Founding Blue Öyster Cult guitarist Donald 'Buck Dharma' Roeser has talked at length about the long-term impact of Saturday Night Live's iconic 'More Cowbell' sketch, which saw the band's classic (Don't Fear) The Reaper comically enhanced by the percussive talents of cast member Will Ferrell.
In a new interview with Vulture, Roeser, who watched the 2000 sketch for the first time on a VHS tape, says his immediate reaction was to be thankful that it wasn't unkind to the band.
"My first feeling was relief," he says. "Relief that it was funny and relief that it wasn’t too cruel on the band. SNL had done some rather cruel things about Neil Diamond and other artists over the years, so I was happy it was actually hilarious. While it poked fun at Blue Öyster Cult, it wasn’t mean-spirited at all."
Roeser also reveals that the sketch changed the way the band approached (Don't Fear) The Reaper when performing it live, adding an actual cowbell for the first time.
"For 20-odd years, we didn’t use a live cowbell for our shows and never considered it," says Roeser. "We had to play the cowbell because there was just no getting away from it. I’m grateful that as significant as the sketch is – because after 25 years, it still is – it didn’t kill the song, its original intent, or its original mood.
"It’s still used as a cue in horror movies when you want that mysterious and metaphysically uneasy vibe. So I’m glad the sketch didn’t kill the song and didn’t make it one big joke."
Roeser also says that, while the band may have added a cowbell to their live shows, their audience wasn't allowed to do the same.
"Blue Öyster Cult got through it and we persevered," he says. "When we play Reaper, people still mimic playing the cowbell, and we had to ban people from bringing actual cowbells to the concerts. But, again, it’s a tiny cross to bear."
Don't Fear (The Reaper) also played over the closing credits of The Simpsons' episode The Parent Trap, and its title was parodied on an episode entitled Don't Fear the Roofer.
"Its appearance in The Simpsons was one of this band’s proudest moments," Roeser told Classic Rock in 2005. "I’m highly amused at the way it has rippled out into popular culture. I still enjoy playing it, and it doesn’t bother me that we’re still obliged to do so night after night. Some bands’ signature songs make me cringe, ours doesn’t."
