Dee Snider

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Dee Snider

Background information
Birth name Daniel Dee Snider
Born March 15, 1955 (1955-03-15) (age 54)
Astoria, New York
Genre(s) Heavy metal
Glam metal
Shock rock,hard rock,glam rock
Occupation(s) Musician, Songwriter, Actor, Radio Personality, Television Personality, Voice Over Artist, screenplay writer, March of Dimes, Bikers for Babies, National Spokesperson
Instrument(s) Vocals
Years active 1974–Present
Associated acts Twisted Sister
Desperado
Widowmaker
S.M.F.'s (Sick Mother Fuckers), Van Helsing's Curse
Website http://www.deesnider.com
http://www.twistedsister.com

David Daniel "Dee" Snider (born March 15, 1955) is an American singer-songwriter, screenwriter, radio personality, and actor. Snider is most famous for his role as the frontman of the heavy metal band Twisted Sister. He was ranked 83 in the Hit Parader's Top 100 Metal Vocalist of All Time.[1]

Contents

[edit] Early life

Born in Astoria, New York, Snider grew up in nearby Baldwin and graduated from Baldwin High School in 1973.[2] As a child he sang in a church choir, several school choruses, and Baldwin HS Concert Choir. He also was selected for the All State Chorus by singing.[3]

[edit] Career

[edit] 1970s-1980s

In early 1976, Snider joined the recently formed Twisted Sister and became the sole songwriter of the band thereafter. The group released their first studio album, Under the Blade, in September 1982 and developed a following in the UK. Less than a year later, Twisted Sister released their sophomore effort, You Can't Stop Rock 'n' Roll. Their third album, Stay Hungry, hit shelves on May 10, 1984. This would become the band's most successful record with the hits "Were Not Gonna Take It" and "I Wanna Rock."

During the mid 1980s, before the premiere of Headbangers Ball, the first MTV program to consist entirely of heavy metal videos was Heavy Metal Mania. The first episode aired in June 1985 and was hosted by Dee Snider. It featured metal news, interviews with metal artists, and in-studio co-hosts. That same year in November, Twisted Sister released Come Out and Play which sold over 500,000 copies but was marred by a poor concert tour.

In 1985, a Senate hearing was instigated by the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC), who wanted to introduce a parental warning system that would label all albums containing offensive material. The system was to include letters identifying the type of objectionable content to be found in each album (e.g. O for occult themes, S for sex, D for drugs, V for violence, etc). Dee Snider, John Denver, and Frank Zappa all testified against censorship and the proposed warning system. Such a system was never implemented, but the result of the trial brought about what is now the generic "Parental Advisory: Explicit Content" label.

The PMRC was initially formed by the wives of Washington DC power brokers Al Gore (D-TN, Senate) and Secretary of State James Baker. Tipper Gore in particular became the face of the PMRC and a public foil for Snider in the hearings. Ironically, in the 2000 US Presidential Election cycle, Snider endorsed Vice President Gore for office. Public statements at the time (as noted in a July 2000 Reason article) have Snider justifying the decision based on Gore's environmental stance; however, other comments attributed to Snider quote him as saying he was backing the obvious winner[citation needed].

A fifth Twisted Sister album would be made in 1987's Love Is for Suckers. The record was originally planned to be a Dee Snider solo effort, but Atlantic Records encouraged a release under the Twisted Sister name. Touring lasted only into October that year and on the 12th of that month, Snider announced his departure from the band. It was during this time that Snider formed Desperado, a band featuring ex-Iron Maiden drummer Clive Burr, ex-Gillan guitarist Bernie Torme, and bassist Marc Russel.[4] The group's only album, Ace, has never been officially released but was heavily bootlegged on CD under the title Bloodied But Unbowed.

[edit] 1990s

In the 1990s, Snider formed Widowmaker with Joe Franco, a good friend to Twisted Sister and drummer on the Love Is For Suckers, as well as Al Pitrelli and Marc Russel. The quartet recorded two albums with limited underground success, titled Blood and Bullets and Stand By For Pain. In the late 1990s, Snider toured with a "self-tribute" band called Dee Snider's SMFs (Sick Mother Fuckers), sometimes featuring ex-Twisted Sister drummer A.J. Pero. The usual line up included Dee Snider, Derek Tailer, Charlie Mills, Keith Alexander, and Spike.

In 1997, Dee Snider began hosting the House of Hair, a syndicated 1980s hard rock/heavy metal radio show that airs on over 200 radio stations across North America. It is syndicated by the United Stations Radio Networks. The show's format runs two hours and features Snider's closing catchphrase, "If it ain't metal, it's crap!"

In 1988, Snider had penned a song entitled "The Magic of Christmas Day (God Bless Us Everyone)" which would be recorded in 1998 by Celine Dion for her album These Are Special Times. According to Snider, Dion at the time was not aware of who wrote the song. Later that year, he also wrote and starred in the horror film Strangeland. Snider has also penned the script to a sequel which has the working title of Strangeland: Disciple. As of January 2008, however, Snider was less than optimistic that it would ever see the light of day, saying in an interview with Bullz-Eye.com that he had reached a point where he should "put a sign on my website that says, 'Y’got ten million dollars? Give me a call. I’ve got the script ready to go, Robert Englund’s attached, I’m attached. If somebody’s serious and wants to make it, call me. But don’t call me ‘til you’re ready to hand the check over.'” In May 2009, Dee Snider revealed on his radio show,"The House Of Hair," that Strangeland: Disciple will go ahead and is set to begin shooting in the fall of 2009 and is slated for a 2010 release.

[edit] 2000s-present

From June 1999 to August 2002, Snider hosted a morning radio show on a Hartford, Connecticut Clear Channel station, Radio 104 (104.1 FM WMRQ), called Dee Snider Radio. His show returned to the air at night in August 2004 on 93.3 WMMR in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania until June 2005. He fondly referred to his listeners as his "Peeps," and "DEE" euro stickers, printed by the station, could be seen on the bumpers of his fans' cars throughout Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, and Massachusetts. Other members of the morning show included Nick Lentino, Beth Lockwood, "Psycho Dan" Williams, Sean Robbins, and "Darkside Dave" Wallace. He frequently featured high-profile guests, including Ozzy Osbourne, pro wrestler Mick Foley, and KISS singer/bassist Gene Simmons.

In 2001, Snider was the voice of Gol Acheron, the main villain for the PlayStation 2 video game Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy. The following year, he rejoined with the reunited Twisted Sister. Snider also played himself in the 2002 TV-movie Warning: Parental Advisory. In 2003, he appeared with actor Arnold Schwarzenegger during his drive to recall incumbent California Governor Gray Davis. Snider sang the Twisted Sister hit, "We're Not Gonna Take It," which was adopted by the Schwarzenegger campaign.

Snider narrates many shows and specials on VH1, movie trailers, behind the scenes segments, and DVD special features. He was featured as the 'voice' in the bumpers for MSNBC's 2001/2002 "Fiercely Independent" branding campaign. Every year since 2004, Snider has narrated a live show known as Van Helsing's Curse which tours the US around Halloween giving a mix of famous music with dark overtones and an occasional part of a storytelling to accompany the music. The concert has also been released on CD.

Dee Snider at the 2005 Sturgis Motorcycle Rally

Snider returned to radio in June 2006 with Fangoria Radio on Sirius Satellite Radio channel 102 from 9-12 Eastern.

During winter of 2008, Snider was featured as a contestant on CMT's Gone Country. The show recruited famous musical celebrities who competed against each other to win a chance to release a country song. Also in 2008, Snider appeared on the first episode of season two's Kitchen Nightmares who Gordon Ramsay had recruited as part of the marketing for the re-launch of the Handlebar restaurant. On the show, Snider donated a motorcycle for auction in which customers of the Handlebar were able to bid on through the Handlebar restaurants website.

Dee hosts DEAD ART on Gallery HD, a show about the beauty and art of cemeteries.

Snider has made appearances on the IFC Channel's original series Z-Rock as himself playing the character of a "rock guru."

[edit] Personal life

Snider has been married to his wife Suzette, a costume designer, since 1981. They have four children, Jesse, Shane, Cody Blue, and Cheyenne Jean. His son Jesse hosted MTV2 Rock, a music video countdown program in 2003, and was the runner-up in MTV's 2008 show Rock the Cradle. Dee appeared on the show as Jesse's mentor. Jesse is also the lead singer of the punk metal band Baptized by Fire. In 2003, Snider's brother-in-law, Vincent Gargiulo, was murdered.[5]

Snider currently lives part-time in Long Island, New York. He appeared on MTV Cribs to show his New York home, along with two of his four children, Shane and Cheyenne.

Snider is a personal friend of professional wrestler Mick Foley.

Snider is a fan of the post-hardcore band Escape the Fate.

Snider's Cousin Joe "dogg" Snider (frontman for the metal band Tears of the Dying) just signed a 15 month record deal with Deka Records of London,UK in April 2009.

In conjunction with the 30th anniversary of Star Wars in 2007, Snider was interviewed by Maul Stanley about his appreciation of the original Star Wars trilogy.[6]

[edit] Projects

[edit] Bands

[edit] Books

[edit] Solo albums

Never Let the Bastards Wear You Down, 2000

[edit] Guest appearances

[edit] Filmography

[edit] Other Appearances In Media


[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.hearya.com/2006/12/04/hit-paraders-top-100-metal-vocalists-of-all-time/
  2. ^ Sounding Off in Suburbia
  3. ^ Dee Snider: 'I went for an outrageous form of expressing myself.'
  4. ^ "About Desperado". www.deesnider.com. http://www.deesnider.com/index.php/component/content/article/77-main-page/16-about-desperado. Retrieved on 2009-04-12. 
  5. ^ http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1110ap_gym_owner_homicides.html
  6. ^ "Maul Stanley Talks Star Wars with Dee Snider". MaulStanley.com. http://www.maulstanley.com/interviews/snider.htm. Retrieved on 2008-09-23. 
v • d • e
Twisted Sister
Dee Snider · Eddie "Fingers" Ojeda · Jay Jay French · Mark "The Animal" Mendoza · A. J. Pero
Band members
Studio albums
Live albums &
compilations
Big Hits and Nasty Cuts • Live at Hammersmith • Club Daze Volume 1: The Studio Sessions • We're Not Gonna Take It • Club Daze Volume II: Live in the Bars • The Essentials • Live and Wacken: The Reunion • A Twisted Christmas - Live
Singles
"Under the Blade" • "Day of the Rocker" • "Sin After Sin" • "We're Not Gonna Take It" • "I Wanna Rock" • "The Price" • "Leader of the Pack" • "Be Chrool to Your Scuel" • "You Want What We Got" • "Hot Love" • "Wake Up" • "One Bad Habit" • "White Christmas" • "Silver Bells" • "Deck the Halls"
Other
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