Kronos Guitars, Blue Oyster Cult

Abstract Kronos Guitars

 

The 'Kronos' logo that is the symbol for Blue Oyster Cult, was designed by Bill Gawlick. Gawlick did the artwork for the band's first album and included the 'Kronos' in a prominent position. The symbol has no significance as far as astronomy, occult or religious beliefs. It just appears that way. Something mystical and decadent; perfect for rock and roll. The symbol appears on every album cover by the band and has been the rallying call for BOC fans worldwide.
For the band itself, the symbol is just a logo, the more important thing is the music. At one point, Sandy Pearlman had tried to give each band member a mystical sounding stage name. Only Donald 'Buck Dharma' Roesser kept his.

 

 

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All Abstract guitars are available with almost any custom modification you could think of. You can choose the wood you want, We carry 44 different types of wood on the premises. You can choose whatever pickups you like, We carry all the major brand names and many boutique brands like Tom Holmes. You can order most models with any headstock on our list or design something yourself. You can choose the hardware and you can design the electronics.  Most models are available in Basses, Doublenecks, Neck Through Body, Bolt On, Headless like a Steinberger, Baritones, Left Handed or whatever your heart desires. 

Abstract Guitars are only slightly more money than production made guitars from other companies, Abstract Guitars are thousands of dollars less than what other companies choose to call custom shop guitars. We Offer the Buzz Feiten Tuning System, Direct Coupling

All Abstract guitars are built in the USA and carefully & lovingly set up just before we sell them. All Abstract guitars come with a super stable very fast neck & neck heel.  we don't offer limited warranties like all the big companies Abstract Guitars come with  FULL Warranty, parts & labor.  

Ed Roman

 



Christopher Walken - More Cowbell - SNL ft. Will Ferrell Jimmy Fallon

Blue Oyster Cult, BOC, or even Soft White Underbelly; it doesn't matter what name you know them by, or that you know them at all, I have personally seen this band 60 maybe 70 times and I never get tired of it.

They are always entertaining but if you get lucky and catch them on one of their magic nights. Stand Back !!!!! It will be a show you will never forget

This band has been around for forty years and they still rock. Always pushing the limits of fusing the genres of sci-fi, fantasy, horror and heavy metal, Blue Oyster Cult has a sound that is timeless. No, they aren't heavy metal by today's standards, but their style of guitar driven themes back in the late 1960's and early 1970's, with songs like Hot Rails To Hell and Dominance And Submission, set the tone and foundation for heavy metal. They were true pioneers.

Blue Oyster Cult has always has been intimate with their audiences when they perform live, as well as relying heavily on improvisation in their instrumentals, which has been a major influence on many rock bands over the years.

During the forty year span, and several band member changes, Blue Oyster Cult has remained true to their voice. No compromise. Straight out Rock and Roll.

Step inside the chamber, hear the tumblers roll, fear nothing (not even the reaper), for this is nothing but pure pleasure to hear.


It was 1967, near Stony Brook University in Long Island New York, that Rock promoter/critic Sandy Pearlman urged the band's formation. Originally named Soft White Underbelly (a term Winston Churchill used to describe Italy during WWII), the band was able to get club dates and minor recording deals with the help of Pearlman.
Over the next three years the band went through a variety of name changes, as well as a change in lead singers. The original singer, Les Braunstein, fit in well with the band's improvisational style will playing live and it was his impression upon Elektra Records executives that landed the band's first record deal. Elektra saw Braunstein as the East Coast's answer to Jim Morrison. It was during the first recording session that the band realized a problem with Braunstein's direction. He was zigging while the band was zagging.

When the band got back from the sessions, they settled on a new name and, because Braunstein abruptly quit, found a new lead singer in their midst: the group's sound man, Eric Bloom. Bloom gave the band a more Rock And Roll feel as opposed to the Psychedelic, West Coast road that Braunstein was driving them down. As for a new name, they finally settled on Blue Oyster Cult, a title to one of Pearlman's poems from his Imaginos collection. Although, the band kept the Soft White Underbelly name in their hip pocket to use as a pseudonym when playing small clubs during the 1970's and 1980's.

 In 1972, Blue Oyster Cult released its first studio album, Blue Oyster Cult. The song of note on that album was Cities On Flame With Rock And Roll. A song that has been covered by several artists over the years.

Between 1972 and 1975, Blue Oyster Cult released 3 albums, two studio and one live album.

 Tyranny And Mutations, released in 1973, was an album that was born out of songs that were written while the band was on an almost constant touring schedule. During this era of touring, the band was the "opener" for a wide variety of acts (ranging from the Mahavishnu Orchestra to Alice Cooper, which opened their eyes to a certain flaw the group had to overcome.

The flaw was the lack of showmanship and stage presence. BOC began to hone their live skills as well as shed the garments of the earlier incarnations of the combo. They set out to make a heavy album and they most certainly succeeded. In the process, they also fulfilled their new recording company's wishes; Columbia Records had their 'Stateside Black Sabbath'.

Blue Oyster Cult released Secret Treaties in 1974, an album that is said to be the best heavy metal recording of the 1970's. This album garnished much critical acclaim which was the gateway BOC needed to gain popularity across the country.

With fame on the rise due to Secret Treaties, the band began to 'Headline' shows and their first live album was recorded and released in 1975. The album, titled On Your Feet Or To Your Knees gave the world a real look at what the band had transformed into. They covered Born To Be Wild and you can feel the crowd's enthusiastic reaction to Eric Bloom's intimacy. Also, Donald 'Buck Dharma' Roesser's lead guitar talents are really evident, because live is live and there ain't no hiding.

Blue Oyster Cult rode a great wave between 1976 and 1983, starting with the Agents Of Fortune album and ending with The Revolution By Night. In that span they released six studio albums and two live albums. The live album Some Enchanted Evening is the groups best selling recording to date, giving testimony to their great live shows. One track, a cover of Roadhouse Blues, gets almost as much airplay as their most recognizable song, Don't Fear The Reaper.

Agents Of Fortune was the band's 'Step Up' album.  The tour that supported the album featured a freestyle laser show that was as much of a part of their on stage personae as the band itself was. Among other uses, the single color light would be shone off of giant mirror balls or strapped to Bloom's wrist to accentuate his fist thrusts into the air. The laser show had to be stopped eventually due to a lawsuit by one concert goer who claimed vision damage from the laser.

Don't Fear The Reaper was a product of this album. The song was shrouded in controversy as some mistook the lyrics to be a call for teen suicide when they actually were just speaking about a love that lasts forever and an urge to seize the day.

Regardless of what the perceived meanings of the lyrics were, Don't Fear The Reaper climbed to number twelve on Billboard's charts and the album was voted as one of the Top 10 rock albums of 1976.
The next album came in 1977, and was recorded between gigs on the road. The album, Spectres, produced another mega hit in the song Godzilla, a rather hard but playful song about the creature that crushed Tokyo so many times. Spectres featured crisp writing and polished sound. The band had been together long enough to really gel, both on stage and in the studio.
In 1978, Some Enchanted Evening was released. Originally desired by the band to be a double disc release, Columbia pared it down to one disc. No matter, the album went platinum in no time. The live set let everyone know that BOC was still the Kings Of The Hall with their opus performances of Astronomy and Don't Fear The Reaper, not to mention the rollicking cover of Roadhouse Blues.



 

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Sandy Pearlman was put aside as producer for the 1979 Mirrors studio release. Tom Werman, who had previously worked with Cheap Trick and Ted Nugent was brought into the studio as producer with results not being up to the band's previous efforts. Although the song In Thee placed in the top one-hundred on the American charts, the album overall was a disappointment to the band, the fans, and the critics.  The general consensus was that the album went a bit too far down the Pop road.

Sandy Pearlman once again figured in the Blue Oyster Scene. He had been hired as Black Sabbath's stage manager and convinced Martin Birch, who had produced Sabbath's Heaven And Hell album to work with BOC on their next project. Coupled with Birch and the failed experiment with Mirrors, the band was ready to get back to being themselves and quit trying to produce a hit. The result was 1980's critically acclaimed Cultosaurus Erectus. The record was a hit with both critics and fans as it reached number 14 on the U.K. charts. What's more, the band felt good about the project and working with Birch. They felt like they were once again on top.
 

By the time the album was released, Pearlman was managing BOC again. Being manager to both Blue Oyster Cult and Black Sabbath gave Pearlman a unique idea. Since BOC needed to tour to promote their latest effort, why not put both bands on the road together. Here's the hook; The bands would alternate headlining, not "we do half the tour as headliners and you guys get the other half", no, they alternated EVERY night. The concept of the Black And Blue tour paid off as the fans loved it and the resulting concert video was a huge success.

Birch signed on as producer for the bands next album. In 1981 BOC released Fire Of Unknown Origin which was a result of a fury of songwriting due to the band being asked to contribute four songs for the movie Heavy Metal. Burning For You was the big hit from that effort, reaching number forty on the U.S. charts, as well as one of the songs, Veteran Of The Psychic Wars, actually being used in the movie.