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Dennis Dunaway appreciation thread...
- Thread starter Muddslide
- Start date
A very underated player indeed,Muddslide!
I was never a big fan of Alice Cooper.I saw them accidently in the old Electric Factory in Philadelphia,PA.Can't remember but I Think it was late summer or early fall of 1969.
The bill was MC5,ALICE COOPER & THE FLAMIN'GROOVIES.
Alice Cooper was touring behind the "Pretties for You"LP & that stuff was pretty whack/avant-garde compared to what they did later.I kinda heard about them from the Zappa connection(they were on his label then)but I was just at this show for something to do & it wasn't crowded at all.
Alice Cooper totally SHOCKED the audience beyond belief!! They wore makeup,strange glitter clothes(were some of them girls or guys?),had really strange lighting & played really weird songs.This stuff WAS NOT done in 1969!
The audience just gaped with open mouthes,no applause or booing or anything,in disbelief &shock.
What I did notice about the band,after I picked my eyeballs up off the floor,was that they had a killer bass player! They were really tight & Dennis Dunaway was the main reason why.Real thick in your chest tone from a weird Les Paul jr looking bass(Supro,maybe?) & he was the 1st guy I ever saw use an Acoustic 360 amp.
I thought he was the best musician in the band & a great bass player period!
I never saw them live again but I did really like the "Love it to Death"LP.Any time I heard them on the radio I could pick Dennis Dunaway's parts out.Great thick tone&clever lines.He played to support his band & not his ego.Guys like that are rare!
I was never a big fan of Alice Cooper.I saw them accidently in the old Electric Factory in Philadelphia,PA.Can't remember but I Think it was late summer or early fall of 1969.
The bill was MC5,ALICE COOPER & THE FLAMIN'GROOVIES.
Alice Cooper was touring behind the "Pretties for You"LP & that stuff was pretty whack/avant-garde compared to what they did later.I kinda heard about them from the Zappa connection(they were on his label then)but I was just at this show for something to do & it wasn't crowded at all.
Alice Cooper totally SHOCKED the audience beyond belief!! They wore makeup,strange glitter clothes(were some of them girls or guys?),had really strange lighting & played really weird songs.This stuff WAS NOT done in 1969!
The audience just gaped with open mouthes,no applause or booing or anything,in disbelief &shock.
What I did notice about the band,after I picked my eyeballs up off the floor,was that they had a killer bass player! They were really tight & Dennis Dunaway was the main reason why.Real thick in your chest tone from a weird Les Paul jr looking bass(Supro,maybe?) & he was the 1st guy I ever saw use an Acoustic 360 amp.
I thought he was the best musician in the band & a great bass player period!
I never saw them live again but I did really like the "Love it to Death"LP.Any time I heard them on the radio I could pick Dennis Dunaway's parts out.Great thick tone&clever lines.He played to support his band & not his ego.Guys like that are rare!
The one time I saw AC live in '72 in Raleigh, Dennis's playing and stage presence were spot on.. such a calm, collected bassist.. but he was playing an SG bass that night.
He's THE REASON I spent money on AC albums.
Here's a current view with his unique bass as always:
Link Removed
Here's a current view with his unique bass as always:
Link Removed
He's one of my faves. Takes me back to my teens years when I thought I'd really accomplished something when I figured out the bass line to ' I'm Eighteen.' He is a great bass player from that era that has been ignored for far too long.
So glad to hear all the positive comments about him, and so many people with stories about learning to play his lines, etc.
I'm gonna have to pick up the DD Project CD. The songs on the MySpace page sound great! The man is still pure rock and roll and his playing sounds as cool as ever.
To B.Carville: man, you saw a triple bill of MC5, Alice Cooper and Flamin' Groovies?!?!?!?
Dear god...what a scene that must have been.
I'm gonna have to pick up the DD Project CD. The songs on the MySpace page sound great! The man is still pure rock and roll and his playing sounds as cool as ever.
To B.Carville: man, you saw a triple bill of MC5, Alice Cooper and Flamin' Groovies?!?!?!?
Dear god...what a scene that must have been.
I was a huge Flamin' Groovies fan when I was a kid. 'Have You Seen My Baby' from Teenage Head was on some of our first set lists. Great band!!!
The bass solo from Gonna Rock Tonight on Flamingo was a real barnburner! The Groovies are one of the greatest.
Amen. Do kids today know these guys?
Kids today. Did I just say that?
*shuffles outside in bathrobe yelling at neighborhood children to get off my lawn*
It actually wasn't very crowded! Probably only about 40 people.It was a Friday/Saturday show & the Groovies only played Friday.I wound up going both nights because the MC5 kicked ass! The Groovies were a hoot! Alice Cooper was the most bizarre/outrageous thing I ever saw at that point.You gotta remember the time frame.This was almost the end of the hippie era although that lasted well into the 70's.Hippies DID NOT like these bands! Us under 18's did though.
Despite what older folks will tell you the 60's sucked!It was a golden time for live music though.Alcohol wasn't part of it so you could be a teen & see great shows & most of them were in small to medium size clubs or theatres.Huge stadiums came later although they were just starting to do huge shows by '69.
I used to catch live music at least 8 times a month!I saw a lot of soul/jazz/rock legends.I saw the bands(some of them legendary) that sucked too! It was the one thing of the 60's that I look back on & feel really lucky about!
By the way,Admission to that show was $3.00!
I saw the "School's Out" and "Billion Dollar Baby" concerts. I was a huge D. Dunaway fan! I still have all the AC albums that DD played on. 
Killer and AC's greatest hits were the first two albums I bought as the "original masters recordings" Remember those?
Where is DD now?
Where is DD now?
"Halo of Flies" mesmerized me! Melodic but heavy, like a funkier version of Squire's line in "Heart of the Surise." Favorites both.
The first time I saw Alice Cooper around '71, he was opening for Atomic Rooster or somebody and his roadies were selling fruit in the lobby to throw at the band, very bizarre! Some of the best shows were Alice Cooper paired with J. Geils both bands hadn't hit yet and had something to prove, and they brought it!
Stumbled on another DD thread which led me to this one. Awesome player. I recently picked up the "Good to see you again" DVD from the BDB tour. Haven't watched the whole thing yet, but it's a great snapshot of the era. I also snagged the "Complete Battle Axe" CD set from the Billion Dollar Babies. What a story behind that release. They mastered it from an unopened copy of the vinyl. I believe the masters had been destroyed. There is also a live set that they picked up from someone on eBay and transfered. Can't find the CD case right now for more details from it.
I had hoped Good To See You Again would have been a snapshot of the AC group...big let down, IMO. The camera man must have been in the cheap seats, not enough band shots, etc.
