I thought I'd respond to this post, as it's an opportunity to poke
my head in and introduce myself. I just joined the group last
night after coming home from the TSO show in Buffalo. :) Is
there anyone else here on the list from Buffalo that was at the
show or the meet and greet last night?
I saw a video on VH-1 when they used to do their Christmas
Day marathons for this really amazing version of "Carol of the
Bells". I caught it the first time about half way through, and said
to my friend that the guitars reminded me of Savatage. After
seeing the video a few more times that day, I decided to try and
find the CD when I used my Media Play gift certificate. I got
the last copy of "Christmas Eve and Other Stories" in the store
(the clerk had it stashed in his apron because he wanted it, but
was honest and let me have it!). I believe it was the first year
the CD was out. I was quite surprised when I read the liner
notes and figured out why "Christmas Eve Sarajevo" sounded
like Savatage.
I've been hooked ever since... I actually think I'm wearing out
the "CE&OS" CD, and may have to buy a new one next year.
I've been known to pull it out in July now and then. :)
And that's it, really... TSO just started coming to Buffalo last
year, and I'm hoping they'll continue to do so, seeing as Robert
Kinkel is fromWilliamsville, which is right next door. :)
Glad to have found a good place to discuss all things TSO...
-Mary-Justine
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It's a long one, but it's my story.
One day my wife and I were watching ice skating on TV. The performance
was a powerful one due to the choice of music, Christmas Eve (Sarajevo
12/24), although I did not know that at the time. I had wanted to find out
who had done the music, but the program never mentioned anything about
the song or group that performed it. All I knew was that it was a heavy guitar
version of The Carol of the Bells, a favorite Christmas song of mine.
Unfortunately, I was never able to find out who it was that had performed
the song. Until many years later...
A friend at work let me listen to BLN and when I heard "Who Is This Child",
I was sitting at my desk crying. It moved me enough to actually go to their
website and I wrote in their guest book sometime around April 17 - 19 2000.
I explained how I wished that I had a 10th symphony to give up for my
oldest daughter. She had been diagnosed with Autism in Sept 1999, I ex-
plained how she will never know how she is different, and I had given up on
things getting better for her. The song rang true for me and about our
situation. At the time, we didn't know how well she would do with the early
schooling that she was getting (nor that our youngest would also be diagnosed
a year later). Today she is in a normal 1st Grade classroom and is not easily
recognized as a special needs child. My youngest is in Pre-school and will
attend Kindergarten next year. She is still limited in speech and acts diffe-
rently around other children causing them to stop and stare.
Shortly after the Guest book entry, I received an email from Paul O'Neill. He
wanted our phone number and address. About a month later, we had
received packages of toys for our kids. We were speechless. Unfortunately,
one of the toys had a defect and we sent it back to the catalog company and
requested a replacement. The company responded that a refund would be
given instead. I contacted Paul to make sure that they had sent him his refund
and he did it again. He replaced the toy, plus sent more. We couldn't believe
what was happening.
Needless to say, we traveled to Akron to see them perform that year (we live
in Tennessee, but were visiting Pittsburgh at the time). Last year was looking
tight with money and we were not able to buy tickets for the concert, but we
had won front row seats enabling us to see them again in Pittsburgh. A
member of this group even offered to send money to help us see the concert,
we truly do have a great group here. We had hoped to meet Paul that year,
but still no luck. Unfortunately, this year did not work out for us. We had
hoped for a Nashville Concert, but that's ok. I got the message loud and clear
the day I heard that song at work. Here's the guest book entry.
"A friend of mine at work let me listen to BLN, and I have to admit that after
reading the story line and after hearing the last song, I was crying at my desk.
Last year, September 1999, my daughter was diagnosed with Autism. When
you first hear a diagnosis like that, you pray with all your heart for some kind
of answer, and you find yourself asking God to take yourself instead, not
your little girl. You wish you had something that you could give up to take
the diagnosis away. And yet she, the one who has to deal with this the rest of
her life, has no idea of what has been robbed of her. To her, it is just how
things are.
With time, I started, just like her, to believe the same. That this is just how
things are. And then I listened to your CD. It got me thinking again.
Wondering what I could do to change things. What could I change to give her
another chance at a normal life. So I started to hope and pray again today. To
hope and pray for my little girl. I hope and pray for that 10th Symphony that
I would gladly give up. Just so my little girl could dream another dream. One
of an ordinary child, with an ordinary life.
Thank you"
So, this sort of explains why my favorite song is "Who Is This Child"
1. Who Is This Child
2. A Final Dream
3. The Music Box
4. Music Box Blues
5. The Snow Came Down
Honorable Mention: Christmas Eve (Sarajevo 12/24) - for without it, there
would be no TSO.
Thanks for your time,
Merry Christmas
-Dave L.
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First, I must say, Dave's story touched me. No, that's an understatement, it
hit me hard. I know what it is to have a child that is, well, 'different.' In 1992,
my son was born with glaucoma, which required many eye surgeries and
years of developmental therapies. I often thought, "What will he become?
Will he see? How long will he have his vision? How will he learn? What if no
one likes him? What if he has no friends? And the worst thought, What if no
one loves him?" It is incredibly disheartening to entertain the thought that
you, and you alone will ever be the only one to ever love your child. At age 3
he'd had more surgery and therapy than a 75-year-old person experiences in a
lifetime. My heart would break daily, and yes, I prayed for just a glimmer of
hope, progress, success, a miracle. My prayers were answered, in many
ways; believe in miracles, because they DO happen. Still, I am not sure if that
small sadness ever leaves your heart; for a time, you live in black and white,
day by day.
I can't pinpoint exactly when color began seeping back into my life, but I'll
venture at about December 1996. I was visiting a long-time friend who had
just given birth. As a small gift to her, I came to give her a 2-hour Time-Out,
you know, "me-time," to take a shower or eat without holding a colicky
newborn, go to the store, paint your nails, whatever. Before she started her
'time-out' she popped in the CEAOS CD, unknowingly introducing and
treating me to TSO.
How does one describe that moment of discovery? Music touching you so
deeply and on so many different levels? It's difficult to describe, but I knew it
was magic the moment I heard it and like many others on this board, it was a
CD that I had to acquire immediately and become immersed in!
So, enough already, long story short, I heard it from a friend. But the
wonderful feeling and healing that came from a Christmas CD, a Christmas
story... from fragments of a band I'd followed very closely in the late 80's -
early 90's... surely they couldn't be the same guys I'd driven 2 hours from PA
to Hammerjacks/Baltimore, MD to see every time they were scheduled to
appear?! Time certainly has a funny was of changing us all.
Happy ending? You bet! That little guy just turned 10 years old last month.
He walks, runs, dances, talks, sings, eats like a horse, has significant learning
disabilities, SEES (and I am grateful for all that he can see), loves TSO,
Smashmouth, and, YES! he has friends! Perhaps most important, he IS
Loved and Accepted, by adults, teachers and peers. AND...he's going to his
first TSO show in just 9 days!!!
Sorry, all, I know this was long and I'm not given to writing long posts!
Thanks for reading. May you all experience true Christmas Blessings this
Christmas Season.
-Kella (kwoods)
*****************************************************
I love Carol of the Bells and always listen for it around Christmas...any
version. I was listening to the radio on the way home from work and heard
TSO's version. It took me a few days to hear who the group was and I was
hooked right away. That was 1999 I believe. I tried to find the CD and
could not find it anywhere. The next year, 2000, I was able to locate a copy
at the beginning of the season and listened to Christmas Eve in Sarajevo over
and over and then finally decided that since I liked that track so much I
should really listen to the whole CD. I did okay with it until Old City Bar and
once I finally listened to the lyrics I found myself crying...a lot. My daughter
was two years old and my husband was an alcoholic. I listened to that CD
every morning and every night and everytime I heard Christmas Eve I was
uplifted and everytime I heard Old City Bar I cried...bad combination on the
busy streets of Houston!
I finally decided to go to the concert last year and bought two tickets. At the
time I bought them I didn't know if my husband would go with me or
not...wasn't sure if he would stay sober. The day came and he wasn't, so I
decided to take my now three year old daughter with me that night. I had
since bought Christmas Attic and decided that I would not let him ruin
another Christmas for us. I was blown away by the concert and my daughter
had a terrific time...she really enjoyed the music and the lights. I was lucky
enough to get front row slightly off center tickets so she also got some of that
rolling smoke from the stage and thought it was so cool. Valeri Vigoda came
into the audience playing during the second hour of the show and stopped in
front of her and played...it was incredibly awesome. I wanted to meet
everyone after the show but my daughter was too tired so we went home. It
was a memorable night and for a few short hours I forgot about everything
else that was going on and had fun.
I filed for divorce earlier this year and my daughter who is four now and I are
struggling to start over...it's all worth it though, we are happy and once again
I was able to get tickets to this year's show. We are in the fifth row this
time...still close enough. The seating wouldn't matter, it's the music, the
show and the message that we all make a difference that makes it all worth
while regardless of seating. December 22 is our night and we can't wait.
This group is full of wonderful people with a lot of different stories and it has
been wonderful that everyone shared so much. It's amazing that that a group
like TSO can bring so many people from various backgrounds together with
one common thread....hope, peace and love.
God Bless All and Happy Holiday's!
Take Care,
-Sherri (slboyd)
****************************************************
I can't remember exactly when but radio stations kept playing Christmas
Eve/Sarajevo. The first time I heard it was right in front of the school so I
was only able to hear the very beginning of it. As it came closer to Christmas,
VH1 started showing more holiday videos. One day while I was just channel
surfing I heard the song. The video was so incredible sadly. When I jumped
up in excitement I also knocked the remote off the couch causing it to change
the channel, so I had no idea what the song was called and who it was by. It
drove me nuts after that because either I would just miss the song or could
never catch the name.
A year later I was watching a 25 Days of Christmas special and I kept
thinking "Wow this sounds familiar" keep in mind it didn't play Christmas
Eve yet. So I watched the entire thing just mesmorized. Of course so
mesmorized I still hadn't gotten the name yet. I'd watch the show everytime it
came on again tranced. Then one day my sister came home and said "Hey I
got a new cd. Trans-Siberian Orchestra." I was like who? Then she explained
that they did Christmas Eve. I still had no idea what she was talking about so
finally she said "Nick, you watch the show all the time!" With that she put the
cd in and it started playing Christmas Eve/Sarajevo. The whole time I kept
thinking of how long I had been wondering who this group was and here my
sister knew it and had the cd! That night I went and bought it. Now I think
I'm a bigger fan than my sister is :)
-Nicky
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Hello Paul...
I'm supposed to be working on the Coggins Family Christmas letter to send
out to all the friends and family and hooligans that I should be doing a better
job keeping in touch with. Instead, I'm sitting here at an "un"-Official TSO
website reading how your music has touched so many people. Men dream of
such legacies to leave behind. You are blessed. I assume you know that. If
not, may I add one more story to the list?
Four years ago on Labor Day weekend the door slammed for what was going
to be the last time. A couple of "F"-you's were thrown out between Mrs.
Coggins and myself and some "I Hate You's" and "I wish you were dead"
and then darkness settled in over me. I'd walked out on my wife and two
little girls and fell into a depression that had me constantly wanting to go play
in traffic, if you know what I mean. I had gone from having everything to live
for to not finding a shred of hope in anything. It was really dark. I actually
shrudder at the thought of it now. (In case anyone is reading this, I truly hope
you have no idea what I am talking about. Depression is such a BE-OTCH!)
As dark days drifted into dark days, and the dog days of summer started to
give way to the long nights of winter here in the Pacific Northwest, I was
preparing to face the holiday season alone. (Captain Morgan and I spent
Thanksgiving together that year.) My two daughters would call and beg me to
come home. I was stuck somewhere between fear and pride and didn't know
what to do. How could their mother and I heal our broken hearts and broken
promises and broken relationship? It was the year of the Y2K buzz.
(Personally, I was hoping it was going to be the end of the world.) I was
standing in a music section of a chain store. I heard a song that I assumed
was by Mannheim Steamroller. I was mesmerized and my mouth dropped
wide open. I bought all of the Mannheim Steamroller CD's. All I knew was
that it had a powerful version of "Carol Of the Bells". Man, I couldn't get that
song out of my head. I literally wept that night thinking about it and mad
because after playing all the Mannheim Steamroller CD's I'd just bought,
realized that song was not on their cd's. I must be honest, if I'd seen the
TSO CD, I didn't notice it.
That spring I heard that Patti Russo had recorded some stuff with some
strange named band. I bought Beethoven's Last Night because I am a huge
Patti Russo fan...actually, I'm a Meat Loaf fan. Okay, in specific, I really
like Jim Steinman.
Mr. O'Neil, please don't get upset with me, but I did use Napster that
summer to download some of the other Trans Siberian Orchestra stuff
because I couldn't stop talking about BLN. That was when I heard
CE&OS...and that's why, sitting in my "dungeon" the next Christmas, a year
after first hearing "Christmas Eve, Sarajevo", I picked up the phone and
called my estranged wife and told her that I was sorry and I was going to get
some help.
...Fast forward 2 years---
This past Christmas season, my 7 year old daughter, Olivia, and I attended
the TSO West show in Seattle. I sat there with my eyes wet with tears as
Tommy Farese sang "She's Coming Home" and all I could think about was
the 'journey' I'd been on, and how that song was so fitting for me and my
family. Except, I was the "she" in the song.
I posted some pictures of Liv with John, Al, and Jill from the show. The
whole crew was spectacular and treated us like "WE" were the reason
"THEY" were there. As a fan, that's such a cool feeling.
Paul, I know nothing about you except for the few nuggets of information
from the internet. But you saved my life. MY family. My mind. Directly.
Indirectly. And for that, I truly thank you. For the music. For the gift. For the
talent shared. For the time taken.
Oh yeah, as far as that Napster thing...I have bought the CD's from every
song I downloaded. In fact, CA, CE&OS, as well as BLN remain stocking
stuffers when I give gifts to fellow coworkers. (Anyone want some
Mannheim Steamroller CD's?)
God bless you all...
Deeply and sincerely,
-Terrill Coggins