TAMPA, FL — Paul O’Neill, a producer, composer and lyricist who founded Trans-Siberian Orchestra in the mid-1990s and saw its twin holiday tours rise to enormous success, died April 5 in Tampa, FL. He was 61.
“The entire Trans-Siberian Orchestra family, past and present, is heartbroken to share the devastating news that Paul O’Neill has passed away from chronic illness,” the band announced, in a brief note on their website.
“He was our friend and our leader — a truly creative spirit and an altruistic soul. This is a profound and indescribable loss for us all. We ask that you respect Paul’s family’s privacy now. We will make additional announcements shortly.”
A native of New York City, O’Neill got his start in the early 1970s, playing guitar with high school bands. He moved on to folk bands, then became a rock promoter for the likes of Madonna and Sting in the 1980s.
O’Neill worked as a producer for the heavy metal band Savatage, founded by Jon and Criss Oliva in 1979. After Criss Oliva’s death in 1993, Savatage band members performed as Trans-Siberian Orchestra for the first time in the mid-1990s, while also continuing to perform as Sauvatage.
TSO’s debut album, Christmas Eve and Other Stories, released in Oct. 1996, sold more than three million copies (it was certified triple-platinum by the RIAA in late 2011).
Along with the critical and commercial success of its albums, the band’s touring productions gained renown as a showcase for light, lasers and visual design. To make the most of the limited holiday time frame, two tours — dubbed East and West — have emerged as a prog rock holiday tradition of sorts.
Rather than waning in popularity, these tours have only grown more elaborate in recent years, with the production team facing the perennial challenge of topping the “wow” features of the previous year’s over-the-top productions.
Last year (2016) turned out to be among TSO’s most successful one yet. The band’s total ticket revenues, from 104 performances in 61 cities, reached $55.3 million, putting the act at #25 on Pollstar’s 2016 Year End Top 100 Worldwide Tours chart.
PLSN editor Nook Schoenfeld talked with TSO lighting designer Bryan Hartley for the cover story of the Jan. 2017 issue. That feature is posted online here:
