Classic-rock supergroup Blue Coupe will perform in Asbury Park

by CINDY STAGOFF
Blue Coupe interview

From left, Joe Bouchard, Dennis Dunaway and Albert Bouchard of Blue Coupe.

“Some people think some of our songs sound like Blue Öyster Cult, and others sound like Alice Cooper, but we have no intention of doing that; they’re recognizing our writing influences and our playing styles,” said original Alice Cooper bassist Dennis Dunaway, who forms the band Blue Coupe with multi-instrumentalist Joe Bouchard and his brother, drummer Albert Bouchard, co-founders of Blue Öyster Cult.

The dynamic band has recorded two albums — Tornado on the Tracks, featuring Robby Krieger (guitarist for the Doors) on the song “Angel’s Well,” and Million Miles More, featuring Alice Cooper, Tish and Snooky (of Manic Panic), Buck Dharma (of Blue Öyster Cult) and Goldy McJohn (of Steppenwolf) — and has begun its next CD, to be released in spring 2019.

Joe Bouchard, left, and Dennis Dunaway.

You can catch them performing at a 20th anniversary celebration for the WRAT-FM (95.9 The Rat) show “Electric Ballroom” at House of Independents in Asbury Park, Dec. 30 at 7 p.m. The show also features Monster Magnet, Frankenstein 3000, The Ribeye Brothers and Naughty Clouds. Tickets are available through ticketweb.com.

The Bouchard brothers and Dunaway have performed on albums that have sold more than 15 million copies, and they have been awarded with more than 30 gold and platinum records worldwide.

When we discussed his upcoming concert song choices, Dunaway said, “We (will) play hits from our respective groups, like ‘No More Mr. Nice Guy,’ ‘Burnin’ for You,’ ‘School’s Out,’ ‘Don’t Fear the Reaper,’ ‘I’m Eighteen’ and ‘Cities on Flame With Rock and Roll,’ as well as a few deep cuts from our many gold and platinum albums. Of course, we (will) also play songs from our current albums — Tornado on the Tracks, Million Miles More — and our newest, title yet to be announced.”

He added that “the combination of our styles allows us to write about all sorts of things and still sound like us. Our song subjects are about anything from a tornado warning to a sweet love ballad about forever love, to the 30,000 bodies buried under Washington Square Park in NYC.”

DENNIS DUNAWAY

He said the band strives “for each song to deliver its own message and to be to fun to play,” adding that “fun is a good word for describing a Blue Coupe show. We play our own fresh version of classic rock and we have a blast doing it.”

The three has been jamming together since 1972, when Blue Öyster Cult opened for Alice Cooper’s School’s Out Tour. In 2008, the Bouchard brothers joined Dunaway onstage at CBGB and a club owner asked them to play for him in the Poconos.

“We wound up playing three sets on the fly. No rehearsals whatsoever,” Dunaway said, adding “just stuff we could wing our way through. The crowd went crazy and we decided to get more official.”

For information on the band, visit bluecoupeband.com.

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