TSO member: 'You'd have to kill me to get me offstage'

Al Pitrelli doesn't discriminate. He loves all types of music and every part of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra show, which he's been a part of since its inception.

Pitrelli started chasing a musical career right out of high school and has performed in acts from Alice Cooper and Megadeth to Celine Dion and Donny Osmond.

TSO founder Paul O'Neill, who had an extensive background in music himself by the mid-1990s, called Pitrelli to come play guitar with "this orchestral piece" he had, Pitrelli said.

"I think the deal was he bought me a couple cheeseburgers; I worked in the studio with him for a couple nights," Pitrelli said.

Shortly thereafter, TSO's first hit, "Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24," enthralled listeners and the musical juggernaut Trans-Siberian Orchestra started to take shape. The band will bring its latest show, "Beethoven's Last Night" to the Show Me Center at 7:30 p.m. today.

Pitrelli still plays guitar but also conducts in his position as musical director with TSO.

"You'd have to kill me to get me offstage," he said. "I think you need that kind of passion to achieve something in life."

Pitrelli said he always tries to put on a great show, no matter how many performances he's done.

"We might have done show 6,000, but there's a pair of grandparents with their grandchildren in the front row in their Sunday go-to-meetin' clothes that have never seen us before," he said. "You owe them that performance. You owe them that show."

Pitrelli said he really enjoys meeting fans after the show and finding out that TSO inspired them to pick up music. He's had two or three people a year tell him that after seeing the show, they started playing an instrument.

"I think that's probably the most rewarding part of my job," he said.

charris@semissourian.com

388-3641

Pertinent Address:

1333 N. Sprigg St., Cape Girardeau MO