Jon Oliva: “I Spent Many Months Working On Those Lyrics And They’re Things That Mean Something”
For some reason, I was more nervous about this interview than any interview I conducted this year. I don’t know why. But I suspect it’s because Jon Oliva is a legend. I mean, Savatage alone would qualify him as a capital “L” Legend. But when you add TSO and, now, Jon Oliva’s Pain to the mix…well, “legend” is too tame a word.
In preparation, I spent a couple of weeks listening to JOP albums, watching JOP fan-uploaded videos on YouTube, and reading previous interviews with venerable The Mountain King. From that intensive time of immersion, I culled about nine pages of questions.
But when I finally got Jon on the phone, the questions became merely guidelines. The interview became more of a conversation, and I allowed it to flow organically. Hence, not all of my carefully prepared questions were asked because, frankly, I didn’t think they were necessary. The conversation itself took on a life of its own.
At the end of our conversation, Jon told me, “It’s great to talk to you, man. One of the best interviews I’ve ever done.”
That meant a lot to me. And it confirmed two things: [Read more →]
Prior to Glenn Harveston booking the Grammy-winning Swedish power metal band, the only mustache I was familiar with was the one I couldn’t grow on my upper lip if my life depended on it.
My interview with Aydan, guitarist for and co-founder of the Italian power/folk-metal band 
As all good 
