No (M)Alice In Wonderland

This was sent to me by, of all people, my ex-wife. Kudos to her for remembering how much I love Alice Cooper!
Read below!
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Alice Cooper To Open Christian Youth Center

Tuesday, August 1, 2006
Excerpts from USA Today:

Alice Cooper is opening a center where kids can learn to play guitar, shoot
hoops and find Jesus? Apparently so.

The 58-year-old father of shock-rock is teaming up with Grand Canyon
University in Phoenix to establish a $3 million youth haven featuring a
"school of rock," a concert hall and sporting attractions.

"It's a sanctuary where they don't get shot, they don't get stabbed, they
don't have to worry about somebody trying to sell them drugs," says Cooper,
who plans to announce the project today (Tuesday).

He concedes that some parents might view him as unlikely, if not
objectionable, in the role of a philanthropist bringing morality and
religion to America's young people.

"It's a great juxtaposition," he says. "Trust me, I walk that tightrope
every day. Part of the fun is the edge of it."

Cooper says those who understand his shtick recognize that the show has
always been a blend of farce and satire. They also know that he became a
born-again Christian 16 years ago when he quit drinking.

Since 1995, Cooper has operated the Solid Rock Foundation, a non-profit
organization that provides money to children's causes and college
scholarships to Christian students.

Cooper insists that his stage persona is a polar opposite to his personal
life: He has been married 30 years "without cheating" on his wife, and they
have raised three children.

The son of a minister and grandson of an evangelist, Cooper says America
"needs a good hypodermic needle shot of morality."
That will be one goal for his 20,000-square-foot recreational hall, to be
known as The Rock, on the urban campus of Grand Canyon University. It will
be open to children 12 to 18 at no charge; the prime target is at-risk
teens, whose parents may be in jail or on drugs, and whose brothers are
thugs.

"Even kids who grow up in gangs have a creative place in their body," Cooper
says. "They have a choice between a 9mm and a nine-iron."

Cooper, who still tours with his band five months each year, says alcohol
and tobacco will be banned at The Rock. There won't be a chapel, but
counselors will proselytize by example and offer religious guidance to kids
who want to learn about the faith.

"We are overtly Christian," he says, "but we're not going to beat you over
the head with a Bible."

The project, still in design stages and not fully financed, is scheduled to
break ground next year. An artist's rendering shows a concert hall,
recording studios, game rooms, a basketball court and a rock-climbing wall.

Cooper says he's seeking corporate sponsors to provide everything from
guitars to construction materials. In the meantime, his foundation will
raise money with an annual golf tournament and a Christmas music show.

Grand Canyon University will provide the land, security and some of the
financing, says Brent Richardson, CEO of the non-denominational Christian
school. Richardson concedes that some of the university's patrons and its
10,000 students may be leery of the shock-rock image.

But he says Cooper has an honorary degree from the university and has
provided hundreds of thousands of dollars in scholarships through his Solid
Rock Foundation.

"Look at his actions," Richardson says. "I think it's a great thing, and I
don't worry about it at all."

Even in the early years, Cooper says, his shows featured no foul language,
nudity or satanic glorification. In fact, he says, more than 30 of his songs
assail devil worship.

On the other hand, there were songs about necrophilia, sadomasochism and
hedonism; his theme was "Nothing in moderation."

Cooper says he and his family will be regulars at The Rock, working with children and helping to produce shows. He says no decision has been made on
an emblem for the school, but he would prefer that it not have anything to
do with Alice Cooper. Then, with a mischievous grin, he suggests, "How about
a cross through my heart?"




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And the following news article is being reprinted without permission. Tough beans!

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Alice Cooper to Build Teen Center in Ariz.

Alice Cooper's Christian foundation to develop teen center in Phoenix

PHOENIX, Aug. 1, 2006
By TERRY TANG Associated Press Writer

(AP) For all the envelope-pushing Alice Cooper has done as a shock rocker, he also knows the value of boundaries, especially for children.

"Kids love boundaries. We used to fight against them. But in all reality, what we really did want was to know where we could go. Of course, you always step over the line just a little bit to see what's going to happen," said the 58-year-old rocker, known for his ghoulish makeup and hits such as 1975's "Welcome to My Nightmare."

Cooper said his Christian, nonprofit Solid Rock Foundation has begun fundraising efforts for a 20,000-square-foot teen activity center to be called The Rock, to be built at Grand Canyon University in West Phoenix.

The $3 million center will feature a recording studio, indoor basketball courts, rock-climbing walls, coffeehouse, game room and concert hall. Construction is expected to begin next year.

"People don't lay in the sun in southwest Phoenix. There's lots of shootings going, there's lots of meth going on, there's lots of gangs," Cooper said. "In the middle of all that is a bunch of 12-, 13-, 14-year-old kids that can go one way or the other."

Officials for Grand Canyon University, a private college with a Christian focus, came to Cooper with the offer to build the youth center on the campus. Cooper has given scholarships to the school for more than five years.

"We're not going to beat them over the head with a Bible," Cooper said. "But we're certainly going to be available to tell them that that's available to them."

Cooper, who spends about seven months of the year at home in suburban Paradise Valley, said that when he walks off the stage, "I'm going back to Phoenix, play golf, work on Solid Rock, go shopping and do everything that a father and a husband's supposed to do."

"I watched all of my best friends _ Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, Keith Moon _ every one of them, die trying to live their image," he said.

"The one thing that my generation learned was `be a rock star when it's time to be a rock star.'"