• facebook
  • twitter
  • rss

Former MEGADETH Bassist Remembers Late SAVATAGE Guitarist

February 22, 2009

Former MEGADETH and current F5 bassist David Ellefson has posted the following message on his web site:

"My friend Clay Marshall from Prosthetic Records contacted me a few months back to add my thoughts on a special feature story he was writing on one of my all-time favorite guitarists, Criss Oliva of SAVATAGE. Criss had a very distinctive tone and style that left an indelible mark on my life. Sadly, he was killed in a car accident in 1993 but his inventive guitar work can be heard on many SAVATAGE classics, one of my favorites being the 'Hall of the Mountain King' record. Criss and I became friends during the ensuing tour we did together with DIO a few months later. Check out the story in the new April 2009 issue of Guitar World magazine, on the newsstands now. It's a great trip down memory lane, reflecting on an amazing player and a true gentleman."

This past October marked the 15th anniversary of the passing of Criss Oliva. To honor his memory, the Greek edition of Rock Hard magazine published a special five-page article featuring interviews with about Criss conducted exclusively for this story.

A translated version of the article can now be found on the Savatage Legion (Greece) MySpace page.

The following people were interviewed for the article:

* Steve "Dr. Killdrums" Wacholz (original SAVATAGE drummer)
* Paul O'Neill (longtime SAVATAGE and TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA producer and co-writer)
* Chris Caffery (guitars, SAVATAGE, TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA)
* Johnny Lee Middletton (bass, SAVATAGE, TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA)
* Zak Stevens (vocals, SAVATAGE, CIRCLE II CIRCLE)
* Alex Skolnick (guitars, TESTAMENT, TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA, replaced Criss Oliva on "Handful of Rain" album)
* John Zahner (keyboards, JON OLIVA'S PAIN, also SAVATAGE touring member for the "Streets" tour)

For more information, visit www.myspace.com/rockhardgreece.

In the early morning hours of October 17, 1993 Criss Oliva and his wife Dawn were en route to the Livestock Festival in Zephyrhills, Florida when tragedy struck. They were hit head-on by a drunk driver. Criss was killed and Dawn suffered severe injuries.

The driver of the other car, Garth McNamee, was found to have a drunk driving record of seven prior DUIs and having a blood alcohol content of .294 percent (legal Florida limit is .10 percent) and sustained fractured left ribs, jaw, nose, right wrist, and both lower legs with lacerations to his face, legs and right hand, according to RealSavatage.com. The drunk driver was charged and convicted of DUI manslaughter, DUI serious injury, and vehicular homicide but served only 18 months jail time and had his driver's license revoked indefinitely. He was also ordered to write the Oliva family an apology letter and was said to be paying restitution of $100 a month to Dawn Oliva.

Find more on
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • reddit
  • email

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).