The Hollywood Vampires – Alice Cooper, Joe Perry and Johnny Depp – did a brief tour in May to pre-promote their second album, Rise. (The LP was announced on April 18 and released on June 21.)
And at their May 11 concert at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles, they were joined by Steven Tyler. (Watch below.)
The trio and their band opened their tour on May 10 at The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, performing such well-chosen covers as “Heroes,” “Baba O’Riley” and “People Who Died.” Watch several clips from that show below.
Rise arrives via a new deal with earMUSIC, the independent rock label of Edel Germany GmbH, which released Cooper’s 2017 studio album, Paranormal, his highest charting album in decades.
The new album was produced by Tommy Henriksen and the Hollywood Vampires.
Watch the official live video for “The Boogieman Surprise” from the new album
Watch Cooper sing lead on “Train Kept a Rollin'” – which has long been part of Aerosmith’s repertoire – on May 10 in Vegas
Unlike their 2015 debut record, Rise consists mainly of original material, written by the band. There are however, in the spirit of the Vampires’ original mission, three covers of classic rock songs originally written and recorded by fellow rockers: an intimate and intense version of David Bowie’s “Heroes,” performed by Depp; the late Jim Carroll Band’s “People Who Died,” and Johnny Thunder’s “You Can’t Put Your Arms Around A Memory,” sung by Perry.
Watch Depp sing lead on “Heroes,” June 19, on Jimmy Kimmel Live
From the April 18 album announcement: “The Boogieman Surprise” and “Who’s Laughing Now” capture the natural, raw, celebratory attitude of Hollywood Vampires displayed in their rowdy shows around the world. But the album shows off their range as well with tracks like “We Gotta Rise” – a tongue-in-cheek politics song in the the tradition of Alice’s “Elected” – to the psychedelic gothic epic of “Mr. Spider.”
Watch the lyric video for “Who’s Laughing Now”
Of the album, Cooper says: “Rise is not only a totally different animal than the first Vampires album, it is unique to anything I’ve ever been a part of. I approached it very differently than I usually do when working on an album. Each of us; Joe, Johnny, Tommy and myself have written songs on this album. What is different though is that I didn’t try to change any songs to be more ‘Alice-like’. Because each of us has different influences, the sound of this album is very cool. I think that with this album, we are establishing what the Vampires’ sound really is, whereas with the first album we were more tipping our hats to our fallen rock n roll brothers.”
Listen to their cover of “People Who Died”
Perry added: “Rise came from pure creative energy, which is just like playing live with the Vampires. The record showcases everyone doing what they do best without anyone looking over our shoulders. There was no pressure or deadlines, allowing us to write and record an album that is one of the freest and most honest sounding records I’ve been part of. I can’t wait to perform some of these tunes live for our fans.”
Watch special guest Steven Tyler join the band for several favorites on May 11 (via the great clip from Cal Vid)
Cooper has his own extensive 2019 tour. Perry has numerous residencies with Aerosmith. It’s expected that the Vampires will add many more dates.
When the Vampires return to the stage, tickets will be available here and here.
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Jump into a conversationWhat a kick ass band. Tske the masterful ringmaster Alice, sprinkle some rock god Joe in there, add THE Hollywood legendary bad ass Johnny, anoint it with smooth perfected Tommy and anchor it with Thunder King Soloing Icon Glen and you have the undeniable, unmatched, un….ing believable Rock Apex of Music! Raise your glasses, voices and the dead for The Hollywood Vampires!!