BW&BK Exclusive: JON OLIVA - "If You’re A SAVATAGE Fan And You Don’t Have Maniacal Renderings You’re Full Of Shit"
May 5, 2007, 17 years ago
Picture by Carl Begai
BW&BK; scribe Carl Begai recently caught up with JON OLIVA'S PAIN / SAVATAGE frontman/founder Jon Oliva to discuss the response to JOP's latest album, Maniacal Renderings, and their plans for a new album, due out in early 2008. In particular, there were questions as to whether Oliva would use more of the demo tapes featuring his brother and original Savatage guitarist Criss that made their way into the songs on Manical Renderings
“Oh yeah, we’ve got lots of stuff," says Oliva. "Criss will probably be part of the next four or five Jon Oliva’s Pain records. I’ve got 45 tapes and I’ve only gone through 12 of them, and that was all the material we used for Maniacal Renderings. He co-wrote five songs on that record, which is why the Savatage fans that give me hell for not doing Savatage piss me off. It’s like, here you go, Criss has been dead for 15 years and you’ve got him and his brother working together like they did in the so-called ‘real’ Savatage-era and you’re still giving me shit about it? You’ve got an album out that’s got Jon Oliva and Criss Oliva working together for the first time since Edge Of Thorns; if you’re a Savatage fan and you don’t have Maniacal Renderings you’re full of shit. Still, people are buying the album, so I guess they’ve started to accept the situation.""I know it’s sad," he says of the "will-they-or-won't they" controversy surrounding Savatage's long awaited next studio album. "The other thing that bothers me is that everybody acts like I don’t care. I started the band when I was 18 years old, it’s been my whole life, so how can they even think that? If I didn’t care I’d be calling this Savatage and raking in as much money as I could. I didn’t call JOP Savatage because I didn’t want to insult the fans or the guys who are part of Savatage. I’d make a ton of money a night if I were to call this Jon Oliva’s Savatage because the promoters want me to use the name, but I just won’t do it. I don’t need the money.”
Watch the Features section on this page for a complete interview with Jon Oliva's Pain members Kevin Rothney (bass) and Christopher Kinder (drums), coming soon.
