Dan Roth at Music & Art Interviews recently caught up with TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA bassist David Z for a career-spanning interview. Following is an excerpt from the discussion:

DR: Do you ever tire of playing many of the same songs every year? Until last year, the first half of the show was exactly the same for 13 tours. Did you ever think of passing on it and doing something different?

David Z: "No, and for a few reasons. First, in my eyes it would be such a silly thing to say 'no' to because it's only three months out of the year - now it's down to just two months. Even if you were getting to that point - which I'm not - where it's becoming old hat, to me it makes no sense to turn it down. It's still work, you're still getting to play in front of 10-15,000 people. As a musician, what is better than that?"

"It's a very different setting - we are in an arena, but all the fans are sitting down. It's not like when I'm playing a club like this one that I will be doing tonight with RUBIX KUBE, where the people are in your face and it's a party environment. For me, I get the best of both worlds. I get to experience that arena-rock feeling and vibe on the TSO tour and then I got to experience the smaller more-intimate club settings when I'm playing with Rubix Kube or when I was playing with ZO2."

DR: The first few years of TSO tours, they were playing in theaters. Some fans and performers feel strongly one way or another over that transition from the more-intimate settings. Did you have a particular thought on it?

David Z: "I know a lot of people didn't like when we made the transition to the arenas - they did feel more disconnected. And I understand that vibe - it's natural for some to feel that way. Me personally - I like the arenas. Again, my idols are KISS, so I want to be playing stadiums. I just love that rush of hitting the stage and seeing that many fans. And it's great to be playing on a stage where, growing up, I used to see some of my favorite bands play.

Don't get me wrong - the theater shows were fantastic. There was a closer connection between us and the audience, especially for this kind of show. But Paul has been able to make it this big and bombastic thing - just like the KISS shows - with pyro and lasers and lights. You couldn't do all of that in a theater."

Go to this location for the complete interview.