CHRIS CAFFERY On CRISS And JON OLIVA - "There Isn’t A Single Day That Goes By When I Don't Give My Thanks For The Privilege Of Performing With Them"
February 12, 2009, 15 years ago
SAVATAGE / TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA guitarist Chris Caffery recently spoke with Rock Hard Greece about founding Savatage guitarist Criss Oliva, who was killed in a car accident on October 17th, 1993. An excerpt from the interview appears below:
Q: What was the feeling to play Criss' songs during the last tours when you were the only lead guitar player in Savatage?
Caffery: "One thing I kinda asked after Al (Pitrelli) and I joined was that I play Criss. So, once I came back in with Al I always played his stuff. I think it was more challenging when Al was there because Al is so great at what he does, so I did not want to let anyone down when I played Criss. Sometimes when I played a solo, I may have played it 100 times, but there could be one night when I played it and all of a sudden my hands were in a different spot on the neck, playing it differently than I ever had before. It would sound so much like the way Criss played it. I would get chills. Johnny Lee (Middleton/bass) stood by my amps onstage. He would come to me after the shows and say 'He was there with you tonite.' That was the greatest feeling of all. I miss playing his music, I miss Savatage, I miss Criss. That is about all I can say and it is from the bottom of my heart and soul."
Q: What's the most precious memory of you and Criss that most people don't know?
Well, there are many. I will name a couple.
-- The last DOCTOR BUTCHER show we did in Florida, Criss was there. We asked him up to play 'Sirens'. He did not do it at first but I came to him in the middle of the song and said 'Would you take the guitar, I can't figure this riff out the right way.' He took it and played the middle section, the clean part. He said 'Watch me and don’t fuck it up again.'. I never did.-- We loved Skyline Chili. It is chili on spaghetti. Whenever we got to a city that had this we would take a taxi to eat it!
-- Criss gave me the black Charvel Predator guitar I played in the 'Gutter Ballet' video as a Christmas present and I gave him the white Charvel tele model guitar he had as a birthday present.
-- The very last thing he ever did or said to me was give me his 'Edge of Thorns' Savatage tour shorts on their bus in New Jersey, he hugged me, told me he loved me and asked me to keep an eye on his brother for him. Little did I know three months later what that would mean. I tried as good as I could for many years! Even though I don’t see Jon every day like I used to and it has been so many years since Criss passed, there isn’t a single day that goes by when I do not think of them and give my thanks for the privilege of performing with and being a friend of Criss and Jon."
Go to this location for the complete interview.
