September 12, 2025 • 8 mins
Trans-Siberian Orchestra's Al Pitrelli joined the show to discuss all the awesomeness happening in the TSO world as they prepare to launch into their annual tour!
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
It's one O two point five kzy okay. Trans Siberian Orchestra.
(00:03):
I will be playing at Climate Pledger Arena on November
twenty second, three pm seven thirty pm. As always, a
portion of the proceeds from the night show we'll go
to Rock the Harvest benefiting Northwest Harvest. Tickets are on
sale now and I am excited to talk once again
with our friend Al put Trelli from Trans Siberian Orchestra.
Good morning, Al, Good morning.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
How are you.
Speaker 1 (00:23):
Always a pleasure to talk with you? Every year we
wonder is Trans Siberian Orchestra coming back to town, And
of course the answer is.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
Yes, yes, ma'am.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
So this tour is the Ghost of Christmas Eve, the
Best of TSO and more. That name leads me to
believe these are all the songs we know and love.
It won't be everything all new, well, it's going to.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
Be a little bit of both. So yeah, it's all
the songs that everybody loves, starting with myself. I mean,
I'm just such a fan of these songs that Paul
and Neil had written so many decades ago. And the
Ghost of Christmas Eve. I'm not sure if you're ware
that was a movie we filmed back in ninety eight.
Oh yeah, and not too long, you know, I don't know.
A year or two into it being on TV, people
started watching that and kind of getting on the capture
(01:09):
the fireplaces going, and that became like their go to
holiday movie, just like when I was a kid it
was Charlie Brown or It's a Wonderful Live Miicle on
thirty fourth Street, whatever, and that became just like a
new tradition. I was so proud of that, and we
were talking we got back in the new year after
last year's tour, and by the second week of January,
I mean, I said, she's like, you know what, let's
bring that back, you know, but a lot bigger and
(01:31):
a lot louder and with a lot more pyro.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (01:33):
So that's going to be a familiar portion, you know
for the folks. And you've heard me say this before,
you know, my repeat offenders who come out year after
year at the year, I want to surprise them. I
want to shock them. And the opening of the show
is going to be different. The back half of the show,
we're doing some things we've never done before. And it
went the tour, so it is going to be really special.
Speaker 1 (01:50):
Trans Siberian Orchestra Climate Pledge Areina November twenty second. Tickets
are on sale now. You want to get them for
that night show because a portion of the proceeds will
go to Rock the Harvest. Now, through the years, and
it has been a lot of years, Al Patrelli, you
have donated so much money, more than twenty million dollars
to worthy charities throughout North America. Is this a big
(02:12):
part of why you enjoy doing these shows and why
being a member of Trans Siberian Orchestra is so important to.
Speaker 2 (02:19):
You, you know, and everything goes back to Paul O'Neil.
You know. I met Paul in nineteen eighty five in
New York City and I would watch, you know, we'd
walk around the streets of the city to and from
a studio or a club or a pizza place, whatever,
and always always reaching in his pocket hand and somebody
was fortunate on the street a five dollar bill or
ten dollar bill, and you know, I'd ask him like,
(02:41):
what's up. He goes, well, the money's not going to
change my life, but it may change that person's day.
Maybe they got a chance at a better tomorrow, you know,
And he taught me that, you know, in the art
form that that I occupy being an artist, being a
guitar player in a band, that's part of it. The
other part of it is just being a good human
all the time, you know, And that's the thing, the
sentiment that tso I'm able to share that with the
(03:04):
transfer well because of the Transibian Orchestra, because like you said,
one dollar from every ticket we've ever sold from ninety
nine until this week has gone back into the community.
And I think we cocked in almost twenty one million
tickets sold at the end of last year. Wow, that's
a lot of money. That's a lot of money, it is,
and a dollar doesn't sound like much, you know, it's
a dollar, you know, you throw it in the big
(03:25):
black kettle with Sanda's ringing the bell in front of
your grocery store. But it adds up if you continue
to do that. And Paul loved making a change, and
I'm very proud of him in the legacy that continues.
Speaker 1 (03:35):
Well, and we are are proud to partner with you
so that some of the proceeds will go to Rock
the Harvest, which is our annual radiothon, and that will
benefit Northwest Harvest doing so much good here in the
Pacific Northwest, a very important food charity for people who
are facing food and security. So get those tickets to
see Trans Siberian orchestrat Climate Pledge. It's a win win.
(03:57):
You get tickets to the seven thirty pm show on
November twenty s second, you get treated to a night
of amazing music and pyrotechnics, and you are doing something
good for the community. Now, something else that's happening, al
Pa Trelli. To celebrate the anniversary, You've got a vinyl
coming out. Can you tell us about that?
Speaker 2 (04:15):
Yeah, it's so much fun. I'm so glad vinyls maga
to comeback. You know. First of all, I just think
it sounds better, you know, And it's not something you
can listen to on your phone or in the car.
You have to actually sit down and physically open. What's
the twenty fifth anniversary re release of Beethoven's Last Night
to double album. It's colored vinyl. It's got the pullout
booklet with all the lyrics and the poetry. Greg Hildebrand's
(04:38):
amazing artwork and sketches. It's like when I was a
kid with Elton John Jelllbrick rode a Pink Floyd's Dark
Side of the Moon. You put it on the turntable,
you sat in the chair, and you've read the lyrics
and you got lost in that moment of what the
art is. So yeah, I'm proud to do that. Even
my fourteen year old daughter Olivia's got a huge record
collection now. She just loves sitting in her room listening
to records, you know, and it's fun. And also to
(05:00):
coincide with that, because it's a twenty fifth anniversary, we
decided to put a small set of the b A
Line music together in the winter tour, which we've never
done before. Yeah. We want, yeah, we want to tip
our hat to the great composer and the incredible job
poll and you know, get arranging some of these songs
and writing them into his story. Yeah. So Beethovis Last
Night is going to be a big thing this year
as well. I'm really happy with that.
Speaker 1 (05:21):
And when you talk about all these different songs that
are featured, you know, Christmas Eve, Sarajevo twelve, twenty four,
Christmas Canon, Christmas Day. Are there any songs that you
like to play better than others or do you like
to play the new stuff more?
Speaker 2 (05:37):
To be honest, if you like to play it all?
You know, it's like asking me, you know, which one
of my children do I like the best? Depends on
the day. But I love them all, you know, and
I'll never get tired of telling them that I love them.
My oldest son is thirty eight years old, my youngest
daughter's nine years old. You know. Every yeah, a couple
of rodeoser you got it do but you know, you know,
(06:02):
he my oldest boy, you know, thirty thirty five and
thirty eight. You know, there's still my little boys, and
I love every minute of them, you know, And then
they'll annoy me, and then I won't talk to him
for a couple of minutes.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
Well that's why, Tzo. You're doing this just around the
you know, the holidays, and then you get a break
from it for a little while.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
There you go. But you know, like twelve twenty four,
if you ask me one song that you know, I'll
always cherish, that was the one that was the lightning
strike that created this whole thing. Thirty one years ago.
You know, I remember recording every note on that song
and watching it come together and looking at Poule going,
you know, you're onto something here, dude. I don't know
if anybody's ever going to hear it, but this is
absolutely breathtaking what you put together and here we are, so,
(06:42):
you know, and depending on the night, you know. Some
in one tune in particular, there's a song called Ornament
off of the Christmas Even Other Stories album. Now, I
recorded that record in ninety six, so I was probably
what thirty four years old at the time, and I
played it and listened to it and helped pull brig
it to life, you know, as a guy in the thirties.
(07:02):
In my sixties, this song means a whole lot more
to me because it's basically about a father who's praying
for the safe return of his daughter who ran away
from home, you know. And I found myself saying, as
I'm playing it live, thinking, well, you know, to my
older kids are in the military and they're on opposite
eyes of the planet, you know, and on occasional you know,
I'll kind of get emotional saying no, well, God please
(07:24):
protect them and bring them home safe to me as well,
So the lyrics mean it's not as much, certainly more
to me now at sixty three than it did at
thirty four. Wow. Well.
Speaker 1 (07:33):
Al Patrelli is one of TSO's guitarists and musical director,
also an original member of the group Trans Siberian Orchestra
Climate Plague Arena on November twenty second. Remember to get
tickets for the show now, the seven thirty show. A
portion of that will go to Rock the Harvest benefiting
Northwest Harvest. Tickets are on sale now, my friends. As always,
Al Patrelli a joy to talk with you, and we
(07:55):
look forward to seeing you on November twenty second.
Speaker 2 (07:58):
Well, I can't wait. It's always a pleasure. And keep
in mind one thing this year, we can actually, you know,
get together and hang out for a little bit because
there's no more COVID restrictions.
Speaker 1 (08:05):
Yes exactly.
Speaker 2 (08:07):
We're you know, we're doing the meet and greets, We're
doing the after the evening show, We're doing the autograph line.
Speaker 1 (08:12):
You know.
Speaker 2 (08:12):
Anybody in that building who wants to come say, oh,
it's been too long, so I really want to. I'm
excited to bring it back that tradition as well.
Speaker 1 (08:18):
Awesome, Thanks again, Al, We'll see you on the twenty second.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
All right, guys, have a great rest of the Day'll
talk to you soon.
It's one O two point five kzy okay. Trans Siberian Orchestra.
(00:03):
I will be playing at Climate Pledger Arena on November
twenty second, three pm seven thirty pm. As always, a
portion of the proceeds from the night show we'll go
to Rock the Harvest benefiting Northwest Harvest. Tickets are on
sale now and I am excited to talk once again
with our friend Al put Trelli from Trans Siberian Orchestra.
Good morning, Al, Good morning.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
How are you.
Speaker 1 (00:23):
Always a pleasure to talk with you? Every year we
wonder is Trans Siberian Orchestra coming back to town, And
of course the answer is.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
Yes, yes, ma'am.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
So this tour is the Ghost of Christmas Eve, the
Best of TSO and more. That name leads me to
believe these are all the songs we know and love.
It won't be everything all new, well, it's going to.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
Be a little bit of both. So yeah, it's all
the songs that everybody loves, starting with myself. I mean,
I'm just such a fan of these songs that Paul
and Neil had written so many decades ago. And the
Ghost of Christmas Eve. I'm not sure if you're ware
that was a movie we filmed back in ninety eight.
Oh yeah, and not too long, you know, I don't know.
A year or two into it being on TV, people
started watching that and kind of getting on the capture
(01:09):
the fireplaces going, and that became like their go to
holiday movie, just like when I was a kid it
was Charlie Brown or It's a Wonderful Live Miicle on
thirty fourth Street, whatever, and that became just like a
new tradition. I was so proud of that, and we
were talking we got back in the new year after
last year's tour, and by the second week of January,
I mean, I said, she's like, you know what, let's
bring that back, you know, but a lot bigger and
(01:31):
a lot louder and with a lot more pyro.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (01:33):
So that's going to be a familiar portion, you know
for the folks. And you've heard me say this before,
you know, my repeat offenders who come out year after
year at the year, I want to surprise them. I
want to shock them. And the opening of the show
is going to be different. The back half of the show,
we're doing some things we've never done before. And it
went the tour, so it is going to be really special.
Speaker 1 (01:50):
Trans Siberian Orchestra Climate Pledge Areina November twenty second. Tickets
are on sale now. You want to get them for
that night show because a portion of the proceeds will
go to Rock the Harvest. Now, through the years, and
it has been a lot of years, Al Patrelli, you
have donated so much money, more than twenty million dollars
to worthy charities throughout North America. Is this a big
(02:12):
part of why you enjoy doing these shows and why
being a member of Trans Siberian Orchestra is so important to.
Speaker 2 (02:19):
You, you know, and everything goes back to Paul O'Neil.
You know. I met Paul in nineteen eighty five in
New York City and I would watch, you know, we'd
walk around the streets of the city to and from
a studio or a club or a pizza place, whatever,
and always always reaching in his pocket hand and somebody
was fortunate on the street a five dollar bill or
ten dollar bill, and you know, I'd ask him like,
(02:41):
what's up. He goes, well, the money's not going to
change my life, but it may change that person's day.
Maybe they got a chance at a better tomorrow, you know,
And he taught me that, you know, in the art
form that that I occupy being an artist, being a
guitar player in a band, that's part of it. The
other part of it is just being a good human
all the time, you know, And that's the thing, the
sentiment that tso I'm able to share that with the
(03:04):
transfer well because of the Transibian Orchestra, because like you said,
one dollar from every ticket we've ever sold from ninety
nine until this week has gone back into the community.
And I think we cocked in almost twenty one million
tickets sold at the end of last year. Wow, that's
a lot of money. That's a lot of money, it is,
and a dollar doesn't sound like much, you know, it's
a dollar, you know, you throw it in the big
(03:25):
black kettle with Sanda's ringing the bell in front of
your grocery store. But it adds up if you continue
to do that. And Paul loved making a change, and
I'm very proud of him in the legacy that continues.
Speaker 1 (03:35):
Well, and we are are proud to partner with you
so that some of the proceeds will go to Rock
the Harvest, which is our annual radiothon, and that will
benefit Northwest Harvest doing so much good here in the
Pacific Northwest, a very important food charity for people who
are facing food and security. So get those tickets to
see Trans Siberian orchestrat Climate Pledge. It's a win win.
(03:57):
You get tickets to the seven thirty pm show on
November twenty s second, you get treated to a night
of amazing music and pyrotechnics, and you are doing something
good for the community. Now, something else that's happening, al
Pa Trelli. To celebrate the anniversary, You've got a vinyl
coming out. Can you tell us about that?
Speaker 2 (04:15):
Yeah, it's so much fun. I'm so glad vinyls maga
to comeback. You know. First of all, I just think
it sounds better, you know, And it's not something you
can listen to on your phone or in the car.
You have to actually sit down and physically open. What's
the twenty fifth anniversary re release of Beethoven's Last Night
to double album. It's colored vinyl. It's got the pullout
booklet with all the lyrics and the poetry. Greg Hildebrand's
(04:38):
amazing artwork and sketches. It's like when I was a
kid with Elton John Jelllbrick rode a Pink Floyd's Dark
Side of the Moon. You put it on the turntable,
you sat in the chair, and you've read the lyrics
and you got lost in that moment of what the
art is. So yeah, I'm proud to do that. Even
my fourteen year old daughter Olivia's got a huge record
collection now. She just loves sitting in her room listening
to records, you know, and it's fun. And also to
(05:00):
coincide with that, because it's a twenty fifth anniversary, we
decided to put a small set of the b A
Line music together in the winter tour, which we've never
done before. Yeah. We want, yeah, we want to tip
our hat to the great composer and the incredible job
poll and you know, get arranging some of these songs
and writing them into his story. Yeah. So Beethovis Last
Night is going to be a big thing this year
as well. I'm really happy with that.
Speaker 1 (05:21):
And when you talk about all these different songs that
are featured, you know, Christmas Eve, Sarajevo twelve, twenty four,
Christmas Canon, Christmas Day. Are there any songs that you
like to play better than others or do you like
to play the new stuff more?
Speaker 2 (05:37):
To be honest, if you like to play it all?
You know, it's like asking me, you know, which one
of my children do I like the best? Depends on
the day. But I love them all, you know, and
I'll never get tired of telling them that I love them.
My oldest son is thirty eight years old, my youngest
daughter's nine years old. You know. Every yeah, a couple
of rodeoser you got it do but you know, you know,
(06:02):
he my oldest boy, you know, thirty thirty five and
thirty eight. You know, there's still my little boys, and
I love every minute of them, you know, And then
they'll annoy me, and then I won't talk to him
for a couple of minutes.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
Well that's why, Tzo. You're doing this just around the
you know, the holidays, and then you get a break
from it for a little while.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
There you go. But you know, like twelve twenty four,
if you ask me one song that you know, I'll
always cherish, that was the one that was the lightning
strike that created this whole thing. Thirty one years ago.
You know, I remember recording every note on that song
and watching it come together and looking at Poule going,
you know, you're onto something here, dude. I don't know
if anybody's ever going to hear it, but this is
absolutely breathtaking what you put together and here we are, so,
(06:42):
you know, and depending on the night, you know. Some
in one tune in particular, there's a song called Ornament
off of the Christmas Even Other Stories album. Now, I
recorded that record in ninety six, so I was probably
what thirty four years old at the time, and I
played it and listened to it and helped pull brig
it to life, you know, as a guy in the thirties.
(07:02):
In my sixties, this song means a whole lot more
to me because it's basically about a father who's praying
for the safe return of his daughter who ran away
from home, you know. And I found myself saying, as
I'm playing it live, thinking, well, you know, to my
older kids are in the military and they're on opposite
eyes of the planet, you know, and on occasional you know,
I'll kind of get emotional saying no, well, God please
(07:24):
protect them and bring them home safe to me as well,
So the lyrics mean it's not as much, certainly more
to me now at sixty three than it did at
thirty four. Wow. Well.
Speaker 1 (07:33):
Al Patrelli is one of TSO's guitarists and musical director,
also an original member of the group Trans Siberian Orchestra
Climate Plague Arena on November twenty second. Remember to get
tickets for the show now, the seven thirty show. A
portion of that will go to Rock the Harvest benefiting
Northwest Harvest. Tickets are on sale now, my friends. As always,
Al Patrelli a joy to talk with you, and we
(07:55):
look forward to seeing you on November twenty second.
Speaker 2 (07:58):
Well, I can't wait. It's always a pleasure. And keep
in mind one thing this year, we can actually, you know,
get together and hang out for a little bit because
there's no more COVID restrictions.
Speaker 1 (08:05):
Yes exactly.
Speaker 2 (08:07):
We're you know, we're doing the meet and greets, We're
doing the after the evening show, We're doing the autograph line.
Speaker 1 (08:12):
You know.
Speaker 2 (08:12):
Anybody in that building who wants to come say, oh,
it's been too long, so I really want to. I'm
excited to bring it back that tradition as well.
Speaker 1 (08:18):
Awesome, Thanks again, Al, We'll see you on the twenty second.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
All right, guys, have a great rest of the Day'll
talk to you soon.
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