Jeff Plate

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Jeff Plate 2015 with Savatage at Wacken Open Air

Jeff Plate (* 26. March 1962 in Montour Falls , New York ) is an American metal - drummer .

Beginnings (until 1993)

When Plate saw the band Kiss on television in 1975 , he decided to learn the drums. Previously, his athletic childhood was cut short due to an injury. After moving to Boston in 1986 , he played in various bands. After a while he met a musician named Matt Leff. This introduced him to Zachary Stevens . He eventually joined Leff and Stevens' band Wicked Witch and stayed there for two years. When the band split up because Stevens moved to Savatage , he moved to New York and played in the band Voodoo Rodeo for a year .

Savatage & Trans-Siberian Orchestra (1993- present)

Jeff Plate 2015 with Savatage at Wacken Open Air

In 1993, Plate called Zachary Stevens after Criss Oliva died. At this point, Stevens was already talking to Jon Oliva about bringing Plate into the band. However, he did not finally join the band until 1994, as they still had hope of keeping Steve Wacholz in the band. At that time, Plate was already learning all of Savatage's songs. He began with a US tour and then toured Japan with the band , where the live album Japan Live 94 was recorded. In the meantime there was a change in the band: Chris Caffery and Al Pitrelli replaced Alex Skolnick . In 1995, Plate's first studio album, Dead Winter Dead, was released with Savatage. It's a concept album that is about the Bosnian war . The instrumental Christmas Eve (Sarajevo 12/24) became an unexpected radio hit in the USA at Christmas 1995. The song is a medley of the Ukrainian Christmas carol Carol of the Bells and the song God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman . This song and its success gave Savatage the impetus to found the band Trans-Siberian Orchestra , which should continue to pursue this musical direction. Jeff Plate is also part of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. In 1996 the first album Christmas Eve and Other Stories was released with these, which soon reached platinum status in the USA . In 1997 Plate released the concept album The Wake of Magellan with Savatage, which reached number 11 in the album charts in Germany . In 1998 the Trans-Siberian Orchestra released the album The Christmas Attic and in 2000 the album Beethoven's Last Night , which for the first time in TSO history is not a Christmas album. In 2001 the band Savatage released Poets and Madmen, the last album to date. After the band played concerts until 2003, they finally announced the breakup in 2007. Zachary Stevens can no longer be heard on Poets and Madmen since he had left the band. Al Pitrelli had also left the band for Megadeth . Since then he has made various publications with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

In 2014 Savatage announced they would reunite at Wacken Open Air 2015. However, Jon Oliva did not rule out further band activities. It has not yet been announced whether Jeff Plate will participate in the reunion.

Metal Church

In 2006 Jeff Plate joined the band Metal Church . Shortly thereafter, the band released the album A Light in the Dark with Plate. In 2008 Plate released the album This Present Wasteland with Metal Church . Between 2009 and 2012 the band was officially dissolved. At the reunion, Plate got back to the drums of Metal Church and also recorded the following two studio albums, Generation Nothing (2013) and XI (2016). In spring 2017 he left Metal Church and was replaced by Stet Howland .

Side projects

Discography

Savatage

Trans-Siberian Orchestra

  • 1996: Christmas Eve and Other Stories
  • 1998: The Christmas Attic
  • 2000: Beethoven's Last Night (no Christmas album)
  • 2001: The Ghost of Christmas Eve (DVD)
  • 2004: The Lost Christmas Eve (definitive end of Christmas releases)
  • 2007: The Trans-Siberian Orchestra (EP with 6 tracks, Limited Edition)
  • 2009: Night Castle (double CD, no Christmas theme)
  • 2012: Dreams of Fireflies (EP with 5 titles)
  • 2013: Tales of Winter (Best Of)

Metal Church

  • 2006: A Light In The Dark
  • 2008: This Present Wasteland
  • 2013: Generation Nothing
  • 2016: XI

Chris Caffery

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Plate, Jeff
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American musician
DATE OF BIRTH March 26, 1962
PLACE OF BIRTH Montour Falls