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I flew to Alice's Wonderland

The new year began sensationally for BRAVO reader Alexander Krauss (17) from Stetten! On January 26, he was allowed to present his favorite star, Alice Cooper, with the Bronze Otto in New York. On these two pages, he tells you what Alex experienced with Alice.

"I would have loved to conquer the whole of New York as soon as I arrived. A crazy city. On the drive, I had my picture taken in front of the Manhattan silhouette. The houses at home will seem very small to me when I return."

"In front of the New Yorker restaurant, ‘Maxwell's Plum', there was a happy farewell. Alice Cooper — with a BRAVO Indian and a beer mug in his arms — I really wanted to know which of us has the strongest handshake. He could stand it longer than me. I'm telling you, Alice squeezed pretty hard!"

"Alice Cooper makes a funny show out of everything! When I handed him the BRAVO Indian, he took a bite to see if it was real. But he took being awarded the Bronze Otto winner at BRAVO very seriously: 'Wow, that’s great! I never thought I would have so many fans in Germany! I think I'll have to go back soon.'"

"Alice Cooper told me that his 'Mom' and his 'Daddy' are the biggest Alice Cooper fans in America. My parents, who accompanied me — at their own expense — to America, he spontaneously clarified to his 'parents-fans from Germany'. Alice thought that was huge (his favorite word, by the way), and so did I."

"Alice Cooper is never formal. Everything he does and says is as uncomplicated as he is. I think that in everyday life he is a perfectly normal, sweet-smelling guy. When I presented him with the Bronze BRAVO Indian in his favorite restaurant in New York, he laughed and showed it around the whole restaurant. I was as mesmerized by Alice Cooper's naturalness as I was by his show, which I once saw on stage."

We — that was New York BRAVO correspondent Liz Rausch, my parents and I — sat at “Maxwell's Plum” in New York, Alice Cooper's favorite restaurant, and waited for him to appear. I was so nervous I couldn't bring myself to eat. I constantly had to think about the fact that he might not come. At that moment I was quite happy not to have bought Alice Cooper's stage paint, as I had planned before. I had imagined this gag to be quite funny: when the real Alice Cooper sits opposite a fake Alice Cooper!

And then he really did stand in the doorway, beaming with arms outstretched: "Sorry I'm late, but I've just come from the dentist. Now I have to drink a beer really quickly."

That was my cue. I knew how much he likes beer, so I brought him a real German beer mug. "It's huge," Alice Cooper said happily, patting me on the shoulder with a laugh, "I always wanted to buy one like that during my tour of Germany, but I never had the time."

When I handed him the Bronze Otto, Alice rolled his eyes in comic exasperation: "This is like Christmas, I get one present after another!” In a good mood, he took the BRAVO Indian in his mouth and bit it laughing.

We sat together for a few more hours, and Alice and I became more and more excited. He willingly told me everything I wanted to know about him. And I had to tell him just as much about myself. He was simply interested in everything.

As an avid Alice Cooper fan, I had all my long-playing records of his with me, and he wrote a personal dedication on each cover.

I'm sure you can imagine that I'm even more enthusiastic about Alice Cooper after this day! And when my parents spontaneously named themselves his "parents fans in Germany", he exclaimed: "He, that’s great — I love that", picked up his new beer mug and drained it in one gulp.

(Translated from the original German language publication July 2023)