Chris Caffery

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Chris Caffery (2007)

Chris Caffery (born September 9, 1967 in Suffern , New York ) is a rock or metal guitarist, who is known for his work as a member of Savatage and the Trans-Siberian Orchestra . Since 2004 he has released three solo albums.

biography

Beginnings

Chris Caffery 2015 with Savatage at Wacken Open Air

Caffery began playing guitar at the age of eleven. As a first memory, however, he gives an appearance in kindergarten, where he performed the Beatles song "Help!". His favorite bands included The Beatles , KISS , Black Sabbath , Judas Priest and Rush . He was also influenced by guitarists such as Ted Nugent , Rik Emmett , Ace Frehley , Randy Rhoads and Michael Schenker .

After only 13 months, he was so bored with guitar lessons that he decided to learn to play guitar on his own. In middle school he was a member of a band called Blitzkreig , with whom he gave a few concerts. He gave his first concert at the age of 13 in a bar in Ridgewood, New Jersey. At the age of 14 he formed a band called Anti with his brother . Caffery graduated from high school at the age of 16 and immediately became a professional musician. During the day he taught students and in the evening he gave concerts.

At the age of 14 he recorded his first demo tape ; at 17 his second, which helped him to his first national appearance. Sitting in a Times Square club in New York City, Caffery met Allen Fryar , the lead singer in a band called Heaven . They were looking for a guitarist and Caffery gave him his demo tape. A week later, Fryar Caffery called and said the band was also looking for a drummer . So Caffery and his brother Phil joined the band. The band was managed by David Krebs and Paul O'Neill , with whom Caffery would be closely associated for a long time in his career.

First time with Savatage (1988–1990)

Chris Caffery 2015 with Savatage at Wacken Open Air

Paul O'Neil was later introduced to the Oliva brothers Jon and Criss of Savatage by an employee of Atlantic Records . O'Neil then left Heaven to work with Savatage. Caffery was then invited by O'Neil to New York, where Savatage recorded a CD. There he met Criss Oliva and the band. Caffery learned that Savatage needed a second guitarist. He learned all the songs for the Savatage tour with DIO and Megadeth in 1987/88. However, Savatage chose another guitarist. Caffery was very upset about this and withdrew into the audience. However, he still got the opportunity to perform. He played two songs before the band stopped and hired him on the spot. The band went on tour, but Caffery was placed at the side of the stage, out of view from the audience. He was only 20 years old when he played in major arenas . After the tour he left Savatage again.

During this time Caffery switched back and forth between different bands until he came into contact with the Oliva brothers again. They asked him if he wanted to join the band shortly after the Gutter Ballet album was finished. Glad about it, he assumed and went on tour with the band.

On new paths

Pressured by his brother Phil, who was looking for a singer for his band, Caffery left Savatage again at the end of the tour. With his brother as drummer, King Diamond's Hal Patino as bassist and Dough Kistner as keyboardist , they founded Whichdoctor . The band played numerous concerts in Europe, but later broke up.

Return to Savatage

Caffery was contacted again by Savatage to play on the Streets - A Rock Opera tour , but this did not materialize for various reasons. Caffery later learned that Jon Oliva had left Savatage. He called Oliva, who also invited him to Florida and after "10 bottles of Jack Daniel’s " her project Doctor Butcher was born.

Zachary Stevens replaced Jon Oliva at Savatage, who continued to work on albums with his brother Criss. Caffery was again asked if he wanted to rejoin Savatage, but he declined out of loyalty to Jon Oliva and Doctor Butcher. Some demos were recorded. Atlantic Records had to choose between Doctor Butcher and Savatage after some negative news about Jon Oliva's health. The record company chose Savatage. Discouraged, Caffery devoted himself to working with Badlands Fame's Ray Gillen , a good friend of Caffery's. However, Gillen died shortly after the project began.

On October 17, 1993, Criss Oliva was killed in a car accident. The driver of the accident car was heavily drunk. Caffery was asked for the fourth time if he would like to join Savatage, but Atlantic Records suggested Alex Skolnick instead .

Caffery would later work with Skolnick at TSO East Touring Company . Doctor Butcher was signed in Europe and their debut album recorded in 1994. Jon Oliva left the band to present Handful of Rain live with Savatage . Caffery, who this time saw a permanent basis for working with Savatage, decided to pay his friend and teacher Criss Oliva spiritual respect. Jon accepted the offer and they joined the band along with Al Pitrelli , a former friend from New York. There was a steady collaboration for almost six years. They recorded Dead Winter Dead in 1996 and The Wake of Magellan in 1998 .

During this time, Caffery recorded music with Joe Lynn Turner and TM Stevens . He also recorded and produced music for the German band Metalium . In 1999 he was briefly a member of the band, but left after an album and the subsequent tour. Caffery has appeared on tribute albums for Guns N 'Roses , Accept and Iron Maiden . The Iron Maiden tribute song was recorded with Savatage drummer Jeff Plate and his "longtime and newly found friend" and TSO member John West. The activities at Savatage were throttled somewhat due to the enormous success of TSO in the recording phase of The Wake of Magellan successor.

Al Pitrelli left Savatage in 2000 to replace Marty Friedman at Megadeth. Shortly thereafter, Zak Stevens left the band due to family problems. Caffery was the only remaining guitarist and Jon Oliva took over the vocals for the first time in ten years. Along with Jack Frost, who ironically replaced him at Metalium, they played a short tour with Fates Warning and Judas Priest to promote their 2001 album Poets and Madmen . After Megadeth broke up in 2002, Al Pitrelli rejoined the band.

Since Savatage's last CD, Caffery has worked on various albums by former Savagtage members. For example at Zak Stevens' Circle II Circle and Jon Oliva's Pain . Caffery himself released solo EPs and albums in 2004 and 2005 and the album Pins and Needles in 2007 . In 2015 he was again part of Savatage at their reunion.

Discography

With Savatage

With Doctor Butcher

With Trans-Siberian Orchestra

With metalium

As a solo artist

As a guest musician

  • 2002 - Doro 's "Fight" (in the songs "Salvaje" and "Descent" ) and in 2016 " Strong and Proud: 30 Years of Rock and Metal " (in the song " Egypt (The Chains are On) ")
  • 2003 - Circle II Circle 's Watching in Silence (featured on the tracks "Out of Reach" , "Sea of ​​White" and "Face to Face," )
  • 2006 - Eidolon 's The Parallel Otherworld (guitar solo in the song "The Eternal Call" )
  • 2013 - Craving 's "At Dawn" (guitar solo in the song "Targaryen Wrath" )

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Chris Caffery Biography. Savatage.com, accessed May 24, 2007 .
  2. ↑ Chris Caffery Autobiography. (No longer available online.) ChrisCaffery.com, archived from the original on May 29, 2007 ; Retrieved May 24, 2007 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.chriscaffery.com
  3. ↑ Tony Green, "Associates mourn Savatage star," St. Petersburg Times (Florida), October 19, 1993, p. 6B
personal data
SURNAME Caffery, Chris
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American musician, metal guitarist
DATE OF BIRTH September 9, 1967
PLACE OF BIRTH Suffern , New York