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For Fans of Shock Rock's Grand Old Man, The Nightmare Continues

KETTERING — Veteran rock showman Alice Cooper makes his first appearance at Fraze Pavillon on Thursday night. We can only begin to imagine what the theatrically minded shock-rocker has in mind for his certain assault on staid suburban sensibilities.

ALICE COOPER FACTOIDS

►Born Feb. 4, 1948, in Detroit. Named Vincent Furnier. The circumstances under which the persona of Alice Cooper was born are unclear, as details vary depending on the source.

►One story as to the source of "Alice Cooper" is that a Ouija board session informed Mr. Furnier that he was the reincarnation of a woman of that name who had been killed for being a witch.

►The name of his teenage band was the Earwigs.

►Other early band names included the Spiders and the Nazz (until Todd Rundgren's ensemble showed up with the same name).

►Hit songs include: School's Out, Elected, I'm Eighteen, No More Mr. Nice Guy and Billion Dollar Babies.

►Master songwriter Bob Dylan reportedly once said: "I think Alice Cooper is an overlooked songwriter."

►The ASPCA reportedly spent some time monitoring Alice Cooper shows after an unfortunate, and much reported, 1969 incident with a chicken. The circumstances under which the chicken met its early demise remain unclear, as details vary depending on the source.

►Drugs were off limits as far as Cooper was concerned, but beer was ever present (until a couple of rehab stints in the 1990s); in fact, beer reportedly secured a budget line of more than $30,000 in the early part of the 1970s.

►We have Cooper to thank, or to blame, depending on one's sensibility, for inspiring legions of theatrically minded hard rockers who followed his (dare we say bloodstained) footsteps, including Rob Zombie and Marilyn Manson. (The approved Jeffrey Morgan-penned bio on Cooper's Web site - www.alicecooper.com - claims many more firsts, in terms of themes and stagecraft).

How to go

WHO: Alice Cooper, with opening act the Vacation.
WHEN: 8 p.m. Thursday.
WHERE: Fraze Pavilion. 695 Lincoln Park Blvd., Kettering.
TICKETS: $44.50 for reserved orchestra seats and $25 for general admission lawn and terrace seats.