Sunday, June 20, 2004
Alice Cooper: Welcome to my paradiseAlice Cooper: Welcome to my paradise
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Alice Cooper
Jun. 20, 2004 12:00 AM
Well, first of all I've lived in Phoenix for 50 years, and let me say that Philadelphia has been very good to this rock 'n' roller. It was a visit to Philadelphia, in fact, that inspired me to write Welcome to My Nightmare. Ca-ching!
And if you ever want to leave the big city for a weekend getaway in a smallish little community - Philadelphia isn't a terrible choice.
But for me, and 1.5 million like me, Phoenix is home. It's a different lifestyle. A different time. A different place. We're a very young city. We dance to our very own beat, obviously, and that's a good thing. I mean, I started wearing mascara in the '70s - and it was accepted everywhere in the world. Well, not in Mesa.
Wanna know what a guy named Alice likes about Phoenix? For starters, 168 golf courses. And depending on your level of handling the heat, 365 days a year, every year, to try them all. Everybody has a place in Phoenix: rockers, jocks, rocket scientists, doctors, lawyers and Indian chiefs.
No matter who you are or where you come from, you fit right in the minute you land at Sky Harbor International Airport - the fifth-busiest airport in the world.
Forget about what you heard in late-night monologues in 1987 - Phoenix is diverse and proud of it. We were one of the first 12 cities in the country to recognize Dr. Martin Luther King's birthday as a holiday. And one of the first anywhere to celebrate Cesar Chavez's birthday.
Yes, we have quirky politicians. But we also had John J. Rhodes, John McCain, Bruce Babbitt and two of the current nine members of the Supreme Court of the United States. A young woman named Rose began working for the state as a secretary in the 1930s. Fifty years later she retired - as governor. Now that's the land of opportunity. Ernest McFarland remains the only American to ever reach the top of three branches of government: chief justice of the Arizona Supreme Court, governor of Arizona, majority leader of the United States Senate. Not bad, but in 1953, we replaced him - with a young man named Barry Goldwater.
Random thought: I challenge you to find a speck of graffiti in Phoenix.
It was, and is, great to be a kid here. Phoenix is a big city with museums and art galleries - but it's a small town when it comes to being outside, playing army, "ghost in the graveyard" and "capture the flag." On safe streets. And the median temperature here is a balmy 74 degrees. We can play outside all year long. I did as a kid. Still do. Like me, Steven Spielberg grew up here. He and I both drew more than a little inspiration from the longest-running local program in America - Wallace and Ladmo.
For the definitive comparison, here's a list I've compiled:
• Philadelphia has cheesesteaks.
• Phoenix has "The Big Unit" hotdog at my restaurant, Alice Coopers'town.
• Philly is our treasured past.
• Phoenix is the future.
• Phoenix . . . rocks.
advertisement
Alice Cooper
Jun. 20, 2004 12:00 AM
Well, first of all I've lived in Phoenix for 50 years, and let me say that Philadelphia has been very good to this rock 'n' roller. It was a visit to Philadelphia, in fact, that inspired me to write Welcome to My Nightmare. Ca-ching!
And if you ever want to leave the big city for a weekend getaway in a smallish little community - Philadelphia isn't a terrible choice.
But for me, and 1.5 million like me, Phoenix is home. It's a different lifestyle. A different time. A different place. We're a very young city. We dance to our very own beat, obviously, and that's a good thing. I mean, I started wearing mascara in the '70s - and it was accepted everywhere in the world. Well, not in Mesa.
Wanna know what a guy named Alice likes about Phoenix? For starters, 168 golf courses. And depending on your level of handling the heat, 365 days a year, every year, to try them all. Everybody has a place in Phoenix: rockers, jocks, rocket scientists, doctors, lawyers and Indian chiefs.
No matter who you are or where you come from, you fit right in the minute you land at Sky Harbor International Airport - the fifth-busiest airport in the world.
Forget about what you heard in late-night monologues in 1987 - Phoenix is diverse and proud of it. We were one of the first 12 cities in the country to recognize Dr. Martin Luther King's birthday as a holiday. And one of the first anywhere to celebrate Cesar Chavez's birthday.
Yes, we have quirky politicians. But we also had John J. Rhodes, John McCain, Bruce Babbitt and two of the current nine members of the Supreme Court of the United States. A young woman named Rose began working for the state as a secretary in the 1930s. Fifty years later she retired - as governor. Now that's the land of opportunity. Ernest McFarland remains the only American to ever reach the top of three branches of government: chief justice of the Arizona Supreme Court, governor of Arizona, majority leader of the United States Senate. Not bad, but in 1953, we replaced him - with a young man named Barry Goldwater.
Random thought: I challenge you to find a speck of graffiti in Phoenix.
It was, and is, great to be a kid here. Phoenix is a big city with museums and art galleries - but it's a small town when it comes to being outside, playing army, "ghost in the graveyard" and "capture the flag." On safe streets. And the median temperature here is a balmy 74 degrees. We can play outside all year long. I did as a kid. Still do. Like me, Steven Spielberg grew up here. He and I both drew more than a little inspiration from the longest-running local program in America - Wallace and Ladmo.
For the definitive comparison, here's a list I've compiled:
• Philadelphia has cheesesteaks.
• Phoenix has "The Big Unit" hotdog at my restaurant, Alice Coopers'town.
• Philly is our treasured past.
• Phoenix is the future.
• Phoenix . . . rocks.
