Shut Up and Give Me the Mic
A Twisted Memoir
As lead singer and songwriter of Twisted Sister, Dee Snider became the poster boy for heavy metal, hair bands, and the wild side of rock. Now, in his twisted new memoir, he reveals the real stories behind the crazy makeup, the big hair, and badass hits like “We’re Not Gonna Take It” and “I Wanna Rock.”
A classically trained countertenor who sang with his high school choir, Dee remembers the day he decided he was “not gonna take it” and stopped caring what people thought about him. Following in the footsteps of his idols Alice Cooper and Black Sabbath, Dee jumped from band to band before meeting Jay Jay French and Twisted Sister. But it wasn’t until he met his costume-designing soul-mate Suzette that they developed his unique style. Dee’s hard work finally paid off with an impressive resume that includes: a monster hit record; smash MTV videos; a long-running radio show, “The House of Hair”; appearances in film (Pee Wee’s Big Adventure, Howard Stern’s Private Parts, StrangeLand) and television (Growing Up Twisted, Celebrity Apprentice); and a starring role in Broadway’s Rock of Ages. He even authored a teenage survival guide that was required reading in Russia!
In his journey from every parent’s worst teenage nightmare to Renaissance man, Dee avoided the usual pitfalls associated with rock stars. But that didn’t stop Tipper Gore and the Parents Music Resource Center from targeting him—a fight that led him to testify before Congress with Frank Zappa. He may have been slapped with a Parental Advisory warning label, but, through it all, Dee stayed positive and focused on being the best he could be.
Filled with entertaining anecdotes and candid confessions, Shut Up and Give Me the Mic takes you through the good times and bad with a heavy metal star who worked as hard as he played, and who did it all for his wife, four kids, and millions of “SMF” (Sick Mother F******) fans
This story is mine.
I’m the guy that gave it all to beat the odds, left everything he had on the stage each night, didn’t screw around on his woman, took care of his kids, and was sober enough to remember it all and write about it . . . myself.
The one thing that has surprised and confused me, though, is my unlikely transformation into a “beloved public figure.” How did the unpopular kid, who grew up to be the angry young man, who became the ’80s poster boy for the evils of rock ’n’ roll, arrested for profanity and assault, and boycotted by parents and religious groups, become the likeable mensch he is today?
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jay coley
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DooshBag Machete
As a semi-successful local original musician, I am in TOTAL AWE of how a person would have been immersed in the life he was and never get weighed down by the sex or drugs. And to have such a focus on his family...UNBELIEVABLE!!
The GREATEST thing about this book is that I FINALLY got to read a memoir about THE MUSIC!! I get so tired of reading about a rock star's life and having questions like, "I wonder how the recording of INSERT ALBUM HERE was like? Only to be reading the book, they make a footnote on the recording and then I get to read two full chapters of drugging and boozing before music is ever mentioned again.
FUCK THAT! Dee's the real deal. Just a normal person with an extraordinary sense of drive which is really nothing special...except for the fact that he does what he's compelled to do when so many others squander their drive. And all I mean by "nothing special" is the fact that we ALL have it...just so few of us choose to follow it through the end.
My band gets alot of heat for how we are (vulgar and loud) and we get alot of heat from people thinking we're just a bunch of fuckups. Never realizing that, for the most part, we're drug free, a couple have a college degree, and a couple of us has even worked in the biz in one fashion or another (nothing fancy but enough to get jaded enough that we're rarely if ever starstruck).
The only reason I mention my band is the fact that Dee's book is only the second in my many years of reading where I find him to be a kindred spirit. More often that not, I'm disgusted by famous people that squander their opportunities to get fucked up like any bum or hobo could.
All in all...READ THIS FUCKING BOOK!!!!!
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DooshBag Machete
http://www.facebook.com/douchebagmachete.music
BUT...before you check us out...BUY DEE'S FUCKING BOOK!!!!
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