Twisted Sister guitarist Jay Jay French knows not everyone is sold on the idea of anyone but Dee Snider behind the microphone — and he’s fine letting the crowd be the judge. In a new interview with Tim Caple of “Rock ‘N’ Blues Experience“, French opened up about the decision to bring in Sebastian Bach to front the band for its fall 2026 shows, after Snider stepped down over health challenges.
For French, there was only ever one candidate for the job. “Sebastian really is the only person that could do it. He’s the only larger-than-life guy with the chops and the stage presence to do it. And I called him and he was, like, ‘Yeah, man, I’d love to.’ … He’s so enthusiastic. I gotta love it. I love it. I love it,” he said (as transcribed by Blabbermouth).
He came away from rehearsals convinced the pairing would deliver: “We did eight hours of rehearsal [with Sebastian]. We did eight hours. He was amazing. He was amazing. So I have no doubts how great it’s gonna be.”
Addressing the backlash from fans who feel Snider is irreplaceable, French pointed to a long list of legacy acts that have carried on without their signature voices, and made clear he’d rather let ticket sales settle the argument. “When people talk about what you can and can’t do, enough already. Here’s the bottom line… This is my comment about it. It’s either gonna work or it’s not gonna work. The public buys it or they don’t buy it. Right now [Lynyrd] Skynyrd is touring with nobody [from the original lineup] in the band. Right now Foreigner‘s touring with nobody [from the original lineup] in the band. If you didn’t like the band, don’t go. But they are offering a product that is great. Queen — Freddie Mercury, greatest vocalist in the history of the world, can never be replaced. Guess what? They got a guy [Adam Lambert] from ‘The Voice‘ [to replace him]. Steve Perry, greatest singer in the history of the world. Guess what? They got a guy [Arnel Pineda] from YouTube [to replace him]. I mean, what are you saying? YouTube, ‘The Voice‘. I’m just saying, we got a guy whose pedigree is metal, by the way, who’s a legitimate artist with platinum records, by the way. Not an also-ran. A phenomenally talented human being. And, of course, now the public is gonna ultimately decide. They decide. If the public likes it, they like it,” he explained.
On whether the run could extend into 2027, French took a wait-and-see stance rooted in the band’s history. “That answer will unfold, the same way it unfolded in 2003 when the band reformed and we did the festival tour and did the six shows in 2003, and then all of a sudden the floodgates opened. The floodgates will open or they won’t open. The beauty of it is they don’t have to open. The beauty of it is you do it, you have fun, you put your best foot forward, you deliver the magic, and everything takes care of itself,” he said.
The guitarist then reflected on the sheer mileage behind him. “This is where I’m gonna get kind of philosophical about it, only ’cause me, I go back, like, 9,000 performances [as a member of Twisted Sister]. If you add five shows a night, like, all that s**t. I was trying to figure out how many nights we have played, how many nights I’ve actually… It’s over 3,000 nights of playing live rock ‘n’ roll. 3,000 nights, and we averaged three shows a night. I remember in the early days, you’re doing five shows a night, then four shows a night, then three shows a night. But 3,000 nights or 3,200 nights, something like that, well, there’s something to be said about that.”
He’s also seen more lineup turnover than most, and learned to tune out the doubters. “You have to understand from my perspective, I’ve sat through 20 changes of personnel. And almost every one of them who left had fans who said the band was never gonna make it without them, by the way… Not just Dee… We had a drummer that was so popular, Tony Petri that when we fired him, fans showed up at gigs with banners saying, ‘You’re never going to make it without Tony.’ … I’ve heard it over and over and over again, and I can’t pay attention to it. You just move on, and you do what you do. And people don’t understand what it’s like to be me. And they could disagree,” French explained.
Where he really let loose was in extending an olive branch to holdouts — using a lengthy, unfiltered takedown of The Rolling Stones to show he understands the “not without the original guy” mindset firsthand. “I’ve had people say, ‘Hey, man, I’m never gonna come see the band.’ Okay. Listen, I get it. Why do I get it? I have the same opinion about other bands. I can say all my jokes about The Rolling Stones. They’re awful since Mick Taylor left. They have been awful, in my opinion, and I’ve walked out on them three times since, ’cause I keep giving them the benefit of the doubt that you’re not gonna suck, and they suck every time. I mean, The Rolling Stones, they do what they do. God bless them. I love Keith [Richards], but their fans are so old, they don’t clap ’cause they’re afraid the lights will go on in the arena. I don’t understand how that band continues on without, without a great guitar player. Here’s the thing about The Stones. People go, ‘I saw The Stones, man. Jeff Beck came out. They were great.’ ‘I saw The Stones, man. [Eric] Clapton came out and they were great.’ ‘I saw The Stones, man. Gary Clark came out and they were great.’ I said, what that tells you is that when a guy who knows how to play guitar comes out on stage and joins them, they’re great. And I said, unfortunately, they got two guitar players who look like extras from ‘Game Of Thrones‘, who can barely play anymore, stumbling around the stage. Now, if you wanna pay $800 for that, that’s your business. God bless you. It’s a free world, my friend. And that’s it. And that’s how I feel about Twisted. There’s gonna be some people who go, ‘Without Dee, I don’t wanna see it.’ ‘Without [bassist Mark] Mendoza, I don’t wanna see it.’ ‘Without this guy, I don’t wanna see it.’ And they’re fans. And I’ve said the same thing about other bands, so I fully get it. I don’t blame you for it. In fact, thank you for spending your money in the past on us. I want you to know I appreciate it,” he continued.
As for whether Twisted Sister might cut new music with Bach, French noted that ship may have sailed for a practical reason. “Oh, that’s another question, because we don’t own the rights to that any longer. We sold the rights to that. So I don’t know if we could or not. And we haven’t even thought about it,” he said.
Snider, for his part, stepped away in early 2026 after a series of health issues, including degenerative arthritis that has required multiple operations, along with heart problems worsened by decades on the road, forcing the cancellation of the band’s planned 50th-anniversary reunion run. He has publicly given Bach his blessing, saying the Skid Row singer is “a true fan” who “will honor what I did with every show.” The fall lineup also finds drummer Joey Cassata filling the seat once held by the late A.J. Pero, who died in 2015.
Twisted Sister have announced 11 fall 2026 shows so far with Bach on lead vocals:
- Sep 4 – Borealis Theatre, Palmer, AK
- Sep 6 – L.B. Day Amphitheater, Salem, OR
- Sep 12 – Choctaw Grand Theater, Durant, OK
- Sep 27 – Washington State Fair, Puyallup, WA
- Oct 2 – The Big E, West Springfield, MA
- Oct 8 – OLG Stage at Fallsview Casino, Niagara Falls, ON
- Oct 10 – The Colosseum at Caesars Windsor, Windsor, ON
- Oct 18 – Hard Rock Casino Northern Indiana, Gary, IN
- Nov 12 – Hard Rock Live Bristol, Bristol, VA
- Nov 14 – The Event Center at Hollywood Casino, Charles Town, WV
- Dec 11 – Ferg’s Pavilion, St. Petersburg, FL
