I remember flying back from Paris immediately after playing with BÖC (the Rock Kings of the Finger Lakes gig with Dio) at the Le Bourget Airport which took place on Aug 30th 1984. I had a wicked sore throat that day, but Neal booked the three of us at the "Oyster Festival in Norwalk, CT". About 100,000 people attend that event each year. Cindy Lauper was supposed to play but canceled at the last minute. We had a big pyro show as well as arena size sound.

We actually played under the name "Brainstorm" since that was our working title for our songwriting partnership at that time. I think I played Neal's Gibson Flying V. It was a pretty ambitious set - like we do currently - with a lot of brand new material interspersed with the obvious classics.

Here's the setlist we played with my comments:

For Your Love (Yardbirds) - extended verson
Wild in the Street (Dennis unpublished song)
Big Rock Radio (fast shuffle tune orig. by Neal)
Live It Up (orig. rock tune) (by now my voice was wasted!)
Short tease of Norwegian Wood into:
Fallen Angel (We did the Cultosaurus version - I doubt Neal and Dennis remembered playing this since when we did it for the Helen and our CD they thought it was a brand new song. Glad I changed the key for the 2001 version - my voice was really shot by now! Good drumming by Neal though.)
Double Talk (song written for Teachers soundtrack - ended up on Deadringer album) (This rocks pretty good!)
School's Out (The audience really liked that one.
Blood On the Sun (A Dennis epic song and his vocal, with sound effects. I love this song. It's made up of the titles of W.W.II movies.)
In the Films (of Me and My Friends) (Another Dennis tune. I love this song too.)
Top Ten in Hell (I instigated this epic - a reaction to doing Hot Rails for 14 years - but I dropped this when I found Jody Gray's demo for Hot Time in Hell.) Neal does a big drum solo in this one.
At this point I play my Juno 106 Keyboard for a solo version of Light Years of Love (only one verse and chorus) segue into
I'm Eighteen (1st verse with solo voice and keyboard - when band comes in for the riff I go back to playing guitar.)
Cities on Flame (Don't remember Neal and Dennis playing this - but I guess we did! We may have to add this to the BDS set.)
Fire (Hendrix) Great pyro effects during this song!! ;-)
Another drum solo spot.
Big guitar solo at end - Third Stone from the Sun tease near end.
"Thank you good night!"

Encore:
Star Spangled Banner tease into
Under My Wheels (funny rap at the end "I gotta get out of here (a la Dwight Frye)... I gotta get me a beer... I gotta get an oyster too!") Dennis says: "good night Rene" and finally Kate Smith sings God Bless America...

What a show!... Almost forgotten.

Since I was full time committed to BÖC in 1984, and I felt a chill from the rest of the guys over doing this project, I didn't do much follow up on this. I was out touring for most of the year. Neal started recording demos with Jay Johnson and some of those songs ended up on Deadringer. I wrote the demo for "Love's a Killer" at that time.

I wish I had pushed my opinions harder with the Deadringer record. It might have been a better record. I didn't get along with that producer and he ended replacing all my keyboard parts with a session player.

That's the story.
Later,
Joe

This was an awesome show. I have seen Dennis and Neal play together many times at this point and Joe play with Dennis and Neal a couple of times, but not as BDS. They not only rocked, but rocked with abandon.

They felt our (the audiences) energy as much as we felt theirs and they completely fed off of it. They worked so hard that night for us die hard fans who traveled many miles (I flew in form NYC, others drove for miles) just to see them.

Afterwards they were just as happy as we were that it went so well. I remember Neal coming up to me as I was talking to another fan putting his hands on our shoulders and practically screaming "You Guys Rocked!!!" in our faces. I have a great picture of a very tired Joe and myself as we socialized into the wee hours.

By the way, they had tentatively called themselves "Eye Scream", until they found out the name had already been used professionally. It was Dennis' idea.

Hollywood was a memorial for our fallen hero Glen Buxton and this was BDS's first real gig in a real venue.

They amazed the crowd opening with one of the Spiders (Alice Cooper Groups original band name when they were 16 years old and a top 40 band in Arizona) first singles "Don't Blow Your Mind". Well they blew ours.

The songs rocked and rolled to no end. They played well, they played tight! The tribute to Glen, "See You On The Other Side" was so emotional, it bought tears to everyone's eyes.

Pure magic this show was.

I started being in contact with Joe Bouchard thanks to a letter I had sent him about Solid Citizen, the X-Bros CD. I wrote what I thought about his album. Roughly I said it was terrific, that "Pearl" deserved its name very well but that the drum machine on some tracks was bringing the tracks down. Joe answered me a 2 page letter (at the time of X-Bros CD, I wasn't online yet). I thought " Waaaaoo "That guy is great to answer a fan letter like this.

When I was at university, I was working as a technician for several big French acts (it means that I was pushing fucking heavy flight cases !), then I've been working as a promotor for a couple of venues for about 5 years and I've been guitarist in a metal band that never made it but in which I had a lot of fun time gigging before 30 people ;) or 100 at most.

Then I started booking gigs for French and American guitarist. I've started to have a good knowledge of the live music business.

The very 1st music magazine I bought was about Alice Cooper, it was also the first big gig I have ever intended (I was 16). Then I've been into classic rock but also, and mainly, Thrash, Heavy and Death metal stuff (from Exodus to Napalm Death, Motorhead to Prong and Morbid Angel). Then I've got myself BÖC's 1st LP and thought "That IS what I wanted to hear, the guy wrote that record for me - eventhough I was still I wasn't born at the time (I'll be 29 on the 27th of december: send me some gifts, thanks).

As a matter of fact, BDS is the embodiment of my only 2 special super-groups for me.

I've read, on the J&A board maybe, that BDS wanted to tour the UK. I've emailed Joe and said: " You can't play UK without coming to France, I can help ". Joe gave me the contact of their UK agent of fortune (Hi Mike) and I met him in London while I was gonna follow BÖC on their 2002 UK tour. He gave me the CD. A French fan told me it wasn't a good CD but Bolle told me that the band is so good live that it makes you love the CD.

I returned to France after having aborted half of my BÖC tour because I was very disappointed with the band's setlist (not enough new songs !!!) and played the BDS CD, and I loved it (except There was a girl).

Skip forward: I found a gig for the Band in Le Plan, the Mecca of classic rock in France and then I had to fetch the guys at Paris Airport. I had to wake up at 5 o'clock. No other band could get me to do that I tell you ! I hadn't been able to sleep the night before their arrival because I was too Xited. Was I going to panic, crash on the motorway or even cry when I see the guys ? They arrived 2 hours late, I was very tired and when I eventually saw them it was just a plain " Hi, please to meet you " ! We drove to the hotel. 2 hours for 30 miles. I love traffic jams.

Joe, Dennis and I had a good lunch at the hotel while Neal was sleeping a bit. Then I left the band 4 hours to rest and came back to bring them to Pigalle (red district, central Paris) for an interview session I had tried my best to organized. We had the basement floor of a Hard Rock bar for us and the journalists. Not many showed up, even Hard'n'Heavy wasn't there even though they had confirmed their presence: bastards. A web TV was there nonetheless and I'll soon be able to tell you how to see the interview and another freelance journalist. Some fans had managed to know about that BDS interview session in Pigalle and were taking pictures of the band. I was impressed. I left the guys on their own (after gaving them enough drinks to make sure they won't go away) to fetch some BDS stuff I had designed for them to sell on the tour (I'm a shitty graphist so it's the BDS logo + Back from Hell printed but it looks terrific).

Then I came back to the band (1h for 4 miles: I love that) and we went to a nice restaurant in Montmartre, taking pictures and chatting about BÖC, Alice Cooper but mainly food.

I returned home tired but very cool.

The 26th of october was the gig date. I took Neal from his hotel and we went to the Venue for soundcheck. Fan were already there. That was a bit scary since it wasn't lunch time yet and the concert was to start at 21:30. We've been waiting for over an our for the Pearl Drum Kit I had hire Neal. When it arrived at last, I was able to see Neil Smith working on it. And he had work because it was a nice big double kit (9 toms + cymbals). I went to fetch the other to BDS. Joe plays on 2 Marshall amps - combos. One of them was mine. I've hired him for a beer, and I was very proud to hear my dear old amp giving all it could to satisfy Joe. I had hired a nice Ampeg SVTII pro series with a big cabinet for Dennis. I was there at their soundcheck. In fact it isn't much of a soundcheck, it's more like a rehearsal: 3 guys having fun making music.

The concert started with a French act. OK. Then BDS time. I DID THE ANNOUNCEMENT ! Arrrrgh egoist pleasure, I was showing off like someone who would have tasted Pamela Anderson after having blasted Britney Spear off.

They performed the Back From Hell album, Except There Was A Girl, in the same order than on the CD.

Before "I love you to Much ", I was holding some towels to Joe and he told the audience " Dominique ! That man is responsible for having us here ! He worked his arse off to bring us here ! Beautifull... " Er, what can I say ? I was very happy to put it mildly, and I needed some Kleenex.

I was very impressed with how the band was articulating their set. They must having really working one every details to make their live set so cool. They would emphasis some bits of the songs to reach some climax or on the contrary, they would play more "soft" to get everybody down and relax before rerturning to raw power and provide the audience with many aural orgasms...

They divide their set. The 1st one is the Back from Hell CD then Dennis come alone on stage do a bass solo from Alice Cooper stuff and then Neal come to sing and Joe plays the Luth. Arr, the guitar I meant.

Dennis had written some light instruction for the light engineer. I've been lucky enough to read it. It's was cool, on what song it says "Give all you got", on another "Aurora Borealis". The Light Chief in Le Plan did a great Job providing each songs a different mood and the sound man was fabulous: no larsen of course, but intelligible voice allthrough the set, strong sound but yet clear. That was what made the French date better than the English ones.

I would say that the Crewe concert was maybe better musically-wise because they've played longer (2h30 in Crewe, " only 2h20 "In Paris) and because the crowd was more important (I would say around 300 in Crewe for only 150 in Paris) but none of the English dates as such an excellent sound, light and backline equipement than in France. Yeah, I know I'm French but you can believe me !

I can't tell much of the second Paris set because I was in the office for half an hour dealing with the money with the boss of the venue and then I raised up the merchandising tables. I've nonetheless seen Astronomy (if I had missed that I would have killed some people). As some posted on the BÖC BB, it blows up Long Day's Night version without any problem: Dennis said on stage "I like that Song" and they went into it. The audience was having so much pleasure that I thought I should get away from it when Joe would take the lead for I was fearing beeing drawn into an overwhelming wave of sperm.

What was also terrific is that on each concert the band was so happy to play. It is getting seldom this days.

I've forgotten to mention, Joe broke 3 strings during the concert. I went backstage to try and fix a new string. I've been a guitarist for over 10 years and I couldn't. I was important. I was shaking so much that I couldn't put it in the hole ! I was talking to myself "Take it easy, it's only Joe Bouchard's guitar" and of course it was getting worse !

Skip forward again: after the show, BDS stayed an hour signing and talking to fans: that was very cool.

Then we drove to the hotel, had some Champagne and some other stuff in Joe's room, and then went for a little sleep.

The day after, I drove them to the Euro Star. The French BDS assault was over. I drove home, and slept a lot.

Read Dom's full account of his time with BDS by clicking here.

It's a cold and wet night in London but regardless of what the elements had to throw at us we were not going to miss the UK debut of Bouchard, Dunaway and Smith. It was Joe's first time since appearing with Blue Oyster Cult at Hammersmith in 1984 and 30 years since Dennis Dunaway had played the UK and although I had seen Alice Cooper a couple of times I hadn't seen him with these guys (too young, honest!) so it seemed so strange that the show had received such little publicity. Indeed, it was only a friend who mentioned that he had seen a small article in one of the music monthlies that Joe and Albert Bouchard were playing that set me out on the hunt for more information. Neither Albert's Cellsum site nor Joe's X Brothers site had any information so I phoned the venue who confirmed the date and line-up.

It came as no surprise when entering the venue, a small place under The World's End pub near Camden Town tube station to find the place packed with BOC fans; people in familiar T shirts and one or two faces that I thought I recognised from London gigs over the years, and Alice Cooper diehards. What made a change was to see several Ian Hunter fans: Phil Holbrook (this man goes to EVERY Ian Hunter show) and his daughter, Julian Turner Bell (one-time front man for tribute band "Nott The Hoople" and roadie on the night) and Ian's daughter Tracie (looking more gorgeous than ever) checking out the show as Mr Hunter had co-written four of the songs on the new BDS album "Back From Hell".

We walked in while guests Crown Of Thorns were coming to the end of their set-so can't say much except that it seemed like strong rock, not on the too heavy side. A Beatles cover encore sounded so different that it almost seemed that a different band had taken the stage. Had it not been for traffic congestion I would have liked to see some more of them.

Beer in hand-next priority was to check out the merchandise, I had to pick up the new album-actually a CDR autographed by all three of them. The stall holder told us that the band would come out after the show to meet fans and sign-but London cynicism implied that this was just a way of selling posters and pictures, nevertheless we agreed to hang around after the show.

Not much of a wait between bands and our three heroes take to the stage, a "London, please welcome" type of intro and the three of them start cranking out some really powerful and very loud music. First number "I Want Two" is a tongue in cheek number about a guy needing two girls at once.

Next up is "Vampire Night" ("specially for Halloween") also from "Back From Hell" and exactly as you would imagine from a band who as one of the audience shouted, sound like "Blue Oyster Cult meets Alice Cooper!" At this point you could see that the band were really enjoying themselves and it dawned on me during Joe's great solo that this was the first time that I had seen him play guitar rather than bass.

"Hey, the Viagra is kicking in" says Dunaway as they launch into a classic Alice Cooper cut (sorry, the name escapes me now but I'll get it later), Joe and Dennis obviously enjoying every moment. Introducing crew member "Jules on the cowbell" and "here's another one you can sing to" they launch into a smoking version of "(Don't Fear) The Reaper": amazing stuff with Neil Smith doing some incredible work on bass drums and Joe playing Buck so well. The audience went wild.

Then, referring to their recent French trip and the place that they played near The Pigalle (the Parisian red light quarter) only a few nights before, they launched into the new bass driven track "BAD GIRL", another fun lyric and power trio sound. With Dennis obviously growing more confident he starts to reminisce about getting his first drivers' licence- "shouldn't have been driving quite yet" he states before launching into the most amazing version of "Under My Wheels" and then another classic song: "Astronomy", pretty similar to the version that you'll remember from "Some Enchanted Evening" - Joe singing and playing as if his life depended on it.

Back to Dennis again and the AC fans down the front ask him if the bass that he's playing is the same one that he used on "Billion Dollar Babies" and he said "yes, this is my baby, I've had her all these years" and mentioned that the "green bass" is currently being shown on the "Harley Davidson 30th Anniversary and Rock n Roll Hall of Fame" exhibition that is touring the world, joking that "maybe we could open for them". This was without doubt a man who was really enjoying himself, also apologising for taking so long to play the UK "but I got caught up in traffic and only just made it back" (the local traffic that night having been gridlocked for miles) and then playing a medley of AC classics on his bass that had the audience at the front singing along to and generally going wild...

"The Real Thing", one of the Ian Hunter co-writes, is "about a great day we had in London, dedicated to the James Bond exhibition and Tanya the belly-dancer". Erm, they've obviously been enjoying themselves here! "Don't settle for a copy, don't settle for a back-up band, just settle for the real deal" with Smith and Dunaway sounding telepathically together and Joe getting so carried away that he broke two strings "whew we loved that".

The final couplet was another AC classic segued into "Fallen Angel". Unlike the BOC version it has a more tribal feel mainly due to Smith's pounding drums.

Returning to the stage with "we're a little older now but we still feel like we're 18" we were treated to the most amazing version of Eighteen that you will ever hear-more powerful and dirtier than the original and worth the price of admission alone. I could have also done with Hot Rails To Hell but with that they were gone, leaving us hot and sweaty with ringing ears. A great gig!

We hung around for a while, had another beer and when the merchandise stall holder started to packing up started getting ready to leave. No sooner had I put my empty glass down I turned around to see Joe walking over, one hand clutching a beer and the other outstretched to shake my hand to say thanks for coming out that night. Having seen him play such an amazing version of "Astronomy" that night I wondered what he had felt when Eric Bloom sung it and he told me that Eric had done a great job but that originally Sandy Pearlman had him audition it and then told him that Albert would be singing it. After Albert sang it, he passed it to Eric. When I mentioned that Buck had also sung it (on Imaginos) he joked "yes, and Allen will be singing it next".

Making us all feel very comfortable Joe chatted with us about everything and anything so I took the opportunity to ask about Ian Hunter. He told me that he had been told that Ian lived near to him in Connecticut but didn't know where until he bumped into him in a store, buying a newspaper. Ian gave him his card and suggested that they stay in touch. Some months' later, after Metallica covered "Astronomy" and the royalties started coming in Joe decided to give up his day job in publishing and the day after packing it in Ian gave him a call and they've been in touch since. Joe mentioned that he picked Ian up one afternoon and they went over to Neal Smith's place to do some recording. Ian hadn't brought a guitar and just said he'd observe, but once Neal had opened his fridge and the beer supply had been sampled, Ian started to get into the session and that was how he became involved.

Joe also mentioned when Ian had first collaborated with Blue Oyster Cult ("Goin' Thru The Motions" on "Spectres" and later covered by Bonnie Tyler on "Faster than The Speed Of Night") and wasn't too sure where he was going at the time, he was "feeling a bit low" but the success of their collaboration put him back on track and knowing what he wanted to do.

I recalled Joe's playing a bass solo that was obviously influenced by Dennis (you know the one during "This Ain't The Summer Of Love", just before the Five Guitars). He joked that I shouldn't mention it to them (Dennis was also talking to fans and signing stuff) otherwise they'll get bigheaded. He also told me that he had been a fan since 1971 when he and Eric saw them play at (I think) Long Beach Arena. He said that the two of them had been so blown away by the experience that they had been an influence since then.

When we suggested he tell Albert to come over soon he mentioned that he had just received an email from him saying that he was jealous that he wasn't over here. He also mentioned playing with Buck on the Helen Wheels tribute and what a lovely job Buck and Sandy did and that Buck had also guested at a BDS show with the two former bandmates throttling out the guitar duel on "Born To Rock". Joe really sounded-the man beaming when he was telling us and obviously enjoying music so much. We enjoyed his company so much too. He was charming, a great raconteur and made us feel very welcome: posing for photographs: swapping stories and making us all feel comfortable...

All I can say is that Joe Bouchard is a true gentleman and a fan of good music. BDS play two more shows in the UK over the next few days, at Stourbridge and in Crewe and I urge you not to miss them-you will regret it if you do.

We arrived at Stourbridge Rock Café full of anticipation and the small venue seemed filled to capacity as the onliners gathered in the bar - where else? At first we oldtimers were a little puzzled to be greatly outnumbered by young - in some cases very young - revellers in Hallowe'en costume. All became clear as the support band began their set. A tribute band rejoicing in the name New-Vana with an obviously adoring following among the local 14-15 years old. It quickly became apparent that this adoration arose from some other cause than talent, a commodity this outfit sadly lacked and no amount of enthusiasm - in fact a little enthusiasm on the part of the band members might have helped - could disguise this deficiency. We suffered through their seemingly interminable set and some of us expressed the malicious hope that New-Vana might redeem themselves by having the Kurt-alike shoot himself at the end of the set as a sort of grand finale but no such luck unfortunately.

During the interval a minor stir arose amongst the BÖC/AC faithful awaiting better things in the bar area as a diminutive, bearded, leather-clad figure made his way towards the back stage area. Awestruck and deferential Oysterboyz hastily cleared a path for their hero. No less awestruck and deferential but infinitely more pushy, I stepped forward as Joe Bouchard passed and gently caught his sleeve.

"Um Joe? Excuse me but would you mind if I took a picture of you with these guys?"

The charming and obliging Mr Bouchard indicated that he wouldn't mind at all and the Oysterboyz gathered quickly into a group with Joe in the foreground while the picture was taken. Two Oysterboyz, absent at that moment, sulked because of their missed opportunity but were all smiles some minutes later as they accosted me on my way to obtain refreshment from the bar.

"Don't move. You have the camera and we want our picture with Joe too," or words to that effect. Puzzled I asked, "I'll be happy to take a pic of you and Joe but where is he?"

"In there," they replied indicating the adjacent men's bathroom. Fortunately it transpired they did not expect me to invade the men's room and Joe's privacy but they did make it obvious that none of us was going anywhere until Mr Bouchard emerged. Joe very kindly allowed himself to be photographed again then quickly escaped backstage where he might be safe from predatory English females with cameras.

What can I say about the set? I'm not familiar with much Alice Cooper stuff and until that night hadn't heard any BDS stuff. Bouchard Dunaway Smith put on an outstanding show and gave it everything in their performance of their own stuff, several Alice Cooper numbers and some BOC numbers. It was like they had nothing to lose and certainly nothing to prove to anyone so they gave themselves over to having a blast and the small audience got the benefit of a storming set.

They are a great combo and so easy with each other and their obvious enjoyment comes across so strongly. Joe is a superb lead guitarist and vocalist. As a frontman he exudes personality and humour and looks so relaxed and comfortable in the role. Neal Smith has a touch of genius about him as a drummer and also has the charisma and talent to come forward and perform lead vocals. Dennis Dunaway is delightfully creepy, weird and funny and a brilliant bassist and a nice guy despite his worrying obsession with sheep.

They gave us a surprisingly competent and rousing performance of Reaper for a three piece with accompaniment by Mr Cowbell, a man whose name I do not know but who deserves an accolade for the sheer energy he put into his performance. Then oh wow!! A teasing introduction by Joe hinting that the judicious use 'acid' in the late 60's early 70's might have inspired the next song was drowned out by joyous applause as he almost off-handedly picked out an instantly recognisable intro. Needless to say our UK "Astronomy"-starved Oysterboyz went wild for this excellent rendition of their BOC favourite. A sort of cross between the ST and Imaginos versions but with a refreshing BDS twist.

They also performed "Fallen Angel"- a track that has always left me slightly cold I'll admit - but this was an incredibly rocking and virtuoso arrangement that put a whole new spin on it. It has now become one of my favourites on the BDS album "Back from Hell" although I'd be pushed to name just one favourite as at least 10 of the 12 tracks are absolute stand-outs with the other two being pretty damned good too. Buy it - you won't be disappointed. It's available from www.nealsmith.com. I can't recommend it too highly - it rocks and has been on constant rotation in my various machines since I got it.

The whole set was outstanding and left the small crowd - maybe only 50 or so but very enthusiastic and vociferous for all that - screaming for more. As an added bonus all three band members came out afterwards and mingled with the fans chatting, patiently posing for photos and signing posters and CDs. Genuinely nice guys and a genuinely great show. Thanks Joe if you read this and I know I speak for everybody who was there. Please also pass on our thanks to Dennis and Neal.

The venue, "The Limelight Club", is an old converted church, with bars and pool tables upstairs and the auditorium (and more bars!) downstairs in what I imagine must have been the original crypt . It was kind of hard maintaining a sober head when "trapped" for nearly 12 hours in an establishment licensed to sell intoxicating liquor, but the adrenaline rush of seeing the performances seemed to burn off the alcohol (almost) as fast as I drank it.....

Being an Alice Cooper Convention things were (understandably) geared to that band (well the early 70's incarnation of it anyway), with a few fans in face paint and costume. The organisers had it billed as Sickcon1 and in keeping with that theme we were all greeted by a rather severe looking nurse as "inmates" of the "asylum". The band were refered to as "professors" who were there to examine and treat us, the autograph session (which I, stupidly, didn't bother to spend an hour or so in the queue for) was the "professors" filling out our "prescriptions" - all slightly bizarre, but it helped to keep the thing running smoothly(ish) and made it a bit different from your average gig.

The first high-point was a question and answer session with the members of BDS. I had no prior experience of Messrs Dunaway or Smith, but they instantly came across as very likeable, witty guys with a real feel for their fans. For about an hour they fielded questions from the crowd and Dennis, in particular, encouraged questions about BÖC, which I felt was rather good of him. Eventually I plucked up the courage to ask a rather garbled question of Joe, who managed to make some sense of it the answer being along the lines of Buck being the quitarist who he admires the most and of him preferring to play lead guitar as opposed to bass - he played guitar first and didn't expect to be playing bass for so long in BÖC; he'd imagined it would last for about 3 years or so...

There was a short interlude then Joe came out with his acoustic guitar and proceeded to play a mixture of songs, old & new. His chat between (and during) songs was both witty & informative - he demonstrated how Nirvana could have borrowed some of "Godzilla" for "Smells Like...." and (a new one to me) how G'n'R probably borrowed some of "Tattoo Vampire" for "Paradise City". So of course we then got "TV" then we had "Nosferatu" with a tribute to Helen Wheels (altho' Joe forgot some of the verses) Then, following a request (from Ralph, I believe) we had Hot Rails, including, as Paul mentioned, a commentary on how he was inspired to write it. Amongst this lot he played something new (to me) I think it might have been "There Was a Girl" and again he seemed to forget the lyrics, but a quick "Dennis" produced Mr Dunaway on stage for a wonderful duet. A broken string left him to conclude the set with just 5, not that you'd notice - such was his energy. The whole set was, for me, a unique experience and an insight into what a good guy Joe is and how much he loves his music.

Shortly thereafter the gang of three were joined by Mr Bruce for an autograph signing session which over ran so much that the quiz section of the day had to be cancelled (shame) as did the fans Karaoke Competition (praise be!). I (stupidly) couldn't be bothered to queue for so long for an autograph - away from the source of "London Pride", "Marston's Pedigree" and "Old Speckled Hen". As the gig was partly a fund-raising, charity event, punters were charged GBP3.50 (about US$5.00) per autograph (altho' I think Joe was charging 3.50 per person, not per item). Amazingly, considering that one of the charities was to do with Glen Buxton, there were complaints and bitching from a minority of the AC fans about having to pay when they could get an "Alice Cooper" autograph for free. "I'm going to post a picture of Neal Smith taking cash for autographs on my website" was one comment I overheard.

All this lead to a long intermission whilst sound checks and the like were done (and more Pedigree was drunk) until Sadness Killed the Superman came on for their suppoet set, as Paul mentioned above. Michael Bruce joined them on stage for the last few songs with Joe accompanying him on vocals for "...?....". It was nice to see Joe seeming to get a kick out of "Sadness"'s young guitarist and giving him a spot of encouragement.

{I later bumped into Sadness Killed The Superman's vocalist in the gents and complimented him on their performance and the fact that the fans were getting off on all of BDS's songs; their own, AC's and BÖC's. He said he was a BÖC fan too and had actually seen them on their last tour....at Bilston!! He won't be needing to wear black-eyeliner for a few days after I'd finished with him }

The BDS set has been covered already, I'd just like to say that I found Joe's rendition of "Astronomy" to be one of the most moving versions I've heard - brought back memories of '79 (no mirror ball tho' ) Metallica got credit for supplying Joe with the readies to invest in BDS. Godzilla was a bit of a surprise (I'd already been to the loo ) but interesting to hear it without the solos and good to hear different renditions of "DFTR" and "Fallen Angel".

All-in-all an incredible day, made possible by 3 very talented musicians and very likeable guys. And I haven't even mentioned the other fans, yet

• Rock 4 X-Mas

Here's an incomplete youTube clip of "Halo of Flies" from this gig:

Here's a youTube clip of "DFTR" from this gig:

Here's a YouTube clip of "The Joke's On You" from this gig:

I also found the following clips on YouTube which say they're from "Westport CT '03", but I don't have another Westport gig listed, so I'm assuming they're from this show also - (are they?):

• Black JuJu
• Carnival Toy
• Vampire Night

Greetings to all you sick things out there! Here's a flash news update on Bouchard, Dunaway & Smith. Chiller Theater Expo, New Jersey, April 29-30 May 1, 2005.

Over the years, the Halloween Chiller Theater Expo has built such a massive following of Sci-Fi and Monster-movie lovers that more Chiller shows had to be added. Their parties are haunted by Dead Elvi, scream queens, hunchbacks, goblins and gore. Not to mention the grand master, Zacherly. The ideal audience for Bouchard, Dunaway & Smith (BDS). Neal, Joe, and I took the stage around midnight.

Joe adjusted his effects pedals while Neal fired off a round of snare shots (Inciting a wave of applause from the ghouls). After I plugged my bass in with a loud "chunk", Neal clicked his sticks and Joe's guitar rocked the intro for a BDS original called "I Want 2" (Girls At Once). Neal and I joined in and the stage floor began to rumble.

(Since we had prepared to go on two hours earlier, the band's energy level kicked-in at full-tilt.) And since The Dead Elvi had played (with a special guest appearance by Peter Tork), the P.A. was already tweaked and sounding gigantic, a mark of a great soundman.

Next came an explosive rendition of "School's Out". A boy wearing an Alice Cooper T-shirt smiled as he sang along, "No more pencils, no more books, no more teacher's dirty looks". We weren't in Kansas anymore. This crowd had a warm heart. Blood dripping from their mouths, but warm hearts.

Directly after the school bell ending, the boys yelling yea! came "Vampire Night" (another BDS original). Thanks to the great stage mix, the harmonies were tight, "and you're filled with fright, it's a Vampire Night" we sang. I was impressed that many people were singing along.

Neal's bass drum kicked in with a steady beat. "This is a brand new BDS original," Joe announced. Simultaneously, the guitar and bass came in, and we sang, "We're gonna' "Rattle Your Bones" tonight/ We're Gonna' "Rattle Your Bones" tonight/ Take all the pretty girls home tonight."

Next my fuzz-bass growled into "Sick Things". BOOM-BOOM, Neal pounded...BOOM-BOOM. I sang the lyrics and the audience joined in. After all, they were the subject of the song. Joe's guitar lifted the chorus, built the second verse, and then lifted the song to a more frenzied level for a chilling guitar break into the ending.

A Spanish mood filled the room as Joe began playing a familiar forelorn melody. Neal and I watched as Joe sang, "I'm a gambler/ and I'm a runner/ but you knew that when you laid down". I came in with some ripping slides and the song painted the picture of ugly stories known as "Desperado".

The final chord of "Desperado" evolved into an eerie drumbeat, underneath an improvised intro reminiscent of "Halo of Flies". But it was actually "Black Juju" coming to a bubbly boil. "Bodies" I sang with the same conviction I had imagined when I wrote the song in a dark dusty attic in Cincinnati. The tiring day at the Expo gave the line "Bodies need rest" a powerfully hypnotic effect over the audience (which came to a screeching end when I sang, "Wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up". The bass and drums roared as Joe's guitar climbed to the song's volcanic conclusion. "Black Juuu Juuuuu" I sang.

Then Joe called up one of his fellow band mates from the "X Brother's", Andy Hilfiger, for our version of that loveable monster song that Blue Oyster Cult recorded about "Godzilla". Andy added solid support on the backing vocals, and it quickly became clear that his talent as a bassist translates to guitar. A fun song and a super cool guy.

Next we did a love song about a pretty girl who once found herself under the wheels of my car. As I see it, playing a rock n' roll song demands full focus, otherwise you don't deserve to play it. So full focus it got. And as always, my partners in crime locked in as well. Joe and I jumped around the stage like loonies (but Neal and I always nail every subtle nuance). "Thanks for coming," Joe said as he waved to the crowd and BDS walked off stage knowing full well that we would be right back, encore or not. We had more surprises up our sleeve.

Thanks to a Saturday Night Live skit featuring Christopher Walken as the Record producer of "Don't Fear the Reaper" (insisting the song needed more cowbell), special guest appearances have become a staple of our stage-version. And who would be more qualified than Corky Laing from Mountain? Joe started the riff and a monstrous rendition began, cowbell clanking in Steady unison with Neal's drums to drive home the chest-pounding feel of a locomotive. Faces lit up like it was a fireworks finale. (Mine included.)

Then a fond farewell to Corky and back to business as usual? Nope. "Ladies and gentlemen, you're about to be "Scarletized," I announced. " Let's hear it for the great Richie Scarlet!" Volume on double eleven, Richie strolled out unleashing soaring riffs that threatened to lift the roof off the enormous tent. Smooth as silk but nasty as a night with a saloon girl, Richie took control of every creature with ears in the Meadowlands. I wouldn't bet the walls weren't shakin' all the way to the casinos in Atlantic City.

Stoically standing on a table in front of the stage, Richie appeared to be in a trance. A trance that fixed all eyes on him as if he were the only thing in the universe. Lightning fast lines flew up and out of the room and bounced away as if they would become part of the aurora borealis. After a hefty portion of that euphoric offering, Richie turned to Neal and counted down "I'm Eighteen", and his lightening riffs resumed. (When music reaches that plateau, I'm so thankful that I'm a musician. It's not my magic, it's the power of creative energy-which also comes from the audience. I just work diligently to get back to that place as often as I can).

With the E chord still ringing on the end of "I'm Eighteen", Neal Relinquished his throne to Corky (they each claim the other is their second favorite drummer in the world) for a smokin' blow out on "I'm Goin' Down" with Richie doing the vocal honors. Wow.

The set has to be over, right? Nope. Fire up that cowbell again. (Pinch me, am I really playing "Mississippi Queen" with Corky Laing? Not to mention Joe Bouchard and Richie Scarlet. I guess you don't have to die to get to Rock n' Roll heaven.) Drumsticks ricochet off the cymbals and flew every which way. They flew behind the stage and targeted people with amazing accuracy. And the song remained as solid as the rock of Gibraltar. Pats on backs, hand shakes smiles and the show was over. Genuinely, a night to remember.

Thanks to Kevin Clement for organizing the event (as well as the other members of the Dead Elvi). Thanks to Masterburner for all their good-natured assistance (as well as their killer version of "Ballad of Dwight Fry"). Thanks to all the Chiller Theater staff. And a very special tip of the top hat to all the ghouls, goblins, witches, and vampires that continue to support us.

Dennis Dunaway
Founding member of the group known as Alice Cooper.

My first time hearing or seeing Bouchard Dunaway and Smith; and at a great place like BB Kings! I found out about BDS on the Ticketmaster website and saw they were playing BB Kings. Tickets were only $1 the day they went on sale so I bought a couple.

I contacted a fellow Blue Oyster Cult/Brain Surgeons friend and convinced him [like that was hard] to come along.

The place wasn't crowded but there were the hardcore Brain Surgeons, BOC, and Alice Cooper fans there. There was lots of room to move around and even chat with Albert & Debbie at their table. Neither one of us knew what they would play - but we figured we hear some BOC stuff in there somewhere. I figured we'd hear some Alice Cooper stuff, too (and we did!).

After hearing "I want two" for the first time, me and my friend were hooked - awesome!

The place was intimate, the sound was great, the crowd was totally into it! People shouting to Joe and the boys from the seats; they blasted through one great song after another. BOC, BDS, Cooper, topped off with DFTR with Albert, Albert's son (?), and "the cowbell"!! Pinch me!... then a blasting version of "School's out" to finish it off. Great show, can't wait to see them again!

Here's a YouTube clip of "Be My Lover" from this gig: