Savatage
Criss and his brother Jon formed their first band together, Avatar, in 1978, from the ashes of their former bands Tower and Alien respectively. In 1980, the duo met up with Steve Wacholz and jammed in a shack behind the Oliva home that was dubbed "The Pit" by the band. They also gave Steve a nickname that would follow him throughout his career: "Doctor Hardware Killdrums", often shortened to just "Doc", which referred to Steve's hard playing style.
Criss, Jon and Steve played Tampa (where they had moved with their family in the late-70s) and Clearwater area clubs for many years. In 1981, Keith Collins joined them to relieve Jon of bass guitar duties. In 1982, the band released an E.P. on Par Records. In 1983, "Avatar" were forced to change their name due to copyright issues. Combining the words "Savage" and "Avatar", Criss and his wife Dawn came up with Savatage. Savatage released their first two albums, Sirens in 1983 and The Dungeons Are Calling in 1985, again on Par Records, exhibiting a variety of musical styles.
In 1984, Criss married Dawn Hoppert, his girlfriend since his time in middle school at Philippe Park near Safety Harbor, FL. Meanwhile, Savatage continued to flourish, releasing 6 further albums after signing with Atlantic Records in 1985. This was considered the "Golden Age" of Savatage, particularly when the band collaborated with producer Paul O'Neill for the first time in 1987's Hall of the Mountain King. Criss's unique playing style won him many fans, including Dave Mustaine of Megadeth, with whom Savatage toured in 1987 in support of Hall of the Mountain King. When Mustaine was left without a guitarist in 1989 after the departure of Jeff Young, Dave's guitar technician Dan Campbell and Criss's best friend and long time guitar technician called Criss to fill the vacant position. Criss declined the offer and continued with his brother and Savatage. That role of the second guitarist in Megadeth eventually went to Marty Friedman. Savatage continued with the release of Gutter Ballet in 1989, which Jon Oliva wrote some parts of whilst recovering in rehab.
Savatage toured relentlessly, with Criss winning critical acclaim. His biggest dream was for Savatage's 1991 album Streets: A Rock Opera to achieve platinum status. Streets was Savatage's biggest mainstream success, and Criss enjoyed the exposure the record gave the band, allowing new fans to be found for their music. Savatage was rocked however by the sudden departures of Jon Oliva and Steve "Doc" Wacholz in 1992 and 1993 respectively. Criss's best friend Dan Campbell discovered Zachary "Zak" Stevens while in Hollywood California. Dan passed Zak's Wicked Witch demo directly to Criss and introduced Zak to the band and was chosen as a replacement for Jon on lead vocals and Jeff Plate was selected to replace Doc on drums, and Savatage continued, releasing Edge of Thorns in 1993. The front cover of Edge of Thorns is a painting by artist Gary Smith of Criss's wife, Dawn. The face in the trees is supposed to be Jon Oliva, though producer Paul O'Neill disputes that despite its publication in a Criss Oliva interview from 1993. Gary was also responsible for all of Criss's airbrushed guitars.
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