Blue Coupe, a band comprised of three rock & roll legends: Albert and Joe Bouchard, founding members of Blue Oyster Cult, and 2011 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Dennis Dunaway, founder of the Alice Cooper Group.
Interview with drummer Albert Bouchard.
How did your band’s name come about?
Dennis Dunaway conceived the bands name. He said he liked bands that have blue in the name like Blue Oyster Cult and we could also acknowledge our past. We figured that if we spelled coupe COUPE that we wouldn’t get in trouble with the Alice Cooper camp.
How long have you been performing together?
We played our first official gig in the winter of 2008 but we have jammed together for years before that. We first met Dennis in 1973 when Blue Oyster Cult was asked to open the show for the Alice Cooper group. Since then, Joe has been in groups with Dennis and I have jammed with them from time to time.
Musical influences:
My mother, Frances Ryan, was a huge musical influence on me. She was a huge fan of Bing Crosby and had every record he made. When I was a baby she would play these records all the time. When I was five my dad got a job overseas in Salonika, Greece. On the trip back from Greece all the records were broken. But my mother always sang around the house. When she was young she wrote songs with her brother, John Ryan. My dad was into gospel music. He loved Mahalia Jackson and Benny Goodman. The first drummer that I wanted to be was Gene Krupa. When I was a teenager I got into rock ‘n roll and I loved the Ventures, the Beach Boys, the Beatles and the Who.
Blatant self-promotion: What would you like to plug?
I have several groups and artists that I’m working with in addition to Blue Coupe. I just produced a record by singer named Marlene Villafane, and am about to release a digital single with the singer from the Soft White Underbelly in a new group called simply, Underbelly. I’ve also worked with some talented young ladies who have a group called Left on Red. Finally, I’m also working on a posthumous album by my good friend, David Roter. Of course, Blue Coupe is already working on our next recording.
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