Jun. 11, 2015

DENNIS DUNAWAY TO SPEAK AND PERFORM WITH SPECIAL GUESTS AT ROCK & ROLL HALL OF FAME

SOURCE:  rockhall.com

WHERE:   Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, Foster Theater

WHEN: June 20, 2015 at 7 pm ET

TO RSVP: This event is FREE with a reservation through the Rock Hall website at https://tickets.rockhall.com or at the Rock Hall Box Office.  Seating is limited.  Rock Hall Members can RSVP starting at 10amEST on Monday, June 8.  Non-Rock Hall members can RSVP starting at 10amEST on Tuesday, June 9.  

ABOUT THE EVENT:
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum will welcome Dennis Dunaway of the Alice Cooper Group for a Hall of Fame Series interview on Saturday, June 20, 2015 at 7pm in the Museum’s Foster Theater.   During the interview, Dunaway will discuss his newest book Snakes! Guillotines! Electric Chairs!: My Adventures in The Alice Cooper Group (to be released June 9, 2015).  Dunaway will also be joined onstage for a short acoustic performance with special guests Michael Bruce (the Alice Cooper Group) and Joe and Albert Bouchard of Blue Oyster Cult.  Following the program, Dunaway will answer questions from the audience and participate in a book signing.  Books will be available for purchase.

ABOUT DENNIS DUNAWAY

Before the world heard of KISS, the New York Dolls, Marilyn Manson or Ozzy Osbourne, there was Alice Cooper, the original shock-rock band.  Dennis Dunaway was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2011 as a founding member and bass player with Alice Cooper.  Alice Cooper’s musical style evolved into a unique blend of cryptic lyrics and mysterious music, and they began integrating improvised fights, mesmerizing light shows, and feather storms into their stage routines. This caught the attention of Frank Zappa, who signed them to his record label.

The band worked constantly the next six years, knocking out two albums every year, and creating the largest and most innovative stage productions ever seen in rock.  In 1971, the band had their first Top 10 single, “I’m Eighteen.” In the few years to follow, the group acquired 6 gold and 5 platinum albums, 1 certified triple platinum. Their hit single “School’s Out” was the biggest selling single in the history of Warner Bros. records and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2015. Dennis was awarded Best Bass Player of 1974 by Circus Magazine. Their Billion Dollar Babies album reached #1 in America and Britain simultaneously. Their live theatrical concepts set new standards for arena rock shows and their 1973 Billion Dollar Babiess how got them on the cover of Forbes as the highest grossing tour. Alice Cooper were also in the Guinness Book of World Records for drawing the largest indoor audience to their show in Sao Paulo, Brazil.  The band broke up in 1976.

In the 90s, Dennis went into a month-long hospital stay due to Crohn’s disease complications and was flooded with fan mail from around the world. Cued by the kind words of his fans, and by the encouragement of his family, he vowed to perform for live audiences again.  Ever since, Dennis has been back in action, constantly recording and playing shows with bands involving his musical friends.

In 2011, Dennis received a Revolver Golden God Award and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame along with the other members of the original group known as Alice Cooper.  In 2015, Dennis’s much-awaited memoir about the rise of the Alice Cooper group, Snakes! Guillotines! Electric Chairs!, will be released. (photo credit: David Cluett)

ABOUT THE BOOK
When Alice Cooper became the stuff of legend in the early ’70s, their shows were monuments of fun and invention. Their utterly original performance style and look, known as Shock Rock, was swiftly copied by countless bands.  Snakes! Guillotines! Electric Chairs! is the riveting account of the band’s creation in the ’60s, strange glory in the ’70s, and the legendary characters they met along the way.  Author Dennis Dunaway (bassist and co-songwriter for the band) tells a story just as over-the-top crazy as their (in)famous shows.

Praise for Snakes! Guillotines! Electric Chairs!

“I still consider Dennis Dunaway to be one of my best friends. Dennis is one of the few true surrealists that I’ve ever met….This book carries on in Dennis’ own private surrealistic world. “- Alice Cooper

“Dennis tells the story from the inside out with wit and wisdom and adds brilliantly to the Alice Cooper Group mythos. There may be many versions of this story, but Dennis’ is one of the most colorful, insightful and entertaining!” -Bob Ezrin, record producer

“For a fan of the Alice Cooper band, as I have been since my adolescence in the 1970s, Cooper bassist Dennis Dunaway’s first-hand account of the group’s humble beginnings, heady triumphs and arguably inevitable implosion is gripping stuff.” -Michael J. Fox