Watch Alice Cooper Unbox New ‘Live From the Astroturf’ Release

A limited-edition LP of the Alice Cooper Band’s October 6, 2015 reunion performance at Good Records in Dallas will be released for Record Store Day Black Friday 2018. Check out Cooper personally unboxing the product, titled Live from the Astroturf, Alice Cooper, in the above video.

The historic in-store performance saw the four surviving members of the original Alice Cooper Band—Cooper, guitarist Michael Bruce, bassist Dennis Dunaway and drummer Neal Smith—play a set that included classics like “I’m Eighteen” and “School’s Out.” Guitarist Ryan Roxie, who currently plays with Cooper, filled in for late original guitarist Glen Buxton.

The events leading up to the reunion set are a story on their own: Good Records co-owner Chris Penn initially contacted Dennis Dunaway to do a Q+A/book signing for his then new autobiography, Snakes! Guillotines! Electric Chairs! Penn chose October 6, 2015, for the appearance, knowing it was also a day off in Dallas for Alice Cooper, who was out on tour with Motley Crue at the time.

After securing the date, Dunaway assisted Penn in getting Michael Bruce and Neal Smith on board with the event. Penn then contacted Cooper’s team about the idea of having Alice join in the Q&A portion. Eventually it was decided that Alice would surprise the crowd after the Q&A and signing were complete and join the live set. Penn and Good Records went all out for the event, even cutting a hole in the store’s office wall to create a portal for Alice to enter the store without anyone being the wiser. Additionally, they covered the stage in pink astroturf and brought in pro audio and video equipment to document the event.

Later on, Michael Kurtz, founder of Record Store Day, contacted Penn to ask if the event’s audio had been captured. Luckily, Penn had the foresight to get Local sound engineer David Wilson recorded the set that night, and Bob Ezrin and Justin Cortelyou mixed the tracks for the LP release. Joe LaPorta (David Bowie’s Blackstar) mastered the recordings. The deluxe LP comes in a metallic ink stamped numbered gatefold foil board jacket w/ obi strip/trading cards, double sided 24”x36” poster, 11”x11” 16 page booklet, and printed inner sleeve. There are 12 different colored vinyl variants to collect. 

“Us getting back onstage and playing those songs, it’s like riding a bicycle,” Dennis Dunaway said. “At Good Records… That was us before the Alice character took over… It’s hard to overlook how good the songs are. Alice walked out and everybody was blown away. We just had a blast!"

Live From The Astroturf, Alice Cooper will be available at independent record stores on Black Friday Record Store Day, November 23, 2018. For more information head over to RecordStoreDay.com.