SEBASTIAN BACH To Front TWISTED SISTER For 'A Handful Of Select Dates This Fall'
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TWISTED SISTER members Jay Jay French and Eddie Ojeda have announced that former SKID ROW singer Sebastian Bach will front the band for a handful of select dates this fall. These appearances do not affect or conflict with Sebastian's current or future solo touring schedule, which remains fully intact.
On February 5, TWISTED SISTER announced it had scrapped its 2026 reunion shows after singer Dee Snider resigned, citing health issues. The band posted on social media that Dee's "sudden and unexpected resignation" forced the group to cancel all dates starting in April through the beginning of the summer.
Snider discussed the prospect of somebody stepping in for him as TWISTED SISTER's lead singer during a recent episode of the "Beardo & Weirdo" podcast, hosted by FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH bassist Chris Kael and comedian Craig Gass. Asked if he thought TWISTED SISTER could carry on without him, Dee said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I hope so. I believe there's gotta be somebody out there who can kick ass."
Asked if he had anybody in mind that he would recommend to take that role, Dee said: "All right. Okay. Back it up. Back it up. So cut back to, we're still reunited — it's, like, 2014, something like that, and we only do, like, 20 shows a year, and they're headlining festivals, whatever. And we realized that if somebody got sick or had a problem at home and they couldn't do a show, it would be a great loss since it was one of 20 shows for the year. So we said, 'Listen, let's all find a stand-in guy who will do the job in case we can't make a show.' I was trying to get someone to replace me, in case we can't make a show. I was trying to get someone to replace me, and nobody would take the job. And I called him Sebastian Bach. I was, like, dude, 'Will you be the fill-in?' And he goes, 'No way.' I'm like, 'What do you mean no way?' 'Dude, that's a thankless job. No, I'm not standing in for you. Never.' I'm, like, you're my student. You studied me. You're a great singer. You can do it. People will love it.' 'Nah, nah, no way.' So him, Michael Monroe from HANOI ROCKS. No way. I hear rumors that the band is actually trying to find someone, and I say, God bless 'em."
After Gass noted that he has heard that TWISTED SISTER was rehearsing with one of the singers that were already mentioned by Dee in his previous response, an apparent reference to Bach, Snider said: "Yeah, I know there's been rehearsals with him. And he hasn't reached out to me. I think he knows he has my blessing. And I would never begrudge anybody continuing to rock."
TWISTED SISTER's 2026 shows were supposed to feature the band's three core members: Snider, along with guitarists Jay Jay French and Eddie Ojeda. Bassist Mark "The Animal" Mendoza was not going to be joining the celebration. Russell Pzütto, who has toured with Snider's solo projects, was slated to replace Mendoza on bass. Joe Franco, who briefly played with the group in the mid-1980s, was supposed to sit behind the drum kit, stepping in for A.J. Pero, who passed away in 2015 at the age of 55.
On February 7, Jay Jay shared a video message on social media commemorating the 50th anniversary of Dee joining TWISTED SISTER. He said: "Today is the actual 50th anniversary of the day that Dee auditioned in the band. 1976. Here's the diary entry. 'Danny Snider' — he wasn't Dee yet — 'auditions for TWISTED SISTER', February 7th, 1976.
"For the last 50 years, me and [TWISTED SISTER guitarist] Eddie [Ojeda] have stood side by side with Dee, not with hundreds of shows, but with thousands of shows.
"You know the cliché in sports, when a great sportsman retires, they say he left it on the field," Jay Jay continued. "Well, I can tell you when it comes to Dee, he left it on the stage. He gave everything his all, and his body is now telling him, 'I can't give you anymore.' And when someone tells you that, you have to accept it and you have to move on. So please understand this was a tough decision, but we had no other choice but to cancel these dates.
"As far as the future of TWISTED SISTER is concerned, Eddie Ojeda and I will have conversations in the next couple of weeks to discuss what, if any, options exist for us to continue.
"Until then, just know that the SMFs [an abbreviation for 'Sick Mother Fucker', which is what TWISTED SISTER fans are affectionately called] around the world are the thing that kept us alive and kept us going, and we love you guys and we will do everything we can to always live up to your expectations as fans, 'cause nobody understands fandom more than us. We appreciate everything that you've ever done for us and hopefully we'll see you again in the future. Thank you."
In a separate announcement on February 5, the 70-year-old Snider revealed that he had been diagnosed with degenerative arthritis and had undergone several surgeries for the condition "just to keep going, able to only perform a few songs at a time in pain."
"A lifetime of legendarily aggressive performing has taken its toll on Dee Snider's body and soul," the statement read. "Adding insult to injury, Dee has recently found out the level of intensity he has dedicated to his life's work has taken its toll on his heart as well. He can no longer push the boundaries of rock 'n' roll fury like he has done for decades."
Snider added that he doesn't "know of any other way to rock.
"The idea of slowing down is unacceptable to me. I'd rather walk away than be a shadow of my former self," he said.
"In the immortal words of Dirty Harry, 'A man's got to know his limitations.' Sadly, Dee Snider now knows his," the statement concluded.
Three years ago, TWISTED SISTER staged a one-off reunion at the Metal Hall Of Fame in Agoura Hills, California. On hand to be inducted into the Metal Hall Of Fame were Snider, French, Mendoza and drummer Mike Portnoy. Ojeda was absent from the event after contracting COVID-19; filling in for him was Keith Robert War. TWISTED SISTER played a highly charged three-song set consisting of the staples "You Can't Stop Rock 'N' Roll" and "Under The Blade", as well as the anthem "We're Not Gonna To Take It".
TWISTED SISTER's original run ended in the late '80s. After more than a decade, the band publicly reunited in November 2001 to top the bill of New York Steel, a hard-rock benefit concert to raise money for the New York Police And Fire Widows' And Children's Benefit Fund.
(Source: www.blabbermouth.net)
