Alice Cooper has announced that his former guitarist Kane Roberts will be returning to his band lineup this year to complete his 2022 fall tour dates.
The news comes after Cooper’s former electric guitar star Nita Strauss confirmed her departure from the band earlier this week – a move that also saw her cancel all her upcoming solo festival appearances for 2022.
In a statement posted to social media, Cooper commented, “I'm looking forward to welcoming back Kane Roberts for our shows in September and October. We've been friends all this time, and he's always been one of my favorite guitarists. He's bringing more muscle to the Detroit Muscle Tour.
“We've always had a swinging door policy where players can come and go, so it's very exciting to get back on stage with Kane,” he continued. “The fans are in for a real treat at these shows. It's gonna be a blast. Kane Roberts, Ryan Roxie, and Tommy Henriksen on guitars? Hell yeah!”
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Cooper and Roberts’ relationship goes back to the 1980s, when Roberts played guitar on Cooper’s Constrictor album in 1986, which was followed by Raise Your Fist and Yell a year later. He also landed a guest spot on 1989’s Trash, playing guitar on a track called Bed of Nails, which he co-wrote.
A stalwart of Cooper’s setup, Roberts joined the rock icon for many live shows, and became synonymous with his gnarly machine gun guitar – something that may be making an appearance for these upcoming tour dates.
Roberts has also had a prolific solo career, penning four albums that span four decades. His self-titled debut arrived in 1986 – featuring Cooper’s lyrics on Full Pull – and was followed four years later by Saints and Sinners.
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It would be another 21 years before Roberts recorded his next solo effort, Unsung Radio, in 2012, with his most recent record arriving in the form of 2019’s The New Normal.
In 2019, Roberts spoke of his initial departure from the cooper lineup, telling Brave Words, “Alice and I are still best friends, when I got the record deal with Geffen, I had to put all my time into it.
“It was a very natural progression to move away from each other,” he added. “I took away so much from working with Alice, like becoming a professional musician and learning about the creative process.”
Alice Cooper’s fall tour – which is promoting his 2021 album, Detroit Stories – is set to commence on September 9 in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and will conclude on October 8 at Las Vegas’ Dollar Loan Center.
Between these dates, Cooper and co will visit Alton’s Blue Ridge Rock Festival, Memphis’ Orpheum Theater and Binghamton's Visions Arena.
For a full list of tour dates, head over to Alice Cooper’s website.
Roberts' predecessor, Nita Strauss, announced she would be leaving the lineup ahead of the tour. Writing on social media, Strauss said, “After this absolutely incredible run in Europe, it is bittersweet for me to let you guys know that I will not be joining the Alice Cooper band for the upcoming fall tour.
“I will also regretfully have to cancel the festival dates my solo band had planned for the rest of the year.”
