Guess school’s back in for Alice
Alice Cooper, the shock rocker who once sang “Welcome to My Nightmare,” is trying to make dreams come true for teens in Arizona.
Cooper’s Christian, nonprofit Solid Rock Foundation has begun fundraising efforts for a 20,000-square-foot teen activity center, called The Rock, at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix.
The $3 million center will feature a recording studio, indoor basketball courts, rock-climbing walls, coffeehouse, game room and concert hall. Construction is expected to begin next year.
“There’s lots of shootings going, there’s lots of meth going on, there’s lots of gangs,” says Cooper, 58. “In the middle of all that is a bunch of 12-, 13-, 14-year-old kids that can go one way or the other.
“We’re not going to beat them over the head with a Bible,” he says. “But we’re certainly going to be available to tell them that that’s available to them.”
Will they get kissed off?
The Kiss Army is coming to Cleveland today to make a case for getting their favorite fire-breathing, makeup-wearing band inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Organizers are hoping to draw at least 300 supporters for a peaceful demonstration.
“We’re not going to throw eggs at the Rock Hall,” said Kim Rolfe, one of the event’s coordinators. “This isn’t against the museum.”
Fad-man across the water
Attention, rock ‘n’ rollers: Elton John is sick of your tattoos and piercings.
John, who’ll perform at the Fashion Rocks concert Sept. 7 at Radio City Music Hall, would like American bands to adopt the glam-rock style made popular by his British peers.
“It’s been a thing the British have always been very good at, with (David) Bowie, myself, T.Rex, the Who, Queen,” John says.
“I’m so over the tattoos and the T-shirts and rings through the noses. It’s not pretty, it’s not pleasant, it’s not exciting. Please stop it now.”
New cornrows to hoe
Ludacris has lopped off the long braids that have been his trademark for nearly a decade.
The rapper says his new, short hairdo is symbolic of the more serious themes on his upcoming album, “Release Therapy.”
“I’ve been through so much over the past six years, that I feel like I’ve matured at a rate where I could be at least five years older than I am right now,” he says. “I may be 28, but I’m in like a 34, 35 state of mind.”
You’re just too white, Barry
Barry Manilow had so much success with music of the ‘50s that he’s moving up a decade.
Manilow plans to release “The Greatest Songs of the Sixties” on Oct. 31, a follow-up his top-selling “The Greatest Songs of the Fifties.”
But not all the ‘60s sounds suit him, Manilow admits – particularly Motown-style R&B.
“No matter how I tried, I just sounded bad. Doing any of these Four Tops, Temptations, any of them … they weren’t right.”
The birthday bunch
Actress Loni Anderson is 60. Singer Rick Derringer is 59. Actress Maureen McCormick (“The Brady Bunch”) is 50. Actress Tawny Kitaen is 45. Fiddler Mark O’Connor is 45. Rapper Adam Yauch (the Beastie Boys) is 42. Actor Jonathan Silverman (“The Single Guy”) is 40. Country singer Terri Clark is 38.