Jon Oliva's comment on no Savatage reunion

[Wayniac]

To hear everybody telling stories,Savatage was losing money....one word...BULLSHIT! Did they make millions? No.But were they bleeding money every time they went on tour...not on your life!TSO certainly puts food on the table,but at this point...Jon never has to work again and he is set.Hes feeding the little Sava birdies like Middleton and Pitrelli by keeping the TSO ball rolling,but they ain't starving either.They've become accustomed to the life that TSo gives them,and back to buses and 100-200 people shows is not where they want to be.
Nothing against any of them;I'm proud to say I've been there since the beginning.Just the fact that 25th anniversary talk was like teasing a fatty with a bacon cheeseburger pissed me off.They knew that it was getting less and less likely,but they hung that doggie treat out there anyways.The metal scene will never forget the great Savatage,but TSO doesn't make up for what once was.

I have not seen the "books" from back in the day (hell - they probably don't have books knowing those guys lol !) , but from the people I know in the Sava camp, I was told they were taking $$ from the Euro tours and fests, and were supplementing the US tours so they didn't lose too much.
I have heard that from multiple sources (and it has been publicly published more than once).
Seems like a no brainer to me. You try keeping a bus, rental trailer, light system, FOH guy, merch guy, guitar tech, drum tech, light tech, and the band on the road profitably with crowds of few hundred, regardless of house guarantee. You lose $$ or barely scrape by.
Now compare that to 1,000,000+ tix TSO sold in 2006, plus merch and performance royalties, publishing fees, live televised shows, and royalties paid for commercial uses. of the songs.. what would you do in the same position?
Having said that, as a Sava fan I am bummed, but I am glad that they are making more $$... and I support them 100%
Not sure where you get your numbers from...

 

[PurpleCrayonWriter]

I was lucky enough to see Savatage here in Grand Rapids in 2001 at the Orbit Room. It's a small venue and I stood about 5 feet away from the band. They were great, no doubt.

However, the greatness of Savatage, for me, consisted of a combination of musicianship and vocal arrangements -- both of which I now find in TSO, Circle II Circle, and JOP.

Personally, I don't care if Savatage ever plays another note as a band. TSO is bigger, better, and more magical than any show I've ever attended. Nothing can top the sheer spectacle and magic of TSO. And when I want to hear killer multi-part harmonies, I just listen to Circle II Circle. Zak is the man.

Musicians are not in this world to be starving artists. They need to support families, put money toward retirement, and live normal lives when they're not on stage and not in the studio.

I'll never fault Jon Oliva for putting other bands ahead of Savatage. If he someday wants to get the guys together for a one-off album, show, or tour, great. More power to him. But if he chooses to leave Savatage as a fond memory, I'll applaud that decision as well.

I think it's fantastic that in the wake of Savatage we have TSO, Chris Caffery, JOP, and Circle II Circle to enjoy. That's a testament to their talent as musicians. I'm just damn glad they're all recording and doing what they love -- so that I can enjoy watching and listening to the fruits of their labors.

Rock on, Jon!

 

[Kong]

I think it's fantastic that in the wake of Savatage we have TSO, Chris Caffery, JOP, and Circle II Circle to enjoy. That's a testament to their talent as musicians. I'm just damn glad they're all recording and doing what they love -- so that I can enjoy watching and listening to the fruits of their labors.

Rock on, Jon!

As a true Savatage fan and a member of JOP...(and after MANY conversations about this topic with Oliva), I can say with complete honesty that it isn't about one band or the other. The situation is so complex that if you are not part of the equation....you could not begin to understand what can or cannot happen.

Jon is just a great guy with genious writing and singing skills. And sometimes the music business changes and you have to stop and think about your family, your livelihood, your available time and your art!

If everyone were given the pieces to the puzzle, and able to connect the dots....It would be much easier for all to understand why things happen.

This is a very tough business to financially support your family and still have the opprortunity and desire to get your music to the people.

Cheers and Merry Christmas to all!!

 

[Wayniac]

Cheers Kong !

 

[edgeofthorns]

Straight from the Mountain King's mouth at PP "TSO pays the bills, and I gotta eat". Gotta remember that these guys are professional musicians making a living playing music. If all they did was Savatage, I'd probably see Jon delivering pizzas in my town since he lives here.

You can't blame them for that.

Creeps, it you'll read my post again, you'll see that I don't blame O'Neill for making TSO his number one priority. Any logical human being would do the same thing. My point is, to simply throw us a bone every now and again. I don't think a performance here or there, with the 90's lineup, would kill any of them. Apparently, they have the money!

~Brian~

 

[7thSaviour]

Kong put it very nicely. Yes, these guys have to make a living doing what they do and I fully understand and support this notion. I hope to see TSO next year and I can't wait to see JOP at PPUSA IX!

 

[DRFS Rich]

Sava is my favourite band of all time, and I LOVE TSO and will never miss a show. I completely understand and respect their decisions, however I would love to see a nod to the Sava fans in the form of a one-off show. If they're going to kill Sava, send it out on a high note. Better to burn out than fade away, and all that jazz.

- R

 

[Perditions Ghost]

JOP sounds more like old school Savatage than TSO does or ever will in my humble -and probably solo- opinion.

I'm with ya, man.

 

[SavaVIDude]

No one loves Sava more than I. But I REALLY get tired of hearing folks bash Paul. This is their job!! If you had a choice of the following two jobs in whatever your field is, which one would you take:

Job #1 - $1,000,000 per year (TSO)
Job #2 - $15,000 per year (Savatage)

These people's livings are our leisure. Personally, I'm happy the boyz are getting some notariety amd $$ for their genius. It allows Jon to pursue his passsion with JOP and Chris with his solo stuff. In reality, Savatage died on a rainy Florida night in 1993. We can't change that.

The closest thing to Savatage is JOP. Take it or leave it. But move on.

Peace,
Chris

 

[MetalOperaChick]

This has nothing to do with Savatage but...

TSO is putting out another Xmas album after Nightcastle? Goddamnit. I'm so tired of their Xmas shit. Beethoven's Last Night was easily their best album. Doing Christmas stuff makes it really unoriginal...how many times do i have to hear 80 million different variations of Christmas songs over the holidays anyways? Enough already in my opinion. It irks me that i can't go and see these guys and see fellow metal heads anymore. TSO has only gotten big because they now appeal to the majority of the American people by making Xmas albums. I understand they want to sell more albums and appeal to more audiences...but they've already done that. The Xmas deal is over with, they've got a whole new crowd, now they should expose them to new things! I was hoping they'd only do the Xmas thing for a while to draw in a crowd and then do something with a different subject after a while. My favorite Album was Beethoven's Last Night and they don't play that stuff anymore but maybe two songs.


I'd rather see Savatage at this point. Oh well

*note* I'm typing 'Xmas' for shorthand because i'm lazy. Not to be offensive.

 

[TwizstedJesus]

True that Savatage died in 1993,but to pick up the pieces and deliver us Dead Winter Dead,Wake of Magellan and Poets and Madman following Criss' passing...was truly amazing!Pitrelli certainly worked incredibly well with Caffery,and that Sava sound was rarely sweeter.

But to beat on the TSO drum year after year is sad.Sure,theres a shitload of money there,but what bothers me was the promise of something 25th anniversary with no payoff.Can they not put something together from the archives at least? I know there was video shot during the Damond Jinaya tour,and theres got to be a lot of stuff just wasting away in the Oliva closet,from tours past.A final farewell would be the ultimate sendoff to a band that we've come to love over the years,and a chance to thank us fans for the years of servitude.

We get to enjoy JOP.which is Sava-similiar,and TSO,which has bored me to tears over the last 2-3 years,never changing up the set,no new disc,etc...but it will never be the same...its just sad

 

[edgeofthorns]

True that Savatage died in 1993,but to pick up the pieces and deliver us Dead Winter Dead,Wake of Magellan and Poets and Madman following Criss' passing...was truly amazing!Pitrelli certainly worked incredibly well with Caffery,and that Sava sound was rarely sweeter.

But to beat on the TSO drum year after year is sad.Sure,theres a shitload of money there,but what bothers me was the promise of something 25th anniversary with no payoff.Can they not put something together from the archives at least? I know there was video shot during the Damond Jinaya tour,and theres got to be a lot of stuff just wasting away in the Oliva closet,from tours past.A final farewell would be the ultimate sendoff to a band that we've come to love over the years,and a chance to thank us fans for the years of servitude.

I agree. I'd love to buy a farewell DVD package of some sort. Something along the lines of the Kisstory discs.

~Brian~

 

[SavaVIDude]

True that Savatage died in 1993,but to pick up the pieces and deliver us Dead Winter Dead,Wake of Magellan and Poets and Madman following Criss' passing...was truly amazing!Pitrelli certainly worked incredibly well with Caffery,and that Sava sound was rarely sweeter.

But to beat on the TSO drum year after year is sad.Sure,theres a shitload of money there,but what bothers me was the promise of something 25th anniversary with no payoff.Can they not put something together from the archives at least? I know there was video shot during the Damond Jinaya tour,and theres got to be a lot of stuff just wasting away in the Oliva closet,from tours past.A final farewell would be the ultimate sendoff to a band that we've come to love over the years,and a chance to thank us fans for the years of servitude.

We get to enjoy JOP.which is Sava-similiar,and TSO,which has bored me to tears over the last 2-3 years,never changing up the set,no new disc,etc...but it will never be the same...its just sad

I agree. The post-Criss Sava was truly remarkable. But, like it or not, it still boils down to the $$. When the Sava reunion stuff was being pondered, TSO hadn't blossomed into the cash cow it now is. Money will always talk.

Chris