You don’t have to be a child of Seventies Rock to be able to appreciate all Alice Cooper has brought to the world of rock and metal. From the stage show to the persona to the music to the classics, this man and his band have earned their spot in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Cooper once, at a show in the early 90s, I think it was. My friend was on the production staff; I spent most of the show backstage with her. But I made a point of seeing Alice’s set. It was everything it was cracked up to be — and best of all, it wasn’t slick and polished, like you’d expect after so many years. Nor was it a train wreck of drugs and addictions.

Neither was the man, himself. He was a kind, quiet, class act.

Just the sort to make me fall a little bit in love.

We’ll see how I feel after I read Welcome to my Nightmare, a new biography by multi-published rock biographer Dave Thompson. Maybe I’ll be inspired to create an Alice-like character who changes the face of rock and roll. Who knows?

Here’s a bit about the book, shamelessly — as always — lifted from the press release I saw:

“Drawing from exclusive and unpublished interviews with a variety of names and faces from throughout Alice’s career, the book follows Cooper’s tale from his life growing up as a preacher’s son in Arizona, through the early years of struggle in Phoenix and then Los Angeles, and then onto the roller coaster ride that has been the years since then. Includes interviews with original bandmates Michael Bruce and the late Glenn Buxton, drummer Neal Smith, the late Frank Zappa, manager Shep Gordon and producer Bob Ezrin. Includes tributes and recollections from many of the artists who call Alice an influence — from THE DAMNED and THE CRAMPS, to WHITE ZOMBIE and GWAR. Session players and songwriters who have made their own contributions to the Alice story recall their days spent with this Prince of Hell-raisers. The result is a story that alternately thrills, shocks, surprises and delights. Includes full discography and bibliography.”

That’s quite a roster of people paying tribute or, more hopefully, contributing great stories, anecdotes, and tales of wild (or not-so-wild) adventures.

This is one book that’s going to have quite a reputation to live up to… I can’t wait to read it.

Yeah. I live outside of Pittsburgh. Outside enough to not have to send the kids to the Pittsburgh Public Schools (with apologies to my friend who teaches in one of them), but near enough to consider myself a Burgher, proud and true.

So I sorta want to gag when I envy the music lovers of Cleveland. I mean, hello? CLEVELAND??? The city that set its river on fire???

Yeah, and to add personal insult to the decades-long rivalry between the cities, I’ve got family in Cleveland.

Here’s what’s making me say such gag-inducing words as, “Oh to be in Cleveland on April 13… the day after King Trevor’s release!”

It’s Duff McKagan. I might have fallen a bit in love with him during the escapade that prompted this post… but, maybe I didn’t.

Either way, hearing that he’s going to be in Cleveland the night before the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductions, where he’ll be honored as a member of Guns ‘n Roses, made me drool. Oh, it’s not because of Axl, who intrigues the hell out of me. It’s because on the 13th, Duff took over the House of Blues (the only House of Blues I’ve ever been in, coincidentally — a fact that MUST be changed before I perish) for a one-off musical tie-in performance to his book, It’s So Easy (and other lies).

It’s a multi-media book reading, complete with music and … oh, hell. It’s some form of really avant garde performance art that will probably make perfect sense and make me swoon with the sheer creativity of the project. And when I’m done swooning, I’ll be sad I wasn’t part of it.

Except… I wasn’t be there. Couldn’t be. But man, do I want to be…