In a new interview with Radioactive MikeZ, host of the 96.7 KCAL-FM program “Wired In The Empire”, Nita Strauss spoke about Alice Cooper‘s new album, “Road”, which will arrive on August 25 via earMUSIC. Produced by longtime collaborator Bob Ezrin, “Road” was written, composed and recorded with Alice‘s trusted, longtime bandmates — Ryan Roxie (guitar),Chuck Garric (bass),Tommy Henrikson (guitar),Glen Sobel (drums) and Strauss (guitar).
“What an honor to get to make this album as a band,” Nita said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). “It’s really cool because I’ve been working with Alice for almost a decade now, and not only did I get him to guest on my record, but then the band and myself got to really create this whole ‘Road’ record from pretty much scratch.
“Alice came to us at the beginning of the tour and said, ‘I wanna make a record with you guys, and I want it to show off how this band really is. So write it on the road, rehearse it on the road and record it as soon as we get off the road.’ So that’s exactly what we did,” Nita explained. “We came up with riffs and ideas and we sat in each other’s hotel rooms and recorded demos and went over songs at soundchecks before shows and then literally had our last show on a Saturday, went to Nashville on Sunday and recorded the record on Monday… We started on Monday and we took a week to record the record. We did the prep work on the road… We went into Bob Ezrin‘s studio in Nashville. It was really organic, really fun. I wouldn’t use the word ‘easy’, but [there was] sort of an easy vibe in there. We recorded as a group in the round. There was no one person isolated in the room punching in and punching out. It was very organic and very raw and real.”
Regarding what it was like to work with Bob, Nita said: “Ezrin is like your dad that you wanna impress in the studio. I feel like everybody wants that sort of smile of approval, because you don’t get it easily. Bob is a hard guy to impress. All you want is to not get yelled at when you’re in the studio with him. [Laughs] But him being a tough taskmaster on the musicians he works with is why he’s such a legend and why he gets the best out of every band that goes in the studio with him.”
The LP’s first single, “I’m Alice”, is available below.
“Road” is going to be released in a wide variety of formats and limited vinyl colors. Complementing the album’s theme, the bonus DVD/Blu-ray comes with Alice Cooper‘s 2022 full live show at Hellfest and includes all the classics and rarely played gems.
Throughout 2022, Alice collaborated closely with his bandmembers and Ezrin, putting together what would become “Road”.
“I said to everybody, ‘This is your album, so I want you all to bring songs in’,” Cooper recalled. “Hearing Ryan or Tommy gives it so much personality. The backbone is the group. Once they shared their ideas, Bob and I sat there and connected the songs. It was like directing a play. We’re old school; we still write thematic albums.”
“Road” features guest appearances by Kane Roberts, a touring and recording collaborator with Alice in years past who briefly rejoined Cooper on the road in 2022, on “Dead Don’t Dance”; RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE‘s Tom Morello, who co-wrote, and plays and sings backing vocals on “White Line Frankenstein”; and BUCKCHERRY‘s Keith Nelson and MC5‘s Wayne Kramer, who also co-wrote new songs with Alice.
Band photo credit (below): Jenny Risher
