Joe Bouchard (born Joseph Bouchard, 9 November 1948, in Watertown, New York) was the bassist for Blue Öyster Cult during their most successful period. He grew up in Clayton, New York. He joined Soft White Underbelly, the group that would become Blue Öyster Cult, as a bassist in the summer of 1970, although he had already been jamming and performing occasionally with the band for a few years.
Originally a guitar player, Bouchard took up bass for the formative BÖC after the departure of Andy Winters. Bouchard is skilled on many instruments including keyboards and trumpet.
Bouchard's songwriting contributions often dealt with otherworldly themes, such as "Nosferatu" and "Light Years of Love" but Bouchard's signature piece was most definitely "Hot Rails To Hell."
Bouchard left Blue Öyster Cult in 1986, and since then has worked with several musical projects, including the Spencer Davis Group, and appeared on records by Deadringer (with Neal Smith & Dennis Dunaway), Fabienne Shine and his own X Brothers.
In the last few years he completed his masters degree in music, and recently welcomed the new release of a CD with his band, BDS (Bouchard, Dunaway, Smith) with Dennis Dunaway and Neal Smith of Alice Cooper Group and Deadringer. He also currently teaches at a number of preparatory school academies in Connecticut. He recently performed with his Washington Montessori School Acoustic and Rock band. He is a member of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia music fraternity.
He is married to Sara (née Pinckney). They have two daughters and live in Granby, Connecticut. He currently teaches music at Kent School in Kent, Connecticut.
In 2009, he released his first solo album, entitled Jukebox in my Head.
He is the brother of former Blue Öyster Cult drummer Albert Bouchard. Albert and Joe, along with Dennis Dunaway play live as 'Blue Coup', performing songs from both alice Cooper's and BOC's early years, as well Blue Coup released an album in 2011. Joe recently released a new solo album "Tales From The Island", in which he performs every instrument! The songs have been written half on his own and half contributed by artist / friend John Elwood Cook.
Famous quotes containing the word joe:
“While we were thus engaged in the twilight, we heard faintly, from far down the stream, what sounded like two strokes of a woodchopper’s axe, echoing dully through the grim solitude.... When we told Joe of this, he exclaimed, “By George, I’ll bet that was a moose! They make a noise like that.” These sounds affected us strangely, and by their very resemblance to a familiar one, where they probably had so different an origin, enhanced the impression of solitude and wildness.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)