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Through Caffery's Eyes
By Adam J. Salomon

Savatage is the brainchild of two brothers from Florida, Criss and Jon Oliva, and was formed in 1978. Though mixed in with the 80's "hair metal" scene, the band didn't fully come into its own until the release of 1991's Streets - A Rock Opera. The entire CD told the story of a homeless drug dealer in New York City (which the band would later call home) and fully emphasized the messages they were trying to send with the title track from 1989's Gutter Ballet. A percentage of the sales went to helping various soup kitchens, Salvation Armies, and drug treatment programs in New York.

The various wars in the Middle East have interested the band for this very reason. 1989 saw the release of "Of Rage and War", which has been getting its second breath of life due to its anti-terrorist message. Though thought of as not even a mediocre song when it was released, the lyrics of "You've got civilian planes crashing into the oceans, airports full of terrorists…When are they gonna learn, you have no Goddamn right to do the things you do, the world would be a better place if we got rid of you" have been taken to heart by fans worldwide. In addition, the words have new meaning to the band, since they have lived in New York since 1994. They bore witness to the first World Trade Center bombing, and the world's worst terrorist attack was in their own backyard of Manhattan.

Chris Caffery has been the band's guitarist since 1989 and keeps their fans up to date via their website. During the months of October and November, 2001, I visited the site on a regular basis. But I never expected to come across some of the things I did. This was 9/11 revisited through guitarist Chris Caffery's eyes.

Savatage has taken a break from touring and recording since the terrorist attacks of September 11th. They were supposed to be in Europe in the following weeks, but they cancelled the tour. Since it is too soon to release music related to the attacks due to other projects going on with the band members, guitarist Chris Caffery, the only member of the band who has lived in the New York/New Jersey area his whole life, has been keeping in touch with the fans through his message board, "Caffery's Corner", on the band's website. He has replied to fans' opinions, expressed the band's, and his own thoughts. He ends every post with, "Be safe" or "God bless you all." As anti-war as the band may be, Caffery's initial response to the attacks was,

"I feared as we all did for every life in New York City and the whole world. Anyone that cannot realize that this was an act of war on America is nuts. In the weeks to come we gathered the evidence necessary to link the attacks to a certain terrorist group. Terror of this magnitude is an act of war. Since the perpetrators did not have their own planes here in the U.S. they used ours, our flight schools, our technology our own people to aid in their launch of the 'Holy War'."

In addition, Caffery felt that it was his responsibility as an American citizen to visit "Ground Zero". He was devastated by what he saw, as the streets kept getting more scarce as he walked south. "It started getting evil. Like living a movie. Living a bad after-attack part from an action flick. Or if aliens attacked. Definitely surreal," he stated. Standing in tears looking at an area he always walked through, he could not imagine any god that would accept praise from radicals waving machine guns.

One image stood out in particular to him. It was a building damaged by the fall of the towers. He described it as:

" Older and stone. It seemed to stand there crying. Almost like an image surrounding a casket at a funeral. Except it was dead too. Not a single light, not a single sign of life. Now, this is at least a 50 story building. I am not sure what one it is or if it will be torn down. But, it was so sad. A scene from modern war and it is scary. Dead amongst the city that never sleeps. Sleeping with the remains of the once great Twin Towers and the people who perished inside. As if I was not sick enough already. Sick to my stomach at what had happened to my hometown. What had happened to innocent men, women and children from all over the world."

Riding the subway back north to Times Square, Caffery's actions spoke louder than any words or music could. He was not going to let the terrorists get the best of him. He no longer felt any apprehension about riding on the city's subway system and told others on the train not to either. Moreover, he spent all of the money he had at Times Square to help the city's ailing economy and plans to go there numerous times in the coming months. "Anyone can put an American flag sticker on their car, but it is your actions that count…I feel I must do my part as an American, and I hope to make everyone see that they have to do theirs too," he states on behalf of the band. Spend and work together, for it is not surprising to the band that differences in religion and nationalities are enough to bring out war and destruction.

In addition, as anti-war as the band is, they feel that this war is definitely necessary to catch as many terrorists as possible. Though the world will never be 100% free of them, we must do what we can to rid the world of as many as possible. Religion, color, and history have nothing to do with determining one's future, and that is where one of the problems lies. He ends his comments by indirectly asking the fans if they want to be like the person who killed Criss Oliva, or if they want to do all they can to help in the war. He posed this question because the anniversary for Oliva's death was this past October and states, "Criss, I miss you bro and hope you have a better grip on what's going on than us."

Though Savatage never started out with the intentions of writing politically charged music or making people think in social terms, events within the band have made them grow exponentially in terms of spreading their views on society. Criss Oliva's death has made them think twice about their own behavior and has even affected fans' behavior as well. The war in Sarajevo has altered fans' ideas on war and that it is mostly fought either for profit or no reason at all. However, the recent war on terrorism has changed the band's views a little, as there is no escaping it. Though it was started for senseless means, we must rid the world of warmongers.

Some of the members of Savatage, including Caffery, have shown they are trying to take action this holiday season by playing in a band called Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Their goal is to lighten everyone's holiday spirit by touring the United States playing original Christmas music. They have even been seen on The Conan O'Brien Show, Late Night with Jay Leno, the ABC Family Channel, and QVC. Their two holiday themed CDs, which are both concept albums, have new meaning for fans and non-fans alike.

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