Jul 31 2020 41 mins
Dee Snider gets real about his ups and downs, starting over after being on top of the music industry. He is authentic and honest about what it was like losing it all and how he rose from the ashes!
Twisted Sister is an American heavy metal band from New York City. Their work fuses the shock tactics of Alice Cooper, the rebellious mood of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, and the extravagant image of glam rock bands such as New York Dolls notably for the makeup. Musically, the band implements elements of traditional heavy metal bands such as Iron Maiden and Judas Priest, along with a style that is similar to early glam metal bands. The band is generally categorized as glam metal for their earlier work, although the band does not consider themselves to be so. Although the band was formed by guitarist Jay Jay French in December 1972, all of their songs were written by Dee Snider from 1976 onward. Snider remarked to Johnny Carson that the proposed name for the band was “This” but was rejected for fear of fans saying “This sucks”. He describes Twisted Sister as “Slade meets Sex Pistols”. Twisted Sister’s most well-known hits include “We’re Not Gonna Take It” and “I Wanna Rock”, both popularized in the USA by regular airplay on MTV in the 1980s. Many of the band’s songs explore themes of parent vs. child conflicts and criticisms of the educational system. “I don’t think Twisted Sister is “glam” because that implies glamor, and we’re not glamorous. We should be called “Hid” because we’re hideous.” Dee Snider, ‘Interview with Twisted Sister’ Picture disc. “When Twisted Sister exploded internationally few people realized that they were an overnight sensation that had been ten years in the making.” From the back cover blurb for “Twisted Sister – The First Official Book!
Unreleased 1990 studio album by this hard rock/metal supergroup featuring Dee Snider (Twisted Sister), Clive Burr (Iron Maiden), Bernie Torme (Gillan/Ozzy) and Marc Russell. This band was poised for success until the Grunge scene came along and their label decided not to release it due to the changing musical climate. 11 tracks including ‘Hang ‘Em High’, ‘Calling For You’ and ‘Emaheevull’. Of all the projects Dee Snider has been involved in over the years, the one shrouded in the most mystery was undoubtedly Desperado. First mentioned in heavy metal magazines circa the late ’80s, the group appeared to be a promising proposition, as it saw Snider team up with a pair of gentlemen renowned in the metal community — ex-Ian Gillan and Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Bernie Tormé and ex-Iron Maiden drummer Clive Burr — with bassist Marc Russell rounding out the quartet. The group had an album ready and raring to go (going as far as having a release date set for May of 1990, and an album title of Bloodied, But Unbowed), but at the 11th hour, the debut was shelved, and the group soon after went the way of the dodo. The album, now under its original title, Ace, has finally seen the light of day 16 years later via the Deadline/Cleopatra label. Upon hearing the music, it quickly becomes apparent that Snider made a conscious effort to eschew the anthemic rock of Twisted Sister in favor of more straight-ahead metal, as evidenced by such tracks as “Gone Bad” and “The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter.” But it appears that Ace would have fit in more with the metal landscape a few years earlier than its projected original release date (an era that saw metal’s old guard quickly losing their standing to such bands as Jane’s Addiction, Soundgarden, and Faith No More, with Nirvana waiting on deck). Regardless, the music on Ace is just as worthy as the majority of stuff that was being spun on Headbangers Ball and featured in Rip magazine from around that time.
In 1991. Dee fights back by forming his most brutal band yet, Widowmaker. Along with Desperado bassist Mark Russel, Dee enlisted the sonic battle-skills of guitar maestro Al Pitrelli (formerly with Alice Cooper) and drummer Joey Franco (who played on Twisted’s last album). With mainstream gone “alternative,” Widowmaker has kept to the independent route to avoid being forced to compromise their artistic vision. Even with poor distribution and virtually no promotion or air-play, they’ve still forged out a dedicated fan-base of modern rockers.
We wanna ROCK! Join Twisted Sister frontman and legendary hard rock icon Dee Snider every week for a two-hour ride into headbangin’ heaven! Bang your head with your fellow metalheads and The House of Hair on 200 stations nationwide.
For more on Dee go to www.deesnider.com
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