Our very own LEGEND Pat McMahon would like to introduce you to ROCK LEGEND Alice Cooper!
Solid Rock Teen Centers inspire teens to grow through music, dance, and art. For more information visit AliceCooperSolidRock.com
Solid Rock Teen Centers inspire teens to grow through music, dance, and art. For more information visit AliceCooperSolidRock.com
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00 So who is this Alice Cooper guy that people keep talking about, huh?
00:03 Yes, that local Phoenix resident for virtually your entire life after you left Detroit. Pretty much. Yes
00:10 I came here because I had asthma and I had to get out of Detroit and I it burned it right out of me
00:16 And so you're a much healthier Alice Cooper no matter what they say. Yes
00:20 mentally
00:23 Physician, general entertainer, actor
00:29 Participant in a lot of great community relations going on and fundraising events
00:35 But then came the Solid Rock Foundation, which was all yours. It dropped in our lap
00:41 You know, I said who is who needs the most?
00:44 attention
00:46 Out there. There was a lot of teenage suicides. There was a lot of addictions going on
00:52 There was a lot of you know, I don't know where my mom is
00:55 I don't my dad is my dad's in jail. My mom's doing this and I
00:59 Witnessed a really
01:02 awkward drug deal go down to two 16 year old kids and I said
01:07 How does that kid not know he might be the best guitar player in town?
01:10 And the other kid might be a great drummer and that immediately light bulb went on Cheryl and I went why don't we?
01:17 Start putting this together and it you know, it took years and years
01:23 You'd be surprised how many people fought it didn't did not want to work with teenagers
01:28 why because they they didn't want a
01:30 Teenagers in the neighborhood. Yeah, not in my backyard. Yeah and or rock and roll, right?
01:37 That was it was that was exactly it, you know, they would rather have a
01:42 Nudie bar on the corner than a Christian bookstore with kids drinking coffee, you know
01:49 and that was that's what we realized what we were up against but kept going and going God blessed us and
01:55 finally opened the first one and
01:58 the whole idea was
02:01 on Thunderbird on Thunderbird and 32nd, yeah, and
02:04 You know, it was all we didn't know how to do this. We were just figuring it out, but it's like a little Juilliard
02:13 You know
02:15 Tell me about every day. Tell me what every day at a solid rock foundation because now there's three. Yeah, there's gonna be three
02:22 Well, there's two now one coming on the way
02:24 Kids show up at three o'clock it
02:27 Depends they can try everything if they they could try guitar if they don't like that go to base
02:33 You know, there's different rooms different things going on drums
02:36 Cheryl it takes care of the dance
02:39 art
02:42 Video we have every every possible thing that they could go to and they finally find one thing and
02:49 They're there every day at three o'clock
02:52 So now they're not in a gang. They're in a band
02:55 You know, it does every kid find a way to be able to afford those kinds of services lessons cost money. It's so expensive
03:04 It's free
03:05 And that's why we do the Christmas pudding and that's what we do the big
03:09 Alice Cooper a golf tournament
03:12 I
03:13 Figured we said let's make sure that every kid could get in for free. I
03:18 Will never forget when I heard a story from one of your staff members
03:23 at
03:25 at the first solid rock foundation location and he said
03:29 that
03:31 One of the most moving things to him happened when he said to a young person
03:36 no, take the guitar home if you want to work on this piece and then bring it back and
03:42 We'll see how it goes, but you got to have the time over the weekend. Yeah to work on this
03:46 He says no, I can't do that
03:48 He's no we're telling you we're not we're not gonna ask you for money
03:52 No, just take the guitar can't because one of my parents were selling for drugs exactly and that's just one story
04:01 You know, we we we're not
04:04 You know psychologists. We're not we don't do that. What we do is we provide them with
04:11 This place where they can explore and find their their entertainment, but we can't go in and say well, why did that happen?
04:18 That's not what we do, you know solid rock foundation first one a Thunderbird in 32nd
04:24 Then you opened in Mesa and one in Mesa on country club and now and another one now in Goodyear
04:30 Coming up and I want to put them on Tucson
04:33 Flagstaff Prescott we need them all over the state. I mean, we're never gonna run out of teenagers
04:40 And if you think of it Pat when you and I grew up
04:44 It was not anywhere near as dangerous as it is now for kids
04:50 I mean, you know, you might get a black eye, you know in a bloody nose and the next day
04:55 There was a little respect between you and the guy now
04:58 It's you know, somebody could drive by and shoot your house up, you know
05:02 Everything auntie went up on everything, you know, if you got caught with beer, that was the thing now
05:10 Kids are starting on heroin not even going, you know, it's it's really a dangerous world. And so
05:16 What's what's available on the street is something we're trying to
05:21 dissuade get get into here and do something else and a street in Phoenix on the street Mesa and now a
05:28 Street in Goodyear here in the Valley of the Sun. There are answers
05:32 when your kid says
05:35 Is there any way I could ever learn to play an instrument or learn how to do something in show business? And the answer is
05:42 solid rock foundation down the street
05:45 Thank you for watching!
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