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Guy LeMonnier Explains Trans-Siberian Orchestra Cow Costume


. Guy LeMonnier, former lead vocalists for Trans-Siberian Orchestra, recent spoke with Music & Art Interviews by Dan Roth and discussed a variety of topics including his dismissal from the band and the infamous time that he appeared on stage in a "cow costume". Here are those excerpts from the interview.

Question: One event that seems to have gone down in TSO lore is your appearance on stage in a cow costume. For years, TSO fans talked about this as one of the funniest things ever witnessed on the TSO stage. Tommy talked a bit about it in my interview with him. Can you explain how you wound up on stage wearing a cow costume? [Laughs]

Guy: Well, I found a cow costume in my size and it was all over from there, Dan. [Laughs] When you find an XXXL cow costume, you hang on to it!

Part of the reason that the audiences loved us so much is because we were always taking it to the next level and hamming it up. Audiences like to feel that they are being let in on something or they are part of a joke. During the introductions, we would really ham it up and show the charisma of this group. Those kinds of actions were very much frowned upon by the organization.

Anyway, I had found this cow costume and I brought it with me to rehearsals as a joke for Halloween, but never used it. So now, I had this costume in my luggage. We let Tommy know what was up, but we didn't tell him when. We get to Omaha for a show and I decided that I was going to get into this costume for the intros. I walked out on to stage in this head-to-toe cow costume, with a straight face as if nothing was wrong. Tommy basically spit water across the stage. [Laughs] He put a towel over the udders, which made it look like a bunch of erections. Everyone on stage and in the audience was cracking up - it went on forever. I just walked to the mic with a complete straight face and said "What?". The crowd roared. It was a lot of fun. Of course there was a phone call from the office waiting for us after the show.

I got gifts for years from fans: cowbells, cow statues, anything cow related. It was good times, a lot of fun.

Question: Can you talk about the circumstances that led to your separation from TSO in 2007?

Guy: My ending was horrendous and life-changing, like many peoples were. All I want to say about it - and I do want to say this - is that I was fired over hearsay. And the hearsay came from an unreliable source, especially in light of the behavior that occurred afterwards. There was enough drama to fill a reality show.

I had just bought a house down the street from where Al Pitrelli owned a compound of six houses with Jane. I did this because I, along with the rest of the TSO cast, were all invited to stay up there and live there and contribute to and write the next TSO album.

Question: They asked the cast for creative input?

Guy: That sweetens the pot a little bit, right? I was a single guy and didn't want to live in their house with the others, so I bought my own place down the street. I was working for this multi-million dollar organization and it was great to be brought even more so into the fold - and with the promise of helping to create the next album. Of course, that promise never came through, and I was let go.

Read the full interview for a lot more here.

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