‘Shock rock’ pioneer Alice Cooper to perform at Albany Civic Center

ALBANY – In an announcement that left many people scratching their heads and proclaiming “Huh?!,” and even more shouting “Sign me up!” officials with the Albany Civic Center announced recently that one of the original shock rock pioneers, Alice Cooper, will perform at the venue during his “Alice’s Attic” spring tour.

Tickets are on sale now for the May 2, 7:30 p.m. show.

In a career that heavily influenced artists like Marilyn Manson, Slipknot and the like, Alice Cooper – nee Vince Furnier – is a Rock and Roll Hall of Famer whose recording career is moving into its sixth decade. With his band and as a solo artist, Cooper has recorded hits that are considered by many to be among the greatest in rock and roll history.

Born in 1948, Cooper and his early band Nazz started to make waves on the West Coast, but the band learned that its name was being used by Todd Rundgren, so they came up with a new name: Alice Cooper.

After struggling early to gain momentum, the Alice Cooper band found magic with songs like “I’m 18,” “School’s Out,” “No More Mr. Nice Guy,” “Elected” and “Hello Hurray,” songs that have since become rock classics.

In ‘75, disillusioned with the band’s direction, Furnier decided to go it alone using the Alice Cooper name. Over the next several years he released another crop of albums and songs that became rock classics, including “Only Women Bleed,” “You and Me,” “Dead Babies” and “How You Gonna See Me Now.”

Increasingly, Cooper embraced the “shock rock” ethos that he says came about by accident. Over his career, mock fights, Goth torture devices, a live boa constrictor and mock guillotine executions became part of his shows, to the delight of his audience.

In 2011, with most of the 30 studio albums he would release (generating more than 50 million in sales), Alice Cooper was inducted in the Rock Hall of Fame, proving his career was about much more than the theatrics that made him such a popular entertainer.

After taking a break from making music, Cooper recently formed and performed with the supergroup Hollywood Vampires with Johnny Depp and Joe Perry, among others.

Tickets for the Albany show are available at the James H. Gray Civic Center box office.