TWISTED SISTER Alter Ego BENT BROTHER Announces One-Off Concert In New Jersey In August

BENT BROTHER — affectionately known as "TWISTED SISTER's evil twin" (essentially a less theatrical version of the real thing) — has announced a one-off concert for Friday, August 28 at the Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, New Jersey.

TWISTED SISTER shared the BENT BROTHER gig announcement on social media on Tuesday (July 14) and included the following caption: "If you know, you know!"

In February 2009, the then-lineup of TWISTED SISTER performed as BENT BROTHER at the Crazy Donkey in Farmingdale, New York. BENT BROTHER played TWISTED SISTER's classic 1984 album "Stay Hungry" in its entirety, in addition to such other TS classics as "You Can't Stop Rock 'N' Roll", "Under The Blade", "Shoot 'Em Down" and an old staple from the band's club days, a version of THE ROLLING STONES' "It's Only Rock 'N' Roll".

In its announcement of the BENT BROTHER concert, the Starland Ballroom shared the band's official description as follows: "The legend of BENT BROTHER... Shortly after TWISTED SISTER performed without their makeup and stage clothes at the New York Steel benefit in November 2001, it appeared that the audience demanded a purer and less theatrical version of TWISTED SISTER. On that fateful night, five observers, who were also musicians and had unbelievably similar physical characteristics to each band member, decided that NOW was the time to form the ultimate TWISTED SISTER tribute band. Together, these five musicians, whose real names we'll never know, dedicate the rest of their lives to looking and sounding exactly like their idols, TWISTED SISTER. They resemble the band musically and physically so much that it seems they actually match the real TWISTED SISTER members' weight gains and losses on a daily basis.

"The five members of BENT BROTHER believe that beneath the theatrical, transvestite shell of TWISTED SISTER lies the soul of a hard-bitten biker/bar band. To that end, BENT BROTHER makes rare but extremely heartfelt appearances in and around the tri-state area.

"To all hardcore TWISTED SISTER fans who are just a little pissed off that the band spends too much of their time playing in Europe...there are those who believe that BENT BROTHER is more 'TWISTED SISTER' than even TWISTED SISTER itself...

"Upon seeing BENT BROTHER for the first time, [TWISTED SISTER guitarist] Jay Jay French declared, 'The guy who plays me looks more like Kiefer Sutherland than I do!'"

TWISTED SISTER has announced a total of 11 fall 2026 shows so far featuring ex-SKID ROW singer Sebastian Bach on lead vocals.

TWISTED SISTER featuring Sebastian Bach 2026 tour dates:

Sep. 4 - Palmer, AK @ Borealis Theatre
Sep. 6 - Salem, OR @ L.B. Day Amphitheater
Sep. 12 - Durant, OK @ Choctaw Grand Theater
Sep. 27 - Puyallup, WA @ Washington State Fair
Oct. 2 - West Springfield, MA @ The Big E
Oct. 8 - Niagara Falls, ON @ OLG Stage at Fallsview Casino
Oct. 10 - Windsor, ON @ The Colosseum at Caesars Windsor
Oct. 18 - Gary, IN @ Hard Rock Casino Northern Indiana
Nov. 12 - Bristol, VA @ Hard Rock Live Bristol
Nov. 14 - Charles Town, WV @ The Event Center at Hollywood Casino
Dec. 11 - St. Petersburg, FL @ Ferg's Pavilion

In a March 2026 interview with Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF radio station, Bach spoke about being chosen to front TWISTED SISTER for the band's fall 2026 shows after iconic vocalist Dee Snider resigned from TWISTED SISTER due to "health challenges". Sebastian said: "I am a fan of TWISTED SISTER. And I'll tell you right now, I'm probably a bigger fan of TWISTED SISTER than anybody watching this. I love that band. I used to go see them whenever I could. And I really love the album 'You Can't Stop Rock 'N' Roll' with songs like 'The Kids Are Back', 'Ride To Live, Live To Ride'. I love the 'Under The Blade' album. I love 'Shoot 'Em Down', 'Destroyer', 'Tear It Loose'. I mean, I love 'I Wanna Rock', I love 'We're Not Gonna Take It', but there's an earlier period of that band where they were one of the most ferocious rock bands that you will ever see. And if you saw them back then, you know what I'm talking about."

Bach continued: "When they were a club band, they would come out there like a punk rock band or a total thrash metal band. I mean, if you listen to their version of 'It's Only Rock 'N' Roll (But I Like It)' by THE ROLLING STONES, it's like a speed metal tempo… Well, that's the kind of energy that I'm gonna bring. I mean, I'm not no spring chicken, but I still have a lot of energy when I get on the stage. And I'm going to give you guys fun and energy in TWISTED SISTER.

"I'm the lead singer of TWISTED SISTER," Sebastian added. "How much fun is that to say? I love saying that, so I'm really looking forward to it. I will also say that I'll never stop singing the [classic SKID ROW] songs '18 And Life', 'I Remember You', 'Youth Gone Wild', 'Monkey Business', 'Slave To The Grind' — I'll never stop doing that. So I'm not stopping my solo band. I'm continuing my solo band, but I'm doing shows with TWISTED SISTER that are bigger than my solo band. So it's a step up for me. I'll have a nicer dressing room and stuff. [Laughs]

"So … I'm looking forward to rocking out with TWISTED SISTER, because I love the music. And you cannot even challenge me on do I love the [music]. I really do love the music. So you can't fake love — and I love TWISTED SISTER."

During an appearance on the March 3, 2026 episode of SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", Bach stated about how he was recruited to front TWISTED SISTER: "Well, I have tears in my eyes right now. I am SMF Number Two. I was named that by Dee Snider. And I just have to say, I just got off the phone with Dee Snider. We talked for about 45 minutes, and we were both kind of getting teary eyed.

"I just put out a [solo] record called 'Child Within The Man', and one of my favorite all-time bands is TWISTED SISTER," Bach explained. "And the music of TWISTED SISTER makes me feel like a child within the man. This is what I was talking about on my new record, how rock and roll music, it has a life of its own. You're talking to a guy here — I used to go to school and I used to paint the TWISTED SISTER logo on the back of my jacket in liquid paper thinking that looked cool [laughs] — whiteout. [Laughs] So I am a real fan — I am a fan of this music, and that is really, number one, why I'm doing it. And also to honor the legacy of these songs. And I look at it like when Paul Rodgers came in [to sing] for QUEEN, or when [GUNS N' ROSES frontman] Axl [Rose] came in for Brian Johnson [in AC/DC]. I am a fan of TWISTED SISTER and I always have been, and I love this music. I love it. I love 'Tear it Loose'. I love 'Destroyer'. I love 'The Price'. I mean, you talk about [classic SKID ROW songs like] '18 And Life' and 'I Remember You'. Well, you know what? I locked myself in a room rehearsing to 'The Price'. And these songs are how I learned how to rock."

Asked for more details of his conversation with Snider, Bach said: "I said, 'I'm calling you in 10 minutes.' He goes, 'Okay.' And I called him and he goes, 'SMF Number Two.' 'Cause he's always called me that. I'm a sick motherfucker. I'm a sick motherfucking fan of TWISTED SISTER. And he's always called me Number Two. Of course, he's number one. And so I go, 'Well, I guess I really am SMF Number Two.' And then I asked him, what did the doctor say to him? And he's, like, 'No problem. I'll tell you.' He says that he has arthritis, that his knees are going out, and he has bone on bone. And the doctor said that he should not be jumping around. And he goes, 'Well, that's not an option,' 'cause he wants to do the full show moving around and stuff, and the doctor said, 'You can't do it.' So he said, 'You have my full blessing.' He goes, 'I love you.' I told him I loved him, and we were, like, teary eyed. And he told me that his family was crying when he said he couldn't do the tour. I asked him, 'Hey, you wanna come out and jam with us?' He goes, 'Yeah.' He goes, 'Yeah.' So maybe he'll be at some of these gigs on stage with us. Who knows? I don't know if that's gonna happen or not. But it's tough getting older — it's tough for everybody getting older, and I'm a lot younger. [Laughs]"

Sebastian went on to say that it was important to him to get Dee's stamp of approval before proceeding. "That's a sign of respect," he said. "I respect Dee Snider, I respect Jay Jay French, I respect Eddie Ojeda, I respect [former TWISTED SISTER members] A.J. Pero, Mark Mendoza, the whole team. And I've always been a serious fan — like, really serious. I don't just like the hits of TWISTED SISTER. I like 'Like A Knife In The Back'. I like the heavy TWISTED SISTER. And I love 'I Wanna Rock'. I love 'The Price'. 'The Price' is one of my favorite TWISTED SISTER songs. I love 'We're Not Gonna Take It'. But the album 'You Can't Stop Rock 'N' Roll', I would probably say, is my favorite one."

TWISTED SISTER's 2026 shows will feature Bach, 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".

Speaking to "Trunk Nation" about TWISTED SISTER's current touring lineup, Jay Jay said: "In the 53-year history of the band, we've had 20 people who've been in and out of TWISTED SISTER. We've had five singers, we've had three bass players, we've had four guitar players and we've had nine drummers. Half of them are dead. It's a very tough business to be a drummer with TWISTED SISTER. But we had an amazing history of the band, and this is just a continuation of the history. And the thing is the music always survives. They said Steve Perry could never have been replaced in JOURNEY. And he was. That Freddie Mercury could never be replaced [in QUEEN]. And he was. And guess what? Baz is gonna be an unbelievable replacement.

"So it's me, Eddie Ojeda and Baz," French continued. "Joe Franco had signed on for the summer, and he wasn't available in the fall. And so Joey Cassata is gonna be on drums filling in for Joe, but if Joe Franco can make it, he definitely will. And Russ Pzütto, who has been our bass tech and has filled in for Mark in the past, will be playing bass. So Russ has been with the organization for years and years and years. He also played on Dee's solo projects. So that's basically the lineup."

Snider and Bach had publicly praised each other in 2020 after they had a disagreement on social media about whether the term "hair metal" was derogatory.

"I love Sebastian Bach!" Snider wrote on X (formerly Twitter). "During the darkest period of my career, he stood tall as a Dee Snider fan when few would. I will always be grateful to him for not caring what was 'cool' at the moment and speaking our proudly for the things he loved. Thank you SMF#2!"

Bach wrote in response: "I love Dee Snider. I will always love the music he has made. No matter how much Dee sees himself as 'hair metal,' I will always see him on a much higher level than that implies. He is one of the greatest frontmen and vocalists of all time. Any corny label less than that is an insult."

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.