Columnist Spencer Patterson: Outspoken Snider’s career takes familiar twist

Spencer Patterson

Friday, April 8, 2005 | 8:39 a.m.

Dee Snider says he knew "We're Not Gonna Take It" was a "catchy tune for the ages" as soon as he wrote it.

But the Twisted Sister frontman never could have envisioned the song's many uses in the two decades since.

"You go to a sporting event and your team is down by two, everybody starts singing, 'We're Not Gonna Take It,' " Snider said in a phone interview from his home on New York's Long Island.

"War breaks out in the Middle East, terrorists attack, and everybody starts singing, 'We're Not Gonna Take It.' Somebody's running for political office ... 'We're Not Gonna Take It.' "

It's a safe bet fans who turn out to see Twisted Sister on Saturday night at the Silverton's Hideaway Showroom will also hear the famous rebellion anthem. Doors open at 7 p.m. for the 8 p.m. show. Tickets are $30.

The glam-metal band -- which hit its peak during the mid-1980s -- reunited in 2003 with its classic lineup of Snider, guitarists Jay Jay French and Eddie Ojeda, bassist Mark "The Animal" Mendoza and drummer A.J. Pero.

The five men get together for only about 20 shows a year, but when they do perform, it's quite a spectacle.

"We do it the way people remember: full-on, old-school, hair, makeup, costumes, big shoes, shoulder pads," Snider, 50, said. "The idea is to give people the memory, for the old fans to see it one more time the way it was and for the young kids to see what it is they heard about.

"They don't want to see Dee Snider with a backward baseball cap, baggy jeans and a wallet chain. They want to see the dude with the bone."

Actually, had Twisted Sister had its way in 1984, the famous shot of Snider gripping a giant animal bone -- the front cover of best-known album "Stay Hungry" -- might never have seen the light of day.

According to Snider, intended cover art featuring the entire band was scrapped at the last minute because of design limitations.

That miscue, along with more serious issues concerning the LP's production, were corrected by Twisted Sister with the October release of "Still Hungry."

The new disc includes harder-edged, rerecorded versions of all nine original cuts, supplemented by seven bonus tracks. The original cover shot has also been restored.

" 'Stay Hungry' was our third album, and we were ready for a co-produced or self-produced record, but the record company (Atlantic) suddenly realized there was gold in them thar hills," Snider said.

"So they assigned the producer du jour -- Tom Werman, who was known for taking dirtbags like Motley Crue and Ted Nugent and Molly Hatchet and washing their faces and making them palatable for the masses -- and that immediately caused problems."

Snider called the reworked album "edgier" than the original, "almost like night and day," but acknowledges that few other than diehard Twisted Sister fans will seek it out.

Still, he has no doubt "We're Not Gonna Take It" would have the same impact were it released today for the first time.

"It's almost like a standard," he said. "Everybody knows the song ... kids, grandparents, everybody. They might not know who wrote it, but they know the song."

Music notes

Colorful conference: Lemmy Kilminster and Phil Campbell, two members of veteran metal band Motorhead, were on hand Tuesday for a press conference announcing the arrival of Hollywood's Rainbow Bar & Grill in Las Vegas.

The California club, famous for attracting rock 'n' rollers from Jim Morrison and Jimi Hendrix to Slash and Marilyn Manson over the past 33 years, is scheduled to open its Las Vegas location May 27 at 4480 Paradise Road, across from the Hard Rock Hotel.

In addition to serving food and drinks, the Rainbow will feature a lounge room for live entertainment.

Quick hits

Modern lounge sensations Richard Cheese & Lounge Against the Machine return to Club Madrid at Sunset Station at 8 tonight.

The group is preparing to release its fourth CD, "Aperitif For Destruction," on May 24. Cheese also claims to be retiring from touring at the end of 2005, but he also announced he would stop performing if John Kerry lost November's presidential election, so who knows.

Tickets for tonight's show are $29.

The Dead Kennedys make up their postponed Feb. 26 show Thursday at the House of Blues at Mandalay Bay. The seminal San Francisco punk outfit -- whose lineup no longer features frontman Jello Biafra -- was forced to cancel that scheduled gig when guitarist East Bay Ray had to tend to a family emergency.

Doors to the 21-and-over event open at 6:30 p.m. Last Rites and the Loud Pipes are also on the bill. Tickets from the canceled show must be exchanged for new tickets, which are $17 in advance and $20 on Thursday.

Audioslave plays The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel on Thursday. The hard-rock supergroup, which features three ex-members of Rage Against the Machine and former Soundgarden vocalist Chris Cornell, is set to release its second album this summer.

Doors open at 7 p.m. Ticket are sold out.

On sale

Tickets for U2's Nov. 4 concert at the MGM Grand Garden Arena go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday. Tickets are priced at $52, $99.75 and $183.75 and will be available at the MGM Grand box office, at Ticketmaster outlets, by phone at 474-4000 and at www.ticketmaster.com.

The Beach Boys land at the Mandalay Bay Beach on June 3. Tickets are $44 and are on sale now at the Mandalay Bay box office and through Ticketmaster.

Huey Lewis performs at the Mandalay Bay Beach on June 4. Tickets are $49.50 and are on sale now through the Mandalay Bay box office and Ticketmaster.

Already slated to play The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel on May 6, the Used have added a second show at the venue for May 7. Tickets are $23 and go on sale at noon Saturday at the Hard Rock box office and through Ticketmaster.

Paulina Rubio stops at the House of Blues on May 13. Tickets are $40 to $57 and go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday at the House of Blues box office and through Ticketmaster.

Boz Scaggs plays the House of Blues on July 22. Tickets are $45 to $65 and go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday through the House of Blues box office and Ticketmaster.