It’s hard to believe 57 years have passed since guitarist Buck Dharma – a.k.a. Donald Roeser – first formed the band under the moniker of Soft White Underbelly in Long Island, NY. It would only take a couple years to make a much-needed switch to Blue Öyster Cult and hire Eric Bloom as its charismatic front-man and singer.
Led by vocalists/guitarists Donald “Buck Dharma” Roeser and Eric Bloom, Blue Öyster Cult continues to thrive creatively with Richie Castellano on guitar and keyboards, and the longstanding rhythm section of Danny Miranda on bass and Jules Radino on drums. As proudly declared on their website, the band is ‘On Tour Forever’ and are constantly on the road.
Followers of early FM radio immediately took to the group after the release of its first, self-titled record in 1972, which was followed by a flurry of equally strong releases leading into the 80’s. And while the majority of fans know Blue Öyster Cult for its hits – “Godzilla,” “Don’t Fear The Reaper,” “Veteran Of The Psychic Wars,” and “Burnin’ For You” – a cult following continues to keep track of the band’s set-lists and always hope for surprise deep cuts at its live gatherings.
Although the group was not as prolific during the 90’s and on, it did manage to release its 16th and final studio album early this year back in mid-April. Titled ‘Ghost Stories,’ the new 12-song collection was issued on the boutique Frontiers record label just four years after the highly successful ‘The Symbol Remains’ (2020) offering.
This new amalgam of re-imagined and recently completed songs span from 1978-2016 and showcase a band far from ready to pack it in. For the uninitiated, many of the tracks were originally recorded between 1978 and 1983 aside from the sole 2016 song,”If I Fell.” Longtime BOC freaks will be happy to know they’ve also included a studio recording of “Kick Out the Jams” by MC5, a first in their storied catalog.
Audio engineer George Geranios, a huge name during the band’s biggest era, co-produced the original 1978-83 recordings along with the band. And for the music geeks who care (insert any and all hardcore BOC fans), the songs were originally recorded on reel-to-reel analog tape.
Expect a longer-than-normal show replete with their hits, deeper cuts and some new songs thrown in for good measure. As evidenced at their recent show at The Venue inside Thunder Valley Resort, the band is still delivering live and founder/guitarist Buck Dharma hasn’t lost a step.
Blue Öyster Cult play J Resort’s Glow Plaza inside J Resort located at 345 N Arlington Avenue in Reno. Tickets can be purchased at www.jresortreno.com and start at only $20. Doors open at 7pm and the show starts promptly at 8pm. All ages are welcome.
(Capital Chaos TV)