The New Orleans Advocate recently caught up with Trans-Siberian Orchestra / Savatage's Al Pirtelli (guitars) and Jeff Plate (drums) to discuss the touring juggernaut's status following the passing of mastermind / director Paul O'Neill in 2017. Following is an excerpt from the interview.

Q: Describe the emotions of last year, touring for the first time since Paul O’Neill’s death.

Pitrelli: "It was probably one of the hardest years of our professional careers. Both Jeff and I have been with Paul since the jump. And to have the carpet pulled from beneath us so suddenly and tragically last year really just put us all in a different mindset. There were a few moments in the show where I really had a difficult time getting through it. You can't get it out of your head that he's gone because everything around you, he created. Everything on that stage, every note we played and every pyro hit, was his creation. Jeff and I spent half of our lives sitting next to the man in studios and on tour buses. He was there with us at all times. He was like a big brother, aside from being our boss and our producer and creator of this whole thing.

I think sorrow and the pain that goes along with losing a loved one was prevalent with everybody. But Paul had always said, 'We want this thing to live long past all of us.' I don't think any of us were prepared for that to occur so soon, but we were handed that task. And with his family steering the ship, we hunkered down last year to make the show the best it could possibly be. And that this year is exceeding last year's ticket sales just means that Paul was right as usual. This will live past all of us."

Plate: "Paul was the guy running around the floor of the arena pointing out a certain light wasn't the right color or wasn't in the right place, or somebody wasn't properly positioned on stage, or a vocalist wasn't exuding enough emotion. So to do this without Paul, obviously it's difficult, but he prepared us for this. He talked about how Trans-Siberian Orchestra was going to be something for the ages. And to think that we would be carrying on without him, it wasn't in the plans, but here we are. For us to honor Paul, we've got to go out and be the best we can be every time."

Read the complete interview here.

TSO’s annual November-December multi-sensory extravaganza, which sells out venues year after year, has cemented the group’s status as a must-attend, multi-generational, holiday tradition. This year’s 20th anniversary tour, a presentation of TSO’s unforgettable The Ghosts of Christmas Eve, featuring founder/composer/lyricist Paul O’Neill’s timeless story of a runaway who finds her way into a mysterious abandoned theater, kicked off on November 14th and will visit 65 cities across North America, for 100-plus performances, before concluding on December 30th (see full itinerary below). TSO’s Winter Tour 2018 is presented by Hallmark Channel.

Based on TSO’s multi-platinum DVD and long running PBS fundraiser, The Ghosts Of Christmas Eve, this year’s tour will include new awe-inspiring effects, as well as amazing staging with an all new design from the dedicated team handpicked by the group’s late creator, Paul O’Neill.

The rock opera also features such enduring fan-favorites as "Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24", "O’ Come All Ye Faithful", "Good King Joy", "Christmas Canon", "Music Box Blues", "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.

As in all previous years, a portion of every ticket sold benefits select local charities. To date, more than $15 million has been distributed from TSO to worthy charities all across North America.

Tour dates:  

December
13 - Charleston, WV - Charleston Civic Center (7:30 PM)
13 - Jacksonville, FL - Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena (7:30 PM)
14 - Cincinnati, OH - U.S. Bank Arena (4:00 PM & 8:00 PM)
14 - Sunrise, FL - BB&T Arena (8:00 PM)
15 - Buffalo, NY - KeyBank Center 3:00 PM & (7:30 PM)
15 - Orlando, FL - Amway Center (3:00 PM & 8:00 PM)
16 - Hershey, PA - Giant Center 3:00 PM & (7:30 PM)
16 - Tampa, FL - Amalie Arena 3:00 PM & (7:30 PM)
19 - Richmond, VA - Richmond Coliseum (7:30 PM)
19 - New Orleans, LA - Smoothie King Center (7:30 PM)
20 - Uniondale, NY - NYCB Live/Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum (8:00 PM)
20 - Austin, TX - Frank Erwin Center (7:30 PM)
21 - Philadelphia, PA - Wells Fargo Center (3:30 PM & 8:00 PM)
21 - Houston, TX - Toyota Center (3:30 PM & 8:00 PM)
22 - Newark, NJ - Prudential Center (3:00 PM & 8:00 PM)
22 - Dallas, TX - American Airlines Center (3:00 PM & 8:00 PM)
23 - Washington, DC - Capital One Arena (3:00 PM & 8:00 PM)
23 - San Antonio, TX - AT&T Center (3:00 PM & 8:00 PM)
26 - Columbus, OH - Nationwide Arena (3:00 PM & 8:00 PM)
26 - Kansas City, MO - Sprint Center (3:00 PM & 8:00 PM)
28 - Pittsburgh, PA - PPG Paints Arena (3:00 PM & 8:00 PM)
28 - Chicago, IL - Allstate Arena (3:00 PM & 8:00 PM)
29 - Detroit, MI - Little Caesars Arena (3:00 PM & 8:00 PM)
29 - St Paul, MN - Xcel Energy Center (3:00 PM & 8:00 PM)
30 - Cleveland, OH - Quicken Loans Arena (3:00 PM & 8:00 PM)
30 - Milwaukee, WI - Wisconsin Entertainment and Sports Center (3:00 PM & 8:00 PM)

Since its historic touring debut, TSO has played in excess of 1,850 Winter Tour shows for more than 15 million fans, with tour grosses of more than $675 million. The group has also sold 12 million albums and DVDs.

TSO’s Winter Tour 2017 achieved a record gross of more than $61.5 million with approximately 1 million tickets sold. The tour was ranked #11 on the Worldwide Ticket Sales “Top 100 Tours” chart (also #11 in 2016), #15 on the “Top 200 North American Tours” chart (up from #16 in 2016), and #27 on the “Top 100 Worldwide Tours” by concert industry trade Pollstar magazine. In 2009, Pollstar ranked TSO at #20 on the “Top Tour(s) of the Decade” and Billboard placed TSO at #25 on its “Top Touring Artists of the Decade.”