Al Pitrelli
Encyclopedia
Al Pitrelli is a guitarist, best known for his work with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra
, Megadeth
, Alice Cooper
, Joe Lynn Turner
, Asia
and Savatage
.
in Boston in the early 1980s (where keyboardist Derek Sherinian
was his dorm roommate; they would later work together in the Alice Cooper
band). After dropping out of Berklee, Pitrelli worked as a session musician during his early days, and also taught guitar lessons in Manhattan, NY. His first major label gig was performing with Michael Bolton
, helping him support his single, "Fool's Game". Pitrelli said of the single, "This was when Michael Bolton was still trying to be Sammy Hagar
and not Engelbert Humperdinck
"
Pitrelli was Alice Cooper
's guitarist and musical director from 1989 until 1991 on the Trashes The World
Tour. Pitrelli joined Dee Snider's Widowmaker for two albums in the early to mid 90's, and also briefly played with Stephen Pearcy (Ratt) in a band called Vertex. Pitrelli also joined Asia
, appearing on their albums Aqua in 1992 and Aria in 1994. Pitrelli would be featured on many New York sessions, including for Kathy Troccoli
, Taylor Dayne
, Randy Coven, Exposé. His songs have been covered by Y&T
, Lita Ford
and Derek Sherinian
of Dream Theater
. For a month he substituted in Blue Oyster Cult
.
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 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.Steve Vai
said in a interview that he was impressed by his playing.
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, he was asked to play when it was 15 minutes before the show and was shocked as they never rehearsed. 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. 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.
In 1998, Al Pitrelli was featured on the video game album Sonic Adventure
Remix, where he played guitar on a remix of the game's theme song - Open Your Heart
.
Alice Cooper
Asia
Megadeth
Savatage
Trans-Siberian Orchestra
Trans-Siberian Orchestra
Trans-Siberian Orchestra is an American progressive metal band founded in 1993 by producer, composer, and lyricist Paul O'Neill, who brought together Jon Oliva and Al Pitrelli and keyboardist and co-producer Robert Kinkel to form the core of the creative team. Since then, TSO sold nearly 8...
, Megadeth
Megadeth
Megadeth is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California which was formed in 1983 by guitarist/vocalist Dave Mustaine, bassist Dave Ellefson and guitarist Greg Handevidt, following Mustaine's expulsion from Metallica. The band has since released 13 studio albums, three live albums, two...
, Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper is an American rock singer, songwriter and musician whose career spans more than four decades...
, Joe Lynn Turner
Joe Lynn Turner
Joe Lynn Turner , is an American rock singer, known for his works with Rainbow, Yngwie Malmsteen's Rising Force, Deep Purple. From the late 1990s, he continued to perform in a large number of solo albums and other studio projects...
, Asia
Asia (band)
Asia are an English rock group formed in 1981. The band was labelled a supergroup as it included former members of several veteran progressive rock bands, namely John Wetton , Geoff Downes , Steve Howe and Carl Palmer Asia are an English rock group formed in 1981. The band was labelled a...
and Savatage
Savatage
Savatage is an American heavy metal band founded by the brothers Jon and Criss Oliva in 1978 at Astro Skate in Tarpon Springs, Florida.-Early days :...
.
Early career (1983-1995)
Al Pitrelli attended the Berklee College of MusicBerklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music, located in Boston, Massachusetts, is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known primarily as a school for jazz, rock and popular music, it also offers college-level courses in a wide range of contemporary and historic styles, including hip...
in Boston in the early 1980s (where keyboardist Derek Sherinian
Derek Sherinian
Derek Sherinian is a rock keyboardist who has toured and recorded for Alice Cooper, Billy Idol, Yngwie Malmsteen, Kiss, and Alice In Chains. He was also a member of Dream Theater and is the founder of the instrumental metal-fusion band Planet X...
was his dorm roommate; they would later work together in the Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper is an American rock singer, songwriter and musician whose career spans more than four decades...
band). After dropping out of Berklee, Pitrelli worked as a session musician during his early days, and also taught guitar lessons in Manhattan, NY. His first major label gig was performing with Michael Bolton
Michael Bolton
Michael Bolton is an American singer and songwriter. Bolton originally performed in the hard rock and heavy metal genres from the mid 1970s to the mid 1980s, both on his early solo albums and those recorded as the frontman of the band Blackjack...
, helping him support his single, "Fool's Game". Pitrelli said of the single, "This was when Michael Bolton was still trying to be Sammy Hagar
Sammy Hagar
Sam Roy "Sammy" Hagar , also known as The Red Rocker, is an American rock singer, guitarist, and songwriter. Also sings Country Music....
and not Engelbert Humperdinck
Engelbert Humperdinck (singer)
Engelbert Humperdinck is a British pop singer, best known for his hits including "Release Me " and "After the Lovin'" as well as "The Last Waltz" .-Early life:...
"
Pitrelli was Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper is an American rock singer, songwriter and musician whose career spans more than four decades...
's guitarist and musical director from 1989 until 1991 on the Trashes The World
Trashes the World
Alice Cooper Trashes The World is a live concert video by Alice Cooper.The concert was filmed in Birmingham, England 1989, on tour in support of Cooper's commercially successful album Trash.-Track listing:# "Trash"# "Billion Dollar Babies"...
Tour. Pitrelli joined Dee Snider's Widowmaker for two albums in the early to mid 90's, and also briefly played with Stephen Pearcy (Ratt) in a band called Vertex. Pitrelli also joined Asia
Asia (band)
Asia are an English rock group formed in 1981. The band was labelled a supergroup as it included former members of several veteran progressive rock bands, namely John Wetton , Geoff Downes , Steve Howe and Carl Palmer Asia are an English rock group formed in 1981. The band was labelled a...
, appearing on their albums Aqua in 1992 and Aria in 1994. Pitrelli would be featured on many New York sessions, including for Kathy Troccoli
Kathy Troccoli
Kathleen Colleen "Kathy" Troccoli is a contemporary Christian singer, author, and speaker.-Personal:Born in Brooklyn, New York, on June 24, 1958, Troccoli moved at age three and was raised in Islip Terrace, Long Island, New York, graduating from East Islip High School. At 15, she lost her father...
, Taylor Dayne
Taylor Dayne
Taylor Dayne was born Leslie Wunderman on March 7, 1962 before later adopting her current stage name. She is an American pop vocalist, songwriter, and dance artist. Overall, she has had eighteen individual hit songs reach the top ten in Billboard magazine...
, Randy Coven, Exposé. His songs have been covered by Y&T
Y&T
Y&T is an American hard rock/heavy metal band formed in 1974. They hail from Oakland, California...
, Lita Ford
Lita Ford
Lita Ford is a British-born, American rock musician and singer who was the lead guitarist for The Runaways and achieved popularity for her solo career between the 1980s and late 2000s.-Early life:...
and Derek Sherinian
Derek Sherinian
Derek Sherinian is a rock keyboardist who has toured and recorded for Alice Cooper, Billy Idol, Yngwie Malmsteen, Kiss, and Alice In Chains. He was also a member of Dream Theater and is the founder of the instrumental metal-fusion band Planet X...
of Dream Theater
Dream Theater
Dream Theater is an American progressive metal band formed in 1985 under the name Majesty by John Petrucci, John Myung, and Mike Portnoy while they attended Berklee College of Music in Massachusetts. They subsequently dropped out of their studies to further concentrate on the band that would...
. For a month he substituted in Blue Oyster Cult
Blue Öyster Cult
Blue Öyster Cult, often abbreviated BÖC, is an American rock band, most of whose members first came together in Long Island, NY in 1967 as the band Soft White Underbelly...
.
Savatage (1995-2000)
Al joined SavatageSavatage
Savatage is an American heavy metal band founded by the brothers Jon and Criss Oliva in 1978 at Astro Skate in Tarpon Springs, Florida.-Early days :...
in 1995, joining at the same time as Chris Caffery
Chris Caffery
Chris Caffery is a heavy metal guitarist who is best known for his work as a member of Savatage and the Trans-Siberian Orchestra...
returned to the band (Chris had previously been a part of the band around the release of Gutter Ballet
Gutter Ballet
-Song information:On the original cassette and CD releases, "Thorazine Shuffle" was a bonus track.Had the band originally stuck with the story set-out in Paul O'Neill's original 1979 story, the song "When the Crowds are Gone" would have followed Streets track "A Little Too Far".Two videos from the...
in 1989). Al played guitar on the albums Dead Winter Dead
Dead Winter Dead
- Story :In the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo, there is a town square surroundedby buildings that were constructed during the Middle Ages. Thesquare has a beautiful stone fountain at its center and at one...
and The Wake of Magellan
The Wake of Magellan
-Personnel:*Zachary Stevens - lead vocals*Jon Oliva – lead vocals , keyboards*Chris Caffery – guitars, backing vocals*Al Pitrelli - guitars, backing vocals*Johnny Lee Middleton – bass guitar, backing vocals...
and did some of the lead guitar work on Poets and Madmen
Poets and Madmen
-Personnel:*Jon Oliva – lead vocals, keyboards*Chris Caffery - lead & rhythm guitars, backing vocals*Johnny Lee Middleton – bass guitar, backing vocals*Jeff Plate – drums, backing vocals-Additional musicians:*Bob Kinkel - additional keyboards & backing vocals...
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 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
Trans-Siberian Orchestra
Trans-Siberian Orchestra is an American progressive metal band founded in 1993 by producer, composer, and lyricist Paul O'Neill, who brought together Jon Oliva and Al Pitrelli and keyboardist and co-producer Robert Kinkel to form the core of the creative team. Since then, TSO sold nearly 8...
. Al agreed and has played a role in all of their records thus far.Steve Vai
Steve Vai
Steven Siro "Steve" Vai is a three time Grammy Award-winning American guitarist, songwriter and producer who has sold over 15 million albums. Steve Vai is widely known as a flamboyant guitar virtuoso....
said in a interview that he was impressed by his playing.
Megadeth (2000-2002)
Al was a member of MegadethMegadeth
Megadeth is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California which was formed in 1983 by guitarist/vocalist Dave Mustaine, bassist Dave Ellefson and guitarist Greg Handevidt, following Mustaine's expulsion from Metallica. The band has since released 13 studio albums, three live albums, two...
from 2000–2002, replacing Marty Friedman
Marty Friedman (guitarist)
Marty Friedman is a guitarist, well known for his tenure as the lead/rhythm guitarist for thrash metal band Megadeth, which lasted almost a decade...
. Dave Mustaine
Dave Mustaine
David Scott "Dave" Mustaine is the founder, main songwriter, guitarist, and lead vocalist for the American heavy metal band Megadeth. Prior to Megadeth, Mustaine was the first lead guitarist and a co-songwriter of the heavy metal band Metallica until he was fired from the band in 1983. In 2009, he...
asked him to join the band after hearing good reviews from the then Megadeth drummer Jimmy DeGrasso
Jimmy DeGrasso
Jimmy DeGrasso is an American heavy metal drummer. He is currently the drummer for F5.DeGrasso was born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and graduated from Liberty High School in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in 1981....
, 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, he was asked to play when it was 15 minutes before the show and was shocked as they never rehearsed. He was present during the recording of Rude Awakening
Rude Awakening (Megadeth album)
Rude Awakening is a live album by American heavy metal band Megadeth. The album was released by Sanctuary Records in 2002, the last release before the band broke up in 2002...
, a live CD/DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
that was released in 2002. He also recorded The World Needs a Hero
The World Needs a Hero
-Track listing:-Personnel:-Album:-Singles:...
with the band. 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.
Recent work (2002-present)
More recently, Al has collaborated with Jane Mangini (his second wife) on a project entitled O'2L that has given both musicians critical acclaim. During the winter months, Al and Jane tour with Trans-Siberian Orchestra. In Spring of 2010 they toured with TSO in the inaugural presentation of "Beethoven's Last Night".In 1998, Al Pitrelli was featured on the video game album Sonic Adventure
Sonic Adventure
is a 1999 platform video game developed by Sonic Team and released on December 23, 1998, in Japan by Sega for the Dreamcast. One of its development titles was Sonic RPG...
Remix, where he played guitar on a remix of the game's theme song - Open Your Heart
Open Your Heart (Sonic Adventure)
Sonic Adventure Vocal mini-Album is the video game music album from the 3D platformer Sonic Adventure for the Dreamcast video game console developed and produced by Sega....
.
Alice CooperAlice CooperAlice Cooper is an American rock singer, songwriter and musician whose career spans more than four decades...
- Alice Cooper Trashes The WorldTrashes the WorldAlice Cooper Trashes The World is a live concert video by Alice Cooper.The concert was filmed in Birmingham, England 1989, on tour in support of Cooper's commercially successful album Trash.-Track listing:# "Trash"# "Billion Dollar Babies"...
(DVD, 1990) - Classicks (1995)
AsiaAsia (band)Asia are an English rock group formed in 1981. The band was labelled a supergroup as it included former members of several veteran progressive rock bands, namely John Wetton , Geoff Downes , Steve Howe and Carl Palmer Asia are an English rock group formed in 1981. The band was labelled a...
- Aqua (1992)
- Aria (1994)
MegadethMegadethMegadeth is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California which was formed in 1983 by guitarist/vocalist Dave Mustaine, bassist Dave Ellefson and guitarist Greg Handevidt, following Mustaine's expulsion from Metallica. The band has since released 13 studio albums, three live albums, two...
- Capitol Punishment: The Megadeth YearsCapitol Punishment: The Megadeth Years-Track listing:-Hidden track :-Bonus track :-Charts:AlbumSingles...
(2000) - The World Needs a HeroThe World Needs a Hero-Track listing:-Personnel:-Album:-Singles:...
(2001) - Behind the MusicBehind the MusicBehind the Music is a television series on VH1. It originally ran from 1997 to 2006, before it was stopped and only aired new episodes sporadically. The series places its generality on documentation of musical artists or groups who are interviewed and profiled, and discuss how their careers became...
(DVD, 2001) - Rude AwakeningRude Awakening (Megadeth album)Rude Awakening is a live album by American heavy metal band Megadeth. The album was released by Sanctuary Records in 2002, the last release before the band broke up in 2002...
(2002) - Still Alive... and Well?Still Alive... And Well?Still, Alive... and Well? is a Megadeth compilation album released on September 10, 2002 and is the last Megadeth release with bassist and co-founder David Ellefson until his reunion with the band 8 years later...
(2002) - Greatest Hits: Back to the StartGreatest Hits: Back to the StartGreatest Hits: Back to the Start is the second greatest hits album by Megadeth. It was released in 2005 by Capitol Records. The tracklist for Back to the Start was largely the result of a poll on their official website, in which tens of thousands of fans voted for their favorite tracks from the...
(2005) - Anthology: Set the World AfireAnthology: Set the World Afire-Disc 1:-Disc 2:-Personnel:*Dave Mustaine - lead vocals and lead and rhythm guitar on all tracks*Marty Friedman - guitar on tracks 10–17 disc one and 1–13 and 16–18 disc two*Chris Poland - guitar on tracks 1–5 on disc one...
(2008)
SavatageSavatageSavatage is an American heavy metal band founded by the brothers Jon and Criss Oliva in 1978 at Astro Skate in Tarpon Springs, Florida.-Early days :...
- Dead Winter DeadDead Winter Dead- Story :In the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo, there is a town square surroundedby buildings that were constructed during the Middle Ages. Thesquare has a beautiful stone fountain at its center and at one...
(1995) - The Wake of MagellanThe Wake of Magellan-Personnel:*Zachary Stevens - lead vocals*Jon Oliva – lead vocals , keyboards*Chris Caffery – guitars, backing vocals*Al Pitrelli - guitars, backing vocals*Johnny Lee Middleton – bass guitar, backing vocals...
(1998) - Poets and MadmenPoets and Madmen-Personnel:*Jon Oliva – lead vocals, keyboards*Chris Caffery - lead & rhythm guitars, backing vocals*Johnny Lee Middleton – bass guitar, backing vocals*Jeff Plate – drums, backing vocals-Additional musicians:*Bob Kinkel - additional keyboards & backing vocals...
(2001)
Trans-Siberian OrchestraTrans-Siberian OrchestraTrans-Siberian Orchestra is an American progressive metal band founded in 1993 by producer, composer, and lyricist Paul O'Neill, who brought together Jon Oliva and Al Pitrelli and keyboardist and co-producer Robert Kinkel to form the core of the creative team. Since then, TSO sold nearly 8...
- Christmas Eve and Other StoriesChristmas Eve and Other StoriesChristmas Eve and Other Stories is a rock opera and Christmas album by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. The story is about a young man who wanders into a bar on Christmas Eve where he encounters a mysterious old man who tells him a tale about the magical effect of Christmas day on the human race...
(1996) - The Christmas AtticThe Christmas AtticThe Christmas Attic is the second album by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, a rock opera, and the second installment of their Christmas Trilogy, the sequel to Christmas Eve and Other Stories and the prequel to The Lost Christmas Eve...
(1998) - Beethoven's Last NightBeethoven's Last NightBeethoven's Last Night is a concept album by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, released in 2000. The album tells the fictional story of Ludwig van Beethoven on the last night of his life, as the devil, Mephistopheles, comes to collect his soul...
(2000) - The Lost Christmas EveThe Lost Christmas Eve-References to other media:"Back to a Reason " is a sequel to the Savatage song "Back to a Reason", on their 2001 release Poets and Madmen....
(2004) - Night CastleNight Castle- Disc two :- Personnel :* Paul O'Neill - Producer* Robert Kinkel - Producer* Dave Wittman - Recording & Mix Engineer- Vocals :Solo:* Jay Pierce - "Childhood Dreams", "The Safest Way Into Tomorrow"* Tim Hockenberry - "Sparks", "Believe"...
(2009)
Widowmaker
- Blood and Bullets (1992)
- Stand by for Pain (1994)
External links
- Interview with Al Pitrelli on metal4bremen.de (German / English)