Richie Scarlet Current Events 1997

The year begins with a bang as shipments begin for Richie's first solo CD appropriately titled "Wise Guy From New York" on Axis Records featuring scorching all new material and featuring Richie and guest stars Sebastian Bach, Anton Fig, Bobby Chouinard, John Regan and Steve Warner on such tunes as "Too Much Heroin", "Rebel Boy" and "Angry Young Man".

In March of 1997, Michael Bruce from the original Alice Cooper Group came to Connecticut to work on some songs at Red House studio. Of course Red House is also the studio where Richie was working on "Wise Guy From New York", and being an old ACG fan, Richie and Michael just had to get together.	Richie and Michael	Neal Smith came to visit the first night. Here he is in Richie's batcave signing autographs! RICHIE scorches on lead guitar while Michael backs up on rhythm. Wanna hear an awesome MP3 clip of Secret Agent Man? [CLICK HERE!!!]
Richie playing the grand piano at the Danbury Hilton where Michael Bruce was holed up.
A gathering of Legends!!! In October 1997, rock legends came from across the country as Richie joined the an incredible not seen in ages lineup of, Glen Buxton, Neal Smith, and Michael Bruce, all original members of "Alice Cooper", who all came to Houston to shake us to our knees with the sounds not heard heard for in almost a quarter century! Not since headlining in Rio in front of 125,000 had these performers taken the stage together and now, here they were, and Richie was right in the middle of it!

Michael Bruce, Glen Buxton, Jeff Jatras, Neal Smith and Richie Scarlet For two weeks they rehearsed (or more accurately said, they rocked!!) at Steve Bundricks RS Studio nailing down the set for their show at AREA 51. You should have seen the look on Richie Scarlet's face when Glen hit the first lead notes of "Under My Wheels". Then, time for a group picture along with Jeff Jatras from Torn Ticket Productions
The amazing Bikes N Babes photo shoot was held on October 6, 1997 as promotional material for the gig, as a record of this gathering of legends, and for just plain fun!. Click on those blue letters to see more pictures devoted to it, but it's not hard to figure out that it wasn't a hardship tour. Rock and Roll. Motorcycles.Leather jackets. The American Flag. Girls and bikini's!! Does it get more wholesome? We couldn't believe how good the shoot (by Houston photo legend Dave Lovelace) turned out. Also, the special appearance by Houston's own Heidi Heidelberg was really icing on the cake.
One day during rehearsals, the guys at KLOL K101.1 (the best rock station in Houston since the early '70's!) called. The guys at KLOL always had a great working relationship with Michael and Richie and asked the boys to consider a live broadcast from a music showcase in the area called Billy Blues. It was to be an early morning show, during rush hour, and heard by over 250,000 listeners on the way to work. In short shift the deal was cut, and KLOL scooped the competition yet again! The boys actually got there around 6:45 am (!) set up, and played about 6 songs over an hour and a half period filled in with crazy antics, interviews, and fun. There's Glen there in front of the Rock KLOL banner having some fun, and, when it came time for business, Glen got down to it! He and Michael, performing together in public since the end of the Muscle of Love tour was a treat for everyone who came.
The next day (we don't have any pictures) Richie, Michael, Neal, and Glen sat with complementary front row seats for the Aerosmith show. Although the bands did not connect up with each other (Tyler and co were on a plane immediately after the show), our heroes were well treated and really enjoyed the show. At one point however, Glen did look around at the soldout venue and was whimsically heard to say, "This was our crowd once". Be that as it may, the next night, the crowd really did belong to Glen, Neal, Michael and Richie Scarlet, replacing ACG bass Dennis Dunaway on October 12.
During introductions, Michael asked, "Did you see the sign? BSBS. Bullshit twice".
What a night. Opening with "Hello Hooray" which quickly turned into "Caught in a Dream" and onto the most rockin' "I'm Eighteen" since the "Beat Club", the sounds we always wanted to hear was finally released inside a small but lively club on the strip in Houston Texas. There's Glen, Michael, and Richie backstage before the show, and a shot of the boys at soundcheck. To see more of the now-legendary AREA 51 show, clicking on the blue letters. The very next morning, everybody left, with barely time to say goodbye.


Then, disaster struck. One week later, on October 19, 1997, Glen Buxton passed away in Clarion, Iowa.

Family, friends, and fans of the Alice Cooper Group were in shock as arrangements were made to pay last respects to this wonderful, kind, sincere person, and also to pay tribute of a Rock Legend of legendary proportions. Individually and in groups they came, the Buxton family from Phoenix, Neal Smith and Dennis Dunaway from Connecticut., Michael Bruce from Houston, even Rockin' Reggie Vincent. Alice Cooper himself, unfortunately had a prior commitment to play Mr. Scary at Boston's Spookyworld all that week which could not be cancelled, and therefore could not attend. That's a shot of Glen's house in Clarion.
	November was a time of change. Michael made arrangements to go to Phoenix for Christmas, and spend time with his 3 children. Neal began moving into his new house. Richie Scarlet began touring with buddy Sebastian Bach. AND ROCK LIVES ON!!!
FYI, the Buxton family came to grips with the loss of their beloved son and brother. And they also came to understand the depth of the love which Glen had instilled in the hearts of those who came to know him, either personally, or through his music. Messages, web sites, articles, and memorial announcements have continue to spring up. Memorials to his memory have been held each year since his death. One of them even resulted in a full reunion of the surviving members of the entire ACG. This section of the Richie Scarlet Archives is dedicated to Glen Buxton, the blonde bomber. A rebel, a rogue, a renegade, and a true star.