For those of us who were impressionable teens in the 80's, nothing had more of an affect on us at the time than the epic
album released by Twisted Sister in 1984, 'Stay Hungry.' I'll never forget the first time I saw the video for 'We're Not
Gonna Take It' and the uproar that ensued among parents and politicians who called Twisted Sister and their music obscene.
Phrases like "I wanna rock" and "NO, we ain't gonna take it" became anthems in the early 80's for teens
everywhere. It is hard to believe it's been 25 years since 'Stay Hungry' was first released.
If someone would have told me back in 1984 that 25 years later I would be interviewing Twisted Sister lead vocalist Dee
Snider, I would have been blown away. Okay, so I'm still blown away that here in 2009 I was able to do just that. For anyone
who isn't a loyal fan and already well informed, Twisted Sister has had a long and illustrious career over the past 25 years,
continuing to perform worldwide and selling more than 10 million records. They have influenced too many rock artists to mention
here with their style, talent and complete disregard of the term "family friendly." Thank the rock gods for that.
When I first received the press release about the 25th Anniversary edition of 'Stay Hungry' I was more than pleased.
When I saw the track listing which included a brand new track by the original members and some unreleased recordings from
back in the day....that was just the icing on the cake. Twisted Sister paved the way for rock artists to take free expression
to the next level, and they continue to rock stages every chance they get.
Not long ago I sat down for an interview with Dee Snider, Twisted Sister's enigmatic frontman and talented actor/filmmaker.
As a music journalist you never know what you're gonna get from one interview to the next. I was very taken with the great
Dee Snider. He was humble, friendly, fun and in a word....brilliant. He shared with me all the details of the re-release
of 'Stay Hungry' as well as some insight into the upcoming sequel to 'Strangeland,' the cult horror classic that Dee wrote
and starred in. To listen to our interview in its entirety, click the link below.
