MarkT

"Horror show for the whole family" - Alice Cooper, Christian

{ 10:27 AM, 29/8/2008 } { Posted in The Arts } { 0 comments } { Link }

Kelsey Munro
August 29, 2008 - 8:48AM

If you want a barometer of how much popular culture has changed in the past three decades, consider this: now even Alice Cooper considers his act family entertainment. ....

"To me, now, Alice Cooper hasbecome sort of family entertainment," he says. "When we come to town, we'll do state fairs and things like that, and grandma and grandad, mum and dad and the kids all come to see Alice Cooper."

He chuckles. "I think they tell [the kids] up front, 'Well, you know they are going to hang him, and there's going to be a lot of blood up there!' But I don't think any more blood than is in Macbeth or any Shakespeare play."

....

The urbane Cooper, 60, draws the Shakespeare comparison afew times during our conversation about his latest album, Along Came A Spider. These days also known as a family man, golfer, restaurateur, radio DJ and unlikely Christian, Cooper is a complex figure, far removed from his hammy image as a
heritage rock star with a penchant for bleeding eyeliner and boa constrictors. He sees no contradiction between his faith and, say, the storyline of his 25th album. In it, he sings from the perspective of an
imaginary serial killer, an "arachnophobic psychopath" who wraps his victims in silk and souvenirs a leg from each. ("I thought that was a nice touch," he says drily.)

"As human beings we hate real serial killers, we hate the Charles Mansons and people like that," Cooper says. "But we kind of like the fictional ones. We like our Hannibal Lecters and our Jokers and our Jasons, because we know that they can't hurt us."

Cooper says neither his album nor his act is anti-Christian and he avoids satanic themes.

"When I think 'satanic' I think a lot of Shakespeare - Macbeth, having to do with the occult and witches - whereas I never really touch on that stuff," he says. "The stuff I usually touch on is mental illness. I always tried to keep Alice as a character that is not earthly as all, doesn't apply to our rules. He's insane ... but he's not satanic. I don't think there's anything about him that is anti-Christian at all."

These days the Alice Cooperstage show is the wholefamily's business. His wife of 32 years, Sheryl, was theoriginal ballerina on the Welcome To My Nightmare tour in the mid-'70s and still plays roles in the show. Their two daughters, Calico, 27, and Sonora, 15, both ballerinas, are also part of the
show. (His son, Dashiel, 23, is in a band, making their first album with Cooper's record producer.)

"It's fun to tour," Cooper says. "We just leave the house and go out for five months or so. Sheryl says, 'I feel like I ran away and joined the circus."'

....

Along Came A Spider is out now.

from
http://www.smh.com.au/news/music/horror-show-for-the-whole-family/2008/08/29/1219516704509.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1

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MarkT

"Horror show for the whole family" - Alice Cooper, Christian

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