The early years… 1975 – 1981
Jon and Criss Oliva’s first music steps
Jon and Criss Oliva were born and raised in the early 60s in Pompton Plains, New Jersey. It was the year 1975 when the two boys introduced their selves into the world of music. They formed a project band, called “Black Diamond“, that played cover songs of their favorite bands.
“We had about 30 Kiss-songs in our repertoire , plus Black Sabbath’s ‘War Pigs’ and ‘Iron Man’. Our Kiss-like make-up without the white background looked a bit like Alice Cooper’s , only heavier”, Jon recalls from his memory.
Did you know
Into… The Pit
In 1976 the Oliva family moved to Florida. The two brothers rehearsed in an old henhouse in their backyard, which they called “The Pit”. Into that place were written some Heavy Metal anthems that influenced thousands of bands over the years.
Steve Wacholz used to hang out in The Pit (photo). He was the drummer of the bands “Blaze“ and “Warhead” somewhere around the year 1977. Both bands practiced in The Pit.
The first band: Tower
In 1977, Jon and Criss played with the band “Tower“. That was the first official band of Oliva brothers. Jon was the singer and also played drums. Criss played the guitar. The other two brothers was Tony Ciulla* (bass) and Bob Kovach (drums).
Check this out…
Check the signatures. Jon was... John and Criss was... Chriss.
from DrButcher / Greek Legion Collection
Metropolis USA, “the big city sounds of rock music”
In the meanwhile, Jon was singing, playing keyboards and guitar to another band called “Alien“.
At the middle of 1978, Jon and Criss combined members of “Tower” and “Alien” and formed a new band called “Metropolis“.
So, Criss was playing the solos and also doing backing vocals. Jon was the singer, rhythm guitarist and keyboardist. Tony Ciulla was playing the bass and Joe Conn was the drummer.
Due to copyright issues, the band changed its name several times. From Metropolis to “Metroplis“, later to “Metroplis USA” and finally to “Metropolis USA“.
Metroplis first recordings (unseen – unheard)
The ultimate collectible item for Savatage fans is not the “Lets Get Rowdy” 7′ neither the yellow vinyl “City Beneath The Surface”. It is the first recordings of Metroplis / Metroplis USA that, nowadays, only a few had the chance to listen.
The band played its own songs along with many covers from “Rush”, “Queen”, “Van Halen”, “Ted Nugent”, “Led Zeppelin”, “ZZ Top”, “Thin Lizzy”, “KISS” and other bands.
Those days, Metroplis had a significant name among Florida bands. It is a remarkable fact that their own stage production manager, group manager, two light technicians, stage left and stage right technicians and sound technician!
So this the fanzine that Metroplis gave along with its recordings…
Four-pages Metroplis Fanzine
from DrButcher / Greek Legion collection
- "Timeless Flight" (Jon used this title many decades later, on a "Jon Oliva's Pain" song)
- "Devistation" (Savatage song "Devastation" on "Hall Of The Mountain King" record)
- "City Beneath The Surface" (Avatar and Savatage song).
Metroplis USA flyer and setlist
Rare flyer from the “Metroplis USA” era. It advertises a concert at “The Touch of Class Teen Center” in Port Richie. From the flyer we are informer that the band (probably) released another record, a live 7′ called “Boa Snake“.
both flyer and setlist from DrButcher / Greek Legion collection “Let’s Get Rowdy” Record
It has been described as the “Holy Grail” of heavy metal rarities. The album includes two tracks, “Let’s Get Rowdy” and “Take Off With The Crowd”. Savatage Museum shows you photos of the disc and offers audio files from both songs.
Song writing credits
Maynard (Tex) Mcintyre, Vinny (J. red) Greco, John (yank) Oliva.
The Oliva brothers…
Picture source: http://nadude1.tripod.com/harleyguysmentalasylum
Steve finally makes it
In 1979, Steve Wacholz −drummer of band “Paradox” until then− auditioned again, this time for Metropolis USA, and makes it. Jon gave him his first lessons on how to play… more aggressive. Criss put his amps behind his drums, to “force” him to play louder.
Did you know
"I broke something when I was playing, and at the end of the song, a friend of mine just yelled out, 'Dr. Hardware Killdrums!'... it was just too cool and it kind of stuck".
1979 was the year of continuous changes in the lineup of the band.
Not only Joe Conn left Metropolis but also Tony Ciulla .
Many musicians were tested for the place of bassist: Roach, Bian “B” Lennon, Andy Grelin, Fritz and others.
For a short while, Steve also left, but he soon returned. Until his return, Jon filled the gap in the drums.
In guitars, Criss was complemented by Pat Dubs, initially, and Rich Pigano later.
Avatar’s Birth
By the end of 1979, the group changed its name to “Avatar“. At the same time, the band have escaped from its Rush influences −which were more than obvious− and established a more heavy character. As time went by, Avatar was evolving into a band with its own personal sound.
Avatar gave many concerts and gained an important name in Florida’s heavy metal community. They even organized a party at “Pit” where more than 3,000 people were gathered.
Avatar logos
These are the four logos that the band changed through the years.
Keith Collins in the band
It was around 1981 when Keith Collins joined Avatar. He became band’s new bassist. Although until then he was a guitarist, he tied in with the group, whose line-up finally stabilized.
Jon remembers:
“That’s how we found Keith Collins: mainly because of the fact that he owned a P.A. -and with that all the equipment we could make good use of playing in the clubs nearby. Very practical, haha! Besides, he actually wasn’t a bassplayer, but a guitarist. In 1980, bassplayers were very hard to find”.
The Pirate Album
In 1982 Avatar recorded two songs, called “Minus Love” and “Rock Me“, which were included in a LP released by 95YNF radio station. That LP was named “The Pirate Album” and was available for sale on topic record shops in 1983.