Tweet
So checking out this interview with John Oliva.....
He is talking about his late brother Criss (RIP), and he tells this great tale:
He is talking about his late brother Criss (RIP), and he tells this great tale:
Jon: One of the greatest memories of Criss with me was when we were playing in Japan, and we were opening up for Yngwie Malmsteen. The tour manager for Yngwie Malmsteen used to work for Savatage, and Criss was a fan of Yngwie, and he comes in and he goes, ‘You guys wanna meet Yngwie?’ and Criss is like ‘Yeah! Yeah!’.
So he walks us to the dressing room, we go in the door and Yngwie is sitting on this reclining chair playing Nintendo. The tour manager comes up to him, and me and Criss are there, and he goes, ‘Hey Yngwie, this is Jon and Criss from Savatage, they wanted to meet you,’ and Yngwie turns around and looks at the tour manager and goes, ‘Get them the fuck outta here.’ And Criss… this is beautiful. Criss, in all his glory, walks up to Yngwie, takes his middle finger, sticks it in [Yngwie's] face and he goes, ‘YOU… ARE A FUCKIN’ DICK.’ (laughs)
I didn’t even have to say shit; I was like, ‘Get out, man! Fuckin…!’ (laughs) And we got out and played; and this is the climax of the story, this is great: We opened the show with “City Beneath The Surface”, and there’s this little solo thing [Criss] does at the beginning, which on the record is like 20 seconds long… well, that night Criss played it for like two minutes, he was just shredding. And that was my fondest memory of Criss, because that was so cool… Because he was just like, ‘YOU…ARE A FUCKIN’ DICK.’ (laughs)
And Yngwie didn’t say shit, he was just… his mouth just dropped down. He was just like, ‘I can’t believe this guy just called me a fuckin’ dick.’ And I’m just walking out behind Criss, you know, clapping him on the back going ‘Yeah! Yeah!’.
Yngwie’s really not a dick. He’s an asshole. It was alright, I love him…I love him when he’s quiet. (laughs)
So he walks us to the dressing room, we go in the door and Yngwie is sitting on this reclining chair playing Nintendo. The tour manager comes up to him, and me and Criss are there, and he goes, ‘Hey Yngwie, this is Jon and Criss from Savatage, they wanted to meet you,’ and Yngwie turns around and looks at the tour manager and goes, ‘Get them the fuck outta here.’ And Criss… this is beautiful. Criss, in all his glory, walks up to Yngwie, takes his middle finger, sticks it in [Yngwie's] face and he goes, ‘YOU… ARE A FUCKIN’ DICK.’ (laughs)
I didn’t even have to say shit; I was like, ‘Get out, man! Fuckin…!’ (laughs) And we got out and played; and this is the climax of the story, this is great: We opened the show with “City Beneath The Surface”, and there’s this little solo thing [Criss] does at the beginning, which on the record is like 20 seconds long… well, that night Criss played it for like two minutes, he was just shredding. And that was my fondest memory of Criss, because that was so cool… Because he was just like, ‘YOU…ARE A FUCKIN’ DICK.’ (laughs)
And Yngwie didn’t say shit, he was just… his mouth just dropped down. He was just like, ‘I can’t believe this guy just called me a fuckin’ dick.’ And I’m just walking out behind Criss, you know, clapping him on the back going ‘Yeah! Yeah!’.
Yngwie’s really not a dick. He’s an asshole. It was alright, I love him…I love him when he’s quiet. (laughs)