I Never Cry

Alice showing why he is rock's consummate performer in a classic and heart-felt performance of my favorite ballad

Thought I'd take a slight detour while I'm in between rotations and serve up some pure music. This entry is dedicated to Alice Cooper, who was a local legend for me growing up in Detroit, and again over the past decade as I've lived in Phoenix.

Alice recently played at the ASU graduation ceremony, performing his epic scholastic anthem "School's Out" (how cool would that be if you were graduating that day?) He performed the tune with his son Dash, who is a current ASU student, and also shared the stage that day with some guy named Obama.

At any rate, I have enjoyed Alice's music and tour-de-force live shows that are Broadway musical-meets-arena rock for most of my life. I'm sure you all remember the infamous scene from Wayne's World where Wayne and Garth get backstage after an Alice show and instead of the expected booze-n-broads shenanigans are shocked to find out that Alice is both intelligent and eloquent. On a related note, I recently digested the audiobook version of Mr. Cooper's recent release, Golf Monster. In this book, you are treated to a fascinating look into the life and career of Alice. He talks about his childhood in Detroit and moving to the West Coast, his early band years and subsequent rise to fame, hilarious encounters with his many celebrity friendships (Peter Sellers, Dali, etc), as well as his spiral into alcohol addiction and recovery. Also, there is plenty of golf talk -- some might be surprised that Alice has been a devotee for many many years and is actually quite a good shot. The audiobook is read by Alice himself, and you can't help but be drawn in by his spellbinding oration -- he pulls off some great impressions and really comes across as an intelligent and passionate guy. The audiobook consists of 4 discs and there isn't a dull moment to be had. I highly recommend it to anyone. Alice, thanks for being an inspiration over the years...