Al Pitrelli
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| Al Pitrelli | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 29, 1962 in New York City, NY |
| Genre(s) | Heavy metal Progressive rock |
| Affiliation(s) | Alice Cooper Asia Savatage Trans-Siberian Orchestra Megadeth O2L Widowmaker |
| Notable guitars | Gibson Explorer Gibson Les Paul |
| Years active | 1983 - present |
Al Pitrelli (born September 29, 1962 in New York, NY) is a guitarist, best known for his work with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Megadeth, Savatage, Blue Öyster Cult and O2L.
Contents |
[edit] Early career
Al Pitrelli attended Berklee School of Music in Boston in the early 80's where he studied with other notable musicians including: Living Colour's drummer, Will Calhoun and former Dream Theater keyboardist, Derek Sherinian. Al worked as a session musician during his early days and also taught guitar lessons. After dropping out of Berklee, his first major label gig was performing with Michael Bolton helping him support his single "Fool's Game". Al said of the single, "This was when Michael Bolton was still trying to be Sammy Hagar and not Engelbert Humperdinck"[1]
Al teamed up with bass player Randy Coven after playing guitar on his 1989 album Funk Me Tender and his 1990 effort Sammy Says Ouch. Around this time, Al was recognised by the rock legend Alice Cooper, who asked him to come on board for his 1989 world tour as guitarist and musical director. Al toured with Alice from 1989 until 1993 and appeared on the band's 1995 album, Classicks. Al also ended up on the roster of the progressive rock outfit Asia, appearing on their albums Aqua in 1992 and Aria in 1993
[edit] Savatage
Al joined Savatage in 1995, joining at the same time as Chris Caffery returned to the band (Chris had previously been a part of the band around the release of Gutter Ballet in 1989). Al played guitar on the albums Dead Winter Dead and The Wake of Magellan and did some of the lead guitar work on Poets and Madmen despite being a member of Megadeth at the time. (Al was responsible for the outro of Stay With Me A While, the main solo of Morphine Child, the main solo of The Rumor, the first part of the main solo in Commissar & the outro of Commissar [2] During his time with Savatage, he was asked by their producer Paul O'Neill if he was interested in joining his side project, the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Al agreed and has played a role in all of their records thus far, adding his edgy playing style and classical stylings to the group.
[edit] Megadeth
Al was a member of Megadeth from 2000-2002, replacing Marty Friedman. Dave Mustaine asked him to join the band after hearing good reviews from the then Megadeth drummer Jimmy DeGrasso, who he played with during his days with Alice Cooper in the early 90s. Al only joined the band after an "audition" in front of a live crowd in Vancouver on January 16, 2000, 2 nights after Marty played his last show with the band. Al beat off competition for the guitarist's position from the likes of Stef Burns (Y&T, Alice Cooper) and James Murphy (Testament). He was present during the recording of Rude Awakening, a live CD/DVD that was released in 2002. He also recorded The World Needs A Hero with the band, and his textbook-type musical composition skills startled the band, and challenged them as musicians.
Dave Mustaine revealed there were problems in Pitrelli's days with the band, stating "I was having problems with Al because he liked to drink and we didn’t want to show up at places drunk. Al also got married to a nice woman but he wanted to spend time with her. After a few years most married men are willing to die so I figured if we got a couple years into the marriage that might have changed. But the fact was, Al wasn’t fitting in." [3] When Megadeth entered hiatus after Dave Mustaine injured his arm, Al re-joined Savatage on April 9th, 2002 and also continued his work with TSO. As of yet, Savatage have yet to record a new album since his return, instead concentrating on TSO.
[edit] Recent work
More recently, Al has collaborated with Jane Mangini (his wife) on a project entitled 0'2L that has given both musicians critical acclaim. During the winter months, Al and Jane tour with Trans-Siberian Orchestra.
Al Pitrelli has also played with Danger Danger, Asia, Blue Öyster Cult, Vertex and Widowmaker.
He currently resides in Milford, PA with his second wife, Jane Mangini (keyboard player in the Trans-Siberian Orchestra) and son, Jamie.
[edit] Discography
[edit] With Danger Danger
- 2003 - Rare Cuts (a collection of songs from the late 1980's pre-debut album)
[edit] With Asia
[edit] With Widowmaker
- 1992 - Blood and Bullets
- 1994 - Stand by for Pain
[edit] With Savatage
- 1995 - Dead Winter Dead
- 1998 - The Wake of Magellan
- 2001 - Poets and Madmen (as a guest performer on 2 songs)
[edit] With Trans-Siberian Orchestra
- 1996 - Christmas Eve and Other Stories
- 1998 - The Christmas Attic
- 2000 - Beethoven's Last Night
- 2004 - The Lost Christmas Eve
[edit] With Megadeth
- 2001 - The World Needs a Hero
- 2002 - Rude Awakening (Live)
- 2002 - Still Alive... And Well?
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ [1] Al Pitrelli career history & bio.
- ^ [2] Savatage Band FAQ, taken from www.savatage.com
| Savatage |
| Jon Oliva | Damond Jiniya | Chris Caffery | Al Pitrelli | Johnny Lee Middleton | Jeff Plate | Paul O'Neill |
| Criss Oliva | Keith Collins | Steve "Doc" Wacholz | Zak Stevens | Alex Skolnick | Jack Frost |
| Discography |
|---|
| Studio Albums: Sirens | Power of the Night | Fight for the Rock | Hall of the Mountain King | Gutter Ballet | Streets: A Rock Opera | Edge of Thorns | Handful of Rain | Dead Winter Dead | The Wake of Magellan | Poets and Madmen |
| Extended Plays: The Dungeons Are Calling | Chance EP | Doesn't Matter Anyway EP |
| Live Albums: Japan Live '94 | Final Bell / Ghost in the Ruins |
| Compilation Albums: From the Gutter to the Stage | The Best and the Rest | Believe |
| Related articles |
| Doctor Butcher | Trans-Siberian Orchestra | Jon Oliva's Pain | Circle II Circle | Seven Witches | Megadeth | Testament | Annihilator |
Categories: 1962 births | Berklee College of Music alumni | Danger Danger members | American heavy metal guitarists | Living people | Megadeth members | New York musicians | People from New York City | Trans-Siberian Orchestra members | Alice Cooper members | Asia (band) members | Blue Öyster Cult members
