Sebastian Bach and Jay Jay French have spoken to Classic Rock about Twisted Sister's decision to hire the former Skid Row frontman as replacement for Dee Snider, who announced his retirement early this year.
Speaking in the new issue of Classic Rock, which is published today, Bach reveals that he flew to New York for two days of top-secret rehearsals before being offered the job, but both men were swiftly convinced.
"When I sing Twisted Sister music, I’m like a steamroller," Bach says. "I’m a beast. I’m out of control."
"The question was not whether Sebastian could do this, I knew that he could," adds French. "He was phenomenal. But because of a medical issue of my own, I hadn’t held a guitar next to my body for more than forty-five minutes in ten years. And it was all absolutely fine."
French also responds to the disappointment felt by fans at Snider's decision to retire after fronting the band from 1976 until their final tour show in 2016.
"Eddie [Ojeda, Twisted Sister guitarist] and I felt it ourselves,” says French. “We know that it brings up a lot of existential questions, such as should we even be doing this at all without Dee. We believe that if a band can move forward, then it should do so. Although, of course, the public is in command of whether or not it will be successful.
"But let me remind you, without Freddie Mercury nobody gave Queen a chance in hell, and the same with Journey minus Steve Perry or the David Lee Roth-less Van Halen, and look what happened there."
The new lineup of Twisted Sister will make their debut at the Borealis Theatre in Palmer, AK, on September 4. Full dates below – and more are expected to be confirmed.
To read the full interview, get the new issue of Classic Rock.
Twisted Sister tour dates
Sep 04: Palmer Borealis Theatre , AK
Sep 12: Durant Choctaw Grand Theatre, OK
Oct 08: Niagara Falls OLG Stage at Fallsview Casino, ON
Oct 10: Windsor The Colosseum at Caesars Windsor, ON
