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Caffery has followed up his tribute to O’Neill with an update:

“Eighty days ago I started using this app. I’ve gone over one million steps. I pretty much do the same routine daily. That’s an average of 13,500 steps a day. That means since I met Paul O’Neill… give or take a step or two thousand I’ve walked 162,607,500 steps. Each one of those steps was different since the day I met him.

Life flies by. I’m happy that mine flew by with him and Savatage and TSO. I have a lot of life left. The next 162 million steps will be followed by a new angel. The next thousand shows he will watch from the sky but I’ll always know he’s there. He visited in a dream and told me it was time to get back to work. That everything would be ok. Today I’m back in my studio recording guitars for a new record. A record you will hear soon. More details on that will follow asap. After that is finished I will submerse myself in a new solo CD. One I will have infinite inspiration to write. In the meantime I want to thank you all for your friendship and support during this trying time.

Many chapters left in this play. Time to make them come alive…”

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TIM ‘RIPPER’ OWENS And CHRIS CAFFERY Joined In New Project By STEVE DIGIORGIO And MARK ZONDER

Frontiers Music Srl has signed a handful of American metal musicians to collaborate on a new musical project. The songs that will comprise the first album are being composed by guitarist Chris Caffery (SAVATAGE, TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA) and vocalist Tim “Ripper” Owens (JUDAS PRIEST, ICED EARTH, CHARRED WALLS OF THE DAMNED). Enlisted to help with the writing and to produce the entire venture, including recording and mixing, is Roy “Z” Ramirez (BRUCE DICKINSON, HALFORD). Completing the lineup is the powerhouse rhythm section of bassist Steve DiGiorgio (TESTAMENT, DEATH, SEBASTIAN BACH, CHARRED WALLS OF THE DAMNED) and drummer Mark Zonder (FATES WARNING, WARLORD).

Regarding how his collaboration with Caffery came about, Owens told Metal Express Radio: “Chris and I have been friends for years, and he wrote a song [‘The Shadows Are Alive’] with me on my solo CD [2009’s ‘Play My Game’], and we’ve always wanted to write together and do something. And he gave me a shout and we’ve signed a deal with Frontiers. It’s gonna be like a cross between SAVATAGE and JUDAS PRIEST kind of stuff. [Frontiers] is a fantastic label, so we’re looking forward to it.”

Owens recorded two studio albums with JUDAS PRIEST — “Jugulator” and 2001’s “Demolition” — before the band reunited with Rob Halford.

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CHRIS CAFFERY Pays Tribute To Guitar Tech KYLE SABEL – “Far Beyond My Guitars And That Stage He Was My Friend, Truly My Brother”

Guitarist Chris Caffery (Savatage, Trans-Siberian Orchestra) has posted a tribute on Facebook to his long time guitar tech Kyle Sabel, who recently passed away.

“For 16 years I had the privilege of having the most bad ass guitar tech on the planet. Not only was he my tech he was my friend. Truly my brother. I spent the last 16 Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years with Kyle. While most other people were home with their families, we were together somewhere in the world in some hotel being each other’s family. Kyle was the guy everyone turned to when life at home wasn’t the rosiest or life’s problems caught up with you. He made the days on and days off a lot easier just by always being able to make us smile and laugh. Many times when he was crying inside.Many people knew and loved Kyle. He was one of the funniest and nicest people I had ever known. He was what we always considered a great road guy. Meaning he did his job well but he also always made people smile. Made people who were away from home at the holidays feel like they were home. I did over 1000 shows with him as my tech and I think maybe something went wrong w my rig 3 times. And it was never his fault! I may have been out of tune less times than fingers on one hand.

Every single guitar I had built for me it would be a constant text communication about specs, colors, pickups…then what straps would I use and what guitars do we leave home this tour. There were a couple guitars that he was like. ‘When we retire that’s mine…’ Playing those will have a new meaning from now on!

Far beyond my guitars and that stage he was my friend. We laughed and cried together for almost two decades. We mourned the loss of our friends, band mates and families together. We never once so much as even had a single argument.

Other than my own mother, Jon Oliva, Igor, Jeff Plate and my own brother I have not spent more time with any single individual in my life. It’s really hard to express exactly what I’m feeling right now but there will definitely be a huge void in many people’s lives with Kyle gone away with the Angels.”

Read the complete tribute to Kyle here.

In

2019 Winter Tour Dates ARE HERE

2019 Winter Tour Dates

TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA (TSO), the multi-platinum, critically-acclaimed progressive rock group, today announced its highly anticipated winter tour 2019. Returning with all-new staging and effects is the unforgettable show that started it all, “Christmas Eve And Other Stories”. TSO‘s show that started small, performed to 12,000 people in five cities in 1999, which then exploded on to the national scene, eventually playing to nine million fans over the course of an incredible 12 years (through 2011), the mega-hit “Christmas Eve And Other Stories” has grossed an incredible $377 million over 1224 performances.

A product of the vision and imagination of TSO‘s late founder/composer/lyricist Paul O’Neill, “Christmas Eve And Other Stories” began the unique format O’Neill called “Rock Theater” and forged a deep connection with their fans that it turned into the wildly successful tour, cementing the group’s status as a must-see, multi-generational, holiday tradition and kick-started the trend of Yuletide season tours. This year’s multi-sensory extravaganza is set to begin on November 13 and will visit 66 cities for 109 performances across North America before concluding on December 30 (see full itinerary below and online).

Starting today, August 19, the winter tour 2019 will begin its “12 Days of TSO Verified Fan Registration” where all fans can sign up at tso.tmverifiedfan.com/ (powered by Ticketmaster Verified Fan) for exclusive access to the best tickets for the best price before tickets go on sale to the general public. Pre-sales will begin for TSO fan club members on Tuesday, September 4 for November 13 through November 30 tour dates and on Thursday, September 5 for December 1 through December 30 tour dates. Fans who are not members of TSO‘s fan club, but have registered during the “12 Days of TSO Verified Fan Registration” will have the opportunity to participate in pres-ales on September 9 and 10. General public on sale is set to begin on September 13.

For more details on tour dates and all on sales, visit trans-siberian.com.

Tour dates:

Nov. 13 – Green Bay, WI – Resch Center (4 PM, 8 PM) 
Nov. 13 – Council Bluffs, IA – Mid America Center (7:30 PM) 
Nov. 14 – Sioux Falls, SD – Denny Sanford Premier Center (7:30 PM) 
Nov. 15 – Youngstown, OH – Covelli Center (3:30 PM, 7:30 PM)

Nov. 16 – Allentown, PA – PPL Center (3:30 PM, 8:00 PM) 
Nov. 16 – Denver, CO – Pepsi Center (3:00 PM, 8:00 PM) 
Nov. 17 – Worcester, MA – DCU Center (3:00 PM, 8:00 PM) 
Nov. 17 – Colorado Springs, CO – World Arena (3:00 PM, 7:30 PM) 
Nov. 20 – Raleigh, NC – PNC Arena (7:30 PM) 
Nov. 20 – Salt Lake City, UT – Vivint Smart Home Arena (3:30 PM, 7:30 PM) 
Nov. 21 – Baltimore, MD – Royal Farms Arena (7:30 PM) 
Nov. 21 – Boise, ID – Taco Bell Arena (7:30 PM) 
Nov. 22 – Wilkes Barre, PA – Mohegan Sun Arena (3:30 PM, 8:00 PM) 
Nov. 22 – Spokane, WA – Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena (8:00 PM) 
Nov. 23 – Manchester, NH – SNHU Arena (3:30 PM, 8:00 PM) 
Nov. 23 – Portland, OR – Moda Center (3:30 PM, 8:00 PM) 
Nov. 24 – Hartford, CT – XL Center (3:00 PM, 7:30 PM) 
Nov. 24 – Tacoma, WA – Tacomadome (3:30 PM) 
Nov. 26 – San Jose, CA – SAP Center at San Jose (8:00 PM) 
Nov. 27 – Toledo, OH – Huntington Center (4:00 PM, 8:00 PM) 
Nov. 29 – Cincinnati, OH – US Bank Arena (4:00 PM, 8:00 PM) 
Nov. 29 – Sacramento, CA – Golden 1 Center (3:00 PM, 7:30 PM) 
Nov. 30 – Dayton, OH – Nutter Center (3:00 PM, 8:00 PM) 
Nov. 30 – Ontario, CA – Toyota Arena (3:30 PM, 7:30 PM) 
Dec. 01 – Grand Rapids, MI – Van Andel Arena (3:00 PM, 7:30 PM) 
Dec. 01 – Phoenix, AZ – Talking Stick Resort Arena (3:00 PM, 7:30 PM) 
Dec. 04 – Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena (7:30 PM) 
Dec. 04 – El Paso, TX – Don Haskins Center (3:00 PM, 7:30 PM) 
Dec. 05 – Lexington, KY – Rupp Arena (7:30 PM) 
Dec. 05 – Lubbock, TX – United Supermarkets Arena (7:00 PM) 
Dec. 06 – Greenville, SC – Bon Secours Wellness Arena (4:00 PM, 8:00 PM) 
Dec. 06 – Wichita, KS – INTRUST Bank Arena (8:00 PM) 
Dec. 07 – Charlotte, NC – Spectrum Center (3:00 PM, 8:00 PM) 
Dec. 07 – Kansas City, MO – Sprint Center (3:00 PM, 8:00 PM) 
Dec. 08 – Duluth, GA – Infinite Energy Center (3:00 PM, 7:30 PM) 
Dec. 08 – Oklahoma City, OK – Chesapeake Energy Arena (3:00 PM, 7:30 PM) 
Dec. 11 – Greensboro, NC – Greensboro Coliseum (7:30 PM) 
Dec. 11 – Birmingham, AL – Legacy Arena at The BJCC (7:30 PM) 
Dec. 12 – Charlottesville, VA – John Paul Jones Arena (7:30 PM) 
Dec. 12 – Jacksonville, FL – Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena (7:30 PM) 
Dec. 13 – Hershey, PA – Giant Center (4:00 PM, 8:00 PM) 
Dec. 13 – Sunrise, FL – BB&T Center (8:00 PM) 
Dec. 14 – Buffalo, NY – KeyBank Center (3:30 PM, 8:00 PM) 
Dec. 14 – Orlando, FL – Amway Center (3:00 PM, 8:00 PM) 
Dec. 15 – Philadelphia, PA – Wells Fargo Center (3:30 PM, 8:00 PM) 
Dec. 15 – Tampa, FL – Amalie Arena (3:00 PM, 7:30 PM) 
Dec. 18 – Rochester, NY – Blue Cross Arena (7:30 PM) 
Dec. 18 – New Orleans, LA – Smoothie King Center (7:30 PM) 
Dec. 19 – Albany, NY – Times Union Center (7:30 PM) 
Dec. 19 – Memphis, TN – Fedex Forum (7:30 PM) 
Dec. 20 – Uniondale, NY – NYCB LIVE, home of the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum (8:00 PM) 
Dec. 20 – Tulsa, OK – BOK Center (8:00 PM) 
Dec. 21 – Newark, NJ – Prudential Center (3:00 PM, 8:00 PM) 
Dec. 21 – Dallas, TX – American Airlines Center (3:00 PM, 8:00 PM) 
Dec. 22 – Pittsburgh, PA – PPG Paints Arena (3:30 PM, 8:00 PM) 
Dec. 22 – Houston, TX – Toyota Center (3:00 PM, 8:00 PM) 
Dec. 23 – Washington, D.C. – Capital One Arena (3:00 PM, 7:30 PM) 
Dec. 23 – San Antonio, TX – AT&T Center (3:30 PM, 8:00 PM) 
Dec. 26 – Columbus, OH – Nationwide Arena (3:00 PM, 8:00 PM) 
Dec. 26 – St Louis, MO – Enterprise Center (3:00 PM, 7:30 PM) 
Dec. 27 – Cleveland, OH – Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse (3:00 PM, 8:00 PM) 
Dec. 27 – Milwaukee, WI – Fiserv Forum (3:30 PM, 8:00 PM) 
Dec. 28 – Detroit, MI – Little Caesars Arena (3:00 PM, 8:00 PM) 
Dec. 28 – St Paul, MN – Xcel Energy Center (3:00 PM, 8:00 PM) 
Dec. 30 – Toronto, ON – Scotiabank Arena (3:00 PM, 8:00 PM) 
Dec. 30 – Chicago, IL – Allstate Arena (2:30 PM, 8:00 PM)

TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA Announces 2019 Winter Tour, 'Christmas Eve And Other Stories'

“Christmas Eve And Other Stories” is based on the triple-platinum album of the same name and follows a story by TSO‘s late founder/composer/lyricist Paul O’Neill. In keeping with the classic line “If You Want To Arrange It, This World You Can Change It,” the story is set on Christmas Eve when a young angel is sent to Earth to bring back what is best representative of humanity. Following favorite TSO themes of “strangers helping strangers” and “the kindness of others,” “Christmas Eve And Other Stories” takes listeners all over the world to help reunite a young girl with her distraught father. The album and tour feature such fan favorites as “Ornament” and the epic “Old City Bar”, both of which have not been performed live in recent years. The rock opera also features such TSO classics as “Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24”, “O’ Come All Ye Faithful”, “Good King Joy”, “Promises To Keep” and “This Christmas Day”. Additionally, the tour will enjoy a new second set containing some of TSO‘s greatest hits and fan pleasers, including “Christmas Canon”, “Wizards In Winter” and many more.

Since its historic touring debut, TSO has played nearly 2,000 winter tour shows for more than 16 million fans, with tour grosses of more than $725 million, and has sold in excess of 12 million albums and DVDs. Year after year, TSO hits the upper reaches of the domestic and worldwide tour charts. Recently in July 2019, TSO was ranked No. 6 on Pollstar‘s North American Tours Mid Year chart and No. 8 on Pollstar‘s Worldwide Tours Mid Year chart. In 2018, TSO came in at No. 16 on Pollstar‘s 2018 Top 200 Year End North American Tours and at No. 17 on Pollstar‘s 2018 Year End Worldwide Ticket Sales Top 100 Tours chart with more than 925,000 tickets sold. Additionally, in July 2019, TSO was featured in Billboard‘s Money Makers of 2018. In 2009, Pollstar ranked TSO at No. 20 on the “Top Tour(s) of the Decade” and Billboard placed TSO at No. 25 on its “Top Touring Artists of the Decade.”

Always embracing the O’Neill‘s sense of altruism, TSO remains one of rock’s most charitable bands. This year, as in years past, TSO will give at least $1 from every ticket sold to charity — to date, approximately $16 million has been donated by the group.

TSO‘s winter tour 2019 is presented by Hallmark Channel.