Joey Cassata, known for his drum work on Ace Frehley‘s solo album, 10,000 Volts, has officially shared how he landed his new position as the drummer for Twisted Sister. The legendary heavy metal band is currently preparing for a select run of fall 2026 tour dates, which will notably feature Sebastian Bach handling lead vocal duties.
During a recent appearance on the “Podcast Rock City KISS” podcast, Cassata explained the deep-rooted history he shares with the band, which dates all the way back to his childhood.
“To give you a little history before I give you how this kind of transpired, I’ve known the Twisted camp forever. First of all, let’s even go back further. I’m a crazy Twisted Sister fan from back — maybe starting as early as seven or eight years old, I remember seeing the ‘You Can’t Stop Rock ‘N’ Roll‘ video on what we used to have, U68… We didn’t have cable yet in ’82 or ’83. And I remember seeing that and falling in love with them. And then, of course, Stay Hungry hits, and they basically become the biggest band in the world for that next year, with ‘We’re Not Gonna Take It‘ and ‘I Wanna Rock‘. And I was a major, major Twisted Sister fan. I always loved them. I even sent pictures to you guys of my old binder from sixth grade with all the logos — Twisted Sister big on the cover, with ‘SMF’ written on it. But again, I was always a big Twisted fan.”
The drummer elaborated on how his former band, ZO2, helped forge a professional and personal relationship with the group over the years.
“So fast forward, ZO2 had gotten the opportunity to play with Twisted on many occasions. So we opened for Twisted when they did a private show as Bent Brother. That’s kind of their alter ego when they do hidden shows just to kind of warm up a tour. And ZO2 got to do a show with them as Bent Brother [at] Starland Ballroom in New Jersey. And we just became really close with the guys. Obviously, musically. I just love them all, but just personally, they’re all great guys. They’re all New York guys. So we got along really well. We busted each other’s balls and [Mark] Mendoza [Twisted Sister bassist] would threaten Paulie [ZO2 singer Paul Zablidowsky] all the time and Dee [Snider, Twisted Sister singer] would make fun of us. And it was just a really good camaraderie that we had with Twisted over the handful of shows that we got to play with them. And we got to play a couple of more shows with them, opening up for them, when they did their Christmas run in ’08 and ’07. So we’ve been back and forth in the Twisted camp. And then when ‘Z Rock‘ aired [the television series created by the Independent Film Channel focusing on ZO2] — and again, I don’t know if everyone knows this, so ‘Z Rock‘ was my old TV show that was on IFC — almost all of the guys from Twisted were on ‘Z Rock‘ at one point or another. So, like I said, the camp is really tight knit. Jay Jay [French, Twisted Sister guitarist] was the first guy that was ever on ‘Z Rock‘. He was on our original pilot that never aired… So like I said, Twisted and ZO2, the camps are really intertwined over the years. I love those guys beyond belief.”
Joey Cassata then recounted the surprising phone call he received in early January from the band’s manager, Danny Stanton, revealing how a recommendation from a former member sealed the deal.
“So fast forward, I get a call in the beginning of January from their manager Danny [Stanton], and he left me a message. And I think it was a day or two after Peter [Criss, original Kiss drummer] was at our house. And I know Danny loves Kiss and he was a big Peter fan and he knows Peter. And I thought he was just calling me to talk about Peter coming over. So when I called him back, I was expecting to kind of talk about the Peter experience with him. And he asked me if I was interested in playing with the guys, I think, if I remember the exact way he said it. And I was, like, ‘Well, what guys? What are you talking about?’ Again, ’cause I’m thinking we’re gonna talk about Peter. And he’s, like, ‘Twisted.’ And my mind is going, ‘Wait a second.’ ‘Well, first of all, oh my God. Of course. I’m humbled and honored that you had even asked me this. What, are you serious? Give me the details.’ So after a little bit of details, Joe Franco, who they got on board to do the run with them, was unable to do it for a little bit of health reasons — all minor, minor stuff, but he just wasn’t able to do the run with them. And Joe actually told Danny, ‘Hey, what about Joey?’ Joe knows me as well, and Danny, of course, knows me. They all knew me. So it turned out to be an easy call to call me, ’cause I know all those guys already. They know me, they know my playing, they know my personality. So, of course, I was immediately in.”
The upcoming 2026 performances were initially planned to feature core members Dee Snider, Jay Jay French, and Eddie Ojeda, with Russell Pzütto stepping in for bassist Mark “The Animal” Mendoza. On drums, Joe Franco was originally scheduled to replace the late A.J. Pero, who passed away in 2015 at the age of 55.
However, the lineup saw a major shift on March 3, when Jay Jay French and Eddie Ojeda officially announced that Sebastian Bach would be taking over lead vocal duties for the fall dates. These scheduled appearances will not interfere with Sebastian Bach‘s ongoing solo touring commitments.
