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Obsession

With a radio show, record and US tour, Detroit's own Alice Cooper is giving fans plenty of opportunities to peek into his nightmare. We asked his number one fan to catch up with the perpetually "Eighteen" Cooper before the tour terririzes the States. - Ed.

I understand last night's concert in Estonia was at some sort of castle-like venue?

Alice Cooper: Oh, yeah, it was out in the middle of nowhere. It was great though. It's like doing a show out in the middle of Jackson, MI. You know, where you say, "Well who could come all the way out here?" And then there's 30,000 people out there.

You're getting a more diverse audience.

AC: Especially a much younger audience in the front. Normally I'd say 20-25% will be 15 to 30. On this tour, I'd say it's been more like 70% is that age, so it's been pretty encouraging to me. But again, most of the kids you see and talk to - if you talk to a 15-year-old kid and ask them who they like, usually you'll hear Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Alice Cooper, Ozzy Osbourne; you know, they're very aware of classic rock.

You're new record - Dirty Diamonds - seems to be a return to more of the old school sound that you started with.

It's been amazingly accepted as I think it's something like a breath of fresh air to a lot of people, even though The Eyes of Alice Cooper was the same album. I htink these two albums together, they'd make a great double album, because they're both on the same theory. My theory is that you put the emphasis not on production - you put the emphasis on the writing of the song and on the performance of the band and try to capture it... So, I believe that you write the song in the morning, take a lunch break and then record it that afternoon. And that's it; this album was done in 16 days. The last two albums - both albums were done in 30 days. I mean, if you add them both together - and that's writing and production.

That quick?

It took 14 days. I happen to know that it took 14 days for Metallica to get their drum sound in the studio. That was the same time it took us to write, produce and record the first album.

The song "Dirty Diamonds" has a very cinematic feel to it.

It really does, and that sets up the whole tone of the show. yo ucan do new songs in a show as long as they're sandwiched between two hits. Like you can do, "Woman Of Mass Distraction" as long as "Eighteen" and something else is after it and before it is "Lost In America" and "Be My Lover." Then the audience will allow you to play a new song. You have to artfully put those new songs in and don't tell the audience it's a new song! The new show is gonna be a classic Alice show; it's got everything that anybody ever wanted to see in an Alice Cooper show, plus a couple of new things.

Are you brining the guillotine with you?

Oh yeah! The guillotine is in, the straight jacket is in, the disappearing coffin trick is in.

There's an element of surprise to your concerts, so I don't want to ask too much about it and then have that ruined.

Well, let me just tell you what - we gave Britney the year off.

Oh you did?

Yeah, but Paris Hilton walked right into our sights.