AL: Hi John. Kittenpants tells me you're a BOC fan. Very interesting. However, there is no BOC fan huger than I. In terms of fandom, not size, I'm only 5'10".

Did you know, John, that the phrase "heavy metal" was actually coined by BOC's manager and producer, Sandy Perlman? While Steppenwolf is the first to use it in a song ("heavy metal thunder"), it was Sandy who applied the term to the music at hand.

And speaking of Steppenwolf, doesn't it piss you off when the two bands are compared? I can hear a shallow resemblance, but I think BOC's got a lot more depth to their music.

JF: Adam, I do not doubt that you are a bigger BOC fan than I am. But since I am a fairly recent convert to the "church of BOC" my fresh furvor might add a little spin on an otherwise heady subject.

It does piss me off that BOC gets compared to bands like Steppenwolf and Deep Purple (not that Deep Purple isn't a great band, it's just that they aren't even worthy to lick Eric Bloom's feet). I've always thought of BOC as more akin to someone like early Hawkwind. The combination of "sci-fi" themes and proto-heavy metal sound was a fresh take on the pot-laden 70s sound. And both Hawkwind and Blue Oyster Cult worked with Michael Moorcock ("Sonic Attack" & "Black Blade" respectively.)

AL: It's funny you should mention Michael Moorcock and "Black Blade." Back in junior high school, I was friends with this kid named Douglas. He was a total dweeb, and I didn't really like him, but he had a ping pong table. Anyway, this kid knew nothing about music. I couldn't get him into KISS, Rush, AC/DC - nothing! The only things he was interested in were Conan the Barbarian and Dragonlance books. One day, I was in his room, playing with his Genesis, when I noticed he's rambling about Michael Moorcock and some dude named Elrick. So I'm like, "Dude, Michael Moorcock wrote a bunch of BOC lyrics, man! You gotta hear this song 'Black Blade' - I'll finally get you into my music!" The next day I play "Black Blade" for him. He listens patiently and says, "I'm not really into heavy metal, Adam." I never hung out with him after that.