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JINGLE BELL ROCK MIXING CLASSICAL AND ROCK MUSIC, PAUL O'NEILL AND TSO PUT CHRISTMAS IN A NEW LIGHT
Trans-Siberian Orchestra comes to D.C. this weekend--and founder Paul O'Neill talked with Weekender!Date published: 12/11/2008 by dave smalley They're not from Siberia, and they aren't a traditional, sit-down orchestra. They've got explosions, laser lights and leaping guitarists and violin players onstage, all while playing a rock opera about Christmas. And they're beloved by millions. Such is life for the musicians of Trans-Siberian Orchestra--one of the country's biggest touring music acts since its inception in 1996. In fact, Trans-Siberian Orchestra Christmas tours have become a holiday tradition for, literally, millions of fans. Last year the band's holiday tour was the second-highest attended tour in America, according to Billboard Magazine. And so far this year, over 1.5 million tickets have been sold. That TSO has come to be so associated with Christmas is still humbling to its creator. "We're unbelievably grateful," said TSO founder Paul O'Neill in a recent conversation with Weekender. "Somebody said to me: 'Paul, you've stumbled into Tchaikovsky.' Because Tchaikovsky wrote so much material, other than the 'Nutcracker'--but today, so many people can't conceive of Christmas without the 'Nutcracker.' "It never dawned on him in a million years that the one song would be 'the' Christmas song." In like manner, O'Neill and two friends in 1996 had no way of knowing their Christmas albums and tours would become holiday staples. When TSO began, O'Neill recalls, they had a master plan of doing something big, really epic--and decided to tackle Christmas first, since it was the most daunting topic. "We did it first because it intimidated me the most!" laughed O'Neill. The band's original plan was to write six regular operas, four regular albums and a trilogy of albums about Christmas. Why three entire albums on Christmas? "Well, Charles Dickens said Christmas is too large a subject to take on in one book--so he did it in five," said O'Neill. "If it was too large for him in one book, it was too large for us in one album." The band's Christmas-themed albums--"Christmas Eve and Other Stories," "The Christmas Attic" and "The Lost Christmas Eve"--dominated various charts on their release, including major markets, Christian and Internet sales charts. Overall, album sales have topped 5 million. "We never dreamed they'd be as big as they are," said O'Neill. "You're competing with 2,000 years of Christmas songs, so the bar is really, really high."
Date published: 12/11/2008
Don't miss the opportunity to see TSO!
(posted by
toots52
, Dec. 11, 2008 2:10 pm)
I also saw TSO in Richmond in November. Don't miss this show; it's awesome for the entire family.
Where Heavy Metal meets Christmas
(posted by
dmine45
, Dec. 11, 2008 5:41 am)
I enjoyed seeing TSO in Richmond back in November. If you want to see a GREAT show with some great music, go see this show. This is NOT a normal orchestra, as the article states. This is a rock/metal band with their take on Christmas classics, and some good power/progressive metal music in the mix. It is fun for the whole family, and a great music, light and laser show. VERY talented musicians all around. And yes, they play Wizards of Winter which was made popular a few years ago.
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