Al Pitrelli (born September 26, 1962 in New York, NY) is a guitarist, best known for his work with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Megadeth, Alice Cooper, Joe Lynn Turner, Asia and Savatage.
Early career (1982-1995)
Al Pitrelli attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston in the early 1980s (where keyboardist Derek Sherinian was his dorm roommate; they would later work together in the Alice Cooper band). After dropping out of Berklee, Pitrelli worked as a session musician during his early days, and also taught guitar lessons in Manhattan, NY. His first major label gig was performing with Michael Bolton, helping him support his single, "Fool's Game". Pitrelli said of the single, "This was when Michael Bolton was still trying to be Sammy Hagar and not Engelbert Humperdinck".
Pitrelli was Alice Cooper's guitarist and musical director from 1989 until 1991 on the Trashes The World Tour. Pitrelli joined Dee Snider's Widowmaker for two albums in the early to mid '90s, and also briefly played with Stephen Pearcy (Ratt) in a band called Vertex. Pitrelli also joined Asia, appearing on their albums Aqua in 1992 and Aria in 1994. Pitrelli would be featured on many New York sessions, including for Kathy Troccoli, Taylor Dayne, Randy Coven, Exposé. His songs have been covered by Y&T, Lita Ford and Derek Sherinian of Dream Theater. For a month he substituted in Blue Öyster Cult.
Savatage (1995-2000)
Al joined Savatage in 1995, joining at the same time as Chris Caffery returned to the band (Chris had previously been a part of the band around the release of Gutter Ballet in 1989). Al played guitar on the albums Dead Winter Dead and The Wake of Magellan and did some of the lead guitar work on Poets and Madmen despite being a member of Megadeth at the time. (Al was responsible for the outro of Stay With Me A While, the main solo of Morphine Child, the main solo of The Rumor, the first part of the main solo in Commissar, and the outro of Commissar. During his time with Savatage, he was asked by their producer Paul O'Neill if he was interested in joining his side project, the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Al agreed and has played a role in all of their records thus far. Steve Vai said in an interview that he was impressed by his playing.
Trans Siberian Orchestra (1995-present)
Al has been a core member of Trans Siberian Orchestra since their first album. He is not only the main lead guitarist but also the live musical director. TSO's 2007 tour program credits his "edgy playing and vast musical lexicon" with making him a perfect fit for the band's constant boundary pushing progressive rock genre. Pitrelli's leads shine brilliantly in the instrumental, "Toccatta - Carpimus Nocten" and is "amazing" on "Tracers a song he also co-wrote on. Both songs are the groups fifth rock opera, "Night Castle."
Megadeth (2000-2002)
Al was a member of Megadeth from 2000–2002, replacing Marty Friedman. Dave Mustaine asked him to join the band after hearing good reviews from the then Megadeth drummer Jimmy DeGrasso, who he played with during his days with Alice Cooper in the early 90s. Al only joined the band after an "audition" in front of a live crowd in Vancouver on January 16, 2000, 2 nights after Marty played his last show with the band, he was asked to play when it was 15 minutes before the show and was shocked as they never rehearsed. He was present during the recording of Rude Awakening, a live CD/DVD that was released in 2002. He also recorded The World Needs a Hero with the band. When Megadeth entered hiatus after Dave Mustaine injured his arm, Al re-joined Savatage on April 9, 2002 and also continued his work with TSO.
Recent work (2002-present)
More recently, Al has collaborated with Jane Mangini (his former wife) on a project entitled O'2L that has given both musicians critical acclaim. During the winter months, Al and Jane tour with Trans-Siberian Orchestra. In Spring of 2010 they toured with TSO in the inaugural presentation of "Beethoven's Last Night".
In 1998, Al Pitrelli was featured on the video game album Sonic Adventure Remix, where he played guitar on a remix of the game's theme song - Open Your Heart.
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