I will begin this diary after rehearsals...since rehearsal is not the most exciting place on earth...However I was very excited to see our new stage set up, I will include a few photos!!!

I took the opportunity to spend my last night before the tour saying goodbye to Kemp and preparing to pack. I had rented a car that day and dropped Haley off at Mom's for the tour. I was sad to say good-bye to both of them. Before I met up with Kemp I went to my last vocal lesson before the tour. I began taking them about 2 weeks ago. I can't believe how helpful it is!

I met Kemp and we decided to attack aliens and each other at an arcade in Times Square. She had a few more shoots in New York before flying to Tokyo, Bangkok and Sydney on Monday. We discussed our upcoming schedules...I am hoping she can see a TSO show in New York City. Throughout this very long and different year, she has been an incredible friend and inspiration. I don't think I would have ever have gotten my solo CD off the ground without her support.

I left her and made my way back to Astoria. I decided to stop by and say good=bye to my friends at McCann's...Bad idea...I told them I had to pack and leave for Ohio the next day. They would not take no for an answer. I wound up leaving at around 4am. I arrived home to a very empty house. Haley, as you know, was at Mom's. Jeff was upstate with his family and Johnny Lee went to stay at the Pitrelli house in the mountains.

Packing was finished at about 6AM. The winds were really whipping outside, I kinda had a feeling that our flight may be delayed the next day. I tied up a few more loose ends and went to sleep at 7. There were many things that I wanted to do the next day so I set my alarm for...9!!! Shortly after awakening I received a phone call from our tour manager John. Our flight was cancelled!!!! I went back to sleep til noon!!!

After waking up I found out that our travel plans would be a bus ride to Youngstown. We had chartered a bus that was to leave the city at 5PM. This left me enough time to burn some CD's, practice my singing and order my new Mac G4 Power Book! As I type now this is my first night with the new computer. We actually just left Akron...

I had my computer sent to Ripper Owens house here in Ohio. He is the only person I could think of that I could trust to send it to!!!

We loaded up the bus by 6 PM and headed towards Ohio. Now...there was a tragic situation that had developed. Jeff's sister was killed in a car accident Tuesday morning. This was something I knew about a few hours after it happened. Jeff and I were both speechless upon the news. I cannot imagine what he was feeling, yet...as a best friend I felt his pain. Jeff is one of the strongest people I know...he was going to spend time with his family and make it to the first show he could. Reality set in... Jeff was not going to make the first show. This was so terrible. We had TSO's back -up drummer, Mark Ambrosino with us. The trip was long and tiring. We went through Ferris Beuler, GoodFellas, Easy Money and Almost Famous before we arrived in Ohio. The weather was awful. The highway was closed in Pennsylvania for 4 hours. This was not a sleeper bus. Everyone was so burnt when we arrived in Ohio. We checked into our hotel at around 6AM. Obviously we had to get to the venue to rehearse, lobby call was noon. I slept for a few hours and woke up to run in the gym and vocalize!!! I forgot to pack my sneakers!!! I don't recommend running on a treadmill in socks!!!

Soundcheck was a bit long and confusing...Mark was doing very well, however the overall tension of a first show was magnified by ten. We were all happy to see our caterers. Mark Metzger and his crew. We definately do not starve on the TSO tour! I believe they will be with us for at least 33 of the shows. I usually do not eat dinner before the shows...it is not too much fun to perform on a full stomache!

After soundcheck I went into my dressing room and began to think about what I was going to say to the audience. It is something I think about all year and never decide until a few days into the tour! There is also a fine line between what I want to say and what I actually can. Sometimes it becomes difficult not to think out loud.

The show was really good considering the circumstances. I am a bit of a perfectionist, especially to myself..so I was not really pleased with my performance. I was tired and not too sharp in my on-stage raps. Mark did very well, I want to thank him for filling in! I returned to the hotel and went right to sleep, I was exhausted. Both mentally...and physically from the whole year leading up to this point. Black Lotus Records and ChrisCaffery.com announced my solo deal today...I cannot wait to get in the studio and show you my many "Faces." Goodnight...

A solid 10 hours of sleep is a good thing...I woke up and went to the hotel gym. Still no sneakers. I did manage to get to a 24 hour supermarket to buy most of the other stuff that I forgot! After another vocal workout I packed up my stuff and headed towards the lobby. The first person I saw was Jeff. I was so happy that he made it safe to Ohio. We said hello and hugged, I had to fight off tears, I could only imagine how he felt. Jeff and I are very close, so there was really no need to say much. We knew what each other was thinking. Soundcheck was a lot different than the day before. We checked levels, ran a few transitions and broke for dinner. The show was much different than the night before. The raps tightened up, the band tightened up...the singers were amazing. Our new narrator Bryan Hicks is blowing people away. Everyone was exhausted. I returned to my hotel room and played some guitar by candle light and passed out with my guitar in my hand.

I remember this hotel...a few years back I stayed here and lucked into a jaccuzi room. When I checked in I noticed that there was no hot tub. So... I immediately went to the front desk and pouted. A few minutes later I was handed the keys to my new room! Since we had a matinee, I had to leave immediately for the venue...but I looked forward to the night after the show. We entered the venue and immediately attacked the breakfast buffet. Akron is where we usually see Ripper Owens. Today would be no exception. My new computer never made it to his house on Friday. Matinees are so odd. Even before I am usually awake we are doing soundcheck. Even before I usually eat breakfast we are on-stage. The matinee went amazing! I was almost 95% on my audience rap...I figured by the night show I would be tuned in for the rest of the run.The show this year has a lot of pyro. It is so much fun to play with that stuff onstage. Frickin' lazers and pyro, how cool is that? We hit the autograph line and said hello to Mr. Owens. He had to get home to his new son...we finished up and went to a place called Jillians. We go there every time we are in Akron. Great wings. When I returned to the hotel I melted in the hot tub for an hour or so. I had to get out before I passed out and drowned. Life is good!!!

Good morning Akron...a quick hour trip to the gym...a quick hour long hot tub soaking...a cold shower to prevent passing out and another half an hour of vocalizing...then it was pack up and load into the bus!!! Matinees are a very "Groundhog's Day "-like experience...today was worse. Same bus as last year, same city, same hotel...I like the bus...but some of us complained that it rattled a bit while it moved. I could not hear a dump truck rolling through a dynamite plant, so it did not bother me. We headed to the venue. Ripper Owens delivered my computer after souncheck, I was so happy. Rockin'Randy hooked me up with the Cavaliers. I had a LeBron James jersey delivered for the show. A few new lines in the rap and I was just about 100% for the tour. Darryl Pediford was incredible this evening. Fitting considering I always call him Akron in Akron. He confused this city with Cleveland once!!! We said our good-byes to Paul O'Neill who was in town for the first five shows. It is kinda like going away without your parents. It felt really good to get on the bus and plug in my new computer. I loaded in all of my photos to date and started writing this diary. I fell asleep watching T-3 with Darryl and Dave Whittman our sound engineer.

I am actually writing today...today. We just finished our first ever show in Kentucky. I really did not get to see much of Louisville, I think it was my first time here. I woke up and again went to the gym. Of course I found time to work with my vocal tapes. Soundcheck was a bit longer today because we had a new string section. The Palace Theatre here was incredible. I took a lot of photos. The hallway outside of the lobby was intense. There were all of these faces. Kinda ironic considering my solo album title. Some of my face photos were blurry. I just loaded them in my computer. The show was not sold out, however it was a lot of fun. I like new markets. They are usually a very lively crowd. Last night in the autograph line a girl gave me a very cool Elf hat that she made. I wore it onstage tonite. I will print her name soon. We had no pyro tonite...theatre rule. Everyone in line that was a Savatage fan asked about the new CD. I don't have many answers right now.I ordered an "M Box" today so that i can pre-produce my tracks on Pro-Tools here. Lots of work to do. I am glad to be caught up on this story. Stevie B, Dave Z and Jeff are watching the Sopranos....I just ate pizza and have to crash soon. I have a radio performance tomorrow morning at 8:30...yikes....

I woke to the sound of an intense rain storm. I kinda enjoyed sleeping to it. I was woken up again at 7:30 to get ready for the radio show. About 15 minutes later I was informed that floods had closed the road to the radio station...I went to my hotel room, called Kemp in Thailand and went to sleep. I really needed new sneakers, so I walked to the mall with Darryl Pediford at noon. I found sneakers and some new clothes, but I could not find new speakers for my computer. I noticed when I returned to the hotel that the river next to the hotel had risen about 5 feet since I left for the mall. The venue was nice, kinda plain...we were not sold out...typical for a new market. I spoke to my Mom earlier...Haley is driving her nuts, she has overtaken the house. Not surprising. The show was very good. We could only use some of our pyro. There was no sprinkler system in the venue. Tomorrow is a day off!!! I will rest and try to get my computer studio up and running. Oddly enough, there really is not much to talk about today. The mall, the show, the bus...we are now rolling towards NY. An eight hour drive...goodnight!

A day off...some love it....some run to the mall. I just stayed in my room most of the day hooking my Pro-Tools up to my new computer. I am up and running. Not much went on...no workout, physically or vocally. We did take a trip to the Anchor Bar. It is the place that invented Buffalo Wings. After we ate about 150 wings between 10 of us we headed back to the hotel. I ventured out for a bit. Allison and I are a pretty deadly pool team. Buffalo has an interesting night life. I can't wait for the show tomorrow...talk to you soon. Goodnight

I woke up today and had a bunch of things I wanted to do before I left the hotel. The hotel here had about 100 Christmas trees. I took a bunch of photos of them. I included a few.... I did manage to send out my first installment of this story. Then I decided to try and work on my studio. Bad idea. I never made it to the gym, I never did anything. I wound up on the phone with tech supports. I had to download an upgrade for Pro Tools via hotel phone. A 27mb file. We were to check out of the hotel at 3. I started the download at 2....it was a 2 hour download. I was lucky enough to talk to the hotel manager and she let me stay til 4. So...I took a nap and did my vocal workout. Soundcheck was normal...theater "Shea's" is very nice. I headed to the bus after soundcheck to install my upgrade. I got things together by showtime. Sold out show...great crowd, We could use all of the pyro tonite!!! "Fire!!! Fire!!!" Bob Kinkel was born and raised here. I mentioned the fact that he was recently put into the Williamsville South High School Hall of Fame!!!! The show is getting to be more fun every night. I really enjoy this band. Everyone is so nice and amazing at what they do. Tristin and I are developing a very strong chemistry. Darryl Pediford had another amazing show. Jeff's solo was cut short by accident. I hit 2 wrong notes...duh! The signing line was huge! Lots of Savatage fans. We went to the bus and more Wings arrived!!! I ate and headed to my mobile studio. I was working on some riffs. I discovered working with the new "Live" program I got with my MBox. It rules. I just finished a cool loop and downloaded my pictures from tonite. I am writing you before I go to bed. It is 4:15 here...noone else is up but me!!! I really like this tour. I am having a great time! Talk to you tomorrow....we are in Erie Pennsylvania at the moment!

I once had a mule who's name was Sal.....etc, etc, there is an old song about the Erie Canal. Not sure exactly how many miles the song said. I think it was 15...I believe I walked 15 miles to the mall today. We woke up at the hotel. It shall remain nameless...however, there were a lot of Transvestites wandering around the premises. Kinda odd...I decided to leave and go running. I ran to the venue, which was only 10 minutes away. To complete my health trip, I ate some tacos and decided to find the mall. I heard it was about 5 miles away. I decided to walk. Bad idea! It took me 3 1/2 hours to walk to the mall and back. My frickin feet are killing me! I did manage to get some powered speakers for my Pro -Tools. However, it was an adventure. Last year was our first time in Erie. We played the theater. Tonite we had over 4,000 people in the local ice hockey arena!!! Amazing show! The pyro is so cool in an arena! Darryl Peddiford had a strained hand, it is very swollen. I decided to ask the audience to give him a big hand!!! Jeff is doing a very cool drum solo now! We all went to hang out around the corner after the show....the tour is really getting into a groove...

Off to Syracuce!

"Let's go Orange!" My best friend, John West told me to say that. The Syracuse Orangemen were national champs. We woke up to a 60 plus degree November day. Kinda odd, but well received. I made it to the gym and did an hour workout, my ankle and shin were killing me from the long walk the day before. We were going to the Dinosaur Barbecue for lunch. Just about the best in the country! I was meeting Briann Bancroft and his girlfriend Kerry. Brian is my tattoo guy. He lives close by. John West was a bit ill and could not make it. The food was amazing. I brought Rob Evan, Jen, Danielle, Darryl and Skippy to the Dinosaur. We ate a ton! Rob had the "Big Ass Pork Plate". I had ribs and some drunken shrimp. Yummy! I wore my shirt at the show. Brian and Lonnie Park from Ultimate Studios came to say hi. We were totally sold out in Syracuse this time, too cool. The show ran like clock work. Pediford was on once again. The raps flowed. Rob Evan is my new hero! Mark Wood's brother Greg was the cello player. He lives in town and plays with the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra... No pyro, a smoke free place. Boo!!! But, it was great nonetheless! Funny Spinal Tap moment! I ran to the balcony. Like I usually do. When I went to return to the stage I was directed to a hall and stairway to Nowhere! Locked door....fire escape....I never made it back!!!! Well, I did, but it was almost too late! I am in the bus now, working on this and a new song called "Come Together". Use your imagination!!! More Dinosaur BBQ after the show. A lot of fun at a local place with a nice bartender named Kelly in a very short pink skirt!!!

BB Brian Bancroft left as we pulled out to West Va. once more. Wheeling, here we come!!! Goodnight!!!

I woke up in Wheeling and realized that I left my contacts in...No big deal, they are extended wear, but it is different on a tour bus. Very dry air at times. I called Thailand and missed Kemp, she was still at her shoot, I had spoken more to her mom than her the past few days! I tried to walk to the gym, but my left shin was killing me from the walk in Erie. So...I did some "Ask Chris" questions and answered my mail in the hotel. Wheeling is a very European looking city. The stage was tiny. It took forever to get to soundcheck. I noticed a very cute Christmas store next to the theatre. I had to go there to shop when I had a few minutes. The stage way kinda small, we were very tight. I called us the "Trans-Sardine-ian Orchestra." We finished up and I went shopping. The Christmas store was very cute. I bought some snowmen for Mom. Weird thing about today was that yesterday in Upstate New York it was over 60 degrees. Today in West Virginia it was snowing!!! There was a very intense bridge next to the theatre. It was the bridge that the Brooklyn Bridge was modeled after. I forgot my camera before the show, but made sure I got it for after. The theater almost filled up. Pretty cool for the first time. It seems we had a 33% walk up the day of show. It was really nice to play for this crowd. I heard that Wheeling had the biggest "Festival of lights." A Christmas exibition." So...I think we will play here again!!! Nothing too silly on stage. I made it back for the encore, but my production manager, Bob almost broke his ass following me. The Giants lost the football game, I lost a few hundred dollars somewhere...another day in the life of TSO. We watched a Sopranos episode that Brian out narrator was in. A good time was had by all. Off to Cinnci!!!

We arrived in Cinnci and I once again headed to the hotel gym. My foot was still killing me from walking so much in Erie. Jen and Brian were in the gym. Jen and I decided to go to the mall. Danielle joined us. These two shop just like me. I am dangerous in the mall. I took their picture with Santa. I purchased a power supply for my computer speakers and bought some new clothes. I find if I lose money the best way for me to forget about it is to spend more! We played a different venue this night. A bit larger and nicer than the theater we played last tour. The show was sold out. I accidentally forgot Allison's last name in the band intros. I just went blank. Yikes!!! Other than that the show was amazing. I brought a little kid up onstage during my audience rap. I believe his name was Damien. Too cute. He talked to the crowd and did a great job! The aftershow bus ride consisted of Skyline Chili and the movie "Nothing But Trouble." A classic comedy starring Dan Ackroyd, Chevy Chase, Demi Moore and John Candy! Tomorrow is our last show before Thanksgiving. I need a day off!!!

We arrived at about 2 AM in Columbus, I checked into the hotel and slept very well. I woke up and again went to the gym. This time it was a California Fitness Center down the street. I worked out and hit the tanning bed....it is winter almost!!! My good friend Maria was arriving to be the LMT for the day. Massage Therapist if you do not know! I scheduled an hour after soundcheck! A childhood friend of mine named Brad Smith arrived to say hello in the aftwernoon. He lived down the street from me when I was age 5 to 15. Butch, my brother, Brad and myself were best friends. We scheduled dinner for 4 from now on. I was happy. I could actually eat before the show! I ate, did soundcheck, got rubbed and changed for the show. This was our best Columbus show yet. I remembered Allison's name!!! I also mentioned that we tried to flip the tour bus over in honor of the antics at OSU last year! We all hit the bus and are very excited to spend 2 nights in the same place. Sushi, Spaceballs and an 8 hour ride to Baltimore. Goodnight! Happy Early Thanksgiving....or late depending on when you read this!