Savatage - #7

0:04 Hi, you love then too, censure. See wow, crazy young. This is the pipe Man here on the Adventures pipe Man W four C Y Radio, and I'm here with Jeff played from Sabotage Nice here at Vadkin. Oh my god? Can you believe how hot it is here? How you guys play in this weather? That's what I want. Well, you just gotta have to endure it, honestly. I mean, I mean me being the drummer, I just try to hydrate as much as I can throughout the day. You know, you get on stage and you and you perform.

0:45 You just do what you do. But I mean, it is what it is. And honestly, Vakin, I believe is the sixth show. On this tour that we've had so far. Every show has been blistering hot, so we're kind of used to it right now, right, And I gotta tell you it's interesting. I don't know if it was the year you were at Hellfest, but there was a drummer I can't remember which band that literally passed out from heatstroke during the set. I don't doubt it. I don't doubt it. I mean today, today, I think we're going to look out. I mean the weather right now is this is very hot here, humid, but it looks like it's going to break this evening right before we go on stage, so that'll be a nice break for us and the audience. I mean, they're I give these festival fans so much credit for showing up and hanging in there and doing what they do all day long and all weekend long. So it's gonna be a great show tonight.

1:42 I thought, you know, Hotter Call, it doesn't matter. We're gonna go out there and do our thing. There you go. And it's funny because I always talk about drummers playing like you experienced a heat, probably more than anybody on stage because you're just constant. Yeah, but you know the guys down front, they're all moving around too, So there you go. It doesn't take a whole lot too. I mean, the saving greats I have is that I'm sitting down, I guess right right. But the other guy, I mean, Johnny and Chris are all over the place, Zach is moving around a lot, Al Al's you know, he hunkers down, and between myself and Al and Johnny Lee, our job is to go up there and just be the tightest rhythm section possible nice for this band, and that's really our main job.

2:24 But the performance part just kind of comes along with it. So and you kind of get in the zone anyway. It's like, it's not till you get off stage till you give your self permission to feel like shit from whatever was ailing you on stage. These people didn't pay good money to see me up there, you know, being miserable. I'm gonna go and have a great time. And I mean for myself, you know, I dreamed of doing stuff like this when I was a little kid. Here i am. This has become my career. But for sabotage in general, the band started in the mid eighties, went through a number of challenges, a number of member changes. You know, the Haull of the Mountain King Band really kind of set the standard for the future. Honestly, the Guta Ballet Band more changes. He got tragedy losing Chris Aliva. We lost Paul O'Neill nine years ago. You know, it's like this band has been through a lot, but through all of this, the fans have stuck with us, and they could not be more excited to see this band and hear this music on stage and it's you know, this, this, what we're doing now isn't necessarily about us.

3:33 It's about the music. Yeah, you know, John and Kris Olivia wrote some of the most enduring hard rock, heavy metal, progressive you call it what you want to, but those guys, along with Paul O'Neill, created something that has stood the test of time. There's nobody else that sounds like sabotage. Nobody else, mind, I don't want to say nobody else, but the emotion that the fans feel from this music and these lyrics, and it's it's just unbelievable. And the fact that we are. The fact that we are out here without John yeah, you know, which is which is truly unfortunate. He he just physically can't be here right now. But last year, actually almost two years ago, when this thing became a reality that we were going to do this. You know, I give John all the credit in the world for saying, all right, my guys are going to go out there and do this. This music needs to be heard by the fans. They deserve to hear it. Myself, along with Al and Johnny and Chris and Zach, we've all been here for over thirty years, I've been here for thirty two years. It's we are the members of Sabotage, you know.

4:43 But the fact that John gave us his blessing to come out here and do this, I mean, I think that speaks worlds to John's love of the fans and love of the music, because you know how it is when you when you fall off the scene for a while, people. Start to forget you. Yeah, And we did not play for close to twenty three years up till last year. Two thousand and two was our last official tour so to speak. We did Vowkan here in twenty fifteen, but that was also with the Trans Liberian Orchestra. Having said all that, the fans have just been more than welcoming and have loved every minute of these shows. So it's great. Well, I saw that. Personally from two viewpoints at Hellfest as a fan out in the audience that's been a fan since the eighties, and at that press conference, like your press conference was probably the busiest press conference I've seen at Hellfest in all the years I've done it.

5:42 There is a. Real joy in people that we're out here playing again, but there's also this curiosity. It's like what the hell is this band going to be like now? You know, without John being there. That was the big question mark. There was no intent of placing John. You can't replace John's vocals or his keyboard playing. His personality is bigger than life, you know, right, So we decided, how do we take the five of us supplement that and make this as good as it can be. So we hired two keyboard players that can both sing very well. Now all the vocals like stuff and Chance Hourglass, Wakeham Magell and all that stuff is covered, and a lot of the keyboard stuff that John could handle one part, you know, maybe not the other. Now we can play both parts at the same time. The band truly sounds amazing and it's just here again. It's all out of respect for the music. When we got into rehearsals last year, we kind of had a very strict rule. It's like, Okay, we've been playing these songs for a long time, and a number of them have kind of veered away from the original recordings. So we had to go back and relearn some of the songs that we'd already been playing, you know, hundreds of times, and myself in particularly like Edge of Thorns, there was just a couple thing is in Deedja Thornes I could not not do until about eight times doing the song. He was like, Okay, now I'm actually playing the part correctly. But hey, you know, like I said before, the music, the lyrics, the emotion

7:13 behind this band in this you know what this all is is really what this is all about. And we're just thrilled that the fans are still with us. Yeah, and I gotta say, giving you the blessing tells me he's a true musician and is about the music. There's so many in this industry are about the ego, and that proves there's no ego. We've been hearing this ever since two thousand and two. The fans have wanted us to return. However, you know, in some form or another, they've been beating that drum for years and John knows that.

7:53 I mean John, We're all very aware of what Sabotage is and the uniqueness of it. I don't know how many interviews I've done where I've asked, you know, particularly you, is there another band that sounds like Sabotage. No, that's the point, and I think that's also part of the times then too because I talk about now in metal that a lot of bands are so many subgenres micro genres that it's almost like an algebraic equation. They put this formula to making a metal song, and back then it was all new, so everybody was experimenting, and so you did get that uniqueness. And I remember the first time I ever heard you guys, and I liked a lot of bands, I was like, man, this is freaking good, and mainly because it wasn't the same as anybody else. Yeah, when I joined the band in ninety four, I remember going down to Florida and meeting John and Paul. They were working on a handful of Rain record and introductions were made, We did photos, We hung out for a couple of days, and I remember Paul distinctly saying, Okay, now go home and learn everything.

9:05 And I did. And once I started digging into that Bad catalog, it's like, all right, there's Dungeons, there's sirens, there's power the Night, the Bad. You start getting into some of the you know, preleade to madness and then gutter ballet and Street says, like Jesus, there's some really interesting music here, and it isn't just in your face metal, right, there's some real emotional symphonic stuff going on. It blew me away because I really wasn't aware of that at the time. It was just it was MTV and I knew of I knew of Gutter Ballet, and I knew Haul of the Mountain King. And then of course Zach Stevens, who I worked with in Boston once he got into Sabotage. He did the Edge of Thorns record, and I remember myself and my guitarist Matt Leff listening to the album going, man, you know, good for Zach, this is awesome. Zach sounds great, but holy shit, that guitar player is unbelievable. And Chris Oliva, the more you start listening and hearing the stories and watching the videos, it's just a shame he was taking so soon, you know. And there's nothing that I could do about it. I wish I met that guy. I would love to have been able to work with him.

10:15 I think it would have been fantastic. But here again, that combination of John and Chris and Paul O'Neill, they created something that was heading in a direction that nobody else was. And maybe they were, but not they didn't sound like that when grunge came around and completely knocked everything off the rails. Yeah, Sabotage kind of laid under the water and kind of cruised along and did its thing. And that's hey. It's one thing I learned about Paul O'Neil through all the years I worked with him, as like, believe in what you're doing, stick to it, and just go for it. You know, if you try to sound like somebody else, if you're trying to steal, you know, whatever is the flavor of the day, you're only going to go so far.

10:58 So here we are, all these years later. There's a perfect testament to that. There's a band in recent years got very, very popular, very quick. I won't mention who they are, but they sounded exactly like exactly like this other band. They said they didn't, but even the lead singer of that original band said come on. And it's nothing to always get you when they questioned these bands and they're like, oh, we've never listened to them, it's like, oh, come on, right, and so like, you know, but case in point, they got really popular really quick. I think more from a nostalgia viewpoint. But now you don't really hear about them. Yeah, yeah, you talked about it, all the subgenres and everything, and it's it's I guess that goes with any form of music now. You know, there are so many different types of pop, different types of jazz, country, metal, progressive rock and all some of it kind of you know, is over into each other. But here again, the writing style, the sound of Sabotage, Paul's lyrics, it just connected with people.

12:11 And I think now that we're able to get back out here, and now that we've been gone this long, it's ironic that we're almost like new again, right. You know a lot of the other bands that we've a lot of our peers have been out there every year or every other year doing tours, and hey, you know what, we're just gonna We're just gonna take it as it comes. But it's it's a true pleasure to be able to get back on stage and play in front of these audiences. And I mean our slot tonight kind of speaks to the popularity of the band, you know, at the at the Hole Way Ground, like probably the biggest metal festival in the world. Yep, you know, so yes, it absolutely does, and you know, just it says something about the music, because how many bands go on that long of a hiatus and come back and it's like they were never gone.

13:02 And for the fans to be accepting and forgiving. I mentioned earlier the band has been through so many different lineups, the five of us. When we got together for the Dead Winter Dead album and tour, all of a sudden, the five of Us became a unit. It changed again over the years, but bringing us back together, we got in the rehearsal room and started working and it was like, oh my god, this sounds like us again, you know, it sounds like the band. And while we were doing all the rehearsals, John was there. For every minute of it. You know, he was picking the songs, going over segues, you know what key should we do this in? What part of are the keyboard is playing? What he wants to hear. He was as involved in this as he possibly could be without actually being in the band. So you know, for people that yes, of course they missed John, we missed John, but he is literally on stage with us every night and we couldn't do this without them, so exactly, and I love that you pay homage to it because there are a lot of scenarios where that may not be the case. It's almost like competitive sometimes, you know, when you have something new. But what I do want to though, is, like you were talking, it's like being new again. Doesn't that feel amazing, like going back to like being a new musician in one respect, you know, because it becomes fresh again to you as a musician.

14:28 Yep. And too when you put twenty three years in between the last show and shows last year, we are twenty three years older, right, you know, we've all been working together also in the Translabrian Orchestra. Yeah, so everybody's playing, everybody's working, everybody's got their chops up. We've all become better musicians over the year. We're all adults, so we have a certain there's a different respect for what we're doing and how we present ourselves on stage. And you know, I think the crowd really sees that we have you know, what we were doing this years ago. There wasn't a cell phone in everybody's hand, right, so you could kind of get away with something and maybe the world didn't know about it instantly.

15:11 You can't do that anymore. Oh, I'm thankful that there aren't films of me of the eighties because I lived basically at the Sunset Strip in the eighties. I don't want any evidence. There you go. I mean there was great shows, oh yeah, I love to see that, but there was also those shows. Was like, uh, right, we got to do better the next time, you know, And that's just that's just that just happens. You know, we're all human. But going into this, it was like, all right, no, no screwing around. We gotta be as good as we can possibly be because a bad performance is going to get around the world quicker than a good one. Yeah, so we just got. To make sure everything set sets a standard, we set a standard, we live up to that. There may be, you know, give or take. But we've had some moments already on these during these tours that have just been phenomenal.

16:01 And when you got thousands of people out there singing the words to songs, grown men crying when we play Believe, I mean, if that doesn't affect you and give you a sense of purpose, I don't. Know what will. So right, well, that's all good man, that's definitely. And like again, there's musicians and there's people that want to be rock stars, and you guys are true musicians. You're not about all that, and that's what makes it fun. You should be having fun, yep, you know, because otherwise why be in this industry if you're not having fun? Absolutely, I mean, we all had these dreams and we were kids, you know. Then you get into the business and you realize, well, this is a business.

16:43 This isn't you know? You got to take this seriously. There's a lot of competition out there. I mean, let's face it, we are everybody who's competing, even though we may be all peers, right or we're all competing for the headline short thing. So you got to get out there and here again, treat yourself with respect, treat your bandmates with respect, treat the origins and the whole entity itself being sabotaged with respect. And that just reflects to the audience. And hey, these people, they've stuck with us for a long time and the least we can do is get them a great show every night. The most we can do is just to keep that going. So one question, too, is what what was that first feeling thought in your head going way back when you were invited to be in sabotage? Well, it was completely the whole scenario. I was in Boston working with a guitarist named Matt Left. He had gone to git out in Hollywood. He told me about this singer Zach Stevens that he met out there. So Matt and I were putting together this band called We Could Witch, and Matt says, I've got the vocalist, but he's in California.

17:57 We fly Zach from Hollywood to bas where we were living. We pick him up at the airport and he's take this guy out and have a beer and talk. I just meet and the guy we got walking to a bark all the channel and Sabotage is playing. Ironically, Zach was working at a hotel in Hollywood, met the band. A couple of weeks earlier. It was just all so bizarre. How it the first time I ever met Zach is the first time I saw Sabotage. Wow. So fast forward like a couple of years after. Zach and I worked together in Wickedwich and we did the whole New England scene and everything Grunge came along knocked everything out. Yeah, Zach got the call John is going to step down his lead vocalist to sabotage and could you submit a demo, which he did and he got the gig.

18:45 Wow. So I'm in Boston without. A lead singer. The music scene just went to hell. And it's like, okay, I'm going to move back home, rethink what I'm doing. I'm thirty two years old at this point. Do I cut my hair or go back to school. It's my next step. I'm not going to quit drumming, but I got to rethink some things here and uh. And then I hear about Chris Aliva and so I called up Zach and I said, you know what's going on with the band? Would you you got your foot in the door now? Would you like to resurrect the old band and see if we can do something? And he said he said no, Jeff, Paul and John want to keep the band going and they want you as the drummer. Wow. And I'm in my apartment in Horse Ends, New York.

19:28 I was like what, and he says, yeah, they heard our demo, they've seen some pictures. And I gave him my word and you're in. I was like, holy shit. So next thing you know, I'm in my truck driving to Florida. That's when I met John and Paul went home, learned everything, and you know, at the time said I didn't know much about sabotage other than what I mentioned earlier. Scolnick had came in to do the guitar work, which Scolnick had such a big name at the time. I was just excited about all of it, and I really was. I was just kind of in shock of how it all happened. But I was reconnecting with my friend, my favorite singer, working with Skolnick and then playing in this band. And once we got together and started rehearsing, it clicked very quickly, and I knew at that time it's like, dude, this is your shot. Keep your damn mouth shut, do your job.

20:23 These guys had just been through hell. Don't give them any reason to let you go. Yeah. So I went in there and played my ass off, and then after a couple of weeks on tour. I remember we played Letmores in Brooklyn. I love that place. Paul came on the bus and said, Jeff, you're officially the guy. Now you're going to Japan. You're gonna do this live record, And I was like, I can't believe what's happening. Prior to that, I told myself, if I could ever do one tour and do one record, I would feel like I won. Right. So many people try to do this and don't even get close to that exactly, all of a sudden, within a matter of months, I did both and I was It's just like, so here I am thirty two years later talking to you about this, and it's it's just been an incredible ride. It shows that the universe works in weird ways, because had the timing not been right, you could have been working at some like store somewhere who knows, doing construction, playing on the local band who knows. And now it's twenty twenty six.

21:24 I can't wait for your set here at Vakin the Holy Ground, and man, it's just amazing. And the last thing I'm gonna say too, is I dig your necklace. Well this is my wedding ring. Bring yeah, my ring fingers got to beat up from playing, but that one one. Yes, I got this as a gift from somebody along the way, and uh hey, and talk about a logo that gets your attention, I mean the am of the band first of all, but just the appearance of it and. That s it's just exactly. It bites like, do you. See that essay where you know what it is? Exactly? Yep, And so well, thanks a lot for still doing this.

22:05 Absolutely and oh my god, it's going to be an exciting night for all of us. Hey man, we don't plan on stop and things have been going extremely well. We're building it back up and you know, the plant is, Hey, we're all healthy, we're all here doing it. Let's just let's just go out there and kick ass as long as we can and hop on with it. I love it because at that press conference at LFAS, I was like, I wonder how long this will last? And here we are at vakin. We'll keep our fingers crossed. Yeah vaka now and then who knows what's going to be in the future, but things are looking good. Love it. Thanks thanks for being on the Adventures of pipe Man. You bet take care. Hey, this is Jeff Play from Sabotage. You are listening to pipe Man on W four c WHY Radio.

22:48 Thank you for listening to the Adventures of Pipe Main. I'm w for CUI Radio.