Al Pitrelli
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| Al Pitrelli | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 29, 1962 in New York City |
| 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 for the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Savatage and O2L.
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[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".[citation needed]
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 [1]) 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." [2] 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 02L that has given both musicians critical acclaim.
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 and son, Jamie.
[edit] Savatage Discography
| Album Cover | Date of Release | Title | Label |
 |
October 24, 1995 | Dead Winter Dead | Atlantic Records |
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April 7, 1998 | The Wake of Magellan | Atlantic/Lava Records |
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April 3, 2001 | Poets and Madmen | Nuclear Blast Records |
[edit] Megadeth Discography
| Album Cover | Date of Release | Title | Label |
 |
May 15, 2001 | The World Needs a Hero | Sanctuary Records |
 |
March 19, 2002 | Rude Awakening (Live) | Sanctuary Records |
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September 10, 2002 | Still Alive... And Well? | Sanctuary Records |
[edit] See also
| 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 |
| Megadeth |
| Dave Mustaine | Glen Drover | James Lomenzo | Shawn Drover |
| David Ellefson | Chris Poland | Gar Samuelson | Jeff Young | Chuck Behler | Nick Menza | Marty Friedman | Jimmy DeGrasso | Al Pitrelli | James MacDonough |
| Discography |
|---|
| Studio albums: Killing Is My Business... And Business Is Good! | Peace Sells... But Who's Buying? | So Far, So Good... So What! | Rust in Peace | Countdown to Extinction | Youthanasia | Cryptic Writings | Risk | The World Needs a Hero | The System Has Failed | United Abominations |
| Live albums: Live Trax | Rude Awakening | That One Night: Live in Buenos Aires |
| Compilations: Capitol Punishment | Still Alive... And Well? | Back to the Start |
| Extended plays: Hidden Treasures | Cryptic Sounds |
| Videos and DVDs: Rusted Pieces | Exposure of a Dream | Evolver: The Making of Youthanasia | Rude Awakening | Video Hits | Arsenal of Megadeth | That One Night: Live in Buenos Aires |
