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."
Rare as it is in a music world dominated by bling and excess, commercial success is not what drives this producer, guitarist and composer.
Instead, it truly seems to be the spirit of the holiday itself--and a drive to continually up the ante in terms of giving audiences a show they'll never forget.
Proof positive comes in the fact that O'Neill demanded lower ticket prices this year, while increasing the size and scope of the show itself.
"I've always been fascinated with the spirit of Christmas," said O'Neill, who grew up an Irish Catholic in New York City. "How it affects the way people treat each other."
He recalls seeing a fender-bender car accident in Manhattan at Christmastime. The two burly drivers, he says, might normally have come out swinging.
With the mood and signs of Christmas all around them, however, they ended up showing each other pictures of their kids.
"Any other day of the week, there would be blood on the streets," he marvelled.
In like fashion, part of TSO's mission--including an upcoming album that will not be Christmas-themed--is to take the audience/listener to a different, better space.
"Human beings need moments of joy," said O'Neill, "or at least moments where they're not stressing out.
"At a Trans-Siberian Orchestra concert, with all the music and lights and storyline, from the very first moment, for those three hours, the brain can only absorb all that--so they're not going to be worrying about the outside world for those three hours."
Yes, TSO concerts are really that long--and leave the viewer in a unique state of exhilaration and exhaustion.
A November show in Richmond featured a laser and light show almost beyond imagination, together with the many musicians and singers onstage, and intricate lighting rigs that actually raised and lowered to the stage to become part of the show itself.
"The show this year is by far the largest production ever put on the road," said O'Neill. "We've actually raised the [dimensions] of the production and lowered the ticket prices."
He even got rid of the famous "golden circle" that many big bands use--where the best 2,000 seats cost more, with most of the money going to the band.
"It was meant to be a preemptive strike against scalpers," said O'Neill. "But in practice, it guarantees that only corporations or the very rich could get the best seats.
"I like the fact that when TSO tickets go on sale, the kid who delivers the paper or rakes your lawn has the same chance as Warren Buffett" to get the best seats.
And O'Neill--who came up in a city that defines the melting pot of America--is particularly proud of the diverse age, race and economic status of audiences at a TSO show.
"The things we all have in common are a lot more than the things that separate us," he said.
Dave Smalley:
Email: dsmalley@freelancestar.com
| What: Trans-Siberian Orchestra in concert When: Sunday, Dec. 14, for two shows, 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Where: Verizon Center, 601 F St. N.W., Washington Cost: $39-$59 Info: 202/661-5000, verizoncenter.com, or transsiberian.com |