JOE PERRY On Upcoming HOLLYWOOD VAMPIRES Documentary: 'It's Pretty Amazing'

During an appearance on the June 27 episode of SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", Joe Perry spoke about the status of his HOLLYWOOD VAMPIRES supergroup, which also features shock rock icon Alice Cooper and Hollywood superstar Johnny Depp. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, we're working on a documentary. It's got some great stuff on it. I just saw a rough cut. And it's pretty amazing.

"I'm still pinching myself this band actually got moving, 'cause everybody's got other things going on, especially Johnny," Perry continued. "[For Johnny], it's not, like, 'I can't do it this day'; it's, like, 'I can't do it this month.' When he's on a project, he's gotta carve out months. And even then, he has to be available for things. So, when I'm in L.A., I've seen him work, and it's, like, man, that's tough. I mean, talk about putting a band on the road. Doing a movie, the kind of movies he does, it's a lot. It's a real lot. It takes a lot out of you, and you've gotta give up your life 24-7 for anywhere from a month to a year, whatever. And Alice is always working. If you don't book something almost a year ahead, he's gonna be booked.

"I know that everybody would love to play some more with that band," Joe added. "And I think the last record we did was amazing. It was so much fun. But we get into that in the documentary. So I don't know. Right now everybody's tied up. But I know that in the back of everyone's mind, it'd be great to get back together again. So anyway, we'll see how that goes."

Perry went on to praise HOLLYWOOD VAMPIRES, saying: "That band is something else, man. Alice got to be the lead singer of a rock band and he didn't have to be Alice Cooper… He's Alice Cooper through and through. But when he was with the VAMPIRES, he got to talk to the audience in real time and he didn't have to take on a character. And I know he loved it. But listen, he still went out looking like Alice Cooper. And that part of him is through and through. And everybody had a great time."

A trailer for the upcoming HOLLYWOOD VAMPIRES documentary "Unleashed Spirits - The Rise Of The Hollywood Vampires" can be seen below.

Directed by Daniel E. Catullo III, "Unleashed Spirits - The Rise Of The Hollywood Vampires" was previously described in a press release as "an exhilarating and heartfelt film that takes viewers on a captivating journey through the formation of HOLLYWOOD VAMPIRES and the profound impact they've had on their devoted fan base."

Named for a pack of famous musicians that legendary rocker Alice Cooper used to drink with in the early 1970s, including John Lennon and Keith Moon, HOLLYWOOD VAMPIRES also includes producer and songwriter Tommy Henriksen.

The three legends first came together to record in 2015, bonding over a shared love of their favorite songs and a desire to celebrate their "dead, drunk friends" by playing the songs of the fallen heroes. Riotous performances ensued around the world.

In 2019, HOLLYWOOD VAMPIRES — which also includes Cooper's drummer Glen Sobel and bassist Chris Wyse — completed a triumphant seven-city North American tour which included a sell-out show at the famous Greek Theatre in Los Angeles and were voted the "best performance" of 2018 at London's Wembley Arena.

HOLLYWOOD VAMPIRES' sophomore album "Rise", produced by Tommy Henriksen and the HOLLYWOOD VAMPIRES, was hailed as one of the purest, most unapologetic and enjoyable rock and roll albums of 2019, made by masters of the craft and true fans of the form. Unlike their 2015 debut record, the latest album consisted mainly of original material, written by the band. There are however, in the spirit of the VAMPIRES' original mission, three covers of songs originally written and recorded by legendary rockers who died far too young.

Six years ago, Cooper told Billboard about his chemistry with Depp and Perry: "That's a very odd thing about this. You've got three alpha males who are used to running the show, and all of a sudden, three guys are sitting there with zero arguments. The whole thing is, 'Okay, let's try that.' Every time they would send me a track with scratch vocals on it, if I worked on it and chopped it up and did my thing, it would turn into an Alice song. I took my fingerprints off of it. I would hear the song and say, 'Let's do it as it was written.' My instinct might be to say that this part goes too long or the intro goes too long, but that's what makes it interesting."

Regarding HOLLYWOOD VAMPIRES' decision to record a second album as a follow-up to 2015's "Hollywood Vampires", which debuted at No. 43 on the Billboard 200, Cooper said: "We looked at each other and went, 'Let's do another album, but let's make this one original.' And just like that, Johnny was writing, Joe was writing, Tommy was writing, I was writing … and we just all kind of put it together while I was on tour. Tommy produced it, and the next thing you know, we had an album. The cool thing about it is that it doesn’t sound like an Alice album, it doesn't sound like an AEROSMITH album: It sounds like a HOLLYWOOD VAMPIRES album."

HOLLYWOOD VAMPIRES released their first live album, "Live In Rio", in June 2023 via earMUSIC. The LP was recorded when the HOLLYWOOD VAMPIRES played their biggest and most legendary gig in front of more than 100,000 fans at the Rock In Rio festival in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil in September 2015

Photo credit: Ross Halfin