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12/15/03
by Dave Richards
from www.wncx.com
Our very own TSO YahooGroupie, Dave Richards, recently had the
opportunity to talk with Bill Louis, Program Director and DJ for Cleveland's
WNCX radio station. It was during Mr. Louis' early interviews with Paul
O'Neill that the idea of TSO transitioning from a studio project to a touring
project was broached, and he is gracious enough to share a little of the
story with us.
Dave Richards: What was your very first exposure to TSO?
Bill Louis: Well, it was when the single of ‘Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24'
first crossed my desk at the station back in 1996. Back then I hadn’t even
heard of ‘Savatage’. It was the TSO single.
DR: When did you first play TSO on the radio?
BL: The first year we played the album was 1997. We just played
‘Christmas Eve And Other Stories’. The next year, 1998, we added our
own narration to CE&OS and included ‘Christmas Attic’ in the broadcast.
Now we do it every year, at 9:00 p.m. on Christmas Eve and at 9:00 a.m.
on Christmas morning.
DR: Many fans believe that it was through your efforts that Paul O’Neill
agreed to tour, and that he did not initially intend for TSO to be a touring
project. What was it that motivated you to investigate the possibility of a
tour? How did you contact him? What was it that you said or did that
convinced him to take the TSO project on tour?
record, and I had done interviews with Paul both on and off the air. It took awhile to get the record
going, working with the record company. I initially was thinking of a play, or an animated video
presentation. Then, I was thinking that TSO could get on the road with a presentation like a
standard tour. But, the music is so well done with such diversity in style that it was difficult at first
to see if it would hold up under a tour schedule. The singers and performers are selected for
specific reasons to line up with the specific styles of music - they audition hundreds of performers,
but they keep coming up with people to fill in.
Cleveland performance? And, was it TSO’s very first live performance?
BL: I think the first Cleveland perform-
ance was back in 1999. They had a
warm-up performance, was it (talking to
someone in the background) Wilkes-Barre,
PA? Philly? OK. They had six or seven
venues that first year.
DR: Yes, I think they played Detroit,
Cleveland, Philly, and Washington DC that
year.
BL: And New York. Cleveland was sold
out very quickly... In about an hour and a
half.
DR: What is your future involvement with
TSO? Will you still introduce the band?
Will WNCX still sponsor the tour locally,
including the Beethoven’s Last Night tour
in 2005?
please visit: www.wncx.com.
DR: Are you at all involved with Paul’s appearances at WVIZ-TV?
BL: I was last year, yes. I wasn’t involved this year because there was a different promotional
director, but I did have dinner with Paul the night before. He is just such a fascinating guy, and is
so generous.
DR: I know. He usually gives one dollar from each ticket sold to a local charity at each show, and
the last concert I heard about he presented a check for something like $10,600.
BL: I mean, he’s not like this icon or something, but people were always coming up to him and
thanking him for his generosity.
DR: What a surprise for most of us fans when TSO performed Cleveland Rocks last year. Were
you involved?
BL: No, I wasn’t. It was great to hear, though. The fans of Cleveland really support the band. I
mean, the shows here are sold out at arenas before they’re sold out at theaters elsewhere in the
country. It was cool to let the band stretch it out some and to see the different vocalists perform in
one song.
DR: How does the station get tickets to give away?
BL: Usually from the promoter and the station. With TSO, we have a higher degree of a relation-
ship with the band, so we get more tickets than the normal ‘five pairs of tickets to give away’. We
want to and plan to continue to be a presenting station, so we’ll continue to be able to give away
tickets.
DR: With TSO’s growing popularity both here in Cleveland and nationwide, and with two new
TSO releases due by the time the BLN tour is launched in ‘05, how do you foresee upcoming sales
and venue locations, along with the music appearing on more playlists? Do you think that Carmina
Burana will be the next TSO single, and if so, will you start playing it here in Cleveland?
BL: I don’t think TSO will be going into bigger venues anytime soon. There is a certain sense of
intimacy that the music engenders that needs to be protected. As far as sales are concerned, a
good song will get the people’s attention, and TSO has such a great fan-base, and it’s growing, that
whatever they put out, they won’t have to rely on radio support for sales. The playlist for WNCX
is based on the Classic Rock format, so folks will be tuning in expecting to hear Led Zeppelin.
New music is more difficult to work into the playlist. I don’t know if Carmina Burana will be the
next single. Usually to get airplay, there is an album accompanying the single. Playing a single is
more effective when there’s an album to buy. I’ll probably play Carmina Burana a couple of times,
yes.
DR: OK, well, thank you very much for your time, Bill.
BL: No problem. I’ll look for you at the Cleveland show this Sunday.
DR: I’ll be there!
Thank you Mr. Louis, and Thank you Dave!
