A fledgling producer jump-starts a sterling career, a band defines a sound, and a singer acts out the lyrics in the studio prior to perfecting his cinematic stage persona.
Wonderful and timely article. Alice was such an innovator. Thank you for reminding us. Those songs, the singles and albums, still sound fresh and listenable thanks in large part to the talented Bob Ezra at the production helm.
Thanks, Stephen! Glad you liked! That's why I mentioned MY band experience, 'cause danged if he didn't influence what I did and how I approached being a lead singer! Beyond just my clumsy attempt at SOME kind of makeup, and growing out my hair, I even shopped discount stores for stage clothes. I once found a silver lamé shirt with outsized sleeves, and we hired a pro photog to take a stage shot of me wearing it! We even made posters out of it! Yep, Brimstone had merch!!
It was amazing to see that this was the genesis of Ezrin's sparkling career...just like your album was one of the first for David Kershenbaum, kicking off a brilliant career of his own! Thanks again!
Awfully good question, Stephen! The last time I saw the poster I had was many years ago, and it was yellowing and creased. I may still have it in storage. I will say the shirt was incredibly slimming, and as a husky teen, I quickly noticed that with constant rehearsals and frequent gigs, the pounds seemed to just drop off!
I think I might've gotten my waist size down to about 29". The last time my waist was 29" prior to that was, like, age 3!🤣No one likes a chubby lead singer! That's what made that particular shirt so attractive at the store..."Wow, this would look great now that it can fit!"
Actually, to make that poster that much more interesting was the fact I was playing flute at the time the shot was taken! I was self-taught, and learned the licks off of Tull records (Ian Anderson was self-taught, too, as I recall hearing).
So, as a cover band, we played some Tull, Chicago, Santana...anything that even remotely had a flute (we even did ELP's "From the Beginning," and I learned Emerson's synth solo on my flute)!
Very cool, Linda, and thanks so much for subscribing! I think you'll like it past the velvet rope line, FRONT ROW & BACKSTAGE! Feel free to peruse the 14 months worth of exciting, challenging, and exclusive content, here: https://bradkyle.substack.com/
As for Alice, I saw 'em May 7, 1972, on the "Killer" tour! I had floor seats (thanks, Dad)! It was at the U. of Houston's Hofheinz Pavilion with Bang and Canned Heat opening! I only hope I arrived sufficiently late to that one! I had gotten, a few weeks earlier (in the mail), my very own Warner Bros. promo "Killer" t-shirt...bright red with a depiction of Alice in hot pink, hanging like on the album cover. You can see a picture of one, here: https://wycovintage.com/product/1971-alice-cooper-killer-promo-shirt/
Thanks again, Linda.....it's great to have you with us!
Such a great album. Thanks again for the memories! Another Detroit rocker. Love it to Death was one of the first albums I bought. Played it around 1000 times.
Certainly a seminal album for me and my gentle soul! It's right up there with "Ziggy," "Aqualung" (in fact, I played flute, too, in Brimstone, learning Ian Anderson licks off the records!), "Electric Warrior," and Genesis' "Foxtrot"! My lead guitarist, David, actually turned me on to Genesis in about '71. Seconds into "Watcher of the Skies" was all it took!
Happy to provide the memories, Paul, as I lived them! The Coop boys met in high school in Phoenix, and when they moved to Detroit, they were a bit overwhelmed by the rock scene there: Ig, MC5, et al! Funny...I wanted to do something for Halloween, but I didn't want to do something boring and what everyone and their grannies were likely to do ("Monster Mash" and the like), and Dwight Fry suddenly hit me! Glad you liked, Paul! Trick or Tweet!🐦
Thanks for the deep dive into this album. I felt like I was listening to it again and for the first time reading your (always)comprehensive piece.
Thanks so much, Steve! Your rave is humbling and much appreciated! As you know, there's more on the proverbial fire! Stay tuned!🎼
Wonderful and timely article. Alice was such an innovator. Thank you for reminding us. Those songs, the singles and albums, still sound fresh and listenable thanks in large part to the talented Bob Ezra at the production helm.
Thanks, Stephen! Glad you liked! That's why I mentioned MY band experience, 'cause danged if he didn't influence what I did and how I approached being a lead singer! Beyond just my clumsy attempt at SOME kind of makeup, and growing out my hair, I even shopped discount stores for stage clothes. I once found a silver lamé shirt with outsized sleeves, and we hired a pro photog to take a stage shot of me wearing it! We even made posters out of it! Yep, Brimstone had merch!!
It was amazing to see that this was the genesis of Ezrin's sparkling career...just like your album was one of the first for David Kershenbaum, kicking off a brilliant career of his own! Thanks again!
Hey, where’s that shot of your silver lame’ shirt?
Awfully good question, Stephen! The last time I saw the poster I had was many years ago, and it was yellowing and creased. I may still have it in storage. I will say the shirt was incredibly slimming, and as a husky teen, I quickly noticed that with constant rehearsals and frequent gigs, the pounds seemed to just drop off!
I think I might've gotten my waist size down to about 29". The last time my waist was 29" prior to that was, like, age 3!🤣No one likes a chubby lead singer! That's what made that particular shirt so attractive at the store..."Wow, this would look great now that it can fit!"
Actually, to make that poster that much more interesting was the fact I was playing flute at the time the shot was taken! I was self-taught, and learned the licks off of Tull records (Ian Anderson was self-taught, too, as I recall hearing).
So, as a cover band, we played some Tull, Chicago, Santana...anything that even remotely had a flute (we even did ELP's "From the Beginning," and I learned Emerson's synth solo on my flute)!
Loved him ! I saw him at Pirates World in Dania Florida at 14 ! I still have my albums!
Very cool, Linda, and thanks so much for subscribing! I think you'll like it past the velvet rope line, FRONT ROW & BACKSTAGE! Feel free to peruse the 14 months worth of exciting, challenging, and exclusive content, here: https://bradkyle.substack.com/
As for Alice, I saw 'em May 7, 1972, on the "Killer" tour! I had floor seats (thanks, Dad)! It was at the U. of Houston's Hofheinz Pavilion with Bang and Canned Heat opening! I only hope I arrived sufficiently late to that one! I had gotten, a few weeks earlier (in the mail), my very own Warner Bros. promo "Killer" t-shirt...bright red with a depiction of Alice in hot pink, hanging like on the album cover. You can see a picture of one, here: https://wycovintage.com/product/1971-alice-cooper-killer-promo-shirt/
Thanks again, Linda.....it's great to have you with us!
Such a great album. Thanks again for the memories! Another Detroit rocker. Love it to Death was one of the first albums I bought. Played it around 1000 times.
Certainly a seminal album for me and my gentle soul! It's right up there with "Ziggy," "Aqualung" (in fact, I played flute, too, in Brimstone, learning Ian Anderson licks off the records!), "Electric Warrior," and Genesis' "Foxtrot"! My lead guitarist, David, actually turned me on to Genesis in about '71. Seconds into "Watcher of the Skies" was all it took!
Happy to provide the memories, Paul, as I lived them! The Coop boys met in high school in Phoenix, and when they moved to Detroit, they were a bit overwhelmed by the rock scene there: Ig, MC5, et al! Funny...I wanted to do something for Halloween, but I didn't want to do something boring and what everyone and their grannies were likely to do ("Monster Mash" and the like), and Dwight Fry suddenly hit me! Glad you liked, Paul! Trick or Tweet!🐦
It was a treat, Brad, thx bro!