Iron Maiden and Alice Cooper Headline Summerfest 2012

With the announcement of Iron Maiden and Alice Cooper at Summerfest, I had to take a dive into the history books. Both of these bands have been around for a very long time. Do they compliment each other on this bill? Yes they do. Will each band get serious stage time, or will Iron Maiden keep Alice Cooper from putting on a full show? I'm getting ahead of myself, so I'll just have to wait until July 4, when both bands hit the Marcus Amphitheater stage. For now, my Summerfest tickets will have to sit in a drawer.

Iron Maiden is now 37 years young. You know what they say, thirty-seven is the new twenty-seven. Actually, they don't say that, and there is a huge difference between those two ages. Iron Maiden is probably one of the best known Metal bands in history. Their album sales are nearing the 90 million mark, and they have performed an average of 54 shows per year since they started. Those are some serious numbers. "What are their hits?" you say. My reply would be their soulful number titled The Number of the Beast. They penned that happy tune back in 1982. Their last serious hit song came in 1988, but nobody likes an aged band's current material so it just doesn't matter if they haven't kept up with the times. Bring on the oldies! (I'm kidding, they actually have some great newer material.)

As for Alice Cooper, I would have to mark their starting point at the time when the band moved to L.A. and dropped the name Nazz. That happened in 1968. Lead singer, Vince Furnier took a look around at all the "rock-gods" of that time, and thought that a rock "villain" would be more successful. He was right. I was just four years old when the band started, so by the time that I was old enough to know better, Alice Cooper had been going strong for nearly eight years. Yes, Mr. Furnier is a great golfer, and he owns a restaurant. He's apolitical, and I like that. When he got sober, his music still kicked butt. I like that even more. Alice Cooper made it into to the Rock and Roll hall of fame just last year. They deserve that honor for their style and theatrics alone. It's even better to know that "School's Out" will live on forever. As for Iron Maiden, they are recognized as one of the most famous metal bands in the world.

Spoof Fest Milwaukee 2010

Spoof Fest Milwaukee 2010 is at the Miramar Theater in Milwaukee on April 9 and 10. My advance pick for best act is Cyndi Lauper featuring the most laid back drummer in Milwaukee, Mr. Bill Stace.

I was Morrissey two years ago. It was amazing. I had the moves down, but I didn't quite the the voice. Who could blame me. His voice is so very unique. For one time in my musical career, I got the chance to be the front man. I should have done it a long time ago. It was as if it was my first gig. I had butterflies, I messed up songs, I created ear splitting feedback by putting the microphone too close to the monitors. It was fantastic. I'll never forget it.

The next year, I played the drums for "Alice Cooper." Billion Dollar Babies was the song that took the most practice for me. The other songs were so very easy to play. I just had to remember the parts. Billion Dollar Babies was a challenge. Neal Smith played the drums on that song. Thanks Neil for making me work! This year, I'm not playing Spoof Fest. I forgot to hook up with the group of musicians that makes it happen every year. Next time, I'm going to make it on somebody's roster.

Spoof Fest 2009 Fast Approaching

Liquor Sweets will host Spoof Fest 2009. This year, there will be two stages. The music will alternate between stages, with only five minutes break between acts. So many musicians signed up for the show that the event is now spread over two nights.

The acts range from Motorhead, to Britney Spears to Binky Tunny playing Alice Cooper.
Friday night, I would certainly make it there in time to see Alanis Morrisette. No Doubt, King Crimson, and others will be "Spoofed."

Liquor Sweets is located on 3000 S. 13th in good old Milwaukee. This event used to be held at V'nuks, but they have an old hair band booked for that night.

Second tier bands in all their glory

Cruefest is this weekend. The Marcus Amphitheater will be "Rockin' so hard." Papa Roach with be there. So will be Buckcherry and Trapt. REO Speedwagon will be "Lovin' so hard" at the Wisconsin State Fair on July 31st. Queensryche will be "Rulin' so hard" on August 1st at the fair as well.

Speaking of old, Alice Cooper is creeping back into town on July 25th. He will be performing at the Riverside Theater. Continuing with the aged, The Police and Elvis Costello perform at the Marcus Amp. on July 25th.

Get your fill of oldies, classics, rockers, and more. We have every genre you could ask for.
Seriously, the Wisconsin State Fair is more fun if you grab a cream puff, corn on the cob, ride the sky glider, giant slide, and a ferris wheel. The bands are a side note.

Alice Cooper is back

Alice Cooper, the one and only, comes back to the Riverside Theater on Friday, August 8th. My co-workers went to the last Cooper show and really loved it. It was one of the loudest shows that they had ever been to. I wonder if those Db's did anything to the old Riverside Theater.

Alice is known for the famous song "School's Out" and many others. Cooper loves to golf. He's a republican. And that goes to show you that just because you love to perform the rock, you can still be a conservative dunce.

Catch him before he's too old to impress.

Alice Cooper at The Riverside Theater

Poor Alice Cooper. I really liked his theatrical shows. I admired his ability to get off the drugs and alcohol. While surfing for news about Alice Cooper, I came upon this blog interview from a few years back. Sad to say, his interview with Chrenkoff shows that Alice is peering through the looking glass when it comes to the Iraq war. " INTERVIEWER: It doesn't worry you, the false connection that was made between 9/11 and Saddam Hussein, all that stuff that's been shown? ALICE COOPER: No. It doesn't bother me because I honestly think it's all connected." Poor Alice is blind. No, not blind drunk, but as politically blind as a newborn puppy. None the less, he's coming to Milwaukee, and playing the Riverside theater on August 21st.