Zachary Stevens remembers Criss Oliva.

From an article in RockHard, Germany '94

" At first, we were ofcourse profoundly devastated and without any illusions concerning the bands further existance. During the first four, five months after the accident neither one of us wasted even the least of their thoughts on music, or even touched their instruments. Not until then we got together somehow with Jon Oliva and our producer Paul O'Neill , to think about a new album. We were unanimous in our opinion, we could not just let Savatage die like that. Criss would never have wanted that. He would have looked down upon us and wondered: "Why are these guys sitting around on their asses doing nothing?" And we would not have been able to look in the mirror for the rest of our lives. We had no choice - we simply had to go on. If only to keep the memory of one of the most underestimated guitarists of all times awake, to keep his legacy, his spirit alive. Because the world quickly forgets. That, unfortunately, is an unchangeable fact, especially in the USA."

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" For the funeral, we have all put in our share, to support his family. His father has been in a wheelchair for the past 15 years due to diabetes, and his mother and Jon could not carry this burden alone. Atlantic also has immediately offered their help, voluntarily. I don't know how much it was, but they have contributed their share. Criss deserved it - and a lot more.
Many American families get into huge problems, when expenses for health care are piling up or funerals are at hand. Attendant circumstances were that two of his father's sisters had died shortly before the accident and there were also a number of deaths to be mourned in his mother's family, all of that within a months time. So they were financially and mentally at their wit's end."

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" I was invited to an acoustic guitar - audition with Paul O'Neill in New York. I probably did a good job, 'cause a few days later I got a call from Criss, who invited me to the pre-production session for " Edge of Thorns ". I totally flipped out, threw my job aside, jumped into the car and raced all the way down the east coast . Criss and I were sorta unseperable for the next weeks and months; we became good friends, lived together and worked on the songs for " Edge.." day and night."

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" The last time I spoke with Criss, we had just returned from our US-tour. He had recently moved into a new home right opposite Johnny Lee Middleton, our bassist.

At that time we were playing a number of acoustic shows with a lot of old Savatage songs in local clubs, to be able to support ourselves financially, before our Japan-tour was about to start. He gave me a call and said: " Hey, I'm looking forward to Japan, lets clear up a few details. I'll see you tomorrow". That was saturday night. And early that sunday morning, around four o'clock, he was already dead. Although the emergency helicopter arrived at the scene of the accident really fast, any help came too late for him. His wife, who was in the car with him, suffered multiple fractures in her arms and legs, but recovered relatively fast - at least physically - from this fearful accident. She had a very hard time afterwards, and ofcourse we tried to support her and at least help her through the first months.

Especially Johnny was severely affected by Criss' death ; he immediately moved out of his appartment to find a new home ten miles away. He said, he just could not bear the look of Criss' house right across the street".

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" If today would mean the end of Savatage, in spite of that fact I'd be happy to have had this unbelieveable opportunity. It was like a dream, being able to make music together with a musician like Criss. That is also the main reason for all of us not to let the Savatage-dream die. Criss has lived each day, as if it was his last. At any given time he has jeopardized everything within his possibilities, as if he already had the presentiment that not much time was left for him.
I remember him as a very generous and openminded personality."

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Excerpt from an interview conducted by Matthias Breusch
from RockHard, Germany in Oct. 1994.