Dennis Dunaway – Alice Cooper Bassist Launches Own Project; Speaks Out
Dennis Dunaway recently put together a new band, the DENNIS DUNAWAY PROJECT and their record Bones From the Yard is a solid set of hard rock songs. Dennis spoke with antiMUSIC’s Morley Seaver last week and talked about the record as well as reminisced about the original Alice Cooper band, of which he was bassist and songwriter. Here’s an excerpt of the conversation:
antiMUSIC: Tell us about the Dennis Dunaway Project. How did it come together and how long has it been in the works?
Dennis: I got to know Rick Tedesco when he was working with Ian Hunter on the Rant album. After that, Rick built Guitar Hangar Studios and expressed interest in getting a band in to get the bugs out. I told him that I had over 200 songs so we agreed that we would bring in some musicians and I would be the guinea pig. The quality of the recordings progressed at a rapid pace and as soon as we found Russ and then Ed, I sensed an exceptional chemistry, and as soon as we played our first live show, I knew it was solid so the Dennis Dunaway Project came to life. We all have day jobs so we got together after work every Wednesday night. Bones From the Yard took about 2 years to complete but figured by hours it went fast.
antiMUSIC: Looking back, what are your memories of the first few years of the original Alice Cooper? What events or shows particularly stand out?
Dennis: Before we named the band Alice Cooper, we called ourselves The Spiders and we had a regional hit called, “Don’t Blow Your Mind,” which landed us a booking at an air force base in Fort Huachuca, Arizona, near Mexico. When we arrived, the troops were ready for entertainment but the honchos took one look at us and said we couldn’t go on because of our long hair. As the crowd grew increasingly restless, and as the honchos realized they had no alternative, they finally gave in and let us play. The troops recognized “Don’t Blow Your Mind” and everything turned out fine. Even the honchos liked us after that. Early on, Alice Cooper got several gigs because the club owners thought we were a girl folk singer. We got used to showing up and having people freak out before we even went on.
You can read the rest of the interview here.
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This was a solid band. I always felt Alices publicity stunts overshadowed their real talent.