Trans-Siberian troupe ready for return

The year has gone quickly for Trans-Siberian Orchestra guitarist and band leader Al Pitrelli.

"It just seems like a few days ago we were playing in Salt Lake City," Pitrelli said during a phone call from rehearsal in Omaha. "But my grandfather, bless his soul, used to tell me, 'If your life is good, the years will fly by.' And that seems to be what's happening to us right now."

For eight holiday seasons the Trans-Siberian Orchestra has brought its "Christmas Eve & Other Stories" concert to Salt Lake City. And each year the production has grown, Pitrelli said. "When we were first there, we had a quarter of the venue filled."

The next year, it was half a venue, and the following years, the show has sold out, he said. "There is a great Christmas spirit in Salt Lake City that welcomes us each year. And we love coming back and playing for everyone."

As with each year, the first half of the show is the full "Christmas Eve & Other Stories" narrative and performance. And the second half is a full-blown holiday rock concert.

"The first half will not change until (TSO founder/conceiver) Paul O'Neil says differently," Pitrelli said. "But the second half will go through some changes. This year, Paul has discovered some new voices, and we have restructured the second set to accommodate the newcomers."

The musicians who play in the Trans-Siberian Orchestra are family to Pitrelli. His wife, Jane Mangini, plays keyboards, and "it seems we're all related in one way or another," Pitrelli said.

However, a tight-knit band can also have its drawbacks.

"We all know what things will irritate each other and sometimes, like an extended family, we'll make people mad," he said with a little chuckle. "I mean, the Salt Lake audiences know us so well, since we've been playing there for nearly a decade, that they can sense if my wife is mad at me by the way we play."

Still, Pitrelli said, there is nothing similar to playing music with an uplifting message.

"I blame Paul for all this," Pitrelli said with another laugh. "He is the nicest guy in the world. I've known him all my life. He's the one producer and boss whom I love as a brother, and he is the embodiment of the spirit of love."

In fact, it was O'Neil who got TSO involved in charities.