Rockezine.com interview with Savatage on Jun 23, 2001

with Jon Oliva on Jun 23, 2001

`Poets and Madmen` is the most recent album of the Florida born Metallers Savatage. A band that survived a lot of events, good and bad, and currently on tour in Europe doing festivals and support slots for label mates Judas Priest. At Graspop REZ had a chance to sit down with Jon Oliva, the bands` amicable semi-frontman...
		Hi Jon, how are things going for you and the band at the moment? Well we are doing great man, everything is going good, the new line up is happening and we are having a ball here. Before we came here we did 30 gigs already in America and we have been in Europe now for 2 weeks and we are still getting better every night. Everybody`s getting more comfortable, we change things around now and then and the set we played here at Graspop we really liked. It means a lot of pressure on the new guy (new singer Damon) but he manages really well.
		How were the reactions to album `Poets and Madmen`, it is out there for a few months now... The album is doing really well for us here, everything looks good. The whole purpose for us to do this tour is to introduce the new band and when we come back in October for our own headline tour. We are putting together a really great show for the fans. It will feature a lot of music and this is all a warm up for that.
		How much more festival gigs will you be doing? I guess about 3 or 4 more, a Greece one, another one in Germany, the Holland one and maybe one more...I am not sure at he moment. These are the bigger festivals.
		You are also on the Bospop festival in Holland...near Tilburg actually. (Tilburg is one of Savatage`s favorite places to play, the fans know why...) Cool baby! I love Holland! We are second to the last that night and we are looking forward to it. I already know that I will be living in Amsterdam, I just know it. I love the city, the people and the whole atmosphere there. The old buildings which brings very Gothic feel to it. I feel that I can write great music there. And of course I like the smokes...
		Maybe the perfect place to write and record a Jon Oliva solo album? Yes, absolutely. I have a lot of songs written that are very varied in style, some very dark, some lighter, maybe I get the chance to do that somewhere in the future. I would love to do that. It will reflect all sides of me...and I will be doing all the instruments; a real solo album without famous people coming in.
		How is the new singer holding up? Oh, Damon`s doing great and loving life very much at the moment...he is 25 and having a ball with us. People see us having fun and that is important. A lot of guys in this business forget that and are taking their shit too serious and we are just like Motörhead, having lots of fun. I don`t want to go to a Rock concert and get bummed out, I wanna have fun.
		As you are on a lot of festivals together with Megadeth you`re seeing former guitarist Al Pitrelli a lot of course, how are things between the two of you? I see him all the time man, he made a career move and if that`s better for him then that`s OK. We never thought he would stay that long with us anyway. Actually from the minute on we got Al in the band people were telling me to already look for a new guitar player already hahaha...He was never let in to the inner circle of the band as far as the writing and things like that. We credited him on the `Wake Of Magellan` album to throw him some cash. I don`t think he was incredibly happy when he was in Savatage but I know he neither is now in Megadeth...
		Luckily I have made enough money so I don`t HAVE to tour 260 days a year and Dave (Mustaine) is doing that and that`s putting a band thru hell. I just don`t want to be away from home that long. But if that is what they want to do...I am here because I want to be here, for the reason that I love Savatage. I`m not making a fortune with it, in fact out of my pocket all of this has to be paid, but I love it and so I do it...
		Well you are also doing the successful Trans Siberian Orchestra project... Yes, and that thing is more like a job to me. It is something wonderful for us and very challenging. We are very busy with that, it`s a platinum selling band with a wide variety of people loving the music. The work I do for that makes this one better...Savatage is the ultimate hobby for me. I`m always `fresh`; when I return from TSO and do Savatage again because it takes me away from that. I`m not complaining "I have to come up with a Savatage record now" (wining voice)...I am always fresh and ready.
		Do you write your songs throughout the year? Yeah I`m always writing, almost everyday. I write mentally; I hear it in my head and I can write it out on paper.
		In music? No, in my own musical language haha! It`s my own system, kinda like the alphabet. It works very easy and fast as I always come up with ideas very fast. And when I get near a piano or guitar I have no problems playing the stuff I wrote. I don`t have time to fuck around, can I say fuck?
		Sure you can! Fuck! I don`t have time to sit down looking a music sheets and stuff, this way it works very fine for me.
		You have been through a lot with Savatage and are still holding on, what keeps it going? When we were young we didn`t know what was going on, we were doing gigs for 150 people one week and sign to Atlantic Records the next. Wow! When we were 23 and had to pay the bills we once sold ourselves out with the `Fighting For The Rock` album and I would never do something like that again. Being still kids we didn`t knew but needed money anyway and people never thought about that. The reason why we carried on after Criss passed away (Oliva`s brother and original guitarist) was the we felt we would unrest his soul if we would stop the development of Savatage because he was gone. And this is still the situation. Johnny (Middleton - bass) has his own company and makes $150.000 a year, he doesn`t have to do this...
		If Criss still was in the band today, do you think the musical course of the band would be the same as it is now? Yes, I certainly think so because we were heading this way already. I knew him better than anyone and I very well know that to be true. `Edge Of Thorns` is a good example for that. To be honest, I don`t know if he was in the band today that we would have gone this far with the vocal arrangements but that came to us with the `Handfull Of Rain` album. A strange album because except of the guitar solo`s, which were done by Alex Skolnick (Testament) all the parts were done by me actually.
		I know the credits do not state it but it`s all really me...Zak Stevens came in and did the vocals and when I sat down with Paul O`Neill (producer) we decided that we needed to compensate Criss`s missing. And that became the new vocal approach and `Chance` as the first song. No one can replace Criss Oliva ever...Chris Caffery plays his parts now only because he actually played with him in the band. We had to bring in something else to the band. Savatage can`t exist without me, Chris or Johnny in the band because we are the only ones that knew Criss Oliva.
		So when a new album is coming up you feel you can rely on those 3 people? Very strongly actually. Our nucleus is very strong. The new guys got to earn their wings...We still consider Jeff kinda like a new kid although he`s been with us for 10 years, hahaha...
		When the people see you entering the stage there`s always a feeling of `the man is here`, how do you see that and what do you feel at that particular moment. "The Mountain King Arriving" haha! It makes wanna go for it and pumps me up for another great show. Damon never played for this amount of people (25.000) before and right before we went on stage today he looked at me and his eyes said "Wow" and "I want my mummy" at the same time... He`s doing great though, sometimes a bit nervous but hey, he`s a kid and is learning each day...
		You are returning to Europe in October? Definitely, we will be doing 6 weeks I think in the major clubs, as headliners of course. Spain, Italy and especially Greece are opening up for us. In Greece we could shit on the sidewalk and they would still love it hahaha...the kids are really great there. After Europe we will go to South America and do shows in Brazil, Argentina, Chili and Mexico before going to the west coast of the USA. We are busy until New Year.
		I presume the Trans Siberian Orchestra will be on too? Yeah, that`s starting the day after Thanksgiving, November 25th. Several guys of Savatage will be involved but I won`t be going this year. Nobody can pay me enough money to dress up like a penguin, hahaha! I just won`t do it...never, NEVER!! The only time they will have the chance to do that is when I `m going down, six feet under...
(Winston Arntz)