Trans-Siberian Orchestra

Trans-Siberian Orchestra will be performing at Mohegan Sun on November 30. Enjoy TSO's awe-inspiring rock, classical, and holiday music! We spoke with Jeff Plate, a drummer in the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, about the 2025 Winter Tour, "The Ghosts of Christmas Eve - The Best of TSO and More."

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Good morning, Thank you for listening to Community Access. My
guest this morning is from the Trans Siberian Orchestra, Jeff Plate,
Good morning. How are you.

Speaker 2 (00:10):
I'm good, Allison, how are you?

Speaker 1 (00:12):
I'm great. You have this brand new tour that's coming up.
You're going to be at Mohegan Sun on November thirtieth.
It's the twenty twenty five Trans Siberian Orchestra Windster Tour.
What's it called? This year?

Speaker 2 (00:25):
This year we are presenting the Ghosts of Christmas Eve.
We've done this particular show, this particular story a number
of times, and this is based on the television special
that we recorded, Oh God back in nineteen ninety nine,
I believe. But it's basically a greatest hit show with
a really nice story wrapped around it, and it's a

(00:46):
fan favorite. I think the band really loves it, and
it's honestly one of my favorite shows to play too.
But you know, along with that, we always change up
the setlist in the show. This year, we are actually
paying tribute to the very first non seasonal record that
TSO recorded, called Beethoven's Last Night, and this, along with

(01:10):
the Christmas stuff that Paul wrote and produced, this non
seasonal record we did back in two thousand, so this
is the twenty fifth anniversary of that record, So probably
during the second half of the show, we're going to
pay tribute to that and have some cool surprises along
with it.

Speaker 1 (01:25):
Wonderful. I went last year and oh my goodness, I
had goosebumps the entire time. I would just look around
at everyone taking it all in. I wanted to see
the expressions on their face, the big bubble with a
woman inside of it, the pyrotechnics and the electric everything.
And I got to tell you this. Kelsey Watts. I
don't know if you remember. She did this medley of

(01:46):
Oh Come All Ye Faithful and another song. Oh yeah,
she brought down the house. I was like, Ho, the
talent in this is off the hook.

Speaker 2 (01:57):
Yes it is. I've been here from the very beginning
and there's always been a lot of talents across the
board on the stage. But every year, you know, we
raised the anny a little bit and we bring in
some very very talented people. Kelsey was one of them.
She's fantastic. Kelsey actually has a gig on Broadway this year,

(02:20):
so she's not going to be with us, but we've
got we've got somebody else coming in, and it's right
there with her, but along with the singers, the musicians.
You know, I look around that stage and I kind of,
you know, I dreamed of doing this when I was
a kid, when I was thirteen years old. My whole
dream was to do what I'm doing now and to

(02:40):
sit on stage and to look around at this arena
full of people. And then the people I actually work with,
you know, Joel Holkstrong guitar, Chris Caffrey, Derek Wheeling, and
me and Kim on keyboards. These people are phenomenal at
their instruments, and it really is just a pleasure for
me to sit there and be able to work with them.
But but the whole thing is a package. Yeah, there's

(03:02):
a lot of work and a lot of thought that
goes into it. And there's some really really talented people
on the stage and behind the scenes too putting this
whole thing together.

Speaker 1 (03:11):
And it's beautiful. I feel bad for somebody if they've
never gotten to experience, because they're missing out the storytelling. Again,
it's just you get the chills throughout the whole thing.
I looked around, I was like, oh, I just kept
doing that you know, I was like, wow, wow, wow,
wow wow. It was just so beautiful and so amazing
and put me in the holiday spirit. You know, there's

(03:32):
like a healing that comes with it. I don't know
if you can give away a little bit of this
story this year or no.

Speaker 2 (03:39):
That goes to Christmas Eve is like I said, that's
something that we've done a number of times. It's you know,
Paul O'Neill had a great way of writing. You know,
he involved a little bit of heartache, he involved some redemption,
he involved you know, love and giving and you know,
everything works out in the end. And this story is
no different. Runaway girl, she's you know, separated from her

(04:03):
family and and she has some friendly spirits to come
along and talk some sense into her, and she ends
up back with her family in the end. That is
the That is the very edited version of the story.
But but there's a lot more to it than that.
I think for people who have never seen us, I always,

(04:26):
you know, recommend come see the show. It really is
one of the most unique things you're ever going to see.
And not just because I'm in the band. I really
believe the show is fantastic. But I also realized too.
It is. It is a busy time of year for
a lot of people, so sometimes it's hard to make
it to the show. But if you get a chance
come see us. You won't be disappointed.

Speaker 1 (04:45):
Now you you originally wanted to pitch for the Yankees.

Speaker 2 (04:49):
Yeah, back when I was a kid, and then my
hip fell apart, and a year later, I saw a
Kiss on television and I was like, I'm gonna do that.
Sport sports took a backseat because it had to. But yeah,
I remember watching the Midnight Special when I was thirteen
years old and Kiss came on, and I was like,

(05:12):
what just happened? And it got me turned on into
music and I've never looked back. But that band really
inspired me to pick up the drums and get serious
about it. And as I worked along the way and
just kept meeting more people and you know, learning more,
some really good things happened. So I ended up with

(05:33):
Paul O'Neil and in nineteen ninety four and I've been
there ever since.

Speaker 1 (05:38):
You know, It's just amazing how one door closes another
one opens. I mean, you would have been either a
Yankee or an Trans Siberian Orchestra. I mean, I don't
know what's worse, honestly or what's better. I'm speaking with
Jeff Plate from the Trans Siberian Orchestra. They're going to
be at Mohegan Sun Sunday, November thirtieth. You can go
to their website trans dash Siberian dot com or Mohi

(06:00):
Sun dot com. Before I end this, Jeff, I know
you did something with the tickets last year. I wasn't
sure if you were doing it again where you don'tate
a dollar or no.

Speaker 2 (06:08):
Yeah, yes, okay, you that every show, every ticket sold.
I'm not sure exactly what the charity is for this
for this particular show, but we've to date raised over
twenty one million dollars for local charities all across the country.
And you're again it was something that Paul O'Neill felt

(06:29):
very strongly about. It's such a win win situation. Everybody
in the arena is involved in helping somebody in their community,
and you know, we're all very proud of this.

Speaker 1 (06:38):
Well, I can't wait to go. Thank you so much
for being here today and for all of the amazing
work that you're doing your blessing lives.

Speaker 2 (06:46):
Thank you so much. We'll talk to you soon all right.