Brain Surgeons

Formed in 1994 by Albert Bouchard, the original Blue Öyster Cult drummer, alongside his spouse Deborah Frost—a rock critic and former Flaming Youth drummer—the Brain Surgeons began as a creative outlet for the couple. Early efforts relied mainly on the pair themselves, drawing sporadic input from associates and family members, which yielded their self-released 1994 debut Eponymous on Cellsum Records and showcased the leaders’ ambitious, humorously skewed lyrical outlook. A stabilized roster consisting of Bouchard, Frost on vocals, Peter Bohovesky handling guitar and vocals, Billy Hilfiger on guitar as brother of fashion designer Tommy, and David Herschberg on bass tracked the 1995 album Trepanation; Box of Hammers appeared the next year. Malpractise arrived in 1997 as an anthology of covers together with tracks previously available solely to fan-club subscribers, and Piece of Work came out two years afterward.