LarryFromNextDoor wrote:dude , have u ever heard of TSO???? transit ... something.....3 members of savatage ? they are playing in my town in a few weeks,, should i go??? i dotn know much about that band, execpt the guitar player passed in '92...
TSO is Trans-Siberian Orchestra. They are the brainchild of Paul O'Neill, who has produced and written music for Savatage albums since the late 80s. All but one of the current Savatage members have been or are involved with TSO: Jon Oliva (vocals), Al Pitrelli & Chris Caffery (guitars), Jeff Plate (drums), and Johnny Lee Middleton (bass). For the last two or three years, there have actually been two touring companies of TSO, one taking the east coast and the other out west.
I haven't seen them live but own all their albums: "Christmas Eve and Other Stories", "The Christmas Attic", "Beethoven's Last Night", and "The Lost Christmas Eve". The first one is easily the best but they are all very good, in my opinion. The music ranges from hard rock, to soft acoustic passages, classical, blues, jazz, etc. They are very diverse, in other words. The rock edge is the most prominent, though. I've heard their shows are excellent, so though I haven't seen them, I would highly recommend it. Actually, we had tickets to go see their show in Ohio a couple of years ago and had to cancel because of the weather.
The guitarist that died was Criss Oliva, one of the founding members of Savatage and brother to Jon Oliva, the band's lead singer and keyboard player at the time. He was killed by a drunk driver in '93, not long after they finished their "Edge of Thorns" album. His wife, Dawn, suffered severe injuries in that accident but survived until she died from complications from those same injuries just a year or two ago. He was an outstanding guitarist and extremely underrated.
Trans-Siberian Orchestra
