SW: That project has really taken off! Did you expect this kind of success from Trans-Siberian?
JON: We never expected it to go like it did. It already went platinum and the Christmas tours are being booked 2 years ahead of time. The last Christmas tour was entirely sold out, with the exception of a couple shows out west, where we had never played before.

SW: How is that, performing-wise, different for you than performing with Savatage?
JON: It's a whole different world. Onstage with T.S.O., it's a very low, controlled volume, since you have string players and other acoustic instruments, so it's not like a Savatage show where everything is rockin' and you're at 110 dB's! In that aspect, I find it very difficult to perform with T.S.O. since I like things very loud. It's a much more thinking process...the material is more intricate, there's a lot of the classics going on so you better be on top of your Beethoven and Mozart's or you're in a lot of shit! (laughs)

SW: You must have studied classical music for years...
JON: I've been around it for years. Ever since I was a kid, it was around me. I never studied music theory, but I've got a very good ear and I can pick things out. My parents were always pushing classical music on me so I've been listening to it since I was about six years old. Our house was always filled with all kinds of music from pop to classical to jazz.

SW: I know that Savatage had been with Atlantic records for many years, and Trans-Siberian is still on Atlantic.
JON: Savatage was actually the longest lasting hard rock band on Atlantic Records.

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