FINDLAY, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The “Coopers” are ready to rock as Cooper Tire today kicked off Driven to Perform – a nationwide garage band contest in partnership with Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee Alice Cooper. Cooper Tire and Alice Cooper, credited as the “godfather of shock rock,” teamed up to scour the nation and identify three talented American garage bands. Alice Cooper, who recently released his 28th album, “Detroit Stories,” will provide advice and feedback to the bands, and call on fans to cast their votes to crown the Driven to Perform winner at www.DrivenToPerformConcert.com. The victorious band will get the opportunity of a lifetime to open for Evanescence in a livestream performance on May 13.
The three finalist bands are Suspect208, South of Eden and Ashland. Each was asked to submit an original work, as well as a cover of Alice Cooper’s song, “Under My Wheels.” Videos of the performances will be available beginning April 16 at www.DrivenToPerformConcert.com, and fan voting will run through April 28. While votes are being cast, Alice Cooper will coach the up-and-coming rockers on their sound and soul - from how to stand out and stay true to their roots, to how to build a music career that lasts. The feedback sessions will also be shown at www.DrivenToPerformConcert.com. The band that receives the most votes wins the opening act spot for Evanescence, and with each vote, fans will be given access to the Evanescence livestream concert behind the release of their latest album, “The Bitter Truth,” which reached #1 on the iTunes Albums chart in 22 countries.
“Teaming up with Alice Cooper to find the next great garage band is a perfect fit for the Cooper Tires brand,” said Chris Ball, Senior Vice President & President, Americas, Cooper Tire & Rubber Company. “Drive and performance are at the core of what we do as a company that designs and produces winning tires. Alice, with his legendary performances and endurance as an artist, personifies these qualities as well. We are looking forward to seeing how the bands perform and how fans respond to each unique sound. With the opportunity to open for Evanescence, we are confident we will see the true drive and grit of each band as they vie to take that grand prize.”
The “Coopers” are also united by a common passion for cars and music. Alice Cooper, whose new album “Detroit Stories” recently debuted at #1 on Billboard’s top album sales chart, named the work for his hometown, the Motor City. The album gathers well-known Detroit musicians to record in the city that made them famous and inspired their music. Alice Cooper is also a classic and muscle car super fan who has an evolving collection that currently includes a 1968 “Bullitt” Mustang, an Avanti, and an Alfa Romeo Spider.
“I was born and spent my early years in Detroit, so cars are in my DNA,” he said. “The music of Detroit is a true part of the soundtrack of my life. This garage band contest and the concept of being ‘Driven to Perform’ strike a chord with me because I started out in the music business really young. I began my career the same way so many of these bands did. I was driven to someday get up on stage and perform. It is in garages across the country that so many musicians find their sound and get their start.”
Fans can learn more about the bands, hear their music and cast their votes at www.DrivenToPerformConcert.com. In addition, learn more about Cooper Tire at www.coopertire.com.
About Cooper Tire & Rubber Company
Cooper Tire & Rubber Company (NYSE: CTB) is the parent company of a global family of companies that specializes in the design, manufacture, marketing and sale of passenger car, light truck, medium truck, motorcycle and racing tires. Cooper’s headquarters is in Findlay, Ohio, with manufacturing, sales, distribution, technical and design operations within its family of companies located in more than one dozen countries around the world. For more information on Cooper, visit www.coopertire.com, www.facebook.com/coopertire or www.twitter.com/coopertire.
About Alice Cooper
Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Alice Cooper pioneered a grandly theatrical brand of hard rock that was designed to shock. Drawing equally from horror movies, vaudeville, and garage rock, the group created a stage show that featured electric chairs, guillotines, fake blood and boa constrictors. Alice recently released a new album inspired by classic Detroit rock, called Detroit Stories. He continues to tour regularly, performing shows worldwide with the dark and horror-themed theatrics that he’s best known for. Since 2004, he’s hosted an internationally syndicated classic rock show, Nights with Alice Cooper, that airs across 100+ cities. With his influence on rock & roll and popular culture long since acknowledged, there is little that Alice Cooper hasn’t achieved in his remarkable career, including platinum albums, sold-out tours and any number of honors and career achievement awards. As he heads full steam into 2021, Alice shows no signs of slowing down. For more information on Alice Cooper please visit: www.alicecooper.com.
About Evanescence
Two-time GRAMMY® Award-winning Evanescence has made an impact on people around the world. The group’s 2003 landmark debut album Fallen laid the foundation spending 43 weeks on the Billboard Top 10 and selling more than 17 million copies worldwide. Debut single and global hit “Bring Me to Life” reached #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 and marked their first U.K. #1 hit single. The equally popular “My Immortal” peaked at #7 in the U.S. and U.K. Following multiple worldwide tours, The Open Door came next, which went on to sell more than five million copies followed by the self-titled Evanescence which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Charts. Evanescence lead singer-songwriter and pianist Amy Lee, bassist Tim McCord, drummer Will Hunt, lead guitarist Troy McLawhorn, and guitarist and backing vocalist Jen Majura went down both very new and familiar paths for their fourth and most ambitious release to date, Synthesis, in 2017 via BMG. The symphonic effort scored four Billboard #1s, debuting atop the Independent, Alternative, Rock, and Classical Album Charts. Evanescence launched their worldwide “Synthesis Live” tour in October 2017 combining their intense live performances and timeless songwriting with a powerful live orchestra. The Bitter Truth, out now on BMG, is Evanescence’s fourth studio album.
