# What does Mannheim Steamroller and Trans-Siberian Orchestra do the rest of the year? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 6, 2009, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-mannheim-steamroller-and-trans-siberian-orchestra-do-the-rest-of-the-year/520223 "2009-12-06T20:27:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Dr.Righteous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Dr.Righteous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Righteous)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-mannheim-steamroller-and-trans-siberian-orchestra-do-the-rest-of-the-year/520223/21 "2009-12-07T17:02:06Z")
> [@diggerg56](#): > > Jeff Scott Soto)vocals) from west has sung with Journey,and does work with couple other groups. I absolutely LOVE him. I am sad that he is on the West coast and I am not. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-mannheim-steamroller-and-trans-siberian-orchestra-do-the-rest-of-the-year/520223/22 "2009-12-07T17:03:55Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > There are a bunch of Blue Man groups too - some tour and they have permanent shows in various places such as Las Vegas. > > For expensive tours, the recent U2 tour had 3 stages since it took so long to set it up and they played 2 or 3 shows a week. They spent $750k a night to put on the show. Most people don’t realize there are also two U2s. Fewer people realize that I’m the other Bono. I’m the one who kudo’d George W. Bush for his anti-AIDS African relief program a couple of months ago. What? You thought that was the real Bono?!? 😃 Actually, I did not know that about the other TSOs & MHs or about TSO being Savatage (I remember seeing them on the old Headbangers Ball). I did know about Chip Davis=C.W. McCall. Found that out from Rush L. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-mannheim-steamroller-and-trans-siberian-orchestra-do-the-rest-of-the-year/520223/23 "2009-12-07T17:10:46Z")
I would think they spend the other 10 months recording albums that are to be released in late November. 😉 Though I thought MS had other songs than Christmas music - didn’t they hit the top-10 back in the early '80s with “Boy from New York City”? So, for them at least, I bet part of their time is spent touring. Never heard of TSO. Probably fortunate in that… ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-mannheim-steamroller-and-trans-siberian-orchestra-do-the-rest-of-the-year/520223/24 "2009-12-07T17:14:46Z")
Personally, in response to the OP, I hope they go around correcting agreement between subject and verb in terms of singular or plural usage. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Seth\_Coburn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/77aa72/32.png) [@Seth\_Coburn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seth_Coburn)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2015, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-mannheim-steamroller-and-trans-siberian-orchestra-do-the-rest-of-the-year/520223/25 "2015-12-24T04:25:38Z")
Mannheim Steamroller was founded by Bill Fries, who recorded _Convoy_ under the name C.W. McCall ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2015, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-mannheim-steamroller-and-trans-siberian-orchestra-do-the-rest-of-the-year/520223/26 "2015-12-24T05:02:54Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > I would think they spend the other 10 months recording albums that are to be released in late November. 😉 > > Though I thought MS had other songs than Christmas music - didn’t they hit the top-10 back in the early '80s with “Boy from New York City”? So, for them at least, I bet part of their time is spent touring. > > Never heard of TSO. Probably fortunate in that… I realize this is a zombie thread, but I’ll reply anyway. “Boy From New York City” was by another manufactured band, Manhattan Transfer. ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2015, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-mannheim-steamroller-and-trans-siberian-orchestra-do-the-rest-of-the-year/520223/27 "2015-12-24T05:34:47Z")
> [@Seth\_Coburn](#): > > Mannheim Steamroller was founded by Bill Fries, who recorded _Convoy_ under the name C.W. McCall Heh. Beat you to that by six years. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2015, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-mannheim-steamroller-and-trans-siberian-orchestra-do-the-rest-of-the-year/520223/28 "2015-12-24T17:42:40Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > I realize this is a zombie thread, but I’ll reply anyway. “Boy From New York City” was by another manufactured band, Manhattan Transfer. What do you mean by “manufactured band”? ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2015, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-mannheim-steamroller-and-trans-siberian-orchestra-do-the-rest-of-the-year/520223/29 "2015-12-24T18:46:56Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > “Boy From New York City” was by another manufactured band, Manhattan Transfer. “Boy from New York City” was originally a hit for The Ad-Libs in 1964, although Manhattan Transfer’s cover was more popular and earned them a Grammy. And I’ll echo **Snowboarder Bo** by saying that calling The Manhattan Transfer a “manufactured band” is utterly ridiculous (except in the sense that _all_ bands are manufactured…) As stated earlier (err…six years ago) Trans-Siberian Orchestra is an offshoot of Savatage. I was going to say that Savatage hasn’t recorded or performed live since 2001, but apparently they did reunite at the Wacken Open Air Festival earlier this year, with TSO as their opening act. 🙂 There’s been rumors of Savatage doing more shows or even a new album, but nothing’s set in stone yet. Most of the TSO/ex-Savatage personnel keep busy with their own solo projects during the rest of the year. Zak Stevens has his own band Circle II Circle, and in recent years has performed entire Savatage albums live in concert. (Trivia note: in 2003, Stevens’ entire band got pissed off and quit to join Jon Oliva’s Pain. These guys like to keep it in the family, apparently.) Al Pitrelli was in Megadeth for awhile, but not anymore. Jeff Scott Soto most recently worked on a solo album by Joel Hoekstra (ex-Night Ranger/Whitesnake guitarist). Russell Allen’s main gig is [Symphony X.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64wdCBSyB98) ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2015, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-mannheim-steamroller-and-trans-siberian-orchestra-do-the-rest-of-the-year/520223/30 "2015-12-24T20:02:11Z")
I saw Chip Davis and Mannheim steamroller years and years ago. Don’t think they played a note of Christmas music. They just had the one Christmas album vs several Fresh Aire at the time. I can’t see any indication that they’ve toured with any of the Fresh Aire repertoire in the past handful of years, but at the moment, their Christmas 2015 tour is winding up. There are two bands performing. The [schedule](http://www.pollstar.com/news_article.aspx?ID=818244)is what I would call brutal, with a performance in a different city almost every day. In a [2014 interview](http://www.pollstar.com/news_article.aspx?ID=818244), Chip describes it as a two bus, two truck tour, which is pretty small as tours go. Also, he no longer tours, but does make the odd guest appearance now and then. ---
**Author:** ![D18](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c57346/32.png) [@D18](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D18)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2015, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-mannheim-steamroller-and-trans-siberian-orchestra-do-the-rest-of-the-year/520223/31 "2015-12-25T00:21:02Z")
Here is a relevant [story](http://www.wsj.com/articles/how-the-trans-siberian-orchestra-became-a-holiday-hit-machine-1449170491) about the Trans Siberian Orchestra that appeared recently in that noted popular music publication, the _Wall Street Journal_. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2015, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-mannheim-steamroller-and-trans-siberian-orchestra-do-the-rest-of-the-year/520223/32 "2015-12-26T22:31:05Z")
I just heard on the radio and advertisement for a big all-ages concert this week, called ‘Wizards of Winter’, featuring “former members of TSO”. Performing seasonal hits and some of TSO’s music, too. ---
**Author:** ![AllShookDown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d9b06d/32.png) [@AllShookDown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AllShookDown)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-mannheim-steamroller-and-trans-siberian-orchestra-do-the-rest-of-the-year/520223/33 "2016-01-07T16:23:57Z")
CBS Sunday Morning profiled them last month. Here’s the search results but I can’t figure out how to get the actual clip to play. > **[Results for "trans siberian orchestra"](https://www.cbsnews.com/search/?q=trans%2Bsiberian%2Borchestra)** ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-mannheim-steamroller-and-trans-siberian-orchestra-do-the-rest-of-the-year/520223/34 "2016-01-07T16:31:54Z")
I’ve seen both, and I think TSO puts on the better show. ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-mannheim-steamroller-and-trans-siberian-orchestra-do-the-rest-of-the-year/520223/35 "2016-01-07T21:09:37Z")
I want to know how two separate “normal” bands decided to become prog-rock arena Christmas acts. Which one came first? Has any other band done something similar? Also, speaking of bands with two lineups, I remember there were at least three bands at one time that all called themselves The Beach Boys, and each had original members in the band. Thought that’s not quite the same, as they weren’t coordinating and were competing with each other. Also, I think you can still find Platters shows, even though the original members from the 50s have all died or become too geriatric to perform. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-mannheim-steamroller-and-trans-siberian-orchestra-do-the-rest-of-the-year/520223/36 "2016-01-07T21:22:06Z")
> [@DrCube](#): > > I want to know how two separate “normal” bands decided to become prog-rock arena Christmas acts. Which one came first? Has any other band done something similar? If I had to guess, MS was first. I remember going to a planetarium on a school field trip in middle school and they played MS Deck the Halls. So this was late 70s early 80s (ish). Google confirms…TSO was founded in 1996, MS was releasing songs back in the mid 70s. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-mannheim-steamroller-and-trans-siberian-orchestra-do-the-rest-of-the-year/520223/37 "2016-01-07T21:26:07Z")
Went to one TSO show. Apart from their few really good songs, it was boring as shit. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-mannheim-steamroller-and-trans-siberian-orchestra-do-the-rest-of-the-year/520223.md?page=1)