DEE SNIDER EXPLAINS THAT HE WANTED TWISTED SISTER TO END “WHILE PEOPLE ARE STILL SMILING”
Singer Dee Snider was a guest on Eddie’s SiriusXM show, Trunk Nation, on August 17th. Excerpts from the interview appear below (as transcribed by blabbermouth.net).
Discussing why Twisted Sister decided to call it quits last year after their fortieth-anniversary tour:
“Basically, the level of intensity that I performed at with Twisted Sister, I had to stop while I could still deliver that before I could no longer deliver that. The headbanging, the thrashing, all that energy… Where Alice [Cooper] always seemed like a crotchety old dude, and he’s crawling around the stage, that works great for a 72-year-old dude now. But what I did does not work for a 62-year-old. I mean, it’s just too f–king hard to stay in the shape. Just to keep that going just got harder and harder. I said, ‘I wanna stop while people are still smiling and not looking at me saying, ‘Oh, remember when he was good?’
Everything I’m doing now, there’s no more headbanging involved. My neck just about had it. And with Twisted, I had to stop headbanging…At least I could say, ‘Hey, I’m doing some new things, I’m trying some new things, and I’m not… I’m not in Twisted Sister. I’m Dee Snider now.’ And people seem to be cool with it…”
Talking about how Twisted Sister’s reunion after the 9/11 tragedy was partly inspired by another legendary band that he saw a couple of years earlier:
“…before Twisted Sister reunited, I saw UFO, so that was, like, 2000, 1999 when Michael Schenker was with them. And I was like a freakin’ kid — I was fighting my way to the front; I felt like I was in high school again. They looked great, they played great. And I even followed them. I said [to my wife], ‘We’re gonna go to the next town to see ’em.’ And she said, ‘What are you, f–king sixteen?’ I had to go see the next show, because they made me… So when Twisted reunited, I said, ‘That’s how I want people to feel.’ I don’t want them to look up there and go,’ Damn! We’ve gotten old.'”
He added, “”I love the guys in Twisted — we’re still friends and we ended on a great note. And I love those guys and the legacy. And with the release of [the] We Are Twisted F***ing Sister! [documentary about the band’s early years], where people got to know the road, how hard we fought for where we got, I just felt it was a good time to end it.”
Dee Snider’ds solo album, We Are The Ones, was released last October through Red River Records.
. Discussing why Twisted Sister ... )
I think it was right to end TS, particularly after AJ’s death. Dee still looks and sounds great, but it was the correct call to end the TS run. I’ve enjoyed their “Roadrunner vs. Coyote” inspired videos and their music. IMO, some of their music and videos are a little cheesy, but TS was still a fun band. Had the privilege of seeing them twice back in the day. Great, fun shows. They looked outrageous in their costumes, but that was part of their gimmick that got your attention. My favorite song of theirs was “What You Don’t Know” off the Rough Cutts EP. Dee wore more makeup than most women and the guys in Poison, but he could do whatever he wanted cuz he could kick anybody’s ass! :o)
Rough Cutts is a compilation EP. “What you don’t know” is from their first album called “Under the Blade”.
I was really stoked when I heard there would be a final TS tour. Then I found out it was a European tour. That sucked.
Wasn’t a big fan of Twisted Sister. The whole drag queen look really sort of turned me off, so I could never get past that. I like a few of their older songs like “Under the Blade” and “You Can’t Stop Rock and Roll”, but I never thought they were a “premier” band. I’ve always thought Dee had a pretty good voice for hard rock, though. Based on my take of the band, I had no problem with them ending Twisted Sister.
I was never a big fan either. But I watched the ‘We are Twisted f’n Sister’ doc on Netflix recently and absolutely loved it. If you’ve ever got 90 mins to kill, I highly recommend it.
i was never a big fan of theirs ,i was not into the whole drag thing.i did like a few of there songs,and dee could sing thats for sure.hes a class act though.i did meet him a few times when they would play the old mothers in wayne nj.i lived around the corner,and before the show they would always hang out and eat at one of the local pizza joints there.he was always a gentlemen .i think he did the right thing going out when he did.unlike say kiss,where the once great voice of paul stanley in now a faded memory.
One of the worst bands in the history of rock….Dee is not even a mediocre writer, he’s just all out bad. Dee’s singing voice sounds like his speaking voice…..he’s not a great singer, he’s barely passable.