TWISTED SISTER's JAY JAY FRENCH Fires Back At 'Naysayers' After Singer Switch: 'No One's Forcing You' To Buy A Concert Ticket

In a new interview with Podcast Rock City Live, TWISTED SISTER guitarist Jay Jay French spoke about the band's decision to recruit Sebastian Bach to front TWISTED SISTER for the group's fall 2026 shows after Dee Snider resigned from the group due to "health challenges". Regarding how the first few shows with Bach have gone, French said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "[Sebastian has] been the greatest... He's been the most fun guy. He is the most fun guy."

He continued: "If you ask a hundred TWISTED fans who could do it, you'll get ones who go, 'Dee can never be replaced.' You hear that shit all the time. [But] the thing is this: nobody is irreplaceable anywhere. They're really not. So if [QUEEN's] Freddie Mercury — the quintessential greatest vocalist, pretty much acknowledged, in the history of the rock world, and he's replaced by [Adam Lambert], somebody from 'American Idol'. I mean, think about the absurdity of that. Or Steve Perry [JOURNEY], possibly the second-greatest vocalist, if not the first, depending on who you ask, [people said he] could never be replaced. [And JOURNEY got Arnel Pineda], somebody from YouTube, [to replace him]. I mean, let's get real. The difference between that is we got a real guy, like someone who actually does this for a living, is a bona fide superstar, a great performer in his own right."

Jay Jay went on to say that he "never doubted" Sebastian's ability to handle the TWISTED SISTER singer gig. "So when you hear the naysayers — you'll always have them," he explained. "And by the way, I understand naysayers because I have that same opinion about certain bands that I like. And I've made jokes about the bands that I like that no longer live up to my belief and my memory of how great they could be.

"There are gonna be some people who go, 'I'm sorry, he's not that. You're not that. You're like this. You're all whatever.' Whatever. No one's forcing you to go anywhere," French added. "It's a fucking free country. You don't wanna listen to a record? You don't listen to a record. You don't wanna go to a show? Don't go to a show. Especially with the ticket prices being what they are these days. Which means, on top of which, the responsibility of the artist should be to respect the ticket prices."

TWISTED SISTER's new touring lineup consists of Bach on lead vocals, French and Eddie Ojeda on guitar, Russell Pzütto on bass, and Joey Cassata on drums.

TWISTED SISTER played its first concert with Bach on August 28 at the Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, New Jersey. The show was originally announced as a performance by BENT BROTHER — TWISTED SISTER's alter ego — before it started being officially promoted as the debut live appearance of TWISTED SISTER's new touring lineup.

TWISTED SISTER will play an additional eight shows this fall, including on September 27 at the Washington State Fair Event Center in Puyallup, Washington.

Pzütto, who had previously toured with Snider's solo projects, has replaced 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 is being replaced by Cassata, who played drums on Ace Frehley's final original solo album, "10,000 Volts".

TWISTED SISTER canceled a previously planned 50th-anniversary tour on February 5, citing Snider's resignation.

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 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 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.