Now, wouldn\u2019t that be the ultimate festive wish to come true! Of course new music would be a beautiful thing, the fact that the Trans-Siberian Orchestra continues to shatter attendance records and deliver one of the most entertaining live shows in rock history, is just a miracle in itself. A Christmas miracle of course. And how the off-shoot of Savatage grew into this massive holiday extravaganza, that literally blankets North America each fall, is a truly remarkable achievement. Drummer Jeff Plate is the backbone to both, he\u2019s seen it all. And nobody has a better sightline on things than the drummer.<\/p>\n
And BraveWords scored recently. How? We were able to catch Jeff Plate on a day where TSO\u2019s East Coast line-up were only performing one show, not two. So there is a bit of downtime, and we filled it with some great career-covering conversation. But right there, is something stupefying. TSO has two separate touring entities working at the same time in the United States and Canada. And as mentioned, some markets have a matinee show. Do the math. That\u2019s a heck of a lot of rock opera Christmas cheer to be had!![\"\"](\"https:\/\/bravewords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/TSOJeffPlateSFV25-750x375.jpg\")
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BraveWords chat with drummer Jeff Plate will air on Streaming For Vengeance tomorrow (Wednesday, December 17th), but in the meantime here is an excerpt about the possibilities of new music. Keep in mind, we tragically lost producer, composer, and lyricist Paul O\u2019Neill in 2017, who had joined this incredible group of musicians for Savatage\u2019s Hall Of The Mountain King in 1987.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t really have a good answer,\u201d Plate states honestly. \u201cWhen Paul O\u2019Neill passed in 2017, it really affected everything. So\u2026 us moving forward with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, obviously we have plenty of music to choose from. We\u2019re able to maintain these shows and keep developing these shows and improving them every year.<\/p>\n
Same thing with Savatage. Wonderful catalogue of music. You could never play all the songs that people want to hear in a night, and be on stage for five hours. But, having said all that, when Paul passed, it really created a huge void that I think Jon (Oliva) and Paul\u2019s family are still kind of dealing with. So, they have all our best interests at heart.<\/p>\n
But moving forward, you know, that\u2019s something where\u2026 here again, you can have opinions and questions and, you know, say what you want about this and that. But this is this is really in their hands. And I can only say that I hope so. But if there is not, I think we\u2019re still in a very, very good place, and there\u2019s still some very good things to come.\u201d![\"\"](\"https:\/\/bravewords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/tsotour825-750x750.jpg\")
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BraveWords: I love that answer. Thank you.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou are not the first one who\u2019s asked that. You know, not just of me, but of people like Chris Caffrey and Zach Stevens, you know. We get hit with these questions all the time. I mean, Jon Oliva, he gets hit with this stuff all the time.<\/p>\n
So trust me, everybody\u2019s got some really good intentions here if we can just get the things sorted out and make it work, it\u2019ll be great. In the meantime, and I want to say something about John Oliva too.<\/p>\n
I give that man so much credit for recognizing the fact that, \u2018Hey, people still want to hear my music. My bandmates are here with me. They\u2019ve been with me for all these years. I trust them. I\u2019m giving you guys my blessing. The five of you go out there, play my music, and just go out there and kick ass.\u2019 I think that really took a lot for Jon to say that, just for understanding that \u2018I can\u2019t be there, but my music\u2019s gonna be there.\u2019 You know, Jon\u2019s spirit is there every night.<\/p>\n
Criss Oliva\u2019s spirit is there every night. But I think it was a lot for Jon to really come to grips with that. I can\u2019t actually do this, but my guys can. I give him all the credit in the world for making the decision and allowing us to go out there and perform. You could never, ever replace Jon Oliva. He is such a unique personality. A unique energy when he\u2019s on stage, it is a different thing.<\/p>\n
You can\u2019t replace that. How do we fill that space? So when we went out with Savatage this year, we hired two other players, two keyboardists that could both sing very well.<\/p>\n
So now we can cover a lot of the orchestration, a lot of the vocal stuff that we weren\u2019t really able to do that well in the past. So, yes, this version doesn\u2019t have Jon Oliva up there, but all his music is and all his parts are, and he is like with us note for note. He was at every rehearsal, he was conducting everything, you know, from song, tempos, to vocal parts, to segues, to et cetera, et cetera.<\/p>\n
His fingerprint was all over this. But, hey, that man has been through a lot in his life, and I think it\u2019s just so cool to be able to take his music out there and keep that alive and keep his spirit alive. Along with Criss Oliva and Paul O\u2019Neill, too. I mean, just some great music.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s why we\u2019re still able to do this, the fans never forgot that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMetal\u201d Tim Henderson\u2019s entire BraveWords chat with TSO\/Savatage drummer Jeff Plate will air on Streaming For Vengeance tomorrow (Wednesday, December 17th). ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/bravewords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/TSOJeffPlate2025-750x501.jpg\")
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Trans-Siberian Orchestra are currently on their 2025 Winter Tour, bringing the multi-platinum rock group to 64 markets for 106 concerts across the country. This year\u2019s tour features an all-new production of their beloved \u201cThe Ghosts of Christmas Eve\u201d alongside a special second set of hits and fan-favorites that includes a 25th-anniversary salute to Beethoven\u2019s Last Night. \u201cThe Ghosts Of Christmas Eve: The Best Of TSO And More\u201d tour promises to continue TSO\u2019s tradition of captivating audiences nationwide with an unparalleled blend of rock, classical, and theatrical spectacle, complete with dazzling pyrotechnics, lasers, and incredible storytelling.<\/p>\n
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