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Alice Cooper Rocks Cabo

Madness in Mexico With Slash, Rob Zombie & Sammy Hagar

Before heading out on a summer U.S. tour with the Scorpions, Alice Cooper headed south of the border to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico for a performance with a double purpose:a live warmup for his brand-new band lineup (guitarists Reb Beach and Ryan Roxie, bassist Todd Jensen, keyboard Paul Taylor, and drummer Jimmy Degrasso) and a forthcoming live album, home video, and TV special to air on VH1 in August and MTV internationally. The band learned 20 songs in seven days to prepare for the first-ever show, and the intensive pratice payed off - by the time they hit the stage at Sammy Hagar's Cabo Wabo Cantina, they were ready to rock, and they did just that before a packed house that included fellow rockers Slash, Rob Zombie, and host Sammy, all of whom joined in to jam. "The whole vibe of Cabo was ultra-cool. It set the tone for what hopefully will be a great summer for us," said Ryan, and Paul concurred, noting that Sammy and his brother Bob "took great care of us, fed us amazing meals." The only trouble occured when the band returned to the States to launch the tour in Texasm, without their equipment. "It got stuck in Mexico," Paul explained. "We had to rent gear but it was a nightmare, especially for me because I'd programmed all this stuff and I have like seven keyboards in a rack and for these shows I had only one little keybaord. It was horrible for me." Fortunately that problem lasted a mercifully brief two days, and otherwise the atmosphere has been anxiety-free. "Everyone gets along great. The crew's great, too," noted Paul. "We're having fun." Looks like it.

Metal Edge Asks: "What's Always In Your Refrigerator?"

"Caffeine-free Diet Coke. And a severed pig's head with an apple in its mouth." — Alice Cooper