Alice Cooper: Lady Gaga Is A Female Version Of Me
By JOHN CARRUCI, Associated Press
Many artists have been compared to Alice Cooper, but the legendary rocker says one stands above them all.
"Lady Gaga is the female Alice Cooper," the 63-year old rocker said. "She totally gets it."
Though their music styles may differ, both inject a heavy dose of theater into their performance, living out fantasies and nightmares on stage. Since the early 1970s, Cooper has used a real guillotine with a forty pound blade that comes within inches of his head and hung himself using a real rope; He performs with his signature boa constrictor.
While Gaga's stunts have been less dangerous, they are equally outrageous, and her outfits extremely outlandish. She wore a dress made of raw meat to the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards. That attire is currently on display at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Gaga performed as her male alter ego Jo Calderone at this year's show, never breaking character from start to finish. And at this year's Grammys, she arrived on the red carpet in a giant egg carried by four men.
As shocking as they appear on stage, the artists born Vincent Furnier and Stefani Germanotta (Alice Cooper and Lady Gaga, respectively) are nothing like their entertainment personas, insists Cooper.
"She created a character named Lady Gaga and wrote songs for Lady Gaga, just as I write songs for Alice," he said. "But when you meet her offstage, she's nothing like that person... and neither am I."
When not playing music, Cooper can usually be found on a golf course, where he handicaps between zero and four. Instead of gothic attire with streaming mascara; he opts for a Callaway golf shirt, and the traditionally loud trousers.
Cooper will release "Welcome 2 My Nightmare" on Sept. 13, a follow-up his 1975 smash solo album.
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First Posted: 09/02/11 10:57 AM ET Updated: 11/02/11 06:12 AM ET