs with the band?

What is the creative process like? Is it very collaborative? Do you work on each others song ideas to make them fit the band sound more?

What about the bass style you use, how is it different to Alice Cooper?
Blue Coupe just finished a fully animated music video and are currently finishing another filmed music video. We're planning to release a DVD with a corresponding CD that will include songs from the DVD plus previously unreleased songs.

Of our three albums, I have lots of favorites, and whatever songs I chose here, might change tomorrow.
That said, I think "You (Like Vampires)" from Tornado On The Tracks is a very special song. It seems to have universal appeal. We played it at a festival in France and the crowd was particularly excited about that song. After the show, people wanted to know what "You" was about.
"Hallow's Grave" from Million Miles More went through about 16 major overhauls before we finally got it right. Alice sings lead on it and he always mentions how much he likes the song. The time signatures and melody are complex but he did a great job on it.
Sometimes the song you think will standout on an album gets outshined by one that you didn't even think would make the final cut. "Jumped The Gun" from Eleven Even is one of those. The band had been together for eleven years when we recorded that album so we decided to have ten songs, but if you wait eleven seconds, you hear song number eleven.
Joe, Albert, and I have a history of collaborations, so that comes natural to all of us. They are both retired music teachers so that keeps it extra interesting. They are also up to date on the latest recording techniques so we bring old school and state of the art together.
Tornado On The Tracks and Million Miles More were written and developed mostly via sharing files online. That worked fine because we're all seasoned studio players. But we decided to create Eleven Even in the same room together, which costs quite a bit for rehearsal space. It was such a satisfying experience, like our glory days, that we'll likely stick to that on our next album.
As for bass style, my parts have always addressed the song and the situation. The main difference is that Neal and I would experiment heavily, but once we locked in our parts, they stayed locked in. Albert is a great drummer with a different approach in that he's continually experimenting, therefore, my bass parts are often evolving right up until the actual recording session. We do nail the bass and drums in the recording studio with few edits and overdubs. I'm proud to say that I nailed all of the bass parts on Eleven Even in the studio.
As for me playing Joe Bouchard's great bass parts on Blue Öyster Cult classics at our live shows, both Joe and Albert are fine with me adding my interpretation and style. I do, however, stick closely to what Joe played.

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