BOC: Answers

[John A Swartz]

This info is somewhat redundant, but just to be sure all the recent
questions were answered...

1. Alton - welcome to BOC-L.  As others have said, conversation of BOC
goes up and down.  Right now there's not much new to talk about, and some
of us have rehashed old topics so many times that we may be a bit tired
of talking about them.  But, feel free to post questions, observations,
or info.  We're mostly a likeably bunch, even if some folks think we
suck   ;-)

2. BOH, for anyone who doesn't know, stands for "Box of Hammers", the
title of the upcoming CD release by the Brain Surgeons (formed by Albert
Bouchard and Deborah Frost - BOC-L listmembers - and rumour has it that
Albert may have played drums for BOC a few times ;-)  ).  The Brain
Surgeons play some smokin' tunes, and anyone who likes heavy music, and
some of BOC's cooler tunes (and I'm not talking about the "hits") will
appreciate The Brain Surgeons' music (by the way, tBS is often used on
this list as shorthand for the Brain Surgeons).

3.  To find out lots of info on BOC, including fanclub info, a discography,
and answers to age old questions like "What is a diz-buster?", you should
check out the BOC FAQ at the following URL:

ftp://ftp.spc.edu/boc-l/boc_faq-2_1.txt

Also included is an address to contact the Brain Surgeons and order their
CDs - *Eponymous*, *Trepanation*, and (to be mailed out by Christmas) *Box
of Hammers*

4. Based on my recent conversations with Bolle Gregmar, BOC fanclub
president, I can confirm that the band has been recording songs for a
new album, scheduled for a 1997 release.  The band had been doing between
about 10 and 15 shows a month for some time up until this fall, and
then they pretty much stopped to work on the album.  I think only one more
show for this year is planned.  Toward the end of their recent touring,
the setlist became more dominated with tunes song by Buck, to the point
where at the last 2 shows, Eric sang only 2 or 3 songs I believe.  As
far as I know, Eric strained his voice earlier in the year but didn't
give it time to rest due to touring, so it became a bit worse.  So, they
decided to decrease his vocals as fall approached so that it could be
in better form for recording the new album.  There are at least 7 songs
that are more or less ready for recording, or have already been recorded.
The titles of these songs are:  Still Burnin', Harvest Moon, I'd Like
to See You in Black, In the Cold Grey Light of Dawn, The Power Underneath
Despair, X-Ray Eyes, and Live For Me.  There are a few other tunes also
in the works, but I don't have any info on them.  All the tunes I just
mentioned have been played live a few times.

5.  As far as obtaining BOC CDs, there are many ways to obtain them if
your local stores don't have them.  I'd recommend the following ideas:

a. Check GOLDMINE, a record/CD collector's magazine -- I've seen a few
dealers in there advertising both *Club Ninja* and *Flat Out*, which
are pretty much unavailable from the major U.S. record stores.  *Imaginos*
may also be getting hard to find as well.  *Mirrors* should still be
available in many major U.S. record stores.

b. Ask if anyone on this list would be willing to pick you up a copy of
one of the albums you seek -- some of us might be willing to do so for
$$, or for some sort of trade.

c. If you have web access, there are a number of on-line CD dealers
which stock BOC discs.  I've dealt with a few of them with no problems.
Check out the following URLs and do a search for Blue Oyster Cult:

http://www.cdconnection.com
http://www.cdeurope.com
http://www.gemm.com
http://www.cdbanzai.com
http://www.cdnow.com
http://db.otn.com/vinylvendors/VinylSearch.html

I've personally dealt with "cdconnection", "cdeurope" (slow, but sometimes
useful for finding European releases not readily available in the U.S. -
and I'm not talking about "bootlegs" either), and "vinyl vendors" (good
for finding used stuff).


"Good Health to You",
John Swartz