BOC: Give 'em a break?

[Ted Jackson jr. EL84]

> From:          John A Swartz <jswartz at MBUNIX.MITRE.ORG>

> >Another thing that adds fuel to the fire is the whole Al vs. EB&BD
> thing.  This isn't fair either.
>
> You're right, but so far from what I've seen, Al gets ALOT more
> respect from AOL than 30C gets from BOC-L.  Some of that is no doubt

That's too bad.  But I think it's more the natures of the two beasts:
AOL being generally more sympathetic overall and BOC-L being more
critical overall.  And, as I've said before, the BOC-L folks might
change their tune quite a bit when they get a new disc to devour...

>
> Interesting side-note to the last AOL chat -- as I mentioned, Buck and
> Albert shared a bit of dialouge on the chat and reminisced about some
> old times.  Al asked something to the effect of why BOC didn't play in
> New York City these days.  Buck said something about "the band" (funny,
> there was at least 1 or 2 times when Buck referred to BOC as "the
> band", as he were somehow detached from it - but I digress) not wanting
> to play there.  Al told Buck he could get them gigs there.  After Al

Kind of ironic, as the old band introductions always emphasized BOC
being "from New York City!"  Long Island just doesn't have the same
impact, does it?

> and Buck left the chat, someone commented (seemingly innocently
> enough) that it sounded like Al really still wanted to be playing
> with BOC.  Billy Hilfiger responded something to the effect of, "Yeah,
> well it sounds like you want to go up Buck's a**".  I think Billy
> may have over-reacted a bit there - but it's one of those pitfalls of
> on-line conversation where you can mis-interpret the true meaning of
> what a person types...
>
I doubt that Al does secretly want to be back, you can never tell,
though it's obvious that a lot of us fans would love having Al back
in BOC.  Their meteoric dropp-off coinciding with Al's departure from
the group.  Even though Billy shouldn't have said what he did, you
can imagine how all this speculation must grate on the members of
tBS.  I suspect that comments like that get made by BOC fans all the
time.  And Billy, dude, don't hate Buck because he's beautiful!  No
mis-interpretation of BH's comments!


> BTW, I have another "theory" on the "critical" attitude of BOC.  I
> think that alot of the people on this list, and this is probably
> especially true for the "old timers", also happen to like bands that
> have in recent years continued to give them new music to listen to.
> Not being a Hawkwind fan myself, I can't speak for them, but it seems
> that Hawkwind has produced a fair amount of new material in recent
> years.  Of course, I've already mentioned the Brain Surgeons.  It's
> somewhat frustrating for this type of person to continue to be a fan
> of a band that doesn't produce alot of new stuff (and the empty
> promises don't help) while their other favorite bands continue to
> crank out new stuff to listen to.  Alot of the folks on BOC-L seem
> to not be of the type to want to spend alot of their time reminiscing
> about seeing BOC back in the 70's and 80's - but want BOC to give them
> a reason to continue to support them in the 90's.
>

I think you've made the point I've been circling around all day
without hitting  squarely.  I do like to indulge in nostalgia, 'cause
it reminds me of the days BOC was playing packed football stadiums
instead of bars.  Remember, a fair number on BOC-L were toddlers in
the 70s, when BOC was putting out records regularly and playing
important gigs.  They don't have much of a legacy to remember, and
their frustration is keen.  Nostalgia only goes so far.  After a
while, you want some new experiences...


theo

> Anyway, I've rambled on enough (as usual)...
>
> John
>