Trans-Siberian Orchestra brings magic of Christmas Eve on tour

There's something about Christmas that brings out the best in people, says Paul O'Neill, founder of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

"I've lived in New York all my life," O'Neill said by phone from his home. "And I remember one Christmas Eve when I was a kid hearing screeching tires and seeing a taxi cab careen into another. I saw both of the drivers get out and I got scared. I thought there would be blood on the ground, World War III, you name it.

"But instead, these two burly guys were blaming themselves for the accident. Before I knew it they were showing each other pictures of their families, and then they shook hands and went their separate ways.

"Any other day in the year, it would have been all shouting, punching and the ambulance. But that day of all days, it was left in peace."

O'Neill said the magic of Christmas Eve isn't exclusive to the United States. "Even when wars are fought, there is no shelling on Christmas Eve. There's a power to that night."

The Trans-Siberian Orchestra has brought some new twists to one of the most sacred nights of the Christian faith with three rock-opera albums filled with stories about Christmas Eve.

"Christmas Eve and Other Stories," "The Christmas Attic" and "The Lost Christmas Eve," released in 1996, 2002 and 2004, respectively, all examine Christmas Eve from different angles. "The first album was how the Christmas

spirit affects an individual," said O'Neill. "The second album showed how the spirit touches lives of people through the ages. And the last album dealt with one of the cruelest things anyone can do — abandon a child."

The stories all have a similar structure: a situation is set, a conflict occurs and then there's a heart-warming conclusion — all told through music. During live concerts, there is a narrator.

"The stories come easy," said O'Neill, who, along with Robert Kinkel, formed TSO after O'Neill's metal band Savatage took a sabbatical. "Within 60 minutes the story is there. In a week, the songs and the structures are written, and then in a month the arrangements are in place."

In the early days of the band, O'Neill went to his record company, Atlantic/Lava, and told them of his vision. "I told them I was going to make a Christmas trilogy. And I was going to find the best musicians of the bands I had been in to make up the band."