Alice Cooper: I influenced Lady Gaga
Legendary American rocker Alice Cooper recently received a note that he found rather amusing.
It was from none other than the Mother Monster herself, Lady Gaga.
She wrote: "Dear Alice, thank you for letting me steal your show. Gaga."
Cooper, whose real name is Vincent Damon Furnier, said with a chuckle: "We're (now) old buddies." The veteran performer, now 63, was speaking to my paper over the phone from Auckland, New Zealand, where he was on tour.
He added that he replied to Gaga, telling the 25-year-old pop star that she didn't "steal" his show, though he could see his influence in her performances.
Gaga is a "shock rocker" much like Cooper, who will be playing his first gig here on Wednesday at the Hard Rock Hotel's Coliseum in Resorts World Sentosa.
The only difference is that Detroit-born Cooper has been at it for over 40 years.
He received the appellation by accident, after an incident involving a live chicken at one of his early gigs. And, as everyone knows, Cooper fully embraced the concept.
His live shows, even now, are decidedly macabre. They feature Cooper dressed ghoulishly with mascara-streaked eyes, and props including electric chairs, guillotines and fake blood.
Will he happily pass the baton to Gaga?
He will say this: Gaga's penchant for theatrics leads him to believe that it's she, more than any of his heavy-metal contemporaries, who is the most similar to himself.
"Gaga goes out of her way to rehearse (the show), and to write it and perform it as Lady Gaga. That's the same way I do it for Alice," he explained.
And he promised that his show here will be larger than life. "It's sort of like a big Halloween party, with all the hits," he enthused. "This is going to knock the audience out."
The Alice Cooper band first gained mainstream attention with the song I'm Eighteen (Love It To Death) and smash single School's Out (off the 1972 album of the same name).
The original line-up was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame this year.
Cooper kicked off his solo career with the 1975 concept album, Welcome To My Nightmare. Now, 36 years later, he has released his 26th solo effort, Welcome 2 My Nightmare, a sequel of sorts to that well- received debut.
When asked about the longevity of his popularity, Cooper said thoughtfully: "I kind of come from the same lineage as David Bowie and Elton John.
"We all started at around the same time, and we're still making albums... That era of rockers will just not go away."
His new album also sees an unlikely collaboration: On the song What Baby Wants, glitter- loving pop star Kesha plays the devil alongside Cooper.
"It's like (if) Dolly Parton and Iggy Pop (did a song together)," he said with a laugh.
Curiously, the rocker - who is married with three grown-up children (eldest daughter Calico is frequently part of the live show, and has provided back-up vocals on some albums) - refers to himself in the third person.
But that, perhaps, should not come as a surprise, for Alice is just a persona created to draw attention in the early years of Cooper's career.
"He's a character I created... It's fun to write for somebody else," he said.
And though he seems to rely on bombastic theatrics and unpredictable partnerships, the rocker insists that even when stripped of make-up, props and gimmicks, the band would still be a success.
"The cool thing to do when you're known for all that is to put your guard down every once in a while... Show up without any of that," he said. "Show that you're a band that can play, like anybody else."
We don't doubt that for a nanosecond, Mr Cooper.
She wrote: "Dear Alice, thank you for letting me steal your show. Gaga."
Cooper, whose real name is Vincent Damon Furnier, said with a chuckle: "We're (now) old buddies." The veteran performer, now 63, was speaking to my paper over the phone from Auckland, New Zealand, where he was on tour.
He added that he replied to Gaga, telling the 25-year-old pop star that she didn't "steal" his show, though he could see his influence in her performances.
Gaga is a "shock rocker" much like Cooper, who will be playing his first gig here on Wednesday at the Hard Rock Hotel's Coliseum in Resorts World Sentosa.
The only difference is that Detroit-born Cooper has been at it for over 40 years.
He received the appellation by accident, after an incident involving a live chicken at one of his early gigs. And, as everyone knows, Cooper fully embraced the concept.
His live shows, even now, are decidedly macabre. They feature Cooper dressed ghoulishly with mascara-streaked eyes, and props including electric chairs, guillotines and fake blood.
Will he happily pass the baton to Gaga?
He will say this: Gaga's penchant for theatrics leads him to believe that it's she, more than any of his heavy-metal contemporaries, who is the most similar to himself.
"Gaga goes out of her way to rehearse (the show), and to write it and perform it as Lady Gaga. That's the same way I do it for Alice," he explained.
And he promised that his show here will be larger than life. "It's sort of like a big Halloween party, with all the hits," he enthused. "This is going to knock the audience out."
The Alice Cooper band first gained mainstream attention with the song I'm Eighteen (Love It To Death) and smash single School's Out (off the 1972 album of the same name).
The original line-up was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame this year.
Cooper kicked off his solo career with the 1975 concept album, Welcome To My Nightmare. Now, 36 years later, he has released his 26th solo effort, Welcome 2 My Nightmare, a sequel of sorts to that well- received debut.
When asked about the longevity of his popularity, Cooper said thoughtfully: "I kind of come from the same lineage as David Bowie and Elton John.
"We all started at around the same time, and we're still making albums... That era of rockers will just not go away."
His new album also sees an unlikely collaboration: On the song What Baby Wants, glitter- loving pop star Kesha plays the devil alongside Cooper.
"It's like (if) Dolly Parton and Iggy Pop (did a song together)," he said with a laugh.
Curiously, the rocker - who is married with three grown-up children (eldest daughter Calico is frequently part of the live show, and has provided back-up vocals on some albums) - refers to himself in the third person.
But that, perhaps, should not come as a surprise, for Alice is just a persona created to draw attention in the early years of Cooper's career.
"He's a character I created... It's fun to write for somebody else," he said.
And though he seems to rely on bombastic theatrics and unpredictable partnerships, the rocker insists that even when stripped of make-up, props and gimmicks, the band would still be a success.
"The cool thing to do when you're known for all that is to put your guard down every once in a while... Show up without any of that," he said. "Show that you're a band that can play, like anybody else."
We don't doubt that for a nanosecond, Mr Cooper.