Few people need no introduction but I think I can safely say that Dee Snider needs no disclaimer about needing no introduction… Back in the early eighties he and Twisted Sister roared into the UK after years of being huge in and around New York and in the blink of an eye were everywhere. Twisted Sister may have hung up the boots but Dee is showing no signs of slowing down and is coming Down-under to visit us for two unique experiences with his ‘spoken’ and ‘shouted’ nights in Melbourne and Sydney. Did we mention his kids TV show? No? You better read on then…
Dee: This is Dee how are you?
Mark: I’m great thank you Sir. Thank you so much for talking to The Rockpit today you’re a pretty busy man at the moment?
Dee: Mark if there was any more happening I’d be twins! I’m loving life and blessed for all that’s going on in my career these days.
Mark: That’s great and you are finally coming to Australia!
Dee: It’s long, long, long overdue! It’s interesting to observe that the last time I was there was at the height of Twisted Sister’s career, and now here I am returning as the reboot of me as a solo artist with an album that’s really connected to the metal community, so, on a certain level I’m very excited about that.
Mark: It has gone down very well, and you’ve got two very different evenings for rock fans in Sydney and Melbourne as well, tell us a little bit about the “Spoken and Shouted” concept, it sounds like two great nights out!
Dee: I have to give credit to the promoter for coming up with the idea, but, I love it because as the title of my memoirs says “Shut Up and Give Me the Mic”, I’m comfortable behind the microphone in any capacity. I’ve been doing 25 years of radio now, talk show and satellite and syndicated, and so I’m one of these personalities that has got a lot to say in a both a live situation and in conversation so to speak. It’ll give me a unique opportunity to reconnect with an audience, as well as being a musician.
Mark: Sounds great! You’ll be playing one night with a band, and the other night people will have a chance to ask you questions after you’ve been interviewed. Are there any topics that will be out of bounds??
Dee: Never!! That’s not to say I’ll answer everything, but I’m really good at avoiding questions like the best politicians, you know! You might ask one question and they answer something completely different (laughs)
Mark: Yeah, we’ll know when that happens now then! (laughs)
Dee: But I do have to say it’s rare! I’m known for being pretty outspoken and straight forward, and fearless, you know, what’s the worst that can happen?!!
Mark: Yeah, exactly!
Dee: I think I’ve experienced the worst of it!
Mark: Yeah, I think you’ve already done that when you were talking to Congress, that’s probably the worst that can happen, isn’t it??
Dee: Yeah, over time I’ve done things that wouldn’t necessarily be the most popular thing to do! Back then when I did that there was this big reaction from certain parts of the rock community who were disappointed in me because I didn’t drink or do drugs and they we’re like “You’re not a rocker” – what you talking about? You’re telling me there’s rules to being a rocker??!! There was some rejection at that point, and over the years I became accepted as being “that guy” who does what he wants to do. And I put out a record called “Dee Does Broadway” and I don’t think anybody battered an eye!! “That’s Dee for ya he does some crazy things!!”
Mark: That’s fantastic! You’ve had a wonderful career so far, and it’s good to see that you’re enjoying yourself so much. Is there anything still on that bucket list that you really want to do, but have never had the opportunity to do?
Dee: No, I’ve been thinking about that for a while, but something comes along like, case in point, a couple of years ago I got a call from a Broadway producer that I knew who said hey, do you wanna do a children’s animated show, that parents will want to kill themselves when they watch!! My wife said “you wanna do a children’s show?”, and I’d never thought about it until he called, and we created a show, that I can’t really get into right now, and it’s in pre-production right now. I promise you it ain’t The Wiggles!! I promise you that!!
Mark: It sounds good, hopefully we’ll get back to that great children’s TV that we used to have in the 60’s and 70’s!!
Dee: Yes, the point being that I get these opportunities and sometimes and without really thinking about it I find myself saying “You know what I’ll try that”!
Mark: Sounds a bit like me! Twisted Sister, a magnificent band, I was lucky enough to catch you in that first wave, back in the early eighties, then again many years later. You were a band, I guess, that struggled for recognition nationally for a number of years, except in your home of New York, but it was the UK that really took to you first. What are your memories of those really early days when you first headed across the Atlantic?
Dee: There’s a great documentary we put out called “We Are Twisted Fucking Sister!”, and it is about the fact that the band existed for 10 years before the world discovered us!! That is a long time to dedicate your time to what is your passion, no matter how passionate you are!! At some point maybe after year 6 or 7 you kind of start going maybe I shouldn’t really be doing this!! But, we kept going, and against all odds we succeeded. In New York we were sort of this local phenomenon, playing to mountains of fans every night without a record deal, we never believed we’d go to England and make our mark, and to see that acceptance it was just heart-warming, honestly, because we had this fear in us that maybe we were just a New York phenomenon. Maybe this was something that wasn’t going to work anywhere but New York, maybe that was the reality of it, but then to go to England and get that kind of reception, it showed we could connect with any metal audience if we took our chance.
Mark: I remember seeing you on a UK TV show called The Tube, and it just blew me away, with the guys from Motorhead there as well!
Dee: That was the one, Man!! That was the one, we already had the “Under the Blade” record out, and we did a couple of shows, but that was the TV appearance that just broke us through and got us a deal with Atlantic records.
Mark: I get the feeling you would have never given up, you seem like a person who is incredibly driven. Where does that come from?
Dee: I guess it comes from being told you can’t! My wife, for whatever reason she told me you can, and you can! I was told pretty much everything you want to do, you can, and at some point it’s a case of not accepting whatever path has been defined for me, by birth, by anything whether it’s economic or physical appearance or whatever, I just can’t accept what I’m being told is the way it has to be. My father would tell me, get a civil service job, sell insurance, and maybe put on a suit, but no, I’m not going to sell insurance, even if you sold insurance. But just hearing ‘no’ so many times, I don’t know, just something somewhere snapped!
Mark: It’s that grim determination! You’re obviously not going to reveal the set list for us, but we’ve had a number of people who when we said we were talking to you today, asked about your older projects like Widowmaker and Desperado, are any of those songs going to make it into the set? Or is it songs from the new album and some Twisted Sister classics?
Dee: You know, I’ve got to play the Twisted classics! But I’m really focused on the new album, it’s the first record that I’ve had since Twisted that has actually connected with the audience, and people are excited about, but that said, I have to play some Widowmaker things, there are a set of people, diehard fans, who have been supportive of that project. Desperado was never even released until I think 30 years after it was recorded, it was just in the vault, I couldn’t get it out, and then finally the label just let it go, any energy it might have had had all gone and they knew it. Someone once told me when they shelve record and they won’t let you have it for release, the fear is if Dee Snider had success with the record after they shelve it, it can destroy careers. If you’re the kind of artist that might somehow be able to make something successful even after they killed it that will destroy careers. I mean I know guys who lost their jobs because they passed on Twisted Sister: “Are you kidding me? You said no to this?” So a bit of Desperado, I have been playing some Widowmaker, Twisted of course and stuff from the new record.
Mark: Take it all the way back for us now Dee if you can, what was it that got you into the crazy world of music in the first place? Was it a blinding moment of clarity or a gradual realisation that this was for you?
Dee: No it was a defining moment. I’m the oldest of six kids and also I was the first-born Grandchild and Nephew on both sides of my parent’s families so there was a moment when for about ten months when I was the Golden Child, when they held me up before the other animals (does an impressive Lion King impression) and I was worshipped. Nd then all of my parent’s siblings started having children like it was a fucking competition! And I just know that having had all of that attention I was desperate to get it back and I couldn’t figure out how until I heard about the Beatles. They were performing the Ed Sullivan show here in the States and I didn’t see it as my father had banned television in our house but I came to the bus stop and everybody was like buzzing and saying oh my God did you see the Beatles? And they had to explain to me they were a rock band and then they said three little words “Everybody was screaming” And the minute I heard those words I said to Russell Lieberman “I’m going to be a Beatle” I was eight years old. Whatever that is, when everyone’s screaming and got their attention – I want to do that. And from that point on eight or nine I was just saying “I want to be a rock star, I want to be a rock star.” It’s funny and then when you’re in High School all of a sudden it became very stupid, I was working on a loading dock in a warehouse and still saying “I’m gonna be a rock star” and people would laugh and say “He’s gonna be a rock star”. But yes it was just that one moment and that was it.
Mark: It’s incredible what the Beatles did, there are so many people that I talk to for whom that was the moment, such a huge wake up call.
Dee: Yeah, yeah, well people of a certain age of course it was a defining moment. That one moment launched so many rock careers and rock bands, and this is just a conversation now between two music fans, but I think the only other band that I think stirred that many people with their art was Kiss, though for them there was no one defining moment. But you hear so many musicians from Tom Morello, to the guys in Skid Row and the guys in Motley Crue, of a certain age again, of those that I interview so many will say Kiss was the band that made them want to be a rock star.
Mark: I just feel we’ll never have that again. Everything is so diluted these days, though there’s still some great music no one will ever be that huge.
Dee: Well I don’t think Rock and Roll is dead by any means, I agree there’s amazing music out there and some great talent, but the Rock Star per se might be on the way out. And that’s something that came about because you had television exposure and you had radio exposure that made you massive. So even if you weren’t a fan of the Beatles you were subjected to them on this variety show that everyone watched. Now with target marketing only if you’re interested in certain things will you hear about a band now. If you’re interested in that type of sound the algorithm will decide if you’re going to be notified about a new album. And as long as that’s the way it works and it’s that selective then you can’t have that whole rock Star larger-than-life phenomenon that we used to enjoy.
Mark: That’s right technology is just dividing us, tagging us and grouping us and destroying that real sense of community that music used to bring.
Dee: Yeah, Yeah, as much as we’re gaining on one side we’re losing so much on the other side.
But I love the passion of young bands, that whole “Fuck you, I’ve got nothing to lose” attitude. “I’ve got nothing so you can’t take it from me.” There’s just something so beautiful about that, and I go to a lot of shows and I see it, but there’s a sadness in that as well because they don’t expect to become famous, though in their world they might be, they don’t expect to become wealthy, but they’ve gotta do it because they love it. And that’s the beauty of it, they still do it despite making no money, despite getting no fame, they still get together as a band, and they do it, and it’s beautiful, but sad at the same time.
Mark: It is, and I guess that’s the true artist you believe you put your heart and soul into it and it doesn’t matter what the reward is at the end, it’s just something you gotta do.
Dee: It shouldn’t, it shouldn’t Mark. You and I could talk about this all night it’s one of my passions. When I started I never wanted to be a rich and famous rocker, I remember my father laughed and said you make like 17c an hour! (laughs) Think of all the time you put in. I said Dad I would do it for nothing! I love it and that’s the truth.
Mark: Sadly Dee I think our time is almost up. If we can end with an easy one – what is the meaning of life?
Dee: (pause) what is the meaning of life? (long thoughtful pause) It must be Rock! We’re here to live and we’re here to enjoy and explore but we’re here to Rock most of all.
Mark: And on that note thank you so much for time today Dee and see you when you get over.
Dee: Thank you Mark, look forward to meeting you man.
GET OUT THERE AND BOOK TO SEE THESE SPECIAL SHOWS
Ticket link is here: https://hardlinemedia.net/current
Thursday, 31st January – Sydney – Manning – SPOKEN
Friday, 1st February – Sydney – Manning – SHOUTED!
Saturday, 2nd February – Melbourne – Croxton – SHOUTED!
Sunday, 3rd February – Melbourne – Croxton – SPOKEN
