11-29-2017, 01:35 AM
In 1990 or so, one of my dad's friends used to give me mixed tapes of heavy metal bands. One of the tapes had a couple of Savatage songs and I thought they were awesome. They had a great singer and guitarist and even though they were 'heavy', they also had a tint of theatrics to them. The first time I heard Prelude to Madness, I was hooked. This song became TSO's The Mountain.
I bought all of the Savatage CDs I could find and they quickly became my favorite band. Fast forward a few years and I bought Savatage's Dead Winter Dead which had the song Christmas Eve (Sarajevo). Of course, that song was re-packaged as TSO since the Savatage version, although exactly the same, was 'too heavy metal' for the mid 90s. That song became TSO's greatest hit and the early fan's wink and secret.
I remember going to Tower Records in Massapequa, NY to pick up the Christmas Eve and Other Stories CD when it was first released. They never heard of it but were able to find it in their computer system. I thought most of this CD was great and O' Holy Night is still one of my favorites.
I saw TSO a few times at the Beacon Theater and had an impromptu run-in with Paul O'Neill in the lobby where he signed one of my tour books. I am still a TSO fan, obviously, but miss the earlier days where they were not so well known. It is not as much fun to to me once the secret is out but it is still fun to take a first timer who has no idea what to expect. They are usually in awe of the spectacle.
I bought all of the Savatage CDs I could find and they quickly became my favorite band. Fast forward a few years and I bought Savatage's Dead Winter Dead which had the song Christmas Eve (Sarajevo). Of course, that song was re-packaged as TSO since the Savatage version, although exactly the same, was 'too heavy metal' for the mid 90s. That song became TSO's greatest hit and the early fan's wink and secret.
I remember going to Tower Records in Massapequa, NY to pick up the Christmas Eve and Other Stories CD when it was first released. They never heard of it but were able to find it in their computer system. I thought most of this CD was great and O' Holy Night is still one of my favorites.
I saw TSO a few times at the Beacon Theater and had an impromptu run-in with Paul O'Neill in the lobby where he signed one of my tour books. I am still a TSO fan, obviously, but miss the earlier days where they were not so well known. It is not as much fun to to me once the secret is out but it is still fun to take a first timer who has no idea what to expect. They are usually in awe of the spectacle.