Hollywood Vampires Take a Bite Out of Bethlehem

In 1972, on the Sunset Strip at a club called the Rainbow Bar & Grill, the Hollywood Vampires were born in the upstairs bar. It was a gathering place for the rock stars living in or passing through L.A. “To join the club, one simply had to out drink all of the members,” says Alice Cooper, a founding member of the Vampires. “I would walk in on a typical night” Alice says, “and John Lennon, Harry Nilsson, Keith Moon—who would usually be in a costume like a maid or a chauffeur—Bernie Taupin, Jim Morrison and Mickey Dolenz would be there. The next week might be Bernie Taupin, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison and Mickey Dolenz.”

Three years ago, Alice and good friend Johnny Depp got together and decided the spirit of the Hollywood Vampires should live again (minus the drinking). An environment for great artists to hang, laugh and play together. The Hollywood Vampires live again with the release of the Hollywood Vampires new album. Alice and Johnny were joined by Joe Perry, who is an old friend of both of them, and the recording began: a tribute to the original Hollywood Vampires.

In addition to the usual mix of covers and original tracks taken from their self-titled 2015 debut album, three new tracks are reported to have appeared in the set, entitled “I Want My Now,” “The Boogieman Surprise” and “Bushwackers.”

Last winter Cooper said the Vamps new record would consist entirely of original material. “Everybody is writing right now, we probably won’t get into the album until the summer, and then it’ll go quickly because we’ve all got a lot of songs. Johnny did five movies last year so he could free himself up for this, and the band’s really anxious to get together.”

He continued: “I still like the idea that the Vampires is the world’s most expensive bar band. If somebody wants to jump on stage and play with us, if they know the songs and they fit, then come on up. If a Jimmy Page could come up and play with us, or a Jeff Beck or any of those guys and do a couple songs with us, they would fit right into Vampire world, ’cause they lived through that era.”

Setlist: