Savatage History

This record shall become the long-expected rockopera. It's a concept album about the rise and fall of a rock-artist. And "Streets" seems to tell the story of Jon Oliva. It's a rebuilt version of his life-story. We're also given his view of the future . It's kind of an autobiography!

PAUL: "For the recordings of "Streets" we sort of lived in the Record Plant studios. It was the first album to be recorded digitally on 96 tracks and that gave a lot of trouble. We worked with the latest equipment, but also had to conquer it's child-diseases! One of the machines tore the tape apart. We immediately called Sony, but they told us that it could not have happened. They were so convincing, that we started to believe it. Till it happened for the second time. That time it was worse, because the title track was on that one, all done! Sony sent a whole team of technicians to New York. They looked at it, as if it was a recently deceased patient. After a long discussion they came to the conclusion: Yep, if you combine two of these machines and do this, this and that, and it all happens at the same time, then the recorder will tear up the tape of the other recorder! They felt very guilty and repaid us one week studio-time. Which was very polite."

Because the band wants everything to be perfect and this stuff slows down things even more, the recordings are way over the deadline. Jon doesn't see things clearly on a certain day. He sneaks out of the studio and flies back home, to Florida.

JON: " I arrived on July 5th in New York and exactly a year later I called it a day. I left on July 4th. Underhand, because I let the receptionist tell , when my plane took off! If I hadn't left then, we would still be in Record Plant. I know that for sure!"

PAUL: " It wasn't that bad, because we had all the vocals on tape. We were still polishing the songs and had recorded a lot of extra songs. I think that about ten songs didn't make it on "Streets"." This record is doing very fine and opens up the Japanese market. During the European tour with Vicious Rumours the band is assisted by keyboard-player John Zonder, formerly Crimson Glory.

After that tour, Jon thinks he has reached everything he can reach, he thinks about leaving the band and working in the background of Savatage and other projects. He doesn't want to constantly do the same things on stage, he wants to create new things. He wants to dedicate himself to musicals.

JON: "I didn't want to be still singing "Streets" when I had passed 40, and besides that I was attracted to writing for other people. I could use different notes, that my voice couldn't reach. The freshness of something new was desired and it worked"

The only Savatage album that completely lacks Jon's voice. The new singer's name is Zachary Stevens and he's from Boston. He is not a total stranger to the Sava's, because when he was still living in Los Angeles Zak had already met the Oliva brothers through Criss Oliva's guitar roadie Dan Campbell.

PAUL: " Atlantic totally disagreed. Replacing the singer was a ridiculous idea in their opinion. One of the main rules in rock 'n roll namely is, that a band soon becomes history when you decide to replace the singer. Black Sabbath and Van Halen got away with it, but the majority breaks down. Dan Campbell was still in contact with Zak and it was he who came up with the tape. Zak's voice was more melodic and fitted in better with the music we were writing at that moment. Besides, he was able to sing superb harmony parts. The more Zak Stevens' you hear singing in counterpart, the more impact it has. I have worked with great singers before, but Zak's qualities surface, when he's singing along with himself."

"Edge Of Thorns" contains a lot of fresh material, but also a couple of elaborated versions of material that was already meant to be on "Streets". The record becomes a huge radio hit for Savatage in the US and Atlantic is totally surprised. Savatage, with the new singer, goes better than ever and so Jon and Paul can undisturbedly work on 'Romanov', that's supposed to become their first Broadway musical.

PAUL: " In the meantime we were negotiating with William Morris' agency. That is the largest booking agency on Broadway as far as musicals are concerned. Everything was going perfectly, until it happened..."

He is ofcourse referring to the accident in which guitarist Criss Oliva is killed and his wife Dawn is seriously injured. Obscurity about the question who caused the accident - some magazines imply that Criss made a false passing manoeuvre himself - is permanently taken away by an article appearing in the Tampa Times of Sept. 17, 1994. DUI means: 'Driving Under the Influence'.

TAMPA MAN SENTENCED
IN DUI DEATH
OF ROCK GUITARIST

Garth McNamee was in Tampa court Friday to be sentenced on his seventh and most serious drinking and driving offence - DUI manslaughter. Hillsborough Circuit Judge Claudia Isom sentenced the 39 year old Tampa man to five years in prison to be followed by 10 years probation and 200 hours of community service working with Mothers Against Drunk Driving. McNamee killed 30 year old Christopher 'Criss' Oliva in October 1993 when he smashed head on into Oliva's 1982 Mazda as McNamee tried to pass another car on U.S. 301.
Oliva's wife suffered severe head injuries and multiple trauma in the crash.
Oliva played guitar for the nationally known rock group Savatage, which released six albums on the Atlantic label before his death. He and his wife were on the way to Livestock 4, an annual Zephyr Hills music festival, at the time of the crash. Oliva was attending as a spectator.

PAUL: " It was terrible. Criss was the friendliest person on earth. If you knew you were going to die within a week, you'd probably be real nice to everyone. You'd be treating everyone with respect. Well, Criss was like that all his life...If he only had 10 dollars left, he'd give you 9 when needed. He was also very modest about his playing and always had time for his fans. While I saw a lot of bands treating their fans like shit. A lot of musicians just don't realize that they'd probably be working at some gas station without their fans.
I heard the news about Criss from their father. Both Jon and I were in New York. I didn't want to tell him on the phone, so I called him and lied about having cut myself and asked him to come over and help me. He came right away and then I told him.
Then, we did nothing for at least six months. It was Jon who eventually decided that the best thing to do was to continue the band. that way, Criss' music would always be in the stores. And he was right, because Criss' name is still in the guitar polls."

Shortly before Criss' death, Savatage was offered the opportunity of opening for Bon Jovi on their European 'Keep The Faith' tour, but had to turn it down because of obligations in the States. Too bad, because it would have been a huge chance without doubt. The band does however take part in an extended European tour with Overkill and Non-Fiction. Also, the record contract is forced open. In America the band stays with Atlantic, in the meantime Savatage belongs to those bands that have been contracted there for the longest time. For the rest of the world, the band searches for new employers.

PAUL: " That's a technical story. When you are contracted by a record company for the whole world, you receive a much smaller part for the sales in other countries. You then fall back into license amounts and the royalties then are reduced to 20% of what you'd be getting in America. At one particular moment our contract was reviewed and now we're allowed to make our own deals for countries outside of the US . That way, we even make money of the European and Japanese sales. It gives us some creative freedom and that could result in fine music."

JON: " Because, lets get real here, we always have a lot of expenses. Working on a rock opera demands for a lot of money. Musicians of the New York Philharmonic are not exactly cheap, they cost hundreds of dollars a day, regardless if you're practising or you're in the studio. When I sell records through a European company I make more money than when Atlantic releases the record in license over there. Besides, the labels we work with outside the US are smaller and to them Savatage is more important than to a branch of a major. Edel has done a great job for us these past few years in the Benelux and Germany."