Kane Roberts Doubts He Was Good Fit for Current Alice Cooper Band
Kane Roberts said he'd enjoyed his five-week return to Alice Cooper's band, but wasn't sure he was a good fit with the current lineup.
The guitarist – a mainstay of Cooper's outfit who co-wrote two albums with him in the ‘80s – was recently called in to replace Nita Strauss, but always understood it was a short-term position. After Strauss' return was confirmed earlier this month, Roberts told The Shoe that it meant any extension to his stay was now out of the question.
"It's not like she left, I came in, and I wasn't Nita, so they got Nita back – it's not what happened," he said. "There was some talk about having me continue. ... But for me, five weeks was perfect." He added: "In case of an emergency I might have [had to] do a few more shows. ... But it was always under the umbrella that she'll be back."
Roberts described his friend Strauss' return as meaning "the stars are in alignment again," saying her playing style and stage presence was "the right thing" for Cooper's group. "You can really get that sense, when you see the band and they're playing and she's on stage and the energy goes back and forth with Alice and stuff like that. I think it's kind of perfect."
Watch Kane Roberts Performing With Alice Cooper
He admitted: "To be honest with you, when I look at some of the tapes, the videos, I don't know how much I fit in. ... It's really funny – when I see Alice and I together on some of the videos, it looks right. But when I'm just sort of walking around and playing with the rest of the band, I don't know. I stick out like a sore thumb a little bit."
Roberts emphasized that he'd had fun during his stint. He felt his colleagues were a "really good" band, and he'd never expected it to be the "next phase" of his career. He added "[D]oing anything with Alice Cooper is a dream. The greatest thing about the tour was he and I became friends on the level of the '80s. After three weeks, it was just like it was back in the day. So that was the most important thing." He repeated: "I was never scheduled to go beyond the fall, ever," continuing: "But if they did call and they needed me...I owe them just about everything, when it comes to the music industry."