Chris began playing guitar at the age of 11, but some of his earliest memories include performing The Beatles song Help! for a show and tell in kindergarten. His favourite bands growing up included The Beatles, KISS, Black Sabbath, Judas Priest and Rush among others. He has cited guitarists such as Ted Nugent, Rik Emmett, Ace Frehley, Randy Rhoads, Michael Schenker as influences through out the years as well.
After only 13 months, Chris grew bored with guitar lessons and decided to teach himself. He was part of a band called "Blitzkreig" in middle school and played a few shows, the first of which was at a bar in Ridgewood, New Jersey when Chris was only 13. At the age of 14, Chris and his brother formed a band called "Anti". While searching for a bass player, Chris found Darryl Sage, who remains one of his best friends and ended up co-owning Chris's house in Ridgewood. Anti eventually found a singer named Blaze, and whilst in High School, Chris opened for bands like Mountain, Overkill, Steppenwolf, Blackfoot and Metallica. Chris graduated from High School at the age of 16 and went straight into being a professional musician, teaching students during the day and playing shows in the night.
Anti did fairly well, but always had trouble with vocalists. Chris recorded his first demo tape at age 14 and his second at 17, which got him his first national gig. Chris was in New York City one night, hanging around in a club in the middle of Times Square, when he met the lead singer of a band called Heaven named Allan Fryar. They were looking for a guitarist and Chris asked if he could give Allan a tape. A week later and Fryar called, and it turned out that the band also needed a drummer, so Chris's brother Phil joined. The band was managed by David Krebs and a certain Paul O'Neill, who Chris would maintain close ties for most of his career.
Heaven were in-between leaving labels, and Chris did shows with them at the end of a tour and they recorded a new demo. Fryar sung on tapes of some Anti songs and it inspired the band to get the producers in the studio. Opening for Heaven were Skid Row (minus Sebastian Bach) on the East Coast (Chris turned down the opportunity to join the band) and on the West Coast, Warrant.
Paul O'Neill was later introduced to the Oliva brothers, Jon and Criss of Savatage by an Atlantic Records rep and O'Neill left Heaven to work with Savatage. Eventually, Paul invited Chris to New York, where they recorded the CD and introduced Chris to the band. Heaven did was not working with O'Neill and Krebs any more, but wanted a vocalist. Ironically, the band considered asking Sebastian Bach to join them, but they could not catch him in New York. But, Chris soon learned that a second guitarist may be needed in Savatage, so he learned all of the Savatage songs he could in time for Savatage's 1987-1988 tour with Dio and Megadeth. Savatage hired someone else, which left Chris very upset and he flew himself down to the audition. Chris was given the opportunity to perform, played 2 songs before the band stopped and hired him on the spot. The band went on tour, but Chris was kept on the side of the stage, hidden from the audience. Chris was only 20 years old and playing arenas and was happy, but miserable. He left Savatage after the arena tour.
Chris bounced between bands, such as Big Mouth for a couple of years until he came into contact with the Oliva brothers once more. They asked Chris to join them just as the 'Gutter Ballet' CD was finished. He gladly accepted, but the road took it's toll on all of the members and it was around this time that Jon Oliva began his drug and alcohol addiction. Under pressure from his brother to find a singer for their band, Chris quit Savatage at the end of the tour and formed Witchdoctor, with his brother Phil on drums, Hal Patino of King Diamond on bass, and TSO West member Doug Kistner on keyboards. The band played all over Europe, but the brothers were not clicking musicially and the band disbanded. Criss was contacted to perform on Savatage's Streets tour, but issues meant this did not happen. Chris soon learned that Jon Oliva had left Savatage. Chris called Jon, who invited him to Florida, and over "10 bottles of Jack Daniels", their project Doctor Butcher was born.
Zachary Stevens replaced Jon in Savatage, but Jon continued to work with his brother Criss on the record. Chris was again asked to re-join the band, but, he stayed loyal to Jon and Butcher. Some initial demos were recorded with Hal Patino and Gene Barnett for Butcher, but bad press over Jon's health lead Atlantic Records to make a decision - Doctor Butcher or Savatage? Atlantic chose Savatage. Chris was left disheartened. He went to work with friend Ray Gillen of Badlands fame, but he died shortly after the project began. Around this time, Criss Oliva was killed in a car accident. Chris was asked for the fourth time to join Savatage, but Atlantic Records suggested Alex Skolnick join the band instead. Chris would later work with Alex on the TSO East touring company. Butcher was signed in Europe and their debut was recorded in 1994. Jon Oliva left to do the Handful of Rain tour with Savatage so Butcher never toured. Chris, this time, inquired about joining Savatage on a more permanent basis with Jon Oliva, as a close friend and student of Criss Oliva he felt he could pay respect to Criss "spiritually" on stage. Jon agreed, and Chris was joined by Al Pitrelli, a good friend of his from New York. The two formed a steady partnership for almost 6 years, recording both 1995's Dead Winter Dead and 1998's The Wake of Magellan together.
During this time, Chris recorded with Joe Lynn Turner, TM Stevens, as well as produced and recorded for Metalium. Chris was featured on Tribute CD's for Guns N' Roses, Accept and Iron Maiden. The Maiden CD was with Jeff Plate and his long time and newly re acquainted best friend, John West. Savatage was stalled a bit in the recording of a follow up to The Wake of Magellan, due to the tremendous success of the then "Side Project", Trans Siberian Orchestra. Caffery considers himself the "ring leader" of TSO East when they tour, and he enjoys performing live with the ensemble.
Al Pitrelli left Savatage in 2000 when he accepted an invitation to replace Marty Friedman in Megadeth. Zak Stevens left shortly after, citing family reasons. Chris was left as the only guitarist in Savatage and Jon Oliva took up lead vocal duties for the first time in ten years. Chris played the lead parts with Jack Frost (who replaced him in Metalium) playing the rhythm parts on a short tour with Fates Warning and Judas Priest in support of 2001's Poets and Madmen. After Megadeth "disbanded" (it later reformed in 2004) in 2002, Al Pitrelli was invited to re-join the band since "he never left the family anyway".
Since the release of Savatage's most recent CD, Chris has appeared on records of Savatage alumni, including Zak Stevens's Circle II Circle and on Jon Oliva's Pain records. Chris himself released solo EPs and albums in 2004 and 2005, with a follow-up full-length album due for release in 2006.
Solo Discogs
The Mold EP - 2004
Music Man EP - 2004
Faces - 2005
W.A.R.P.E.D - 2005
Pins And Needles - 2007
House Of Insanity - 2009
Your Heaven Is Real - 2015
The Jester's Court - 2018
Never
Chris Caffery Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A top the roof to yield the drain
But in your mind you may hide from the world, little girl
Can't you tee that it's not right, when they fight
Open up your wings, lets fly together
I never see the tears around me
I never knew 'til it's too late
But in time, if you allow, I'll take the fears away
Every book needs a fable inside
To hide the truth and case the pain
But in your mind you may hide, from your dreams, kept inside
Can't you see that it ain't right, little girl
Open up your wings, let's fly together
I never sec the tears around me
I never know 'til it's too late
I always fell that you were hurling deep inside
But in time, time, let's make the vows, and take the fears away
You think it's destiny, this emptiness eternally
Come take my hand when you're afraid
You seem to hide the key to happiness eternally
Come with me 'fore it's too late
In your mind you may hide, little girl, in your world
I will he there through the fight, little girl
Open up your wings, lets fly together
I never see the tears around me
I never knew 'til it's too late
I always felt that you were honing deep inside
But in time, time, let's make the vows, and take the fears away
The lyrics to Chris Caffery's song "Never" are about a person who is struggling with internal conflicts and is hiding from the world. The singer is trying to reach out to this person, urging them to open up and take flight with him. The lyrics address the idea that every life needs some sort of stability or foundation, but that this person may be hiding from that stability in their mind. The singer also acknowledges that he never saw the tears or knew about the pain until it was too late, but he wants to help take away the fears and make a vow to support this person.
The chorus talks about the singer's desire to help this person and take away their fears. He acknowledges that this person may feel an emptiness or a lack of happiness, and he wants to be the one to help them find the key to that happiness. The song ends with the singer reaffirming his commitment to be there through any fight and asking this person to open up their wings and fly with him.
Overall, the lyrics to "Never" are about being there for someone who is struggling and trying to help them find their way towards happiness and stability.
Line by Line Meaning
Every life needs a stable inside
Having something solid and stable in your life is important
A top the roof to yield the drain
Something that sits above and holds everything together is necessary
But in your mind you may hide from the world, little girl
Sometimes people keep their pain inside, unable to express it to others
Can't you tee that it's not right, when they fight
Conflict is never the answer and does more harm than good
Open up your wings, lets fly together
We can face the world and overcome obstacles together
I never see the tears around me
I don't always notice when others are hurting
I never knew 'til it's too late
Sometimes I don't realize the extent of someone's pain until it's too late to help
I always felt that you were hurting deep inside
I sensed that you were struggling and in pain
But in time, if you allow, I'll take the fears away
I want to help you overcome your fears and find peace
Every book needs a fable inside
Stories have the power to inspire us and help us understand the world better
To hide the truth and case the pain
Sometimes stories are used to cover up harsh realities and conceal pain
But in your mind you may hide, from your dreams, kept inside
You may be keeping your dreams hidden deep inside out of fear
Can't you see that it ain't right, little girl
You deserve to pursue your dreams and not be held back by fear
You think it's destiny, this emptiness eternally
You may feel like your sadness and emptiness are an inevitable part of your life
Come take my hand when you're afraid
I want to help you face your fears and not be alone in your struggles
You seem to hide the key to happiness eternally
You may be keeping yourself from being happy and fulfilled by not pursuing your dreams
Come with me 'fore it's too late
I want to help you find happiness and fulfillment before it's too late
In your mind you may hide, little girl, in your world
You may be keeping your pain and struggles hidden from the world
I will he there through the fight, little girl
I want to be there to support you and help you through your struggles
But in time, time, let's make the vows, and take the fears away
Together we can face your fears and overcome them
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: CHRISTOPHER C. CAFFERY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@sylviap6183
❤️... I never see the tears around me
I never knew 'til it's too late
I always felt that you were hurting deep inside
But in time, if you allow, I'll take the fears away...❤️
Powerful ballad 🎶🌹
@Ninjametal
This guitar track is so epic, and the composition is amazing. It has the perfect combination of complexity and emotional impact. It may be the most underrated song I can think of...but if you know this song, you're cool. B)
@santina58
The vocals on this song is fantastic and a great song to , I would recommend this to everyone.
@TheRindyrae
Absolutely beautiful. Sharing on Facebook and Twitter. I bought from ITunes so I can listen in my car since the new model cars do not have cd players, UGH