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Jay Jay French and Sebastian Bach have spoken to Classic Rock after Twisted Sister brought in ex-Skid Row frontman Bach for this year’s 50th anniversary reunion shows following the shock resignation of long-serving Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider on health grounds.
“About a month before his public announcement, Dee gave Eddie [Ojeda, TS guitarist] and myself a hint of what might be happening,” guitarist French explains. “Dee told us both he was starting to feel his age of seventy-one.
“But when we received the email saying: ‘I can’t do this’, we were gobsmacked. Dee said his family were begging him not to do the tour. Which felt ironic as he had talked Eddie and I into doing it in the first place. For a week or so we were dumbstruck. But of course nobody wants to put anyone’s life at risk.”
Twisted Sister had seemingly split for good in 2016, following the so-called Forty And Fuck It tour. In 2021, Snider said he was “one hundred per committed to not reuniting.” But in September 2025, the band unexpectedly announced that they would be reuniting for shows in 2026 to mark their 50th anniversary, a decision the singer says was inspired by a “health scare” he had gone through.
However, in February, the band announced that the tour – due to kick off with a show in Sao Paulo, Brazil in late April – was cancelled after Snider quit due to health issues. Things took a further twist early the following month when the band announced that they had recruited Bach to front the band on rescheduled dates. A short run of dates with the singer were subsequently announced, kicking off with a show on September 4, 2026 in Palmer, Alaska.
The notion of replacing Snider, who is among the most charismatic frontmen in rock music, at first seemed incomprehensible, but eventually French and Ojeda decided that former Skid Row livewire Bach was probably the only man potentially capable of taking on such a huge role.
“When I called to ask if he was interested, Sebastian sounded like a kid on Christmas morning,” French tells Classic Rock now. “Twisted Sister is larger-than-life, and we wanted a singer who is just the same.”
“The answer, of course, was yes,” Bach says enthusiastically. “I have been a huge fan of Twisted Sister since first seeing them with Queensrÿche at the Masonic Temple in Toronto in 1983. I wrote their logo on the back of my denim jacket.
“My real passion is their first and second albums – Under The Blade and You Can’t Stop Rock ‘N’ Roll. It will be my honour to sing songs like Tear It Loose, Shoot ’Em Down and Destroyer.”
Bach joins Twisted Sister with the blessing of Snider following a lengthy phone conversation between the two.
“That was important to me,” Bach stresses. “I have such a reverence for Dee, he wrote all of these great songs. I’m also very good friends with him. Twenty-five years ago Dee himself named me SMF #2 [Sick Muther Fucking Friends Of TS was the name of the band’s fan club]. Dee is SMF #1.”
After Bach had flown to New York City to take part in two days of top-secret rehearsals, the decision to offer him the job was apparently made very quickly.
“When I sing Twisted Sister music, I’m like a steamroller,” Bach says, chuckling. “I’m a beast. I’m out of control.”
“The question was not whether Sebastian could do this, I knew that he could,” French states unequivocally. “He was phenomenal. But because of a medical issue of my own I hadn’t held a guitar next to my body for more than forty-five minutes in ten years. And it was all absolutely fine.”
Deservedly or not, Bach has a reputation for being difficult to deal with. However, so far French has no complaints.
“Axl Rose had a bad reputation, and after he joined AC/DC some time in Angus Young’s boot camp everything changed,” the guitarist points out. “I don’t doubt Sebastian’s professionalism at all. The guy plays a hundred shows a year and never misses a gig.”
Bach is keen to point out that while he is thrilled to work with Twisted Sister, the arrangement does not threaten his solo career. “I don’t want my guys to think I’m ditching them by the roadside,” he points out.
Nevertheless, he is throwing himself into his new role. French and Ojeda are allowing him a big say in the band’s set-list, and he will sing each song in its original key.
“One thing I absolutely loved when Twisted Sister played Toronto was that Jay Jay spoke to the crowd just as much as Dee, and he’s a fucking funny guy,” says Bach, who has already begun priming himself for the shows by performing the Twisted Sister classic I Wanna Rock live with his solo band. “I told him: Dude, that shit’s coming back into the show. You’re getting back on the mic like you used to.”
With Snider choosing to step back from Twisted Sister, does that mean there’s a possibility of the singer’s arch rival, bassist Mark ‘The Animal’ Mendoza, returning to the band.
“No,” French is quick to insist, solemnly. “That ship has sailed.”
The new-look Twisted Sister line-up is completed by Russell Pzütto, who has been the band’s longtime bass tech, and Joey Cassata, a recommendation from their intended drummer Joey Franco, who is no longer available. However, they are exercising caution in returning to the road.
“We’re not going to Europe or South America this year,” French reveals. “Right now it looks like there will be two shows in Canada and maybe four in the US. Before committing to the big summer festivals like Wacken [in Germany] and Graspop [Belgium], we want to ensure that everything is done right. Promoters won’t trust too many bands to play for a hundred thousand people, but Twisted Sister is one of them.”
In closing, French acknowledges the disappointment caused by Snider’s final exit.
“Eddie and I felt it ourselves,” he states sadly. “We know that it brings up a lot of existential questions such as should we even be doing this at all without Dee. We believe that if a band can move forward, then it should do so. Although of course the public is in command of whether or not it will be successful.”
Finally, he adds: “But let me remind you, without Freddie Mercury nobody gave Queen a chance in hell, and the same with Journey minus Steve Perry or the David Lee Roth-less Van Halen, and look what happened there.”
Twisted Sister featuring Sebastian Bach 2026 tour dates
Sep 04: Palmer Borealis Theatre , AK
Sep 12: Durant Choctaw Grand Theatre, OK
Sep 27: Puyallup Washington State Fair. WA
Oct 08: Niagara Falls OLG Stage at Fallsview Casino, ON
Oct 10: Windsor The Colosseum at Caesars Windsor, ON
