[Susan Foreman]

An excerpt from an Interview with Vinnie Moore of UFO

https://vwmusicrocks.com/an-intervie...-moore-of-ufo/

Guitarist Vinnie Moore explains why he parted ways with Alice Cooper in 1991

"...Take me through the events which led to you joining Alice Cooper’s band.

I was in the studio recording Meltdown and got a call asking about playing on Hey Stoopid, which Alice was recording at the time. They were having a bunch of guest guitarists play on it. They already had Slash, Joe Satriani, and Steve Vai, as well as others. It was an honor to be asked to be a part of that. I went up to Bearsville Studios, in upstate New York, to record the two tracks I was on, “Dirty Dreams,” and “Hurricane Years.” I played rhythms and leads, and it was all done in half a day. We all went for dinner, and then, I drove home. Weeks after that, I heard that they wanted to have me play on the tour.

Your only studio effort with Alice was the two tracks on Hey Stoopid, in 1991. What do you recall regarding the sessions?

I remember my amp shutting off while recording, but luckily it was just a blown fuse. When I met Alice, he and Stef Burns were playing a game that they had invented on a ping pong table called “Scud Ball.” It involved plastic cups on the table and trying to get the ball to land in them. “Scud” came from the Scud Missile. So, one of my first conversations with Alice was regarding the rules of Scud ball. It was very cool to work with Peter Collins, who was producing, as well as Paul Northfield, who ended up mixing two of my records long after.

Ultimately, why didn’t you stick around with Alice Cooper as the 90s progressed?

I had recorded Meltdown, and we had planned a big tour for that, which I hadn’t really done with the earlier records. When the thing with Alice happened, it changed things a little. It all looked like a perfect plan because I would be out there on the road all over the USA with Cooper when my record was coming out. But then, Alice’s tour plans changed, and they decided to go to Europe instead of doing the US. My record label told me, “There is no point in putting out my record if you’re going to be away in Europe for six months.” They planned to delay the release. I had finished with Meltdown in January, and the label was scheduled to release the album in October, which I was already not very happy about. If I stayed with Alice, it would have been held back for another half year. I just couldn’t do that. Also, opening for Rush became a possibility, and that was something I really wanted to do.

You picked up your solo career right where you left off once you left Alice Cooper. How do you feel your time with Alice Cooper affected you as a solo artist?

I was an Alice fan when I was a kid, it was awesome to play those songs with him, and the tour was a lot of fun. It didn’t have an influence on me musically though..."