Last week this mysterious and worrying news item appeared on the Cellsum news page:

"Monday, September 18th, 2006 5:32 PM EDT Brain Surgeons to Take Hiatus
After 12 years of almost continuous gigging and recording the Brain Surgeons are taking a hiatus. The European tour has been cancelled and no further dates are being booked. "

"In other news The Dictators will reunite for a final CBGBs show October13 and Albert Bouchard will man the drum throne for Jimmy Cacala with the X Brothers at the ASPCA Rescue Dogs Benefit on October 4"

I like the "In other news" bit!! As if there could be any other news after that. Anyway, ever since, fans have been speculating on what might have been going on and the significance or otherwise of the word "hiatus" in this instance - nature abhors a vacuum, and tBS fans are no different - we wanted to know what was going on...

Now we sort of do - and equally, sort of don't... either way, it's not good news at all, so far as it can be objectively judged.

If you draw a Venn Diagram of the situation with the Surgeons and label one circle "Personal" (Al and Deborah's private/personal life beyond the Surgeons) and the other "Professional" (ie those aspects of the band that we fans can comment on and ruminate over), then the overlapping area becomes of interest as we find ourselves speculating over personal issues which are also band issues.

Al and Deborah's relationship seems so tightly bound up in the Surgeons that any breakdown in this relationship would cause our Venn circles to more or less collide, making everything overlap and nobody knows what's what anymore...

That's why this is such a difficult situation to comment on - on the one hand, it's none of my business, and on the other, it is. I'm a fan.

I've been a BOC fan since the early 70s. Buck Dharma was always my favourite musician but my favourite people were the Bouchards - they were what gave BOC their vibe, as far as I was concerned. Their contribution helped lift BOC from the ranks of the also-rans to give them special status.

So I've always loved Albert - and, although I didn't "get" them at first, through his involvement, I came to love the Brain Surgeons too. Recently, the band have undergone some sort of Darwinian evolution as they've stripped themselves down, placed Ross the Boss into the centre core and then rebuilt themselves around him - tBS haven't so much pimped their ride as sold their old car and bought a new, more sporty model.

The principle of making Ross your foundation stone might be considered to have the potential for future trouble. Ross is like this guitar-for-hire mercenary figure (not meant to be pejorative) and he's famously said "Every band should have me in it!!" - and with the number of outside projects he seems to have, soon every band will!! A band like the Surgeons seems to demand love and committment, and maybe Ross has far too much love to spread around to allow himself to be tied down.

On the other hand... his guitar playing can rip your ears off.. it's certainly an interesting equation...

Anyway, as to the question of what's actually happening with the Surgeons as we know them, here's Deborah Frost's bomb-shell explanation of what was going on (re-posted here with her permission) - I'll leave it to you to work out where exactly this falls in the aforementioned diagram:

As those who were present at the time are all too aware, twenty five years ago, Albert chose to destroy not only his career with Blue Oyster Cult but his life, marriage, and perhaps most tragically, his oldest son, who's never recovered from his father's abandonment, self-centered and self-serving behavior and at 29, has been dysfunctional and in and out of trouble and/or institutions for much of his life.

After our great show at the Knitting Factory August 25, claiming he "was under a force beyond his control," (which is one way of avoiding responsibility for any of his actions, which is a pretty sad exit strategy and/or technique for a nearly sixty year old man, but, given his time-tested pattern, apparently the only one he knows) Albert chose to repeat history, jumped in the packed van and literally ran away, although, in his delusional state, he believes "everything is different now." He's also believed for the 22 years that I have known him that Blue Oyster Cult, from whom he was also "on hiatus," will eventually come round and have him back.

I'm sorry it's taken me 20 years-- which I've not only devoted to providing him with a home, another son, who he's $!@*#% over as cavalierly as his older brother, because, and I quote, "nothing should stand in the way of my self-fulfillment and happiness"--also his line, should anyone care to peruse the sad poetry of his last self-implosion---  but felt,as you are probably all too aware, it was my mission, to which I have devoted most of my time, personal and professional energies, as well as a small fortune-- to restore him to his rightful place in music, if not the world--- to understand exactly why.

It remains to be seen how much he and Ross will "enjoy playing together," now that Albert can not cater, if he ever could, to Ross's mercenary demands, which were never equalled by the amount of tickets or product he actually sold, and only contributed to the serious financial crisis that is the reality that Albert is really running away from. He is a sick person who will hopefully get the help he needs-- not easy for a well-defended lifelong Narcissist who only sees his own reflection no matter how "deeply" he attempts to look within himself.

I put my heart and soul, as well as two decades of my life, into creating the music and getting it out to those of you whom it managed to touch-- and for that I'm eternally grateful, despite all that I have been forced to sacrifice-- and believe me, the emotional cost has been far higher than the considerable dollar amount--- in order to do so.

It's unfortunate that just as we seemed to be reaping the rewards--both in terms of aesthetic and burgeoning audience response--of all that we had worked so hard for, he has clearly chosen (though he will insist, he had "no plan," another way of excusing his months of chicken-sans-head plotting and behavior) this moment to self-destruct and take everything else with him.

I can't even take it personally, because he's done it before-- and if it's brought some of you pleasure (tho others have derived just as much from attacking me --but that's show biz, if you can't take the heat, you should never set foot in the kitchen) then it hasn't been all in vain.

But I have no choice but to clean up the total mess Albert, true to form, has left for me and our son, which hopefully will not include losing our home, and to move on with our lives.

Thanks for your support, past, present, and... who knows???

Deborah Frost

Wow. You'll probably find that difficult to read - I got the sense that - in reading it - I was constantly straying into the "wrong" circle (I started this Venn analogy and boy am I sticking to it!!) but I've quoted Deborah's words in full just to give an idea to the fans who haven't already seen this just how deep the problem would appear to be. By definition, that is of course just one side of the argument, maybe Albert's view will become known in time.

Apart from worrying about what's happening with Deborah and family, I was actually also worried for Albert. When I read that he suddenly went off in the van, it sounded like he might be doing a "Reggie Perrin"!! UK fans will understand the reference - it was a comedy about a guy who'd had enough, so he faked his own suicide by leaving his clothes on the beach and went off to be a farmer...

Anyway, I've since learned that Albert has not left everything behind him in order to go and milk cows, and is definitely planning on continuing with tBS "with or without Deborah".

If they do carry on and it's "without Deborah", then it's not the Brain Surgeons anymore... same as BOC weren't BOC anymore once there was no Albert...

What will happen in the future with the Brain Surgeons? As with most things, I have no clue... Can Al and Deborah sort themselves out once the dust has settled and any immediate anger has abated somewhat? Again, don't ask me... but they had a Peace and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa that worked out OK, so why not... but I didn't notice one for Rwanda...

I just hope everything works out as OK as humanly possible for both Albert and Deborah and family - and David too!!

I also hope for a Palestinian state and Western troops out of the Middle East...

I've got my fingers crossed on all accounts...