For guitarist Chris Caffery, best known for his work with Savatage and the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, the release of 20 Years of the Music Man means much more than a career milestone. It’s a reflection of perseverance, humor, and the need to keep moving forward despite shifting musical landscapes.
“Well, basically what had happened was I had been releasing a couple of singles, and for me that kind of became sort of easy to do, because I didn’t have to get a whole record done… I recorded a song last year that was called “Do You See What I See Now”, and I decided to contact Mr. Jeff Scott Soto to see if he would share the lead vocals with me, and he did, and I really liked the way this song came out,” he explained.
What began as scattered singles evolved into a full compilation. Caffery admitted that the idea of a retrospective took on momentum of its own: “It started to feel like to me that it was going to have to be a record that was going to need to be done… I just kind of pieced together what I thought was a really neat timeline of the 20 years from when I first really started recording those songs… between 2004 and 2024, that’s where this music was recorded.”
The result is not just a “best-of,” but a sprawling map of his solo journey, including previously unreleased songs, vinyl exclusives, and tracks that slipped through the cracks the first time around. It’s a statement of continuity, that his solo career is not an afterthought to Savatage or Trans-Siberian Orchestra, but a parallel voice he continues to develop.

Among the compilation’s most talked-about songs are the ones that wear frustration on their sleeves. Titles like “Pisses Me Off”, “Sick of This Sh*t”, and “You’ve Gotta Be F*cking Kidding Me” might suggest pure rage, but Caffery explained that his intent was closer to comedy than fury.
“Here’s the thing, I did ‘You’ve Gotta Be F*cking Kidding Me’ because I had ‘Pisses Me Off’, so I thought it was kind of funny… when Holger said to me, well, you had ‘Sick of This Sh*t’… I thought the trifecta of those three songs would be pretty fun to have on one CD,” Caffery explained.
He added that the humor was deliberate: “I like to make people laugh, you know, and it’s like if I’m saying that stuff, it’s a way for me to use my sense of humor to control anger, not bring the anger out.”
For Caffery, these songs are snapshots of a time, as relevant for their energy as their satire. This balance between metal intensity and self-deprecating humor reflects his personality onstage with TSO, where he often uses jokes to disarm audiences. Still, he recognizes the risk of updating the formula for today’s climate: “I considered doing a ‘Pisses Me Off’ 2025 version, or something like that, but people are so sensitive now that if I were to write what pissed me off… instead of making people laugh… they would hear what I say now, and they get mad.”
However, not all of Caffery’s music stems from humor or catharsis. “Then She’s Gone”, one of the compilation’s most poignant tracks, was written in a moment of late-night reflection after personal heartbreak: “I was home one night in the band house… and I just kind of threw it all together really fast… I just thought it would be something that would be a really cool stamp to the end of this.”
Even when the vast majority of his fans have followed Caffery primarily for riffs and power, he can channel vulnerability with as much authenticity as ferocity. Although he initially saw the track as a quiet closer, the label insisted it should be released as a single — a choice Caffery initially doubted: “After the video came out and people started hearing the song, I was really blown away with how universal the reaction was. I don’t think I’ve released a song that had as consistent a response from everybody… Everybody seems to associate with that song.”

Of course, no conversation with Chris Caffery would be complete without addressing Savatage‘s return. The band’s performance in Brazil after more than two decades was deeply emotional for him: “You know, it just felt like it was a year ago that we stopped. It was so weird. You know, it was over 20 years since we were in Brazil, but it just felt like it was the day before. I mean, Savatage never broke up. We just had a really long pause.”
For Caffery, the reunion is not revolving around nostalgia, but about the band that shaped him reclaiming their rightful spot in the musical landscape: “Once I left my band with my brother, Savatage was my band with my other brothers. You know, it was like, I mean, it’s my band.”
Fans have long awaited the rumored Savatage upcoming album Curtain Call, but Caffery suggested it might symbolize renewal rather than farewell: “Jon wants to call it Curtain Call, but… I don’t think it’s a final curtain. Right. I think it might be rising again… maybe, fingers crossed, the curtain goes up instead of down. It’s a telling moment, about the resilience of a band whose legacy stretches back decades, one we refuse to let fade into memory.”
While Savatage fuels his heavy metal fire, the Trans-Siberian Orchestra remains a pillar of stability, both financially and artistically. The two projects may differ in style and scale, but for Caffery, they coexist — two sides of the same family carrying Paul O’Neill’s vision forward. Caffery emphasized its enduring mission.

“TSO is not going anywhere… Paul always wanted to keep the music alive. That’s why he had so many different singers and people involved, so that when he would always say, you know, we’re going to pass the torch… TSO is approaching next year, its 30th anniversary… and that music just keeps going to more people every year.”
Between solo work, TSO, and the revival of Savatage, Chris Caffery’s plate is full. Side projects like Spirits of Fire may remain on hold, but his focus is clear: “I wouldn’t mind doing one again if the time or the situation were right… But right now with having TSO and having Savatage, it’s like I’m not really looking for anything, you know, other than stay alive and, you know, take care of my family and my friends and life in general.”
It’s a grounded conclusion for a musician whose career spans from classic heavy metal to arena-filling rock theater. The past two decades prove that Caffery has never stopped creating, and with Savatage’s curtain rising again, his next chapter might be as vital as any that came before.