Life after rock 'n' roll is good if you're Dee Snider

Tag : Twisted Roll

Making the transition from rock star to celebrity personalitywasn't part of the original plan for Dee Snider.
The blond-haired vocalist for '80s rock group Twisted Sister isbest known for the hit "We're Not Gonna Take It," a mantra for manyschool kids in the 1980s like Alice Cooper's "School's Out" was inthe '70s.
Snider's 15 minutes of fame just barely lasted the decade, though,leaving him high and dry with few options.
But Snider considers himself fortunate. His days as a rock starhelped him grow into a voice that commands the stage in manydifferent manners these days. Still brimming with passion, Sniderwill appear as a host/emcee for the Dow Bay City River Roarconcerts at Veterans Memorial Park on Saturday. You can bet he'slooking for a crowd.
"I'm not actually performing in the traditional sense where I dolike a whole set or anything," Snider said during a quick phoneinterview. "I'm going to be hosting some of the show and I'm goingto be doing a couple of songs, probably with Jackyl. It's more ofan appearance, getting up (and) jamming on a couple of Twistedsongs with the guys, do a little hosting, be a part of thefestivities."
For the past 15 years, Snider has found success in many differentforms. He wrote the screenplay for the movie "Strangeland," has anational FM broadcast show and has appeared in a few reality showsas of late.
"I've got my syndicated radio show - 'The House of Hair' - which isin its 11th year now (and) I've been doing a radio show on Siriussatellite radio - a weekly show called 'Fangoria Radio' that I'vebeen doing for the past couple of years," Snider said. "I do voiceover, I write screenplays, I do some acting, I had a TV show lastyear on the HD network called 'Dead Art' which I hosted visitingcemeteries all over the world and looking at the art and history.So we'll hopefully get a second season on that."
With so much activity in motion, Snider said he finds his personalmusic inspiration non-existent, leaving many Twisted Sister fanswondering if and when he'll ever front the group again.
"Doing radio, TV and stuff, I'm starting to become more of apersonality," laughed Snider. "I'm really not motivated to do musicanymore. I was interviewing Steve Miller and I sort of came to aconclusion that the difference between people like him and peoplelike me is that people like him wanted to be a musician. And peoplelike me wanted to be rock stars. Musicians want to play for thesake of playing. They don't care if it's a little bar or if it's abig coliseum. I just want to be on stage in front of tens ofthousands of people and I've kind of done that so I feel satisfied.So the celebrity thing, the appearance thing works for me."
It was a hard reality that put Snider's thought process in motionwhen the music died.
"Making a transition and waking up in the late '80s, early '90s andrealizing that your musical career was over was kind of a shock,"he said, laughing again. "So getting things going in radio, TV andmovies was a bit of a struggle. But now it started rolling and it'scool!"
Long-time fans need not worry, though - there is one week scheduledin his year to pay homage to his past by reuniting with TwistedSister.
"I'm proud of my past, you know," he said. "It's great that peoplewant to hear it. We play very rarely. This year we have seven(concerts) currently booked, I think, mostly festivals aroundEurope and Canada. I don't really feel the need to get out on theroad and keep doing it. If anything, I'd rather just step off andlet other bands have fun. Being on the road forever has no appealto me.
"The thing is, there is only 24 hours in the day. There's a finiteamount of performances to be had, a finite amount of air time onthe radio, but if the old bands don't get off the stage, where arethe young bands supposed to go? My son is an aspiring musician -you've got to make room for the new blood."
The transition has worked out. Snider has nothing but "busy"written on his upcoming schedule.
"I just did 'Rock the Cradle' for MTV with my son Jesse Blaze.Before that I did 'Gone Country' with CMT (and) we've got a coupleof other TV shows in development right now," he said. "I justfinished a screenplay called 'Killing Christmas' that's based on myfamily experiences over the last 15 years and I'm working on a newhorror film. I'm constantly working on new projects and newthings."
One of the highlights in his life has nothing to do with music.
"It hasn't been formally announced, but I work with the March ofDimes Bikers for Babies and I've just been named the nationalspokesperson for it, which is a real honor," he said.
"I've got a lot going on, but it's all good things and I feelblessed that I found life after rock 'n' roll. It was prettystartling to wake up in those early '90s and realize that my careerwas over and I had no exit strategy. I've been very lucky."