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The following message is reported by Classicrockrevisited.com:
Dennis Dunaway (original ALICE COOPER BAND bassist) agreed to write the following exclusive first hand account of his trip to Phoenix to participate in the annual Alice Cooper Christmas Pudding Charity Event for Classic Rock Revisited. The event is held every year and is the brainchild of Alice Cooper and the Board of Directors of the Solid Rock Foundation. Cooper serves as President for the Foundation whose primary goal is to honor Christ by helping to meet the spiritual, economical, physical and social needs of teenagers and children in the Phoenix area.
This year's event featured Al Dimieola, Stephen Stills, Don Felder, Jonathan Cain, Tommy Shaw, Jack Blades and many others who donated their time and talents for the worthy cause. However, the main event of the evening featured Alice Cooper jamming with the all of the remaining original members of the Alice Cooper Group. The classic albums that featured tonight's line up include Love It to Death, Killer, Schools Out, Billion Dollar Babies and Muscle of Love. Most of Alice's classic tunes were churned out during this time period as is witnessed on the multi-platinum selling Alice Cooper's Greatest Hits, originally released in 1974. In addition to the music, the Alice Cooper Show, the first rock 'n roll spectacle to feature theatrics in such a grandiose manner, was devised and brought to life by the musicians that shared the stage on December 16, 2006.
The original band members in attendance were Alice Cooper on vocals, Dennis Dunaway on bass guitar, Michael Bruce on lead guitar and Neal Smith on drums. Sadly, guitarist Glen Buxton passed away in 1997. Filling in for him was current Cooper guitar player, and former BROTHER CANE member, Damon Johnson.
Below is Dennis Dunaway's story of a glorious night of music and emotion:
Reunited & It Feels So Good!
A First Hand Account of the Gig That Reunited the Original Alice Cooper Group by Bassist Dennis Dunaway
"I left Phoenix at 2:00 p.m. and landed in New York and got home at 2:00 a.m. with dreamlike memories of my rock n' roll weekend begging to be shared.
Music rehearsals, catching up with the old gang - Ampboy and Toodie Mueller included - meeting fans from near and far, and playing with Michael, Neal, and Alice made the trip special. The spirit of all the entertainers, as well as the audience, nearly raised the roof off the seven thousand-seat SRO Dodge Theatre. And best of all, charitable people donated record-breaking funds for the Solid Rock Foundation.
The adventure began with my cousin, Jerry, picking me up at the Phoenix airport and telling me that he took the week off work so he could drive me around. This was welcome news since the rehearsal studio and the venue were across town from my parent's house where I was staying. I told Jerry that I was nursing a toothache and showed him my swollen jaw to prove it. We drove across town to my parent's house where I had lived when my best friend and I decided to start a band.
On day two, Jerry drove me back across town where Neal, Michael, Damon Johnson, and I ran through the set twice before heading over to the Dodge Theatre for a third run-through with Alice. The magnificent Dodge Theatre was buzzing with activity as musicians, dancers, and a variety of entertainers rehearsed and did sound checks for the following night's performance. Alice was busy on stage coordinating the show. I noticed his daughter, Calico, in the theatre seating area so I went to say hi. I also saw Alice's wife, Cheryl, and we talked for a while. Alice and I shook hands and caught up on family news and joked around a bit but he had more show coordinating to take care of so we went our separate ways.
Michael and Damon arrived and we checked our tuning, amp placement, and settings while Alice and Shep [Gordan, Alice Cooper's long time manager] discussed where to make a break in the set to mention Glen Buxton. We were ready to rehearse but Neal, uncharacteristically, hadn't arrived. Michael joked about Neal's possible excuses and how comfortable the beds were at the Hyatt, which made Neal smile when he walked in because he assumed Michael was saying something along those lines.
We began with the intro to 'Hello Hooray' and then went right into 'Under My Wheels', 'Be My Lover', and 'No More Mr. Nice Guy'. Alice reminded us that he would say something about Glen before the next song, 'Billion Dollar Babies'. Damon Johnson told Alice that we had rehearsed 'Muscle Of Love' and urged him to add it to the set. Alice said the show was already six hours long. After 'Billion Dollar Babies', we played a moody version of 'I'm Eighteen' with an extra big ending, which went right into 'School's Out'. When we finished the set, Alice suggested starting with 'No More Mr. Nice Guy' into 'Be My Lover" and then 'Under My Wheels' without the 'Hello Hooray' intro. Everyone agreed and our rehearsal was a wrap."
Source ClassicRockRevisited |
