Interview by Kelly
January 2002
Interview by Kelly
January 2002
Ryan Roxie sparkles. A talented guitarist, he's also the kind of guy that inspires you to be fearless and be your whacky self. One of those people that is obviously having fun with his life. I knew it the second I spotted him onstage with Alice Cooper in 1999. Anyone that can get you to take your eyes off Alice, even for a second, must be special! By the time I saw Alice again in October 2001, I knew I had to talk to this guy. I just had a good feeling about him. And I was right! After talking to Ryan for a few months (and waiting for him to return from Thailand!), we did an e-mail interview for Metal and Madness, and I cannot thank him enough. I did not know he was going to announce a new project or I would definitely have asked him more about it! Anyway, enjoy!
K: First of all, belated happy birthday! Sorry I missed it, and I hope it
was a good one! Now, I am sure you've been naughty, but did you get anything good from Santa for Christmas this year?
R: Thanks for the belated B-day wishes, it was actually the longest birthday I
will probably ever have. You see, I started off the morning of Dec. 1st
getting on a plane in Bangkok, Thailand, and ended up in Los Angeles, on the
morning of Dec. 1st!......so with the time change and everything, my birthday
lasted over 35 hours! I still just ended up getting peanuts on the flight though....
K: What was the trip to Thailand all about? Have you been
there before? And how was it to fly, especially since it was out of the
country during these difficult times?
R: Thailand was a great experience, I recommend it to anyone that likes friendly
people, amazing food, and really, really cheap knock-offs.....which just
about covers all of us , no? It was a bit strange, because on our treck (we
hiked up into the mountains of Northern Thailand for about 3 days....Survivor
style, with out the TV cameras and fake drama) I was the only American in
our group of about 12 people. Most were either Swedes, or Australians, and
they seemed a little bit more freaked out about me traveling then I
did....but honestly, I couldn't have felt safer....my luggage was hand
checked 4, yes 4 times on my way back home....it took a few minutes more, but
we live in a different world now, don't we?
K: You have been in many bands, how did you end up playing for Alice Cooper?
R: Here's a small little history of the bands I've played with, and how they came
to be....
1. Candy- got hired because I had the same color hair as the rest of the
guys! The original "boy band".... I was the Johnnie Bravo of L.A. for about
15 seconds...
2. 3.Sweet Water- Great band, great guys, great underrated album called
"Superfriends", the only thing not so great....bad luck.... win some...lose
the rest...
4. Gilby Clarke- my good ol' friend from Candy.....we both had the same hair,
and the same even-tempered attitude about rock n roll....so we rolled with
it, and to this day, we still have a great time playing shows together...
5. Tal Bachman- who??? exactly....
6. Slash's Snakepit- Another very underrated album and band. I'm really proud
of all the work that everyone did on "Ain't Life Grand"....hopefully more
people will be able to hear it someday....another very important life lesson
learned on the roller coaster of rock.....
7. Alice Cooper- what else can one say but "Alice Cooper" The Godfather of
Rock n' Roll, the big brother I never had, the Miyagi (with me being Ralph
Machio)of the Karate Kid saga, the man , the myth , the legend.... thanks, ya
know I owe ya!
8. Which brings us up to now...... Roxie77 but more on that later!
K: For those keeping score, can you tell me which Alice albums and tours
you've played on?
R: Alice has been really good to me since we've hooked up...I've played on every
album he's put out since I joined, so that would be 3.... Fistful, Brutal
Planet, and Dragontown...and I've also done the VH-1 concert from Cabo San
Lucas, and the Brutal Planet DVD shot last year in England.....and a bunch of
TV stuff that I would love to get a copy of someday if anybody has any of
it...hint hint! Ha! Like the Top of the Pops, or TFIFriday show from
London....
K: The latest incarnation of Alice Cooper's band also included your pal Eric
Dover who has been in Glamnation with you. How did that come about, and hey -
what the heck have you two done with Pete Friesen? (sorry, I love Eric, but I
am a big Pete fan as well - back to Wayne's World and before!) I can't find
any info on what he's up to these days.
R: If I had to choose between playing and touring with either Pete or Eric....I
couldn't!! They are both the greatest guys, and amazingly talented
guitartists. Both have very cool personalities, and I love playing guitar
parts off both those guys.... I know that Pete wasn't able to do the last
tour because of some commitments he had with his own band, so I totally
respect that! I know both guys will do well with whatever they put their
efforts to.
K: Any funny tour stories you'd like to share? From any tour? Come on...name
drop! :o)
R: I recently did meet one of my biggest idols, Peter Frampton. And I pretty
much came off like a 14 year old groupie girl getting all nervous and stuff.
It wasn't the way I wanted to come off, believe me....but I did get to shake
the hand and talk to the guy who has influenced my playing so much these past
years....
Also, earlier this year, another one of my idols, Brian May of Queen, came up
on stage and played a few Alice songs with us at Wembly Arena in
England....talk about a Rock moment!! Definitly in my top 5 Rock moments of
all time! And Brian May, what a fuckin' great guy.
K: What is the status of your other bands / projects such as Glamnation and
Dad's Porno Mag? The DPM site has not been updated - aside from the always
busy message board - in quite some time. Is DPM done or just on hold?
R: We finally got the DPM board and everything sorted out, so it is being
updated now and things are going on..I've just been so busy working on this
new band that it's hard for me to get by the boards as often as I'd
like...but I hope to be able to get there a little bit more now that the new
band is coming into focus, and getting ready to record. The new thing itself
is so exciting for me because it is a combination of everything that I've
been involved with over the past 5 years.....there is a little Alice, a
little DPM, a little Slash, and more that I've tried to mix into something
that sounds somewhere between the Beatles and the Beastie Boys!
At the moment, I'm tentatively calling the new thing Roxie77 but it's not
final yet, and if anyone has any suggestions, feel free to email me...infact
I hope that all of you guys reading this will come out to the sites listed
below......and may Lady Rock shine down upon you! And note that if you click on a site, it will open in a new window - and the interview isn't done yet! Scroll down for more!
Electric Angels- my first real band.... put my heart and soul into that
one, but probably the reason I still have heart and soul today...
DPM aka Dad's Porno Mag- I always liked the name, and the people who
"got" the joke liked it too....it's just the remaining 99% of the public who
thought it had something to do with Internet porn who had a problem with
it....too bad, cause if ya got the name, or got past the name, the band is
worth checkin' out...and you know we live on your support for checkin' out
the new rock and carrying the torch in your neighborhood! Here comes the
merciless plug..... DAD'S PORNO MAG!
And then God created GLAMNATION....and couldn't have he smoked a bowl
instead on that day?
Dad's Porno Mag
OPERATION BLACKOUT: Roxie's Raiders Fan Site!
GLAMNATION! The glammest band in all the land!
Silly Questions (at least, they're supposed to be!)
K: Are those prescription goggles you wear on stage? (Sorry, that one was
suggested by my boyfriend for the silly question section - and I thought it
was cute!) ;o)
The goggles ended up coming in handy one show....the crowd thought that
spitting onto the stage was a sign of appreciation...really, in South America
that's what goes down....well needless to say, I was the only guy that didn't
get the 'ol Saliva in the Eye that night!!
K: What's your favorite Kool-Aid Flavor?
Cherry, although it doesn't taste like cherry...it tastes like Red dye and
Sugar Water!!
K: Color of M&M?
Brown, and I have no idea why....maybe it reminds me of the 70's....weird, I
know, but there ya go.......
K: Your biggest guilty pleasure?
Watching porno on DVD as opposed to video tape......the experience is
probably only compared to the difference between listening to music on CD vs.
an 8-Track tape player! Ha!
K: For the record, I *love* Cheap Trick, and Robin Zander is one of my
absolute favorite singers. I know you are a big Cheap Trick fan. My favorite
CT song changes all the time but lately it's "Tonight It's You." I just love
it..."All I want is a place in your heart...to fall into..." (sigh)...what's
your favorite Cheap Trick song?
Pretty much every song off the first three albums could be considered my
favorite! But let's be honest, Surrender might be the coolest heavy pop, rock
n roll song every written....the chorus is still great, everytime I hear it!!
K: Any parting words for your fans?
This is our world, our time, and our place....we can pay tribute to the past,
and speculate about the future, but the only thing for sure is RIGHT
NOW....so make the most of it. Yesterday is history, tomorrow is uncertain,
today you shine.....If you're going to heaven, congratulations...if you're
going straight to hell, you might as well enjoy the ride...
Back To Metal and Madness!
Back To The Interviews Page!