Criss Oliva Week 2010

[savatage]

You can download the PDF here: http://www.strat-talk.com/forum/side...ek-2010-a.html

[savatage]

The PDF can also be downloaded here: http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/forum...3#post25502193


The daily Criss Oliva Week posts will be posted at the Import Charvel subforum as replies to the Criss Oliva Week thread that's already there. The first post will be on Sunday the 17th.

[thebigz]

Looks cool. Long live Criss!

[savatage]

Change in plans: I will also make the posts here! Hopefully more people will read them on this general forum.

[savatage]

October 17th: Criss Oliva Memorial Day

On October 17th, 1993, Criss Oliva and his wife Dawn were driving north on Highway 301 on their way to the Fourth Annual Livestock Festival in Zephyrhills, Florida. Around 3:30 am, a drunk driver who had previously been convicted of seven DUIs crossed over into Criss Oliva's lane and hit him head-on. Criss died instantly and Dawn was severely injured. The drunk driver was found guilty of DUI manslaughter, DUI serious injury, and vehicular homicide, and was sentenced to a mere five years in prison. He served 18 months of this sentence.


Ten years earlier, in 1983, Criss and his older brother Jon cut their first album together. They had in the previous years left their individual bands and formed a group that played the Tampa music scene. Accepting a record deal in 1983, the brothers named their band Avatar. A few weeks before the record, titled Sirens, was completed, the Oliva brothers discovered that the name Avatar was already taken. Criss, Jon, and Dawn Oliva met together and eventually decided to combine "Avatar" with "Savage". This result was Savatage, the band that would eventually spawn the Trans-Siberian Orchestra.



Sirens (1983) was a metal masterpiece. The album was a key pioneer of power metal and thrash. It's only suiting for Criss Oliva Week to begin here. I recommend that you listen to the first three tracks of this album. They are:

1. Sirens
2. Holocaust
3. I Believe

The ultimate goal of the first day of Criss Oliva week is to introduce the music of Savatage to a person who has never heard of them before. Only then can we expand the Sava Legion.

Until tomorrow,
John

[savatage]

October 18th: The Second Day of Criss Oliva Week

Criss Oliva (Christopher Michael Oliva) and Savatage had one more album to cut according to their contract with Par, so in 1984 the band went back to the studio and recorded The Dungeons are Calling (1984). This album is arguably Savatage's heaviest.



On this album, I suggest you listen to:

1. The Dungeons are Calling
2. By the Grace of the Witch
5. City Beneath the Surface

The numbering above is NOT a reference to Monty Python...

This album is killer, and it really pounds the ears of the listener. The main theme of The Dungeons are Calling is only three notes, but Criss Oliva orders them masterfully.



Until tomorrow,
John

[Tekky]

Rest in Peace Criss.

[zeegler]

Great thread! I can't believe it's been so long since we lost Criss.

[savatage]

The original Criss Oliva Week thread has disappeared (or has been deleted?? If so, it would've been nice if somebody left me a notification). Maybe it was the day after day posting that was in-store. If that's the case I plan to solve it here. What follows are the remaining Criss Oliva Week posts combined into one. :idea: Why not post the contest here as well?

October 19th: Power of the Night Day



Suggested Listening: Power of the Night, Unusual, Warriors, Skull Session.




October 20th: Hall of the Mountain King Day
The turning point for Tage...




Suggested Listening: Everything through The Price You Pay.



October 21st: Gutter Ballet Day
From the gutter to the stage...



Suggested Listening: Gutter Ballet, 24 Hours Ago, Hounds, When the Crowds Are Gone.



Look at the Charvel Legend!! Criss was a huge endorser of these. He plays one in the Gutter Ballet music video (check it out on Youtube).

October 22nd: Streets: A Rock Opera Day
The big gamble...




Suggested Listening: The whole thing, in order.


Nice custom charvel

October 23rd: Edge of Thorns Day




Suggested Listening: Edge of Thorns.



October 24th: The Contest

Here's the deal. I'm going to be awarding the winner of this contest with a Criss Oliva themed prize. I will declare the winner ON OCTOBER 24th. Please send your answer to [email protected]. Include your username. ONE ENTRY PER USER!

If you want the prize, you have to answer two questions.

1. What is the significance of "From the Gutter to the Stage"?

2. Find one mistake in the following article (there's more than one mistake): http://www.guitarworld.com/article/c..._mountain_king

The first user to email correct answers to both questions will win!

In parting words, I highly recommend Savatage newest greatest hits collection. Although some classics are left off, the appearing tracks sound fantastic.



I was lucky enough to be in Spain when this compilation was released... as of right now it's only being sold in Europe although I'm sure you can find it online somewhere.

[savatage]

I've decided to award an additional prize to whomever posts the best original Savatage artwork. Post your pictures here and email them to me using the address I provided in the previous post.

I'm going to add some links to videos of Criss in action. I should post some of them tomorrow.

[Tekky]

Got my copy of "Still the Orchestra Plays"

You have to work in a day where everyone listens to "Shotgun Innocence" on Poets and Madmen.


Off topic - as a former admin, may I give you some advice... Don't complain when your duplicate topic gets removed. Just realize that there really is no need for two of the same topic and move on.

[savatage]

Hey, I didn't complain!

I can make Edge of Thorns day Edge of Thorns/Shotgun Innocence Day... Shot Gun Innocence was recorded for Edge of Thorns but was released as a bonus track on Poets and Madmen. It was the last song Criss Oliva ever recorded.

[Tekky]

The original Criss Oliva Week thread has disappeared (or has been deleted?? If so, it would've been nice if somebody left me a notification).

Seems like a complaint/snarky comment to me. But OK, let's not sully Criss' memory by bickering over forum semantics.

Trust me, admins/management/owners of this forum do a great many things without feeling the need to explain. Somewhere there's a rules of the road sticky that would probably address your concern.

[savatage]

I could only imagine how much crap the admins deal with every day!

And yes, let's not sully Criss Oliva Week. Today is Power of the Night Day. It's a little more commercial than The Dungeons are Calling but it's still very good. It's the first Savatage album in drop-c tuning.

[savatage]