TWISTED SISTER's DEE SNIDER Explains Why He Moved His Entire Family To Rural North Carolina

On Wednesday (May 7),TWISTED SISTER frontman Dee Sniderspoke to WFMY, the television station licensed to Greensboro, North Carolina, about his decision to relocate his entire family to rural North Carolina. The 70-year-old singer said: "We moved out to L.A. ten years ago, the whole family. A couple of years ago, everybody was sitting around saying, you know, it's time to get back to a calmer life — not 'back to' [but] to a life we never had.

"We literally looked from the West Coast to the East Coast and slowly started dialing in," he added. "And North Carolina took the number one spot … You've got to come for the state. So the entire family came out — this is true — and we started on the west end of the state, and we just visited towns. We traveled all the way to the shoreline. And people were amazing, and that's ultimately what it came down to… They were welcoming and lovely, and we said this is where we want to live. We're all here, by the way — my four grown kids, six grandkids, we all live in North Carolina. This is our home."

Snider and his wife, Suzette, have been married for 43 years. They have four children — sons Jesse, 42, Shane, 37, and Cody, 35, and daughter Cheyenne, 28.

Regarding what he likes best about his new rural life in Oak Ridge, North Carolina, Snider said: "I like cars. The roads here are great. I'm also a motorcycle rider. So, I mean, in L.A. or New York, where I'm from originally, it's just defensive riding. But here, you can get up and you can just get out on the open roads and just really enjoy the beauty of the state and enjoy riding and driving."

He added: "You notice I'm limping — it's because I was bike trail riding and the trail won the other day. I took a spill. Sometimes the trail wins."

Last year, Snider announced that his film production company, Defiant Artists, would be located in North Carolina, with plans to build a compound in the area and start projects in 2025. "We're going to be making a lot of movies," Dee told Wilmington StarNews, mostly action, thriller and horror flicks.

When Dee attended a screening of the supernatural thriller "The Exorcism" in Wilmington, North Carolina last June, he told WECT: "This is a perfect example of a great movie made in North Carolina. It shows what can be done, but again this is just one of a million examples. I don't think the world realizes how many great movies were made here. I'm going to tell them. They're going to find out."

In 2016, TWISTED SISTER embarked on one final trek, titled "Forty And Fuck It", in celebration of its 40th anniversary. These shows featured the band's "core lineup" of Snider, guitarist Jay Jay French, guitarist Eddie Ojeda and bassist Mark Mendoza, along with drummer Mike Portnoy. The band's last-ever concert took place in November of that year — 20 months after the passing of TWISTED's longtime drummer A.J. Pero.

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.

Snider's last two solo albums, 2018's "For The Love Of Metal" and 2021's "Leave A Scar", were both released via Napalm Records.

Dee published his first fictional novel, "Frats", in 2023.

In 2015, Snider sold his Snidest Music music publishing catalog of 69 songs — including the classic TWISTED SISTER rock anthems "We're Not Gonna Take It" and "I Wanna Rock" — to Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG).

Three years ago, Snider became one of the most vocal U.S. celebrities advocating for his fellow citizens to support Ukraine in its fight against Russia.

Also in 2022, Snider lashed out at supporters of Donald Trump for using "We're Not Gonna Take It" at campaign rallies, saying the lyrics are antithetical to their beliefs. He added that he would never pursue legal action against them for use of the track, but would instead publicly voice his displeasure.