Alice Cooper says that his next studio album will be the first to feature the current lineup of his solo band.
The legendary rocker spoke about his future plans just one day after the release of his latest LP. The Arizona resident’s first full-fledged tribute to the city that helped shape him, “Detroit Stories” was recorded with producer Bob Ezrin, mostly in Royal Oak with Detroit musicians and featuring a mix of original material alongside covers of songs by Bob Seger, the MC5, Mitch Ryder‘s DETROIT and OUTRAGEOUS CHERRY.
During an appearance on the February 27 “After-School’s Out Special” episode of the “In The Trenches With Ryan Roxie” video podcast, hosted by Cooper guitarist Ryan Roxie, Alice revealed that he is already plotting his next move.
“[‘Detroit Stories’ is] out now,” he said (see video below). “So now we’ve gotta think what’s next. And what’s next to me is showing off this band. And I think that the only way to do that is to take it on the road, write songs now but rehearse them during soundcheck on the road, and, at some point, on the road, record the whole album live in one of the venues that we’re doing.
“With this band, the whole idea is to show off how tight the band really is,” he explained. “So if we write the songs, rehearse them on the road, record it on the road, and call the album ‘The Road’ or just ‘Road’, really, that would be the concept for the whole album. And stories about the road.”
Cooper was joined on “In The Trenches With Ryan Roxie” by his wife Sheryl, plus all the members of his current solo band: Tommy Henriksen (guitar), Nita Strauss (guitar), Ryan Roxie (guitar), Chuck Garric (bass) and Glen Sobel (drums). Also making a special guest appearance was Ezrin.
“Detroit Stories” is the follow-up to 2017’s “Paranormal”, which marked Alice‘s first studio album in six years. Also produced by Ezrin, it featured collaborations with iconic guests such as ZZ TOP‘s Billy Gibbons, U2‘s Larry Mullen, Jr. and DEEP PURPLE‘s Roger Glover, as well Neal Smith, Dennis Dunaway and Michael Bruce — the three original Alice Cooper band members. A year later, Cooper issued “A Paranormal Evening At The Olympia Paris”, a recording of his December 7, 2017 concert at the world-renowned Olympia venue in France. The effort captured Cooper and his current bandmates performing a choice selection of classic Cooper hits, in addition to some highlights from “Paranormal”.
Alice later said that he wanted to release a document of his band’s onstage prowess because they “deserved a live album.”
