[dropcap]F[/dropcap]resh off the box office disappointment of “Mortdecai,” Johnny Depp no longer has to sing the blues. He can now kick out the jams like a bonafide hard rocker.
The 51-year-old “Pirates of Caribbean” star is teaming up with singer Alice Cooper and Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry to form the supergroup, The Hollywood Vampires.
Cooper confirmed the fledgling rock power on Instagram on Instagram over the weekend, announcing that the band would make its debut in September at the Rock in Rio festival.
The name of the group is a nod to the legendary club, Lair of the Hollywood Vampires.
The Hollywood Vampires will share the stage with Queens of the Stone Age, the reformed Faith No More and System of a Down at the plum Brazilian music festival.
The name of the group is a nod to the legendary club, Lair of the Hollywood Vampires from the 1970s, of which the goal was to outdrink the other members. Cooper, naturally, was the chairman.
Depp, of course, is no stranger to the six-string, having started off as an aspiring musician before landing his breakthrough role in 1984’s “Nightmare on Elm Street.” But as he neared his 50th birthday, Depp rekindled his passion for rock.
“In the last in the year or two, music has kind of resurfaced more in more life, so that’s been a great thing for my brain,” Depp told The News in 2013. “A great escape from the things you need to escape from now and again.
Plus, he’s a pretty damn good guitar player.
Depp has performed several times with Cooper, since the pair met during filming of Tim Burton’s “Dark Shadows.”
“Johnny has this old school rock n’ roll feel in his playing,” Cooper told Rolling Stone magazine. “It is very choosy and thoughtful. He gets in and out and avoids overplaying, which a lot of players should learn from.
“He’s also not a stage hog, which surprised me at first. He’s happy being up there and enjoying the music, but he never makes it about him.”
