On Wednesday September 16th, The Hollywood Vampires made their live debut at the Roxy Theatre in West Hollywood, Calif., and during the show, the band was joined onstage by a series of special guests.
Several of those guests that joined the band onstage were vocalist Perry Farrell of Jane’s Addiction, bassist Geezer Butler of Black Sabbath and Heaven & Hell, Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello, and pop-singer Kesha.
Butler and Morello came out and played during The Hollywood Vampires’ cover of “Manic Depression,” which was written by Jimi Hendrix, and later released The Jimi Hendrix Experience’s 1967 album, Are You Experienced. Then, Farrell took the mic for a cover of “Jump Into the Fire,” which was written by American singer-songwriter Harry Nilsson.
Later that evening, Kesha came up to sing on the Hollywood Vampires’ take on the classic – and often covered – “Whole Lotta Love” by Led Zeppelin, according to Blabbermouth. And, she teamed up with Morello, Farrell, and the band for Alice Cooper’s 1972 hit, “Schools Out,” which was mashed up with Pink Floyd’s BAFTA-winning track, “Another Brick In The Wall.”
It appears that collaboration is nothing new to The Hollywood Vampires, who just released their debut self-titled album on September 11th, 2015. The Bob Ezrin-produced album features notable guest appearances by “Paul McCartney, Brian Johnson, Joe Walsh, Zak Starkey, Perry Farrell, Dave Grohl, Slash, Robbie Krieger, and Kip Winger, among others,” according to Blabbermouth.
The Hollywood Vampires originally were a group of rock stars – including vocalist Alice Cooper – that got together to drink and party in the early 1970s. Unfortunately, many of those musicians passed away in the 1970s, and their deaths – in a number of cases – came as a result of their hard-partying lifestyles.
So, singer-songwriter Cooper, Aerosmith lead guitarist Joe Perry, and A-list actor/rhythm guitarist Johnny Depp formed the band – The Hollywood Vampires – as a tribute to the music of those rock stars. Blabbermoth notes that some of the original Hollywood Vampire drinking-club members, included “Keith Moon, John Lennon, Ringo Starr, Harry Nilsson and Micky Dolenz, among others.”
The band’s touring lineup, apart from Cooper, Perry, and Depp, includes Duff McKagan on bass and Matt Sorum on drums.
Check out a series of videos from The Hollywood Vampires concert at the Roxy Theatre, below, which feature the aforementioned special guests.
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