EDDIE OJEDA: SEBASTIAN BACH Is 'Probably The Only Person' Who Could Step In For DEE SNIDER In TWISTED SISTER

Eddie Ojeda says that Sebastian Bach is "probably the only person" who could step in for Dee Snider as the lead singer for TWISTED SISTER.

Bach ended up being chosen to front TWISTED SISTER for the band's fall 2026 shows after Snider resigned from the group due to "health challenges".

Speaking to the "Headbangers Rock Show" about Dee's decision to back out of touring with TWISTED SISTER in 2026, the TWISTED SISTER guitarist said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, originally Dee wanted to do this. I guess we were getting offers [for shows], and he was hearing stuff. And he was the first person to suggest it, because myself and Jay Jay [French, TWISTED SISTER guitarist], we weren't even thinking about it. And he kind of motivated us to do it. And [it was] the 50th anniversary of the whole thing, and we said, 'Okay, let's do this.' And then things can change in six months. Even myself, I had to have a foot surgery, but I could have held off and done the tour and done [the surgery] afterwards. But because we canceled, I was able to do it now and get it out of the way. But, like I said, things changed."

Eddie continued: "Apparently, when we first started talking about it — it came up in August of last year — [Dee] sort of talked us into it, 'Hey, let's do this. It'll be great, the three of us out there.' 'Cause we've been together the longest — me, [Dee and Jay Jay]… We've had different drummers and bass players, but the three of us have been doing it this whole time. So things kept going, and we booked all these shows to do in Europe, all these big festivals, headlining, and it looked really good. And then I guess Dee ended up having some issues with his heart, with hypertension and things like that, which I've had for 10 years, which you get medication for it and you don't freak out over it. And I think just because he performs at the level that he does, it's more intense for him. And I understand it. He set the bar very high for himself, being the kind of performer he is. And rather than do it — which, I think, people would've been cool with him toning it down a little bit, but I guess he just really freaked out over it and talked with his family and just decided to cancel all the shows. Which we were very surprised, but it sort of put us into a situation where [we thought], 'Well, let's do some shows. Let's do something.' We weren't gonna do anything. We were gonna cancel everything."

As for how Sebastian landed the TWISTED SISTER singer gig, Eddie said: "Some promoters talked about Sebastian [filling in], and we did think about Sebastian, being friends with him for a long time. I've done several shows with Sebastian, doing different things and different projects, and even recorded a couple of things with him. And the way he performs — he's a huge TWISTED fan, I mean, huge, and he's taken a lot [of influence] from Dee. He has his own thing, but he is very much the same type of performer. And his name sort of came up first, but then we just said, 'He might be too busy or not into it.' We called him up and he was really excited about it and flew in to rehearse and it went really well, a lot better than anybody thought. And one of the promoters was there and a few people, and they were blown away by the way it sounded. And, like I said, he's probably the only person that could replace someone like Dee, because of the similarities between the two of them and the way they sing, the way they perform. So we decided to give it a try and see how it went, and it went very well. So we decided, 'The summer shows are done. We can't do the festivals. But let's do the American shows.' So I think we're gonna do six shows and see how it goes."

As for the fan response to the announcement that Bach would front TWISTED SISTER for a handful of concerts, Eddie said: "It seems very positive. We've gotten 80%, I would say, positive — really curious to hear it and see it and get a chance to see us perform the songs again. So that's been very positive. Of course, there's always gonna be some haters that say whatever, no matter what. But, actually, I was quite surprised at all the attention it got. You would think it was one of THE BEATLES or something. I saw the Internet just blew up with it. I couldn't get away from it… I was really surprised, 'cause we haven't done anything in 10 years. And I think maybe that's another thing that's adding to it, because at this point the nostalgia behind TWISTED, the videos we did, the energy level, everything that goes with that, you don't really see that anymore, so people are really excited to see that kind of thing, like an '80s kind of vibe, nostalgia that people are crazy about."

TWISTED SISTER's 2026 shows will feature Bach along with French and Ojeda. Russell Pzütto, who has toured with Snider's solo projects, will replace bassist Mark "The Animal" Mendoza on bass. Joe Franco, who briefly played with the group in the mid-1980s, was supposed to sit behind the drum kit, stepping in for A.J. Pero, who passed away in 2015 at the age of 55. However, Franco is not available to play the fall 2026 shows and will be replaced by Joey Cassata, who played drums on Ace Frehley's final original solo album, "10,000 Volts".

At press time TWISTED SISTER has not announced the full list of shows it plans to play with Bach outside of a September 4 stop at the Alaska State Fair.

Snider said in a statement in February that he suffers from degenerative arthritis, and is only able to "perform a few songs at a time in pain." He also said that his intense rocking over the years has "taken its toll on his heart as well."

"I don't know of any other way to rock," Snider said. "The idea of slowing down is unacceptable to me. I'd rather walk away than be a shadow of my former self."

Three 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 drummer Mike 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.

Image credit: VRP Rock