Vocalist Dee Snider found an unconventional way of dealing with audience dispersion in more recent songs from the repertoire
Veteran artists often have a problem when releasing new music: it rarely has the same appeal compared to older, classic material. These bands that remain on the road after decades have been called “legacy acts” and one of them — already retired — had an unusual way of dealing with the issue at shows.
The vocalist Dee Snider had a technique to avoid the dispersion of the public Twisted Sister when playing newer material. The strategy, revealed by the guitarist Jay Jay French in a podcast interview Let There Be Talk (via Ultimate Classic Rock), was applied before the execution of “30”song released in a commemorative edition of the album Stay Hungrymade available in 2009.
French told:
The truth is, when you come out with a new song, most people take the opportunity to go to the bathroom. We recorded a song many years ago called ’30’ and started playing it live. And Dee started saying, ‘Okay guys, tonight we’re going to play a new song. I’m going to give you several warnings… this is the song where you’re going to go out and get a drink or take a piss. We’re three songs away from the pee song… we’re two songs away…’”
According to the guitarist, the embarrassment had an effect. The audience ended up staying.
He embarrassed people so much that they wouldn’t leave because now they didn’t want to look like jerks by getting up and leaving!”
THE Twisted Sister was active until 2016, but his last album of new songs was Love is For Suckersfrom 1987. In 2006 the band also released a Christmas album, which, like the previously unreleased “30”may have served as an experiment. The group was a staunch advocate of not releasing new material after establishing themselves as classic artists.
Is Bob Dylan wrong?
An example of a “legacy act” that Jay Jay French see how problematic it is Bob Dylan. The 83-year-old artist remains active to this day, including with new albums and tours to promote them. Furthermore, the guitarist of Twisted Sister complains about the changes that Dylan promotes live classics.
About this, French he said:
Dylan is indecipherably bad (live)… you have no idea. If you’re a deep connoisseur of Dylan and find him so esoteric, you say, ‘He’s an interpretive artist — he does it the way he wants.’ But ordinary people don’t give a damn. They want to hear ‘Blowing in the Wind’ as ‘Blowing in the Wind’. They want to hear ‘Like a Rolling Stone’ as the original ‘Like a Rolling Stone’. They like to hear a song that sounds kind of like the record, because that’s what they remember… but Dylan doesn’t play that game.”
Bob Dylan has toured with Willie Nelson in “Outlaw Music Festival Tour”. The current show brings back the artist’s old material, which had been left aside on the previous tour. In fact, since 1988 he has been making different presentations that are considered extensions of each other, in what is called “Never Ending Tour”. His most recent all-new album is Rough and Rowdy Ways (2020).
Collaborated: André Luiz Fernandes.
Source: Rollingstone
Earl Johnson is a music writer at Gossipify, known for his in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the industry. A graduate of USC with a degree in Music, he brings years of experience and passion to his writing. He covers the latest releases and trends, always on the lookout for the next big thing in music.
