Just saw TSO

[lerxstcat]

I can't imagine he'd need the money. TSO has been touring for ten years now and constantly sell out whatever venue they play at. Recently the band left a 10,000 dollar tip to a waitress in some restaurant.... Can't recall the details though....

The founders and owners of TSO are Paul O'Neill, Robert Kinkel and Jon Oliva. Chris Caffery is a paid sideman like he was in Savatage and is likely not in on the big money. They play standards so no publishing money for playing Christmas hits, and they tour during the holidays, not all year.

You can bet he needs the money, or he'd still be playing Jacksons.

Paul O'Neill, however, can buy whatever he wants, and he's the one who left the $10,000 tip. They rented a warehouse near where they were starting the tour, and ate at the same restaurant for 2 weeks.

They left good tips each day, but when they left to start the tour, they left a $10,000 tip that was spread among all the help at the restaurant. Great gesture, for sure, but probably a better tip than anyone in the band gets for their Christmas bonus.

[Musician78]

Ok he needs the money. He probably sold all his Jacksons long ago.

[mattsmusiccenter]

I'm good friends with Jeff Plate (TSO drummer) and the two of us are getting ready to release an album with Zak from Savatage. Although Jeff and Chris Caffery are paid guys, they're treated well financially. Of course no matter how much you make, it's always a good idea to maximize your earning potential and if Dean was willing to pay him, he made the right choice I'd say.

[JacksonCharvelESP]

Going Sunday, Dec. 7th with my oldest daughter, and we're bringing my parents as their Christmas present.

Seen them 4 times, and indeed, it's a hell of a show.


- E.

oops my bad
I mixed up my dates. Anyways great band. Can't wait to see them.

[SouthernXer]

Angus did play a nice custom 2 hum, string thru RR with pinstripes though. No pickguard either.

I believe that is his RR5 that he has down some work on.

[SEEGERMANY]

Jackson RR5 Randy Rhoads model, early 00's Seymour Duncan pickups. "This is a Japanese-made Jackson that the TSO got me in '04. Its a really good guitar. It is pictured here with a replacement pickguard and the tailpiece removed. We made these modifications in '05 so that it would look cooler and be easier for me to play. For some reason most stock Jackson guitars have a volume knob directly between your picking hand and the pickup selector which, me being a Strat guy, is totally uncool. Hence the replacement pickguard with one less volume knob than you'd ordinarily see on this guitar. This has been my main guitar for the TSO tour for the past two years. It doesn't see much action the rest of the year."

[lerxstcat]

I'm good friends with Jeff Plate (TSO drummer) and the two of us are getting ready to release an album with Zak from Savatage. Although Jeff and Chris Caffery are paid guys, they're treated well financially. Of course no matter how much you make, it's always a good idea to maximize your earning potential and if Dean was willing to pay him, he made the right choice I'd say.

Oh I'm not knocking him at all! And I'm sure he's well-paid, but a lot of guys think that they're getting equal cuts which is not the case. There are actually East Coast and West Coast TSOs and O'Neill and Oliva probably make the lion's share of the proceeeds for all those shows and the CD and DVD sales.

Also, IIRC, the TSO troups only tour a couple of months out of the year, right? So even if they're very well paid, they need to generate income for the rest of the year. Not only does a guitar endorsement geneate money and free gear, but it advertises you as well.

So someone sees Chris in a Dean Ad for TSO, and says, "Hey, it's February now and TSO's off the road! I wonder if I could hire Chris to play on my project?" It helps him keep his prescence out there. That's a smart move on his part and it helps Dean by being involved with TSO advertising.

[roodyrocker]

I saw Chris Caffery at the Dean booth last year at NAMM. I asked him about the Rhoads' he played and whats up with the Dean stuff. He said the main one (Rhoads) has been played so much that they have a hard time setting it up anymore. He got his Dean deal and claims to like the guitars but somehow I get the feeling thats the endosement deal talking. Nothing wrong with him getting a good deal but I saw him last year with his Deans and previously his Jacksons. Of course the Jacksons were much cooler

[mattsmusiccenter]

You're correct... the guys in the band don't get anything even close to an equal cut, they're just hired musicians even though Chris and Jeff have been there since day one. To say that the guys behind the scenes are raking it in is a gross understatement, they should probably share the wealth a bit more.

Of course at this point TSO is like a freight train. It's taken on a life of it's own and I'm not sure it would make much difference who's in the band.

Oh I'm not knocking him at all! And I'm sure he's well-paid, but a lot of guys think that they're getting equal cuts which is not the case. There are actually East Coast and West Coast TSOs and O'Neill and Oliva probably make the lion's share of the proceeeds for all those shows and the CD and DVD sales.

Also, IIRC, the TSO troups only tour a couple of months out of the year, right? So even if they're very well paid, they need to generate income for the rest of the year. Not only does a guitar endorsement geneate money and free gear, but it advertises you as well.

So someone sees Chris in a Dean Ad for TSO, and says, "Hey, it's February now and TSO's off the road! I wonder if I could hire Chris to play on my project?" It helps him keep his prescence out there. That's a smart move on his part and it helps Dean by being involved with TSO advertising.

[toddstaples]

Saw them a few weeks ago. Had 4th row seats.

The lights/lasers/pyro get better and better every year.

However, the fake smiles, especially from Angus Clark, are really lame. The bass player looked like he didn't want to be there. Al Pitrelli jacked up his leg and sat during the whole show.

What I don't like is that the volume level is so controlled and low and even that there's little to no "oomph" in the overall sound. The guitars are almost textural and not up front enough. Everyone is a great musician and the performance is always flawless but it's almost a little too fake.

Angus did play a nice custom 2 hum, string thru RR with pinstripes though. No pickguard either.

Al was injured during one of the early shows in the tour.

http://forums.melodicrock.com/phorum33/read.php?f=1&i=312747&t=312747

[SEEGERMANY]

Thanks for that link! Al rocks!