20+ years as an SMF... it goes beyond being a "fan." Hell, I'm a South Park "fan." But Twisted Sister, now that's another story altogether. I'm a diehard Dee-votee! Herein I shall expose myself to ridicule for daring to be so un-Hollywood in my adoration, and perhaps for Dee-filing a good pun with excessive use. I may never work in this town again... heh It was 1979, and I was just shy of 17 when I left Southern California to return to my hometown in Connecticut. Back then the drinking age was still 18, and I had a fake ID saying I was 21. Good thing they hadn't started putting pictures on the licenses back then! One of my girlfriends invited me to go drinking at Alfredo's, one of the local bars that we had no problems getting into and featured live rock bands on the weekends. Driving over, I asked who was playing. She said, "Some band called Twisted Sister . I've never seen them before but I've heard they're pretty good." From the moment they took the stage I was hypnotized. It was more than I ever expected for my $3.00! Afterward, I was raving to my friend about the show and she said, "You would like it...you're a sicko and from California, where everyone's weird." In my hometown they're just not comfortable with people who are different, and I think a trash-mouth transvestite was just TOO much for her tender sensibilities. Ha! While she walked away that night saying Twisted Sister was aptly named, and the frontman was some kind of freak, I left kicking myself for not having the balls to even go tell that Dee Snider guy I thought the band kicked ass. After all, I never went to see bands just for the music; I wanted to see a show and that's exactly what I got!However, I was a bit too shy back then to approach a giant, psychotic drag queen-looking dude (who seemed pretty freakin' scary, I might add) just to say I was a fan . Not that night, nor any other back in the days I spent my nights and my money supporting the East Coast bar bands. Hindsight is indeed a bitch. Little did I know that at 17 I had come closer in physical proximity than I would again for more than two decades to the man who would provide the psychic soundtrack of my 20s. A man who would inspire me: personally. politically and musically. long after I became a grownup. For over 20 years, until recently, the closest I've come to personal contact with Dee is a fan letter - (I wrote, and he answered!), and a very brief phone call to WMRQ in Hartford, home of Dee Snider Radio, during his first week doing the morning show. Rather ironic, considering how many potential opportunities I had over the years, and how Twisted Sister came to be a force and factor forever entwined in many areas of my life.The songs became my anthems, the man my hero. Finally someone who not only understood, but encouraged me to be what I was:
Scream it loud |
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Text & graphics ©1999-2001 Roxanne Brown
- original photo ©1984 Mark Weiss, used without permission |
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