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Sava Claus
Interview with Trans-Siberian Orchestra guitarist Chris Caffery
By Thomas S. Orwat, Jr.
Nov 4 2004
Ho, Ho, Ho, Metal Christmas!!! That’s right, it’s getting close to that wonderful time of year again, or if you work in retail, the time of year where you want to swan dive off the highest story in your mall. But anyways, for rock fans of all ages it marks the return of the group that has become synonymous with Christmas: The Trans-Siberian Orchestra. TSO is the brain-child of producer Paul O’Neil and Robert Kinkel. O’Neil was most famous for his work with the Florida-based metal band Savatage. Since the inception of TSO to the present, O’Neil has always used past and present members of Savatage for recording and touring with TSO. This year will be no different and promises to truly be another memorable year for TSO. They have just released the most powerfully moving CD of their career, “The Lost Christmas Eve.” This CD is an absolute must for any fan of guitar-oriented power metal. TSO will also hit the road this season and tour again with two different versions of the orchestra. An East coast and West coast line-up will tour the US from mid- November to the end of December.
One of the musicians who is a vital part of TSO, especially the east coast line-up, and has been involved with the orchestra since day one is guitarist Chris Caffery. Caffery like many members of TSO was in the band Savatage. He was hired by Savatage in 1987 at the young age of twenty on the recommendation of O’Neil. But, during his first tour with the band, because of his young age, he was kept on the side of the stage and then eventually hidden. And throughout his career, Caffery has always had to play second fiddle to some of the most talented guitarists in rock. While in Savatage, he played behind guitar greats Criss Oliva, Alex Skolnick and Al Pitrelli. Although appreciated by Savatage fans, Caffery never really received the world-wide recognition for his guitar prowess that he so heartily deserved. But that is all about to change with the release of his first solo CD “Faces.” Caffery will now finally break out of the shadows and take center stage and not only by playing guitar but as lead vocalist as well.
“Faces” was recently released in Europe and praised by rock critics all across the continent. “Faces” is an in-your-face, ferocious and powerful, classic-metal sounding release. It’s the type of CD that so many metal musicians wish they could make. “Faces” is scheduled for release in the US on Jan 8 and with the added exposure that Caffery receives while on tour with TSO, this release should be big. Think of it as Caffery’s late Christmas gift for all the Metal-heads across the country.
What follows is a GlamMetal.com exclusive interview with the master of ceremony for the east coast version of TSO and the new Metal God –Chris Caffery. During this interview he discusses the tragedy that recently hit the TSO family, the secret of TSO’s success, his solo career and the future of Savatage.
Chris, first off I want to offer my deepest condolences to you and the Trans-Siberian Orchestra for the sudden passing of vocalist Daryl Pediford.
Yeah, thank you. It’s very difficult for all of us here. (Pauses).... It’s weird because he was just at rehearsal last week and then he missed a day of rehearsal and then we found out that he passed away. We are trying to get through this and it’s going to be a difficult tour to get through, but we are going to do it. (Pauses)...I mean we have to.
What exactly happened to him?
I don’t know. I didn’t see the medical report, but I believe that there was an internal bleeding. That’s what I was told.
He was with TSO. since its inception, right?
Yes, he was. He sang on the “Christmas Attic” release and our DVD and the new release. He sang at every TSO show that I ever played.
I saw him last year when you played Buffalo and he was an incredible vocalist.
He was a superstar. It’s weird for me because he was my roommate on the road for every tour up until last year, because we had our own rooms for the first time last year. Every year I spent an incredible amount of time with him. I really looked forward to it again this year. We have to do with out him.
I’d like to talk about your solo CD “Faces.” I was totally blown away by it. It’s Heavy Metal at its finest. Do you have plans to release it in America anytime soon? 
Actually, it comes out on Jan 18th. It’s being distributed through Black-Lotus American affiliate The End. They are getting the advertising campaign together. I was looking around to see if someone else was going to have the same vision as Black-Lotus near me in NY. But, I was getting a lot of the mentality of let’s wait and see what it does in Europe and them telling me they weren’t sure of how they could work the record. I need the same kind of priority commitment that I was getting out of Black-Lotus in Europe here in America. But, I’m working closely with people at The End and we are hiring people to do promo stuff and radio stuff. So, it’s going to be taken care of here, it’s just going to be done a little bit differently.
So, I’m assuming that you have tour plans to support it here in America.
Yes, but I don’t know exactly when that’s going to be. I’m going over to Europe in February and March. I’ll most likely return to the US in April.
Do plan on bring your drummer Jeff and bassist Dave along?
I know for sure that Jeff will be with me. Dave may have recording or touring plans with his band Z02. They have a lot of stuff going on. If he can that would be awesome, but if not I’ll have to get someone to fill in for him.
When was “Faces” recorded?
Between Jan 2004 to the end of May.
You also took on the role of lead Vocalist as well, how difficult was that? Well, I’ve always wanted to sing, I sung back up before. But, I really didn’t know how to. When I started to make the demos, I had pro-tools in my house, I was able to go back and try to do things over with out having people around laughing everytime my voice cracked. I just kept working it and working it. When I got my deal I started going for lessons and have learned how to do it. Your voice is an instrument and you have to learn how to use it. But, I’m having fun singing and I know it’s going to by a little different on stage singing and playing guitar. It’s something I have to work on to make it happen.
Was it your goal to make the greatest Metal record of all time? Because that’s pretty much what you did.
It was just my goal to get a lot of the Heavy Metal out of my system. I never really had a chance to get free reign and writing in the bands that I’ve been with. There was always a formula to what we were doing. Although the formula was at times experimental, I had my own stuff that was bleeding out of me and I had to get it done by putting out my own CD.
Were some of the tracks older songs that were submitted, but not used in Savatage?
I think that there were probably one or two riffs that were pre-existing before I started writing for the CD about two years ago.
Do you also have a Christmas CD out?
What I did was I was releasing an EP in the states, kind of the same thing that I did in Europe to have something out before that CD came out. I had a couple Christmas songs that I recorded, that TSO didn’t end up using and I just decided to put them out on my EP coming out on Nov 10 in a limited edition. People will be able to grab one when I’m out on the TSO tour. Hopefully, they will get to enjoy this music along with the other stuff. It will also be available online and at various stores.
Do feel frustrated at all that you can have such a quality CD as “Faces” and have major labels not even take the time to listen to it?
I don’t even think it’s a question of how good it is, is just that I get a lot of generalizations on my stuff before people even listen to it. That’s what the most frustrating thing is. They look into the soundscan figures of Savatage CD’s and base my worth on that before looking at the street buzz or listening to the songs. They are making generalizations on their fears and that’s what kills this business.
Yes, I totally agree. As Joe Perry wrote, “Let the Music Do the Talking,” and it’s certainly not how it is in the music biz right know. Any label that can’t see what an incredible CD you have on your hands is totally incompetent.
Yeah, well thanks, that’s why I didn’t wait around waiting on these guys forever. I had interest from larger labels, but everyone was playing a wait and see game with me. They wanted to see what happened after the TSO tour and I didn’t want to wait that long. I didn’t want to try to sell an old record, I want to get it out and tour and get the ball rolling. I’m already thinking about starting a new record. It isn’t something that I want to wait with and move so slowly.
What is going to be the first single from the CD?
Well, I believe that the first single that is going to go to Hard rock radio is “Pisses Me Off.” The first single that’s going to rock radio is “Music Man.”
I agree with that, they are definitely two of the stronger songs. I absolutely love “Pissed Me Off.” The guitar work is amazing and the lyrics are hilarious.
It’s funny how people react to that song. I’m getting that everywhere. My claim to fame will be that song. But, whatever it takes, right?
The part about Terrorist and Starbucks is so fucking funny.
The thing about it is that I could write another one like that tomorrow. I’m thinking of doing one every year as a bonus track. “Still Pissed Off” in 2005, “More Pissed Off” in 2006.
That would be cool. I want to ask a few more questions about TSO. Who is the other guitarist for the East coast tour this year?
This year Alex Skolnick is back.
How many people actually travel with TSO during a tour?
Well, this year I haven’t seen the full production. But, I think we upped the size of the show by two semis. But as far as the band goes, we have two guitar players, two keyboard players, drummer, narrator, violinists, six other singers. We get seven string players who we hire in each city. So that and the crew, so it’s quite a big cast. It’s over fifty people.
It’s like an army of Christmas elves coming into town.
Exactly.
The overhead for a tour like that must be astronomical.
Yeah, it’s a lot of money, but I think that TSO set a standard and we have to live up to it every year. We just want to make sure that people are getting the most for their money. It’s very expensive, but people work hard for their money.
How many of the guitar tracks did you participate on for the new TSO CD “The Lost Christmas Eve.”
I was doing a limited amount of the rhythm stuff because the majority of the time that we were working on that record, I was in the studio recording my solo CD. So Al did a great deal of work on the record. I was there as much as I could be, I was doing “Faces” and in the studio, sixteen hours a day.
What’s the status of the band Savatage?
That’s really up to the band. We have a lot of material. We were planning on going in to do a record, but the scheduling didn’t work out. I believe that Jon Oliva and I are going to tour together with our solo bands. It’s going to be a matter of a little bit of time, but I think we should have a record out in 2006 or 2007. It’s got to be the right kind of record, because the fans have waited a long time. But, it’s so late now that there is no sense in rushing it.
You would think that with the success of TSO, Savatage could ride the coattails of it and become bigger than ever before.
Yeah, I agree with that. That’s something that Savatage has to motivate itself to doing. TSO has become successful and the way it works and travels is first class. And
What do you attribute to the success of TSO?
A bunch of different reasons. The music is obvious the type of music that appeals to a lot of people. What we do live works. For whatever reason, it’s addictive to people and comforting to them. There is a lot of weirdness going on in the world and people like bringing their families to something that everyone can enjoy. Kids love rock music and people in their 70’s do as well. You look like this, the first Led Zeppelin CD come out in 69, a person who was in their early 30’s at the time is now close to 70. So there is a huge audience out there and for some reason TSO is connecting with many of them. Also, we are really just a bunch of misfits going up and doing our thing and a lot of people like that. They meet us at our autograph signings that we have at the end of every show and see that we are just normal people not much different from them. That’s what brings them closer. It’s a great feeling and as long as we keep our standard up and keep pushing ourselves, I think that this will last for a long time. www.chriscaffery.com
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