Damon Johnson Reflects on First Performance with Alice Cooper Where He Was Surprised by a Snake

Damon Johnson has been working in the music industry for many years now, and given his status within the rock scene, he already collaborated with some of the biggest artists.

However, there was one performance in which he took the stage with Alice Cooper, but instead of feeling excited, he was left shocked because of a snake.

The famed guitarist recently appeared on the Talk Louder podcast and recalled his first performance with Cooper in 2004.

Johnson said he and the legendary musician had three days to rehearse, during which time they received notes about the production. He remembered being told that the performance would include theatrical elements, such as a guillotine and even swordplay, which he compared to a "Broadway musical."

On the day of the performance, he was very excited as he was playing with Cooper, saying, I'm the guitar player for Alice Cooper! Well, one big moment that I knew was coming was I had to play the guitar lick, the intro to 'Is It My Body.'"

The guitarist received advice from Cooper, who recalled telling him not to "lay back" but to "work it."

He was already on stage with six spotlights pointing at him, and he felt like "Thor on top of the mountain with his hammer."

While they were playing the song, Cooper approached him and put his arms on his shoulder. He initially thought he would lean on him and sing the opening line.

However, he was surprised that there was a snake that he was not told prior.

"It was about 8,000 people... I am s***** myself. Because I'm cool with snakes as long as I know I'm about to see one. Just don't spring that s*** on me, man," he said.

Regardless, Johnson delivered his performance successfully and didn't faint or run away from the stage despite his fear.

Since then, the pair continued working together from 2004 to 2006 and again from 2009 to 2011. Even though the performance happened 20 years ago, Johnson said in the interview that he would appreciate it if someone gave him a heads-up about the snake.

"Why don't you just write 'snake' on the set list?... That's all you had to do. 'Is It My Body' dash 'snake,'" he added.

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Alice Cooper, Performance, News, Music