Rock and Roll has long paid tribute to those who’ve reached a certain level of education and achievement. Among performers, there’s Dr. Hook, Dr. John, and that laid back Muppet, Dr. Teeth. Songs have celebrated Dr. Robert, Dr. Feelgood, Dr. Love, and Doctor Wu. Van Halen called for somebody to get one, but Humble Pie didn’t need none.
And when Blue Öyster Cult comes to town for an August 1 show at the Stafford Centre, they’ll have a similar newly minted specialist onstage.
Founding member and singer/guitarist Buck Dharma (born and still legally known as Donald Roeser) was recently awarded an honorary Doctor of Music degree from Five Towns College near his Long Island, New York hometown during their 2026 commencement.
Calling himself “a former college dropout—much to the chagrin of my parents,” during the ceremony, Dharma recounted BÖC’s early struggles. “Four years of hard work, a failed record contact, eating mostly peanut butter sandwiches and playing cover tunes in bars,” he noted, before treating all in attendance to a mini rock show, with wife Sandy onstage adding vocals.
Fifty-plus years later with 16 studio albums, constant touring, and massive hits like “Godzilla,” “Burnin’ for You,” and “(Don’t Fear the) Reaper,” the band’s place in the pantheon of classic rock is secure. But it begs the question: Should he now be referred to as Dr. Buck, Dr. Dharma, or Dr. Roeser?
“You can call me whatever!” he laughs on Zoom. “It was great. I finally got a degree in something! It was quite flattering and I got to address the graduates. I still have relatives on Long Island, and they were all there. And I played ‘Reaper’ and ‘Burnin’’’ with the school band. Everyone had a great time!”
The reason for the multiple names is that early in the band’s day—in typical ‘60s fashion—manager Sandy Pearlman thought each member should have an exotic alter ego and bequeathed one upon each player. All summarily rejected their monikers save Roeser.
“I don’t know if I made the right choice. But I like being Buck Dharma. It’s like Superman with the cape!” he says.
It was at another Long Island University—Stony Brook—where the group then known as the Soft White Underbelly first coalesced and began playing together. Though Dharma notes that despite many biographies, he never actually attended that school, studying engineering elsewhere at Clarkson University before dropping out.
Blue Öyster Cult’s blend of crunchy rock, often with themes of fantasy and science fiction, won them many fans in the ‘70s and early ‘80s. But it was at their live shows that really powered their popularity. The band was also among the first to use lasers. The technology was so new at the time that for a while, the U.S. government sent a representative from OSHA (The Occupational Safety and Health Administration) on tour to check things out.
And as singer/guitarist Eric Bloom told the Houston Press in 2017, that did not go without notice from some very high-ranking people.
“That was during the Carter administration, and we were these longhaired hippies with lasers! So, the government sent these scientists out tour with us with measuring equipment to be sure we weren’t blinding the youth of America! And they ended up writing a 100-page report. We had to have a licensed laserist on the tour,” he said.
The upcoming August 1 show is being produced by Matt Davis, CEO of Main Street Crossing. The intimate venue in Tomball hosts live music 300+ nights a year. But Davis has branched out into bringing larger shows in partnership with the Stafford Centre including Marty Stuart, the Marshall Tucker Band and Tab Benoit.
“The Stafford Centre is the best thousand-seater in Houston and I adore the place. When combing through bands and artists, I came across Blue Öyster Cult. They have some of the greatest classic rock tunes and two of the most important guys still lead the band. That’s becoming rare,” Davis says.
Given that Bloom is 81 and Dharma 78, the band understandably tours less these days, and mostly on weekends. Though they’ve stayed creative on record, release the excellent The Symbol Remains (2020) and Ghost Stories (2024), the latter of which found the group digging into the archives to polish up some older, unreleased material.
An unspecified medical procedure and longer-than-expected recovery has kept Bloom off the stage in recent months, but he’s expected to be back with the band in time for the Stafford date.
“The weirdest thing for me is that I became the frontman!” Dharma laughs. “Back in the day, we toured nine months out of the year and made a record in the other three. It was relentless!”
In addition to original/classic members Dharma and Bloom, the current lineup includes Richie Castellano (guitar/vocals), Danny Miranda (bass), and Jules Radino (drums). Castellano in particular has been a real asset since joining a little over two decades ago as a writer, producer, and even director of videos (and holds an actual master’s degree in music from the Purchase College Conservatory of Music.)
“We want to give Richie his due. He’s too talented to muffle!” Dharma laughs. “Richie is worth his weight in gold!” In Bloom’s absence, Castellano has even taken to reciting the gibberish-centric Japanese language section of “Godzilla.”
Blue Öyster Cult has made appearances in wider popular culture. Ticket scalper Mike Damone namechecks them in the 1982 movie Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Their three big hits have been heard on commercials and in sports arenas. And of course, they were the “subject” of the 2000 “More Cowbell!” sketch on Saturday Night Live.
Written by and starring Will Ferrell with Christopher Walken bellowing the catchphrase, it is so beloved and culturally impactful that it was even the subject of an entire episode of a recent four-part SNL documentary series. And while the costume/hair people got the band’s ’70s look down cold, there was a script mix-up when it came to members’ names and instruments.
Dharma says the band has leaned into all of that with a good sense of humor (even incorporating the phrase onstage themselves). And they’re now playing in front of three generations of fans, many of whom came to the band in a mostly modern way instead of an older brother’s record or cassette collection.
“The internet has been really good to us and streaming lets anyone find out about us. They can still see us. And if you have legacy hits, it’s better than the record business,” he says. He notes that “(Don’t Fear) the Reaper” is on the verge of being named 7X platinum in terms of sales, with the formula of 150 streaming listens today equaling just one 45 record sale from the old days.
Dharma himself praises the ease of listening to music on streaming. “I’m lazy. I’ve got a turntable and about twelve feet of LPs, but I don’t use it. I’ve just got my phone!” he says. “But vinyl has its own sound. There’s nothing like it.”
As for the future, Dharma says he’s not “giving up” on the idea of making new music, but they would have to put their “heart and soul” into it. More recently, Dharma appeared on “The End of Every Song.” It was released both as a solo effort and one in collaboration with novelist Michael Moorcock and affiliated band Spirits Burning, with whom he’s had a standing relationship.
“I’m happy with the way it came out! And there’s a nice video for it,” he says, with his video showing photos of Blue Öyster Cult members, friends, collaborators and families with an ID scroll at the end. Dharm’s wife, Sandy, also has a burgeoning Instagram account posting photos of the “thousands of photos” she’s taken of the band over the years at @thesandydharma.
And he does have a Houston connection: Dharma’s nephew works for the Houston Astros and is (as he told the Houston Press in 2024), “The guy who watches six video screens and tells the manager when to dispute a call on the field.”
“He’s still at it!” Dharma says. “Though the Astros haven’t been too lucky since that championship season.”
Blue Öyster Cult plays 8 p.m. on Saturday, August 1, at the Stafford Centre, 10505 Cash. For more information and tickets, call 281-208-6900 or visit StaffordCentre.com $68-$148.
For more information on Blue Öyster Cult, visit BlueOysterCult.com.
