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<\/p>\nEvery year when the holidays roll around, pop culture watchers can count on a few things: decorations appear seemingly overnight, Santa Claus sets up shop at at the local mall, and Trans Siberian Orchestra begins a whirlwind schedule of live concert dates across the country. Launched in 1996 by Paul O\u2019Neill, TSO combines the power and spectacle of an arena-scale rock show with the pageantry and sentimentality of a Broadway extravaganza.<\/p>\n
The TSO concept developed from an unlikely source. Progressive metal band Savatage was in the midst of making its ninth release, Dead Winter Dead<\/i>. A concept album set against the backdrop of the then-current Bosnian War, it featured a suite of songs by producer O\u2019Neill and keyboardist Jon Oliva. Fresh from a stint with progressive rockers Asia, guitarist Al Pitrelli had recently joined the group. When Pitrelli first heard \u201cChristmas Eve (Sarajevo 12\/24),\u201d he asked O\u2019Neill, \u201cwhat\u2019s with the Christmas song?\u201d<\/p>\n
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O\u2019Neill provided context about the juxtaposition of war and holiday celebration, and Pitrelli was immediately won over. \u201cThen a couple of DJs got their hands on it,\u201d Pitrelli recalls. \u201cIt was a lightning strike; we knew we had a hit on our hands.\u201d He recalls O\u2019Neill telling him, \u201cI\u2019m going to write an entire record around that song.\u201d With Pitrelli as lead guitarist and musical director, Trans Siberian Orchestra was born.<\/p>\n
Between 1996\u2019s Christmas Eve and Other Stories<\/i> and 2015\u2019s Letters from the Labyrinth<\/i>, TSO would release nine albums; there have been several DVDs as well. But especially since O\u2019Neill\u2019s death in 2017, Trans Siberian Orchestra\u2019s primary focus has been its elaborate stage show.<\/p>\n
Having a musical character so closely associated with Christmas means that TSO\u2019s touring calendar is packed into a seven-week period between mid-November and New Year\u2019s Eve. But the sustained popularity of the show means that demand outpaces what one band could possibly achieve. \u201cIn \u201899 we did our first tour: seven cities,\u201d Pitrelli recalls. In the wake of that tour\u2019s success, the next year saw the band expand to what Pitrelli calls \u201cthe 13 colonies.\u201d That run brought sold-out shows most everywhere, and TSO started getting inquiries from promoters wanting to book shows in Texas, Arizona and California.<\/p>\n
Pitrelli recalls O\u2019Neill telling him, \u201cThere\u2019s physically no way one band can do it.\u201d So O\u2019Neill said that he would keep the band on the Eastern seaboard: \u201cAl, start calling up your friends. You\u2019ll take the band everywhere else.\u201d Starting in 2001, TSO was actually two complete groups. \u201cThey\u2019re as identical as two rock \u2018n\u2019 roll bands can be,\u201d says Pitrelli. \u201cVisually, they\u2019re identical. Same production, same set list.\u201d Allowing the top-flight musicians and vocalists a bit of personal musical expression among the tight choreography, Pitrelli says that the two lineups are \u201ca solid 95% musically identical. And as long as we’re executing Paul’s material respectfully and properly, I’m happy.\u201d<\/p>\n
The band came off the road after its last show of its most recent run on December 30. And while most all of the musicians have other gigs \u2013 Pitrelli is still busy with Savatage, who have a new album due in 2024 \u2013 TSO doesn\u2019t go dormant with the end of the holiday season. \u201cWe start talking about the next tour by the second or third week in January,\u201d he says. Production, route planning, set design and writing of new songs all commence shortly thereafter. \u201cBy the summertime, we have a good outline\u201d of the next season\u2019s show,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
Throughout the fall, sectional groups of singers and players begin rehearsals. And in October, the entire cast and crew convene in Omaha, Nebraska. \u201cWe put it all together there,\u201d Pitrelli says. \u201cAnd we run the entire show twice a day, every<\/i> day, to make sure that everything works.\u201d<\/p>\n
And with a show that features split-second timing of lights, pyrotechnics and other visuals, precision is key. But because humans are involved, there\u2019s always an element of spontaneity, of things going not-quite-perfectly. \u201cEvery so often,\u201d Pitrelli admits, \u201csomething will go sideways.\u201d But he insists that the audience will never know the difference.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not about presenting songs,\u201d Pitrelli emphasizes. \u201cIt\u2019s about bringing a story to life.\u201d When an audience member sees a performer onstage delivering a lyric, Pitrelli doesn\u2019t want them to see a TSO singer. \u201cHe wants them to feel, \u201cThat’s the father in the story, pleading for the safe return of his baby girl.\u201d Al Pitrelli believes that in the end, TSO\u2019s appeal is universal. \u201cIf you want to be great at something, remain accessible but never become banal,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd that\u2019s a perfect way to describe the magic that is the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, because everybody gets it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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