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The Trans-Siberian Orchestra has a few things in common with Mannheim Steamroller—besides a unique name. Most significantly, they've both become holiday music phenomena by modernizing classic Christmas carols. But TSO takes it one visionary step further by using storytelling to drive home a message with emotional resonance. Paul O'Neill, TSO's founder, producer, lyricist, and primary composer, explains.

I first have to say that Trans-Siberian Orchestra is one of the coolest rock shows and most powerful Christmas productions I've ever seen. It's such a dramatic fusion of styles.

Paul O'Neill Thanks. A newspaper once described us as Phantom of the Opera meets The Who with Pink Floyd's light show.

With a little bit of classical thrown in. How did that fusion come about? Were you always into Broadway and rock opera?

O'Neill I was mostly influenced by classical, rock, and R&B. Also, having grandparents from Ireland, the storytelling elements of Celtic music had a great impact on me. Even songs as simple as "Danny Boy" tell a story. Growing up in rock & roll, with its reputation for being undisciplined, I have always been fascinated by the discipline of Broadway performers who were untapped by the rock world. So we tapped them and rocked them up.

Was it always your original intention for TSO to be primarily known as a Christmas phenomenon?

O'Neill Never, but we are thrilled with the success of the Christmas albums.

So how'd it all come together?

O'Neill With Trans-Siberian Orchestra, I wanted the sort of group that would have no limits, combining a symphony with a rock band. We would only do rock operas, because that gives the music a third dimension that normally you don't have access to. Normally, you just write the lyrics so that they stand up as poetry, and you try to write the music so that it's so haunting that you don't need the lyrics. But when you put the two of them together, it creates an alloy where the sum of the parts is greater than the whole—when you hear one, you can't imagine it without the other.

Once you do that to the best of your ability, you're always trying to find a way to make the music cut deeper. We realized that the best way to do that was to add the third dimension of story, which is essentially what rock operas do. We have such a wide palette to paint with, combining the rock with various singers, and choirs, and orchestra.

I'm a strong believer in the power of storytelling. I grew up in a large Irish Catholic home, and my parents wouldn't allow us to watch TV. That forced us to learn to read. Also, before we went to bed, my father would weave these incredibly intricate fairy tales and stories from the top of his head. Even as I got older, I'd hang around him telling stories to my little siblings. And Irish music tends to have strong storytelling.

So because of the nature of TSO, we need themes that are larger than life. Christmas is certainly one such story. In essence, God writes the stories. I'm just a quick stenographer.

Is there something specific that drew you to a Christmas theme?

O'Neill I've always been fascinated by Christmas. When we were really young, my friends and I were walking home in New York City on Christmas Eve, when suddenly we heard the slamming of brakes. We turned around just in time to see two yellow cabs sliding into each other.

The two drivers got out of their cars: one looked like a longshoreman, the other like he just got off the boat from a foreign country. My friends and I were kind of nervous, thinking there would be a fight. Any other day of the year, it would have been World War III with blood on the street—especially in New York City. Instead, the first guy says, "This is completely my fault; let me pay for it." The other guy responds, "No, this is something I could have gotten in any parking lot." Next thing you know, they're looking at pictures of each other's kids, talking and joking.

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