NFA: In your opinion which album/tours were the coolest to perform and why? NS: I'm asked that question a lot about the albums. There are things about each one that were challenging and also pushed me to different levels. I like certain parts of almost all of the albums. I can't really pick out one. School's Out is may be one of my favorites. Billion Dollar Babies also: has some of my favorite songs on that one. What I like really more than anything else is that sometimes on our records there was a group of two or three songs that were tied together. Even when we did the Billion Dollar Baby Battle Axe album we followed through with the end of that album where there was like a trilogy of three songs, like a mini-opera kind of a thing. At the end of Love It To Death there were three songs that were together that sounded great. That's a section that stands out for me. The end of School's Out that goes into the grand finale and everything, the alma mater. "Westside Story," that's a great section, too. There are some areas that with different recordings that we did that stand out. Tour-wise, I loved everything we did. There was something that was great about it. It was always exciting. I really didn't care which album we were playing, which show it was. Love It To Death had great stuff. Love It To Death had the electric chair as the finale to the show. Killer had the hangman's noose and gallows on that one. 'Course, School's Out we had the street fight. That was great. I think on School's Out we still had the gallows. I believe. Then Billion Dollar Babies with the guillotine, which I still have, the original guillotine from that show. I think its one of the most highly sought after props from original theatre of rock. I've been offered huge sums of money for that prop. Let me put it this way: what I know about that apparatus, I would never stick my head in there. Thats a solid steel blade and it's heavy as can be. It might not cut your head off but it would sure sever your spinal cord. I think Alice was kind of nuts to stick his head in it every night. There were safety devices and precautions and everything. It was a great illusion, but I tell you, it was kind of crazy. I loved every show.

NFA: So you did like the theatrical part of the show? NS: Absolutely. I think there was a misconception some times when the band broke, up the reasons why the band broke up. I just read an article in the Asbury Press this fall and Alice had thought that there was a musical separation and theatrical separation. That's absolutely not the case. Look at the Billion Dollar Babies Battle Axe show, we sunk a fortune into a stage show. It goes to show you we put our own money into it. The record company didn't put the money into it, we put into it. It was really a sophisticated show, it was hydraulics, it was a drum stage at a 45 degree angle and strapped in and all turnbuckled down. It was all theatrics. I love it. That's my background in music, and that's the reason I loved being in this group.

NFA: When I talked to Michael he said you were more of a showman type of drummer. I'll never forget the video of "I'm 18" and seeing you behind this enormous drum kit just going nuts. Hair and arms flying everywhere. Elaborate on your drumming technique and style. NS: My basic philosophy was sort of like the group. As a fan of music and a fan of drums I love to hear songs with a lot of drums and I love to see drummers who put on a great show onstage. Keith Moon was a great drummer and a great showman. Mitch Mitchell was a great performer and showman. Ginger Baker is a great drummer, not as great of a performer as some of the other ones, but still a great influence on me as far as musically. To be influenced by that caliber of drummer and percussionists I think it's a thin line of being a showman and a showoff. It's fun to get up there and have a good time. That was my attitude, was always to have a good time. It's really not that hard to do things that other people have never done. I tried to come up with ideas that people have never done. A large drum set only made sense for me because I'm 6 foot 3 and I have a 7 foot arm span. I have a couple extra inches on my drum sticks. I not only had all of the drums but I played all of the drums in different times in the set. That's my basic philosophy, just to put on a good show and in recording to have a lot of drum influences in the music. When I used to listen to songs when I was a kid that had great drums in it, even something as simple as "Get Off My Cloud" by the Rolling Stones when it starts off, Charlie is playing that beat. It's real simple but it's great drum stuff. Then talk about Keith Moon, who is on a whole other level, who goes totally nuts on the drums, but if you're a drummer and a kid you love that stuff. I think that was an element of our music. Cream Magazine and Circus Magazine year after year I was voted as number one and number two drummer. I think that a lot of people picked up on that. I love to play drums. Again, my philosophy in recording was to play something that if I was going to listen to it that I would be listening to it. I think it's good now, but through the 80's and early 90's drummers were glorified metronomes. Who cares playing a straight beat? There is a place for everything, but as far as real music I use wooden sticks and I like to beat the crap out of the drums. That's where the energy comes from. You're never going to get energy ever from a synthesiser like you can from a pumped-up drummer.

NFA: What was your proudest moment about being in the band? NS: One of the proudest moments was when Love It To Death went gold. That was pretty significant for us. Second proudest moment was we had fought the stigma of theatre, our theatre was overpowering our musical ability. So it was always proud for me as a drummer when the fans voted in the magazines of being the top drummer of the year. That was personally a proud moment for me. The proudest moment, because we struggled very difficultly in the early years through Pretties For You and Easy Action. We had no money. We always had beer, but we didn't have much money. In April of 1973, when Billion Dollar Babies went to number one on Billboard, we were the number one band in the world. For that period of time there was no other band, there have been bands who have gone to number one but never simultaneously in all of the trade magazines. We knew we were great musicians and I've never ever questioned that. Plus, the show was such a huge part of it. That was a very proud moment as far as I was concerned, because everything that we ever worked on (Billion Dollar Babies was really our 6th album) so after our 6th album we finally hit that high point and that was great. Theatrically, I was always gratified but to have the recognition finally, that was like the, we had the platinum awards, we had the gold albums, we had the money, that wasn't the point. The point was that just for that period of time we were the number one act in the whole wide world. That was pretty special for us.

NFA: That's very impressive because there are so many billions of bands/albums out there. Every band has that goal, to be number one, and you did it. That had to be a thrill. When you finally reached that status were you totally overwhelmed? NS: I don't think we were overwhelmed because we were so focused on what we were doing. I even go back and I really truly believe even when we wrote the song "Caught In A Dream" we were predicting our future and our fate. It was like predicting Billion Dollar Babies. That is what we were all about. We were about having a good time, putting on a great show onstage, writing great music and just trying to survive. Just trying to live through that point. We were recording about two albums a year and that was a real heavy pace. So either we were recording, writing or we were touring. That's all we were doing. Very seldom did we have any time off. So we were totally focused on that. Then we hit success. It wasn't overwhelming; we planned for it. It was nice that it finally happened. You were talking about the groups out there who are trying to make it. It's very parallel to sports. There's a lot of people in the backyards, schoolyards and playgrounds trying to play basketball, but how many are going to become like Michael Jordans? Not very many. It's totally a matter of timing and luck and talent and you can't even imagine, and no one can predict it either.

NFA: How does it feel to stand out in a crowd during a Alice concert and watch someone else play songs that you were a part of? NS: I'm very critical about what they play. I just saw Alice play up in CT. The drummer was actually pretty good, but the only thing is they did "Halo Of Flies" which is pretty adventurous for anyone to try and play that song, I tell you. The one song that really has never been covered by any other group was "Billion Dollar Babies". I never heard anybody try to cover it. I've never seen anybody ever play that song right. I guess, when you write the part and you play it, that is a very difficult song to play. I watch people and they kind of punch their way through it, you know, fake their way through it. "Halo Of Flies" is the same thing. The drummer I saw Alice play with when he gets to that solo, I never thought it was the greatest solo ever but I had fun doing it, but it serves its purpose and a lot of people love it. The drummer Alice had, he, I don't know? It was weird.

NFA: I've seen Alice probably 20 times in the past couple of years and there have been 4-5 different drummers. You're right: it's not the same. NS: One time I talked to the management, I think right before Alice played at the Trump Marina and changed drummers again. They said "Neal, we almost gave you a call." So I said, "Why the hell didn't you, then?" I'm very critical because I'm critical of music. I think music should be played, to have the opportunity to watch the people who wrote the songs, that's why I like to watch the Stones, the original Who. Even after Mitch Mitchell and Noel Redding left Hendrix it wasn't the same: even when Mitch Mitchell came back without Noel Redding it still wasn't the same. It's that chemistry.

NFA: What is your insight on Glen Buxton? NS: Without Glen I would have never been in the band. It's as simple as that. Glen and I were both from Ohio. We moved out to Arizona and we both lived in Akron, Ohio. When you move away from your hometown and you go into a new area (and I had moved there in 1963) I didn't meet Glen till 3-4 years later. At that time you meet someone from the same place you are. Everybody adjusts and adapts and you get new friends, but to meet someone from the same area you are there's just a natural bond that you have. Glen and I always got along real well right from the start. Glen was always totally giving. Even in the days when I was a musician in high school and college, Glen and I was friends at that time and he was in Spiders and Nazz and he was doing really well, making a lot of money. He never hesitated when I needed a meal or anything like that in those days to help me out. He never asked for it back: that's what kind of guy Glen was. He was always giving. He had a real rebel tough side to him but deep inside he was a real sweetheart. He was a nice, generous guy. So I can never say enough about Glen. I lived in San Francisco with a band that I was in and that band broke up and I hocked my drums and I had nothing. So I got my drums out of hock and moved back to Los Angeles and moved in with the guys because they were friends of mine from Phoenix. I was looking for a band in LA to play with. During that time simultaneously when I was living with them they decided to have John (their drummer) to leave the band. I just so happened to be at the right place at the right time. Of course, Glen was very influential in that, too. Glen and I were already friends. They were a very tight band for as far as I knew, but I guess there were some inner conflicts that had to be resolved and I just happened to be there. Early on when we hit the road Glen, Alice and I were rooming together. Actually a lot of the rumors and legends about the, actually, our nickname was the Sinister Sisters because we used to terrorize, it was crazy days. We used to go nuts. We had a great time. We had a lot of fun at everybody else's expense. Glen, Alice and I became closer at that time. Then Alice and Glen became closer at that time as well. Musically, Glen, when I first met him and he was playing with the Spiders, he could play anything that the Yardbirds/Jeff Beck could play. He was a phenomenal technician on the guitar. When I got with the band and we did the first two albums Pretties For You and Easy Action and even Love It To Death and Killer I was going, until Glen comes up with something, that's when the band's going to really do it. He came up with the lick that put "School's Out" together. That definitely put it over the top. It was Glen coming up with the intro lick that lived forever. There was another poll or article in the newspaper. They named the top 100 all-time favorite summer songs and the number one song was "School's Out," and I totally tribute that to Glen. Even though everybody in the band wrote the song, it was a collaborated effort which a lot of the songs we did. We really wanted a Jimi Hendrix or an Eric Clapton or a Jeff Beck in the band. I think we really set our expectations of Glen awfully high. I think there was a lot of pressure and Glen unfortunately became a rock and roll casualty because of drinking or whatever? We really tried to push him because we knew he had enough talent to do it. School's Out was his best album ever. He played every single note on that album on lead guitar. Glen's influence for me was huge in the band. He and I stayed pretty good friends, but then through pretty much through the 80's I was actually closer to Alice and Dennis then anybody else. Then Mike and I sort of came back together in the late 80's and early 90's. 'Course Alice, Dennis and I kept pretty good friends. Dennis lives close to me in CT. Every year once or twice I go out to Arizona and play golf with Alice. We've seen each other probably more than anybody else in the band. Through the 80's and 90's I didn't see too much of Glen and didn't know what was going on. That was kind of a drag and probably the biggest tragedy that would have occurred even though it was so tragic that Glen died, the biggest tragedy is if I wouldn't have been able to see him to get together the two weeks before it happened. I don't even know what I'd done. You have to remember we were a family for 10 years. Imagine being in a band for 10 years living under the same roof. Thats what happened in 1974/75 we finally realized there's life beyond music. I got married and I did other projects; we just never came back together again. Everybody has their own opinion on what happened.

NFA: Is there anything you'll miss most about Glen? NS: I can't really miss anything about Glen because we were so close. Just sitting down with him having a beer and just laughing. Glen had an incredible sense of humor. He was like WC Fields and Groucho Marx mixed up in one guy. Throw a little bit of Akron, Ohio and a little V.O.

NFA: I live near Youngstown, OH. NS: Yeah, again that part of the country is pretty special to me as well. I don't know what a lot of the people thought about the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame being in Cleveland, but I thought it was pretty cool. I hope we're there soon. That would be like coming home for me. It'd be like a grand slam home run to get into the Hall Of Fame and the fact that it's in Cleveland. We played all over the world and the cities around the Great Lakes were some of the best rock cities in the whole fucking world. Hands down there's no doubt about it. New York can get nuts. LA can get nuts. Texas can get great but something very, very special in the Midwest and Cleveland, certainly a great haven for rock and roll. Detroit is a great city for rock and roll. Chicago is a great city for rock and roll. Something about the Midwest, that they really understand it a lot more. It's very different. I don't know what it is.

NFA: Do you think Glen's passing has brought you guys closer together? NS: If anything ever happened with any type of reunion, whether it be just getting together, the four of us recording a new song or doing a full-blown tour, I don't know if that is at all possible. If anything we'd do, it certainly would be in Glen's memory. I wouldn't do it any other way. It would have to be sort of not in a sobering fashion but as a spark, as energy for us. I'm not talking about a cause, just dedicate whatever we'd do. I think there will be a lot of dedications on this CD box set anyway, whether we get any chance to do anything together or not. I think it's a bit improper to do that, because, like I said, Glen is so influential as everybody was. Everybody had pulled their own way, all 5 of us, even though we all own 20 percent of Alice Cooper it was like having 500 percent effort from 5 guys. Glen's influence is there still to this day, when I see Alice do certain things, there is a bit of Glen in all of us. There's a bit of Dennis in all of us. There's a bit of Alice in all of us. There's a bit of Michael in all of us and hopefully me. Everybody had their own element that they brought to the table. I think that if it's influential to put anything together, I don't know. I think it's just timing also.

NFA: What is your opinion of Alice's last studio album The Last Temptation? NS: I'll tell you exactly what I told Alice: I thought there were some great songs on there. I think Alice is one of the best lyricists ever in rock and roll. Alice's lyrics are always great. The production was good on it. The thing I thought felt a little shallow to me that I mentioned to Alice was I didn't think the drums had any energy. I didn't think they had any balls. I'm very critical about drumming. I'm a drummer. If I listen to something I'm not going to sugar-coat it. If I think it could be better it could be better. I listened all throughout the 90's and I didn't like any drummer at all except when I heard some of the stuff that Smashing Pumpkins, their original drummer played. I said he's a musician and he's actually playing his instrument. He's not a glorified metronome holding a beat. He's actually playing some stuff. Then I find out he was into heroin and they kicked him out of the band. That's perfect: the only drummer I ever liked ends up being a alcoholic or drug addict. After I heard Temptation, all and all it's a very good album. It's a great story. It's a great concept. The theatre of it is perfect for Alice and he created it and I applaud him on that. I'm talking about me about drums, I'm not going to hold back. The drummer for Pink Floyd, I think he's perfect for that band but he's not one of my favorite drummers because I think in that instance that's not really the sound that is total energy and total attitude. That is probably the biggest word I told Alice. I told Alice there was no attitude in those drums at all. Alice is the first one to admit that when we played, Alice Cooper didn't come on stage to play, we came on to attack. My philosophy, like what we talked about earlier, the biggest thing is to attack my drums. When I go on tour and have blood coming from my fingers, my muscles were aching and my drum sticks & heads were broken. That's how you build the energy from something, so you have to create that energy when you record. I've been playing since I was 12 years old, so that's 40 years, so thats a long time.

NFA: How did you get involved in real estate? NS: Actually, that developed when the band was together in 1971. We lived in Phoenix and then in CT. We started investing in real estate as a group. Sometimes we had different tax shelters we had to try, for tax reasons for our accountants and investors, so we had made group investments around the country in different areas. Then individually, Alice had bought a property in Arizona. I bought property in Arizona. Mike Bruce bought a property in Arizona. Then in a couple of years later I'd sell it. I was actually making money through real estate back in those days. It was just an interest I had that slowly developed. In 1985 I totally got into real estate and retired from playing the drums and music. Just followed what was my hobby then, now I make music my hobby.

NFA: You mentioned you golf with Alice. What do you talk about? NS: We talk about everything. We talk about stories from the old days. Things have happened. You have to understand that we are the masters of entertaining ourselves. Everybody's stories have to outdo the other guy's stories.

NFA: What are some of the popular stories from the past? NS: I think its just some of the parties around Detroit in the early days. There were some pretty crazy parties that involved Ted Nugent and MC5. We still talk about those because those were pretty much an impact and kind of a micro-glimpse of what the whole mood of that era was. It's funny: we talk to some of those people that were involved that will always remember those days. There are a lot of crazy stories on the road. Once in awhile we remember them. What's funny is all five guys remember it a little differently. Everybody has their own spin on it. Especially after the years.

NFA: Be sure to check out Neal's web site  http://www.nealsmith.com   He has some very very cool merchandise available.