DEE SNIDER Says 'Irreconcilable Differences' Are Reason For MARK MENDOZA's Absence From TWISTED SISTER Reunion

During an appearance on today's (Wednesday, September 10) episode of SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", Dee Snider spoke about TWISTED SISTER's decision to reunite next year to celebrate the band's 50th anniversary. Regarding why he changed his mind about returning to the road, nine years after the completion of TWISTED SISTER's "40 And Fuck It!" farewell tour, Dee said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It really was a milestone thing. I turned 70 years old in March. And milestones, they are what they are, but at the same time, they're reflection times for people. And me reflecting, I realized, wow, next year is 50 years since I joined TWISTED SISTER, since we became — me, Eddie [Ojeda, TWISTED SISTER guitarist] and Jay Jay [French, TWISTED SISTER guitarist] — became a band. And that's significant. And the offers kept coming in and the interest is there to have us reunite. And I called the guys up and said, 'What do you think?' I mean, almost as a challenge to each of us to say, 'One more time. Can we do it one more time?' And certainly we've got people like [Paul] McCartney and [Mick] Jagger and Alice Cooper out there, and Ozzy — may he rest in peace — and how can you say, well, I'm 70. I'm too old. So, the guys said, 'Seriously?' I said, 'Seriously. One more time. Let's do it one more time.'"

Elaborating on his initial reluctance to step back on stage with TWISTED SISTER again, Dee told host Eddie Trunk: "Eddie, I go to quote you. I quoted you often… We talked about my performing style. We talked about the type of entertainer I am, and you said, 'Dee, you really did paint yourself in a corner. You created a stage persona, a stage energy that people come to expect,' and anything less will be disappointing, not just to the audience, but to me as well. So, yeah, I'm in shape and stuff like that, and you've seen me [in recent months guesting on stage] with Bret Michaels out there, but that's four songs, dude. It's not 18 songs. But you know what? I just said, 'We're still here, and let's do it. Let's challenge ourselves.' And we're doing it for all the right reasons. It's not about money. It's not about — none of those typical things. It's 'cause we want to do it one more time. And there's interest there all over the world, so, we're going for it, man. 2026."

Asked by Trunk if it's fair to say that he was the one who initiated the TWISTED SISTER reunion this time around, Dee said: "Yeah, and I'm not saying it like I'm the one who made [the decision to reunite]. I'm the one who was screaming from the top of my lungs, 'Never. Ever.' You know that. That was your introduction: 'He's been saying for a decade now, 'Uh-uh. Never gonna happen. We retired. That's it.' … So the guys didn't even bring it up to me. And Eddie, me and Jay Jay, we talk all the time, and we know offers are coming in, but it wasn't even a discussion because it was accepted, 'Dee's not gonna do it again.' And I stopped doing my solo stuff as well as a few years back. So, it was basically that I said, 'Hey, guys. I'm up for it if you're up for it.' And I've gotta say, they both — Jay and Eddie — had to think about it, 'cause they, too, were in a certain mindset, like, 'This is behind us now.' And then we had a group meeting on it and said, 'Let's go for it.'"

Snider also talked about his workout regimen and diet that will keep him in shape at 70 years old while on tour. He said: "If you've seen the web site, the [TWISTED SISTER reunion] announcement page, it's a flat line [laughs] and then the heartbeat slowly starts coming back in. That's not by accident.

"When TWISTED retired, I remember shows where we were doing our farewells around the world, and people were crying in the audience, because I'm saying, 'This is really it, guys. We're done,'" he continued. "And people were crying. I go, 'Listen, I want a pancake. Look at me. I'm ripped to shreds. I want a carb. I'm gonna re-record [TWISTED SISTER's classic song] 'I Wanna Rock' [as] 'I Want A Carb'.' I said, 'You know what it takes to look like this? It's painful. It sucks.' And I was 60 years old, and [people said], 'Wow. He is in ungodly shape.' Yeah. And I was miserable. So I'm not gonna tell you once that, once I was done with that… I've been enjoying life. I've been out… And COVID hit, and I was always very regimented with working out, and workouts, it was tough to go to a gym, unless you had your own gym. It was tough to go to a public gym. And all of a sudden I fell out of the pattern. So I'm being totally honest here. At 70, I said, 'This can't be it. I need to challenge myself to go out in a blaze of glory… I'm going, 'Okay, March [of 2025]. I called the guys. What do you say? Let's do it. We talked. All right, let's do it. When are we going out? Next late spring, summer. Good. I've got like a year to get in shape.' So I'm back in the gym... But still, there's a big difference between going out and doing four songs with Bret Michaels and holding the stage for 20 songs. So it's gonna be a challenge. But I sure don't wanna embarrass myself and the band doesn't wanna embarrass itself. So, people, you'll be impressed. I promise I will make some 20-year-olds feel really badly about themselves."

Dee also addressed the fact that TWISTED SISTER's 2026 reunion will not include longtime bassist Mark Mendoza. The tour will instead feature Russell Pzütto on bass. Pzütto has played with TWISTED SISTER in the past, and has also been part of the touring bands for Snider's solo projects.

"I can only simply say irreconcilable differences and leave it at that," Dee stated about Mark's absence from the TWISTED SISTER reunion. "I can't get into the weeds and I can't go down that path. And I won't. But irreconcilable differences. People change, and however it is, and I'm not saying he changed; maybe we changed whatever it is. So in deciding who to use on bass, my bass player on the last two Dee Snider albums, 'For The Love Of Metal' and 'Leave A Scar', was Russ Pzütto. And he was Mark Mendoza's bass tech, and a great bass player… So, he did an amazing job on those two albums. He was a great guy to tour with. The band all knew him from years of working with TWISTED, and again, he seemed like a likely choice. As a matter of fact, one time he was Mark's choice to fill in for him. And one gig, it was in Belgium at Graspop, and Mark couldn't make it, and Russ stepped in and played with TWISTED. So he actually has performed with TWISTED once before."

Asked if he thinks the door is open for Mark to play with TWISTED SISTER again at some point during the reunion tour, Dee said: "I can't imagine it right now. I can't imagine it right now. I mean — I plead the fifth. I can't go beyond that. But things have happened that I don't see being reconciled, hence the term 'irreconcilable differences.'"

French addressed Mendoza's departure in a statement to Rolling Stone, explaining: "Me, Dee and Eddie have performed as TWISTED SISTER for nearly 50 years with 10 different bass players and drummers. The band has never discussed internal realignment before and has no intention of doing it now. Suffice to say that almost all bands with a 50-year history have gone through realignment as a byproduct of time. We wish Mark well in his future endeavors."

Playing drums on TWISTED SISTER's 2026 reunion tour will be Joe Franco, who briefly played with the band in the mid-1980s and played on TWISTED SISTER's 1987 album "Love Is For Suckers". Mike Portnoy, who took over for longtime drummer A.J. Pero after he died near the end of TWISTED SISTER's 2016 run, is busy touring with DREAM THEATER and is unable to participate in the upcoming TWISTED SISTER live activities.

Two and a half years ago, TWISTED SISTER staged a one-off reunion at the Metal Hall Of Fame in Agoura Hills, California. On hand to be inducted into the Metal Hall Of Fame were Snider, French, Mendoza and Portnoy. Ojeda was absent from the event after contracting COVID-19; filling in for him was Keith Robert War. TWISTED SISTER played a highly charged three-song set consisting of the staples "You Can't Stop Rock 'N' Roll" and "Under The Blade", as well as the anthem "We're Not Gonna To Take It".

TWISTED SISTER's original run ended in the late '80s. After more than a decade, the band publicly reunited in November 2001 to top the bill of New York Steel, a hard-rock benefit concert to raise money for the New York Police And Fire Widows' And Children's Benefit Fund.