Buy Your Copy of Snakes! Guillotines! Electric Chairs!
Available in hard copy and paperback from your local bookstore or from:
Audiobook
The audiobook, read by Dennis, is available through Amazon and Audible.
Autographed Copies
Order an autographed copy of the book from Strand, Bookends, or Chapters Windsor (Canada). Keep your eye on the Tour page and Facebook for book events.
German Translation
Schlangen, Guillotinen und ein elektrischer Stuhl: Meine Abenteuer mit der Alice Cooper Group is available at select bookstores and Amazon.
Synopsis
As the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame says: "Before the world heard of KISS, the New York Dolls, Marilyn Manson or Ozzy Osbourne, there was Alice Cooper, the original shock-rock band."
When Alice Cooper became the stuff of legend in the early '70s, their shows were monuments of fun and invention. Riding on a string of hits like "I'm 18" and "School's Out," they became America's highest-grossing act, producing four
platinum albums and hitting number one on the U.S. and U.K. charts with Billion Dollar Babies in 1973. Their utterly original performance style and look, known as Shock Rock, was swiftly copied by countless bands. Dennis Dunaway, the bassist and co-songwriter for the band, tells a story just as over-the-top crazy as their (in)famous shows.
As teenagers in Phoenix, Dennis Dunaway and lead singer Vince Furnier, who would later change his name to Alice Cooper, formed a hard-knuckles band that played prisons, cowboy bars and teen clubs. Their journey took them from Hollywood to the ferocious Detroit music scene, along the way adding new dimensions of rock theater. From struggling for recognition to topping the charts, the Alice Cooper group was entertaining, outrageous, and one-of-a-kind.
Snakes! Guillotines! Electric Chairs! is the riveting account of the band's creation in the '60s, strange glory in the '70s, and the legendary characters they met along the way.
Praise for Snakes! Guillotines! Electric Chairs!
"I still consider Dennis Dunaway to be one of my best friends. Dennis is one of the few true surrealists that I've ever met….This book carries on in Dennis' own private surrealistic world. "- Alice Cooper
"Dennis tells the story from the inside out with wit and wisdom and adds brilliantly to the Alice Cooper Group mythos. There may be many versions of this story, but Dennis' is one of the most colorful, insightful and entertaining!" -Bob Ezrin, record producer
"For a fan of the Alice Cooper band, as I have been since my adolescence in the 1970s, Cooper bassist Dennis Dunaway's first-hand account of the group's humble beginnings, heady triumphs and arguably inevitable implosion is gripping stuff." -Michael J. Fox
High times with Alice Cooper. –Rolling Stone
Bassist Dennis Dunaway is spilling secrets in his new memoir. –Access Hollywood
Dunaway was the skinny, unique, idea-filled bassist of the original Alice Cooper band before management talked lead singer Vince Furnier to become a more showbiz solo artist. Folks who enjoy Rock ’n’ Roll memoirs will find lots to enjoy here. –Sun Herald
The story of from here to there is one Dunaway has lovingly given to us. It has been well worth the wait. –Glide Magazine
Dunaway’s memoir is one of the most fun and enjoyable in recent memory. –Houston Press
The Mayhem, magic and mystery of Alice Cooper is evocatively chronicled putting the reader deep into the action. – Rock Cellar Magazine
If you think you’ve heard all the Alice Cooper stories, think again. –The Village Voice
Dunaway effectively rewrites the script to a vital period in rock ‘n’ roll history. –Huffington Post
Originally, it was the band that was called Alice Cooper. And, boy, there were some adventures. –The Province