| Savatage
Chriss Caffery Emails
Well
this email has the questions of the people who filled my last Savatage
Form ...
I
choosed some of them and sent them to Criss .
And
he DID answer , Thanx Man !
In
a message dated 98-12-19 05:26:30 EST, you write:
<<
The questions :
-When
Will you record an album w/ John West in 1999?
It
depends on my schedule, Tso 3 is getting done and so is Sava...
-
How did you join Savatage?
Paul O'Neill was my manager and hooked us up, it was a natural fit...
What is your favorite Savatage album?
Ghost in The Ruins
-
whats it like trying to match/exceed the work of Criss Oliva?
It is very emotional at times, but he is the reason I am where I am today,
The challengs
it met from the Heart!!!!
My fav place to see you is at Birch Hill,
N.J. , Where is your fav place to play?
Brazil!!!!!!!!!
-
Where did he learn to play the guitar?
I learned to play on my own, so did Criss
-
Will Dr Butcher tour with Savatage, and when are the 'Tage coming back
to Texas?!!
I hope to be in Texas next year!!! I think We may put a Butcher
tune in the Savatage set!
-
what process do they use to write their songs ?
It is too involved to explain...Paul O'Neill
writes most of the Lyrics, Jon Al and I write the music
now...
-
where was here in the album "handful of rain" ?
I was doing Butcher writing
And
a question from me :
- Where are you standing now , in terms of Tour,Working on a new album
or just resting ?
Writing for the new Savatage record and trying
to rest!
>>
The
InterView I Had The Honor To Conduct With Chriss .
In
a message dated 98-04-11 05:00:26 EDT, you write:
Hey
there Chriss , It's Amir (from Israel if you remember ? :) ) ...
You
said you dont mind answering some questions for an interview that will
be shown on my site .
So
here I go ... of course I am no reporter but if you dont feel like answering
some of the questions you ,dont have to .
1.)
So Chriss I will start from the beginning ,When did you join Savatage and
for what resins ?
I know you had a band of your own before Savatage and if I am not mistaken
your brother
played drums ?
I first played with Savatage on the Hall of the
Mountain King Tour in 1987-88. They were not sure if they wanted to add
me as
an official member so we parted ways til 1989 when they asked me to join
for
Gutter Ballet. I loved the bands music, that was the main reason I joined.
I did play in a band with my brother for almost ten years before I got
involved with Savatage. He was very upset I left and that was a main reason
I
left the band in late 1990, a decision I was never too happy with.
2.)
About your band before Savatage , just for some knowledge ,
what was your style and why didn't it work ?
My original band was heavy
metal, kinda similar in some ways to Savatage with a bit more of a
Priest/Maiden/Dio sort of sound. I did play in the band "Heaven"
on CBS
records, produced and managed by Paul O'Neill, the year before I first
played
with Savatage. Paul was responsible for our connection.
3.)
Chriss , do you remember yourself born with a guitar in your hands ?
I started playing drums at age 9 guitar at age 11. I always wanted to be
a
rock star ever since I could remember.
3b.)
When did you start playing guitar and what was your first guitar :)
My first guitar...Electric, I think the brand was "Checkmate" or something
like that, I also had a very cheap acoustic, my family didi not have much
$$$.
4.)
Now for some questions about the band ...
Savatage is a hard working band , you keep on working non stop ...
you keep recording albums and touring all the time .
I know it's hard and you have families now . Tell about the one thing
that makes
you keep on working so hard , I mean is it the fans , the work itself
, the moneeey ....
We love the music and the fans...$$$ never has been my inspiration, as
long
as I can make a living doing what I love, I am lucky!!!
5.)
I saw the list of songs for the tour ,
I must say its a jam packed show and I wish I was there to see it !!!
Tell what is like in your shows , tell about the fans , tell about the
stage ,
and do you bring a live orchestra to your shows ?
No orchestra yet!!! Our fans are incredible, everywhere we go there are
so
many. Our stage is pretty basic, we concentrate on the music. We have been
known to use a lot of lights and special effects...Pyro, Smoke, Lasers,
Vari
Lights, Etc. The most important thing is the music.
6.)
About Criss Oliva , I know you are dedicating a song to him in your
show , If I am not mistaken Jon plays "When The Crowds Are Gone"
for his memory ?
Jon and I play "Temptation Revelation" Then he chooses
a song by himself, Crowds, Heal my Soul, A little too far...However he
feels
that night, then we play "Believe" that is the tribute each night for Criss.
I
miss him always!!
7.)
Do you still talk about Criss ?
Not a day goes by that I do not talk or think about him. He is my inspiration,
my mentor. His memory keeps this band alive...
8.)
Savatage has really improved over the years!!! and that what I like about
you guys !!!
you are always improving!!!!!! Tell about the way you make an album
, each one and his job ...
Jon and Paul do a lot of the writing, on
the new record Al and I contributed
quite a bit to the music. Paul now writes the lyrics and co-Produces with
Jon
who also writes a lot of the music. I play most of the rhythm stuff and
50% of
the lead work now. Al plays rhythms on the stuff he writes and the other
half
of the solos. Johnny and Jeff do their jobs... Drums and Bass.
9.)
And finally the big one ,
Chriss do you think joining Savatage was the best decision you made about
your career ?
Absolutely, not just my career, my life!!!
I am very thankful to be a member
of this Family.
Another
Email From Chriss where I wanted to know the list of songs they
play
on the current TWOM tour .
Subject:
Re: Hello From Israel
Date:
Wed, 25 Mar 1998 02:02:14 EST
From:
To:
ahershco@ort.org.il
Hi,
Setlist-
1-The
Ocean
2-Welcome
3-Chance
4-Jesus
Saves
5-Turns
to me
6-Morning
Sun
7-Handful
of Rain
8-The
Storm
9-Hourglass
10-Blackjack
Guillotine
11-Wake
of Magellan
12-Dead
Winter Dead
13-Edge
of Thorns
14-My
Solo with Jon/Temptation Revelation
15-Jon-When
The Crowds Are Gone
16-Believe
17-Gutter
Ballet
18-1st
Encore----I Am/Sirens
19-2nd
Encore----Hall of the Mt King
Chris
This
was the first Email that Criss answred me .
Subject:
Re: Hello From Israel
Date:
Tue, 24 Mar 1998 11:04:28 EST
From:
To:
ahershco@ort.org.il
Hello
Amir,
Nice
to hear from you. We do get a lot of mail from Israel, you would be
surprised
if you looked around just how many Savatage fans there are
everywhere.
We just got back from Brazil and we had never played there before.
There
were over 2500 people at one show. They knew every word to every song.
Johnny
is here at my Apartment now I told him you said hi, He said hi back.
Keep
playing your guitat and I hope one day you can get to see us live.
I
am very much over-loaded with mail so Imust go and I will speak to
you
later,
Christopher
Caffery---Savatage
---If
you go to our Web-site you will be able to verify my E-mail address to
know
I
am me!!! |
