Combining muscle, malevolence, sarcasm and sophistication, Blue \u00d6yster Cult became one of the hottest live attractions of the 1970s \u2026 and beyond. Nearly 54 years after releasing their self-titled debut, Blue \u00d6yster Cult plays Music in the Park at Plaza de Cesar Chavez on Sept. 19.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Long Island rock band\u2019s earliest years found them trying on a succession of names (The Stalk-Forrest Group, Oaxaca, Soft White Underbelly) before settling on the distinctive name. And the signature \u00fcmlaut\u2014subsequently copied by M\u00f6tley Cr\u00fce, Mot\u00f6rhead, Queensr\u00ffche, H\u00fcsker D\u00fc and even Sp\u0131n\u0308al Tap\u2014telegraphed a vaguely sinister undercurrent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yet for the band launched by guitarist Donald \u201cBuck Dharma\u201d Roeser and Eric Bloom, gimmickry has always been secondary to the music. The band\u2019s brand of rock leverages proto-metal instrumental prowess with a literate lyrical bent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
B\u00d6C members have often collaborated with writing partners to create memorable and well-loved songs; rock critic Richard Meltzer and original manager Sandy Pearlman both worked extensively with the band on writing material. Celebrated science fiction authors Michael Moorcock, Eric Van Lustbader and John Shirley have lent their vivid prose to the band\u2019s songs. Rocker\/poets Patti Smith (\u201cCareer of Evil\u201d) and Jim Carroll wrote with the band as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Imbuing pop culture with the rock aesthetic, B\u00d6C scored one of its biggest successes with 1977\u2019s \u201cGodzilla,\u201d a million-seller. And \u201c(Don\u2019t Fear) The Reaper\u201d from 1976\u2019s Agents of Fortune<\/em> was a smash hit that has remained in the public consciousness for decades, thanks in part to Saturday Night Live<\/em>\u2019s parodic 2000 \u201cMore Cowbell\u201d sketch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To be sure, B\u00d6C has had its ups and downs; with 16 studio albums under its belt, today the band focuses primarily on live performance. Along the way, the group has experienced its share of personnel changes; only Bloom and Dharma remain from the classic lineup. These days, the band\u2019s secret weapon is bassist Richie Castellano, who\u2019s been with the band for 20 years. In addition to his role in another group, The Band Geeks (who record and tour with former Yes vocalist Jon Anderson), Castellano is a songwriter and prime mover within B\u00d6C.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The band\u2019s latest release, 2024\u2019s Ghost Stories<\/em>, is a collection of songs recorded decades ago during rehearsals. That album project was an ambitious endeavor. \u201cThe tapes oxidized over time and had to be cleaned up,\u201d Bloom explains. \u201cSo they were baked.\u201d Then, using state-of-the-art AI software, Castellano \u201cdemixed\u201d and remixed the two-track recordings, with the band adding new instrumentation and vocals as needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Meanwhile, the group remains on good terms with former members. Founding drummer Albert Bouchard played on all B\u00d6C releases through 1981\u2019s hit Fire of Unknown Origin<\/em>, but he has returned for occasional guest spots many times in the 40-plus years since his official exit. \u201cWe did a gig near his house in Connecticut a couple of years ago,\u201d Bloom recalls. \u201cHe came up and sang \u2018Hot Rails to Hell.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bloom is pleased that his band gets recognized for its place in rock history, though he\u2019s clearly a bit annoyed\u2014or at least mystified\u2014at B\u00d6C\u2019s being passed over for consideration by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe main principal [Jann Wenner] had a bug up his ass around certain bands that would never get in,\u201d he suggests. \u201cHe\u2019s out now, but there are still certain bands\u2026I mean, Alice Cooper only semi-recently got in. He should have been in 20 years before!<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere\u2019s so much real rock that just doesn\u2019t seem to get in there; they should have just changed the name to the Music Hall of Fame, the Entertainment Hall of Fame or something like that,\u201d Bloom observes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLately I\u2019ve been doing deep Internet dives,\u201d Bloom says. In the process, he made a fascinating discovery. \u201cOn YouTube, I came across some live Blue \u00d6yster Cult shows from \u201989 and \u201990, one of which was a WPLR New Haven broadcast from a place called Toad\u2019s. And it\u2019s a slamming show; it rocks from top to bottom.\u201d Conceding that the late \u201980s doesn\u2019t rank as most fans\u2019 favorite B\u00d6C era, he says that the performance remains noteworthy. \u201cIt\u2019s from the Imaginos<\/em> album era; we play \u2018In the Presence of Another World\u2019 and [other] songs we don\u2019t usually play, like \u2018Take Me Away\u2019 [from The Rev\u00f6lution by Night]. Any B\u00d6C fan of any time should watch this show,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bloom often finds himself amused by fans\u2019 adoration for his band. On another of his deep dives, he encountered some of the group\u2019s hardcore fans. \u201cOne time I found several guys who have Blue \u00d6yster Cult \u2018history pages,\u2019\u201d he says. \u201cAnd it’s very interesting to see: Are they right? They go off on tangents, and some of them are pseudo-intellectual treatises on what they think we\u2019re all about.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He laughs as he recalls one fan commenting on the band\u2019s tepidly received 1985 album. It\u2019s kind of interesting,\u201d he observes. \u201cSome of them are sort of correct: \u2018Club Ninja<\/em>. Boy, did they go wrong on this one!\u2019 I understand that. I mean, who makes every record great? Nobody! But it\u2019s kind of funny to just watch their takes on my life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Still, Eric Bloom has long since found whatever validation he might need. He recalls a gig in either 1975 or \u201980 (\u201cI\u2019m sure there are hardcore fans who would know which; I just don’t remember,\u201d he says). That night, his elderly mother attended a show at Madison Square Garden. \u201cWhen my 80-year-old mother came to see us play, I figured, \u2018Maybe I\u2019ve done something right!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Blue \u00d6yster Cult plays at Music in the Park, taking place Sept 19, 5\u201310pm, at Plaza de Cesar Chavez, San Jose. Tickets are $39-$89. caltix.com<\/a> or mitpsj.com<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Eagles of Death Metal<\/strong>\u2014Frontman Jesse Hughes says he wanted to be a square, but\u2014as he told radio show host Jim Poorman Trenton\u2014\u201cthe gods of rock decided one day to just give me a mustache and the incredible propensity for dancing. And, you know, here I am. Thank the gods. Thank the gods.\u201d Eagles of Death Metal fans can also thank the deities that Hughes avoided a humdrum life, instead starting the band with fellow Palm Desert musician Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age) back in 1998. Eagles of Death Metal faced a real-life deadly situation in November 2015 when Islamic terrorists attacked the crowd during a sold-out concert at the Bataclan theatre in Paris, killing about 90 fans. EODM in its current lineup\u2014Hughes, Leah Bluestein, Scott Shiflett and Dustin Drevitch\u2014will be \u201cSpeaking in Tongues\u201d and delivering a \u201cHigh Voltage\u201d set at Music in the Park on Sept. 19.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Super Cassette<\/strong>\u2014Formed in 2016, Super Cassette is the manifestation of years of songwriting and jamming between brothers Max and Nick Gerlock. The Oakland-based indie rockers got their start when Max wanted to do a solo project, but the energy from their first gig gave the brothers the push to make the band its own project. Drawing from video game soundtracks and \u201990s alternative rock, Nick and Mack create tight harmonies that are grounded by the rhythmic chemistry of bass player Devin Hollister and drummer Zach Briefer, who sharpened their skills in Pistachio, an Oakland fusion rock outfit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Combining muscle, malevolence, sarcasm and sophistication, Blue \u00d6yster Cult thrived in the 1970s \u2026 and beyond. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14789,"featured_media":20184164,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","_expiration-date-status":"","_expiration-date":0,"_expiration-date-type":"","_expiration-date-categories":[],"_expiration-date-options":[]},"categories":[1775],"tags":[20564,3629],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\nAlso Playing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n