Alice Cooper, veteran rock star and all-around showbiz maven, is on the phone from Melbourne, Australia, where he plays two concerts before continuing on to New Zealand and then Japan. The singer promises that his Psycho Drama tour contains "all the hits," as well as the stage theatrics he's notorious for. That, in fact, seems to be the reason he hasn't played Japan in 20 years. Hauling that gallows around is pretty expensive.

"My show has always been a sort of psycho vaudeville," Cooper explains in a chipper voice. "It's not exactly a horror show because there's comedy in it, and it's sort of slapstick in places, but at the same time it's psychotic."

It is disappointing to learn that there will be no guillotine. Apparently, you get either the gallows or the guillotine, but not both.