TWISTED MUTHA FUCKING SISTER

Two of the hottest topics among Twisted Sister fans worldwide are their breakup and the possibility of a reunion. I was fortunate enough to interview JayJay French, A.J. Pero, Dee Snider, and Eddie "Fingers" Ojeda to get answers to just these questions .and a few more...

The questions that were of paramount importance here numbered few. One, why did Twisted breakup. Two, what's the take on the Twisted reunion. Three, and my personal favorite for the laughs that it got, what's the most Spinal Tappish thing that ever happened to Twisted Sister? I got answers...and more. To quote Spinal Tap, "But enough of my yappin'. Let's boogie!"

Twisted Sister was a band originally conceived by guitarist JayJay French in the New York area, drawing heavily on the flashy attraction of psychedelic/glam bands of the time. After Dee Snider, A.J Pero, Mark "The Animal" Mendoza, and Eddie "Fingers" Ojeda added their individual strengths, this nucleus embarked on a journey that would last almost a decade. But this is where the problems began in a sense.

According to Twisted frontman, Dee Snider, the problems began early in the lineup's existence. According to him the major influence that led to the disbanding of Twisted Sister had to do with management's attitude towards conflict resolution...or the lack thereof. "We had a manager that...didn't like to solve problems...but rather make a quick fix. He created a situation where we would never confront each other with problems, but we would go to him and say `I've had it with JayJay' or `I've had it with Mark' and he'd say `I'll talk to him'. And he'd go to Jay. He wouldn't say what I said, he would...figure out where the rub was and, instead of solving the problem, he might change room assignments. The problem wouldn't go away, but it wasn't surfacing anymore. This went on for years. Instead of solving the problems, he would smooth them over...put a band-aid on it." The problems then became cancerous, ignored by everyone, management thinking that the problem had gone away. With a seemingly unavoidable reunion coming, Snider has said to me in the past that he would like to first see the band do a small tour of the Upper Northeast and then maybe do some soundtrack material, and then, if things work as hoped, consider going into the studio for a full length release.

Original founding member JayJay French has a slightly different take on the whole "breakup" issue. According to French, the band "never officially broke up...Ten years ago, Twisted just stopped playing together." He points out that although the band stopped performing together, albums were still being released in the form of a greatest hits package ("Big Hits and Nasty Cuts") and a live album ("Live at Hammersmith"). French says that there was no "official" report of a breakup, which leads us to his take on a reunion.

How do you have a reunion if you never broke up in the first place? According to French, this would mean that the band would "simply, just start playing together again". But the trek back to playing together may not be a fast one. "Before I get reunited musically, I have to be reunited on a friendship level. If we can be friends, but can't play together, then that's how it will be...if friendship is all we get out of it, then that's fine with me. I have no plans, there are no plans, I have made no plans, we have made no plans, there's no date, concepts, nothing. I used to say I would never do it...I no longer say that it will never happen." During the years subsequent to Twisted's breakup, a major rift had developed between French and Snider, but, acting as true gentlemen and friends, the two sat down and, "just talked for eight straight hours," says Snider, "clearing up old misunderstandings and problems."

Guitarist Eddie "Fingers" Ojeda echoes French's attitude about the demise of Twisted. When I asked what led to Twisted stopping playing together, he laughed and said, "I think when Dee left the band!" When asked if there was any thought to bringing in another singer, Eddie replied with an eloquent, precise "no". Ojeda believes that if another singer would have been brought in, the chemistry wouldn't have been there, so the band would have suffered. As far as a reunion is concerned, he says, "I'm all for it...Now with the resurgence of 80s bands, now's the time for it...I'd like to do what KISS is doing...I'd rather go out and see if there is real interest in it. If there is, then we'll decide something recording-wise." Ojeda is also in line with French's attitude towards the circumstances surrounding a Twisted get-together. "Yeah, I agree. You gotta rekindle, you gotta like each other."

Drummer A.J. Pero left Twisted Sister following the "Come Out and Play" tour to following a slightly different musical direction. Feeling a bit constrained by the simple rhythms of popular 80s metal music, he left to be able to explore the more complex rhythmic architectures of progressive metal, similar to bands such as Fates Warning. But, general consensus is that if there was a Twisted Sister "reunion", A.J. would be the drummer. This is because Joey "Seven" Franco, who replaced Pero for the "Love Is For Suckers" album and resulting tour, was only on one Twisted endeavor. One Twisted member said that "Joey would understand that." He understands that A.J. was the drummer that worked for the meteoric rise to fame of Twisted and would gladly step aside in reverence. "What I'd really, really, really like to do that would make my century would be to get Twisted back together again to do a reunion tour. If this thing is going to happen with all these other bands, why not us? We were a part of that whole 80s generation and if we're going to...not come out and the people that were fans that didn't see us, we're going to take away a part of their lives. I run into people all the time...that were 12 or 13 back then and their 23, 24 now...To deprive people...from seeing the band I think is a travesty. It would really make my year to get these guys to do it. I can't tell ya if we are or if we're not, but I'll tell you I'm trying my best to make it happen. If it happens, it happens."

So, as of this point, all members of Twisted Sister (aside from bassist Mark "The Animal" Mendoza, who was not available for comment) seem to be all for a new performance, a new reckoning of an 80s band. Snider, Ojeda, Pero, and French all agree that everyone has a life in the now, and that that life is the priority, but if time and circumstances are on their side, there WILL be a treat in store for all SMFFs of TS.

As was said earlier, I got more than just the answers to whether or not there would be a reunion. My favorite moment of these interviews was getting to ask, "What was the most Spinal-Tappish thing to happen to Twisted Sister?" The answers were as varied as the men that I asked. The rundown...

For JayJay, it came with the debut of "I Am, I'm Me" on British radio. After the record had been ushered to the radio station, the band gathered around the radio, waiting to hear their new ticket to notoriety. With much enthusiasm, the disc jockey introduced the record and it was played, alright...at 45rpm, instead of 33. Twisted Sister's ticket to stardom "sounded like Alvin and the Chipmunks," says French. JayJay insisted that the entire life of Twisted was like a Spinal Tap movie though. Due to the number of broken promises by promoters, label execs, etc., "we thought that when we heard that the guys was coming to hear us over Christmas week, that the plane he was flying would crash. If he made it to New York, he would die in a car crash on the way to the arena. If he actually made it to the arena, the light truss would fall on the band. If the truss didn't fall on the band, we would suck. If we didn't suck, he'd fall down the stairs congratulating us. If he congratulated us and signed us, he'd die on the way to the airport. If that didn't happen, an IRA bomb would blow up and kill him on the way home." Needless to say, this didn't happen, but because of the patchwork of promises and possibilities made to the band, they were cynical enoug to think that it would happen.

Eddie Ojeda says, "One time, I was getting ready to come up to the mic to sing and I'm looking down at my guitar and all of a sudden Dee goes flying by me on his back like somebody on a snowsled...and goes crashing off the side...into the wings. It wa a very hot night...and there was just this stream of sweat...you couldn't jump in a shower and get that wet!"

Drummer A.J. Pero has a more culinary memory. "There weren't really any disasters having to do with stage except for the Reading Festival when we got so much shit thrown onstage, I could turn my cymbal down and make a tossed salad. Between eggs, and peaches and bottles of piss and stuff like that...Until Dee, pulled out the uzi during 'Shoot 'Em Down'...no more shit go thrown up onstage."

Singer Dee Snider says, "We have clearly experienced the, 'Rock and roll!` and they're walking down the hall and can't find the door. The one for me was when we played this arena in the Midwest where there was an arena on one side and a theater on the other side. We hadn't gotten a sound check that day for some reason, so I didn't get to go to the stage. Time to go on, and the band goes on before me, and I'm all dressed and I'm all excited, in the manic mental state and I finally hear, 'Will you please welcome..` and I run out on my cue, burst out on the stage and it's an empty hall! I'm standin' out there and I hear the people screaming and I hear everything but there's no instruments, no people, nothin'. I'm totally confused. Roadie comes and grabs me and yells, 'It's on the OTHER side!'...you can't imagine what's going on in my head."

The future will certainly tell. A Twisted Sister reunion tour would fulfill the dreams of countless SMFs that never got to see Twisted in their glory days, myself included. But, as more than one member pointed out, these guys are living for today. If they get back together, it will not be just to try to recapture the past glory. It could be to set the stage for future Twisted music, future Twisted tours, and certainly, future Twisted fans

Update (2/15/99): I was able to go to the January 21st SMF show here in Dallas and spoke with both Dee and AJ about an upcoming reunion. AJ says that he and Dee are all for it and that Eddie and JayJay are still weighing the pros and cons of doing a tour. Dee, while onstage, told the crowd that Twisted might be getting back together and that, if they did, it would be with full makeup, costumes, stageshow, etc. Let's hope it happens.

My thanks to the men of Twisted Sister for their patience with my starstruck, stuttering speech in the beginning and their tireless answering of my questions, and to Deb Strada who sent me most of the pictures that are featured here.
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