Name: Dee Snider On How Twisted Sister Got Its Name | Letterman
Uploaded: 2022-09-26T15:01:42.000Z
Description: Watch the stand-up comedy video 'Dee Snider On How Twisted Sister Got Its Name | Letterman' from Letterman on Comedy Buff. Published 2022-09-26. Transcript available.

Watch the stand-up comedy video 'Dee Snider On How Twisted Sister Got Its Name | Letterman' from Letterman on Comedy Buff. Published 2022-09-26. Transcript available.

Tonight on this program, we have psychic body scanner Janet Brennan.
We have comedian Jeff Altman and my first guest tonight.
He is the lead singer with what he calls a dirtbag rock and roll band known as
Twisted Sister.
All right, I have a copy here of their current million-selling album called
Stay Hungry.
Please welcome Dee Snider.
Hi, Dee, how are you?
Good to see you.
All right, I'm bummed out already.
What's the matter?
I thought they were going to play We're Not Going to Take It when I came out or
something like that.
They forgot?
They didn't play anything.
My real dream, though, is to have, we talk about in the band all the time, to
have at halftime one of the marching bands play We're Not Going to Take It.
You know, like, you know you've made it when a marching band plays it.
I don't know, they could have done it yesterday.
I think Miami could have used a little of that tune.
Did you see the halftime show yesterday?
Was that one real?
It was bizarre, wasn't it?
I could not believe it.
Yeah.
My favorite part was the guy flying around the stadium.
That's what's old, though.
That's old.
Remember the Man from GLAAD commercials?
Long time ago.
I know I'm dating myself, but remember Man from GLAAD used to fly around in
that white thing?
I don't know.
I've been dreaming about getting one of those things.
Now, they ought to make those things, they ought to make them available to
civilians like you and me.
I know, every day.
Just think of a traffic situation.
If it just straightened out overnight, it would be great.
What, uh, uh, you just got back from Japan, is that right, recently?
Well, I recently went there on a promotional tour.
You know, we're going back there next month.
Are you hugely popular in Japan?
Yeah, we're pretty popular.
I don't know, you know, they don't have too many people that look like me over
there.
So, you know.
I was really shocked because I was, you know, I was walking on the street and I
stood out, you know.
I didn't blend in.
I was, there's nobody that looked like me over there.
Now, how do the people react to you when they see you on the street?
Do they approach you or are they...
It's just Godzilla!
No, I don't know.
They're that kind of, you know, they're that kind of...
No, they, uh, they're very, actually, they're very, very polite in Japan.
You know, they, uh, they say, ah, Mr. Snyder, may I have your autograph and
that kind of thing?
Yeah.
And they, most of them speak English.
But the thing I'm really excited about is going there and bringing back real
Japanese, what do you call, um, paraphernalia.
Things, things that are definitely from that country.
You know what I mean?
Everybody comes back with kimonas.
What's going on over there?
Everybody comes back with kimonas.
You can get a kimona in China.
Japanese paraphernalia.
You know, things that are just from Japan to prove you're in Japan.
What can you get to prove that I was in Japan?
I got it.
You ready?
Yeah.
From Japan, ladies and gentlemen.
Godzilla merchandise.
Oh, that's...
Come on.
Let's hold it up to the camera.
Get in close there.
Now, keep that camera on.
Not only, this is from my office, this is a wall plaque.
I mean, you can't get this anywhere.
National hero.
Is this happening?
Let's hear it for Godzilla.
Come on.
You see...
You don't see craftsmanship like this in the States, D.
You just don't.
And I got a Godzilla lighter, and I got a Godzilla 1985 poster.
It tells you nationality, Japanese, and it has old pictures of destroying
cities,
and I brought you something.
There's a new Godzilla movie.
They don't release them here anymore, though.
That's the problem, you know?
More through all those good things.
I brought you a Godzilla badge, because I knew that you would probably be a big
fan
of Japanese horror movies.
There it is.
Look at that.
Impress your friends with real Japanese paraphernalia.
Now, what...
Are these huge concerts?
How many folks show up when you play a concert in Japan?
Seven, eight...
No, we've never played there before.
You've never played there before.
No, we're going there in March.
It was a promotional visit, and we went there, and it looked like things were
going really good.
Are you selling a lot of albums in Japan?
Yeah, we're selling a lot.
It looks like we'll probably go gold in Japan.
Yeah.
What is gold in Japan?
What is gold in Japan?
I don't know.
There's a lot of people in Japan.
Tokyo is the closest thing I've ever seen in New York City.
Anyplace I've been.
It's very much...
Similar, big city, expensive.
...shorter and dark-haired, you know?
Now, tell me about the name of the group, Twisted Sister.
What does it mean?
What is the origin?
Where do you come from?
Ah, well, Twisted Sister...
I know you have cable, so I know you see it on TV.
Not for long.
I'm fed up with cable.
You're fed up with cable?
Wait a minute, wait a minute.
I've been hearing about your cable for so long, and now you're fed up.
What's the problem?
I'm fed up.
Well, I won't go into it now, but...
Let's switch seats here for a minute.
Let's talk about your cable.
It's the same nonsense over and over and over and over again.
I know.
I know.
That's the problem.
That's the problem.
Well, cable is dead.
This 85, it's over.
What do you think?
Satellites now?
Are you going for the dish?
I think, no, just back to commercial television the way the good Lord intended
it to be.
Like this.
All right, now, Twisted Sister.
Twisted Sister.
Twisted Sister.
The name Twisted Sister came from the way we looked, okay?
We had the way we looked at the makeup and the costumes first, then we tried to
find names.
Yeah.
And it's like...
Now, you must have been in other bands or other versions of the band you're in
now.
What was the first name that you had for the group that's now Twisted Sister?
No, we never had a name.
Brand new band.
It was a brand new band.
We tried to think of names.
You know, when you're trying to...
A lot of people have been in bands.
Everybody sits around and you, like, throw anything.
A microphone, huh?
It stinks.
You know, leprosy.
Yeah.
They grow on you.
They grow on you.
What about leprosy?
They rot, you know?
I mean, I was in a band that had a secret name.
It was this.
They wouldn't tell me for a month until I got in the band, named the band,
because it was
so cool.
I said, what's the name of the band?
I said, this.
I felt like who was on first, you know?
This?
Yeah, this.
This?
Yeah, this is great.
This is happening.
This is wild.
What about this sucks?
All right.
We have to do a commercial.
We'll be right back with Dee Snider.
All right.
Now, so, from this to, how did you get Twisted Sister?
Twisted Sister?
Well, Twisted Sister was a name given to us by an alcoholic.
Oh.
And he called up, his name is Michael.
I don't want to give him his last name, because I think he's in a coma.
And I'm serious.
And he's got problems.
Anyway, and he called up JJ at 4 o'clock in the morning with his helpful name,
you know?
Yeah.
Well, that's our guitar player, JJ.
Woke him up and said, JJ, I got the perfect name for the band.
Michael, what are we talking?
Twisted Sister.
Yeah.
You know, it's a real drunk's name.
You know, all the S's and things like that, you know?
So, and Twisted Sister was born.
It's a great name.
Did you pay this guy for the name?
Hell no.
I thought maybe it'd help him out of his condition there.
You'd give him a couple of bucks.
Well, if he comes out of the coma, maybe we'll throw him a couple of bucks.
He went in before he went platinum, so what are you going to do?
Hey, hey, it's a mercenary world, folks.
Now, is this the band, Twisted Sister, that originally wore lingerie on stage,
or is that
another version?
Well, actually, it says you used to dress funny on stage.
That's what it says there.
Yeah, I used to dress funny on stage.
Yeah, ha-ha funny?
Yeah.
Well, yeah, we wore some pretty weird stuff.
See, I mean, now we have a costume maker.
We've had her for a few years, and I married her, so I probably sat down.
I met them.
That's Suzanne.
You met her before?
Yeah, I met her.
Very lovely woman.
She didn't get the Jack Clark joke at all.
No, neither did the rest of America, but...
Well, there was nothing to it, folks.
No, it was just something silly.
Yeah, it was something silly.
But anyways, but before that, you know, we had wanted to get a reaction out of
people.
The cheapest way to go, go to the big and fat women's shop, and, you know...
Do they have big and fat women's shop?
Well, it's not big and fat.
You could go to a mall...
Barry White's sister's women's shop kind of thing.
That's it.
Come on, it's how I live did it.
Barry White, you know, big and...
Yeah, no, big women's shop, and you go in there, and you find something really
disgusting
off the rack, you know, lingerie or something floral and, you know, blousy, and
you wear
it on stage.
If everybody went, uh, it was a success, you know?
That's how you do it.
You try to get a reaction.
That was the whole thing.
Now, what was your family's reaction when you...
Uh...
Did you have...
No, no, my family, they really were sort of, you know, sort of, anti-rock and
roll for
many years.
As a matter of fact, that, you know, the whole we're not gonna take it thing
was based, like,
on my father and myself, you know?
That was a typical confrontation with the rock and roll ruining my life.
But, and when I got into Twisted Sister, they finally gave in to the fact that
this
is what their son was gonna be.
And then when they found out their son was gonna wear makeup and weird clothes
as well,
they sort of gave me the old, you know, it's okay, we're behind you all the way.
On my 21st birthday, they bought me a Samsonite makeup case.
The first year of the band, it was the top of the line, you know, they went all
the way,
they took the train, really nice little name, a D on the side, and, uh, and
this was their
way of saying, we're behind you, you may be, you know, weird, but we love you
anyway,
and go out there and kill them, so nine years later...
Well, that's very nice, so they're supportive in a certain way.
But recently, the more famous they get, the more supportive they are.
Now you, uh...
It's a convenient world, folks.
But, uh, wouldn't you agree that in a certain respect, you are every American
parent's worst
dream come true?
It's only me or Paul Schoenberg?
No, no, no, no.
But, you know, you know what I'm saying?
They have a little baby girl, they raise her, she gets to the point where she's
dating,
all of a sudden she comes home with you, you know?
All right, all right, we're talking about...
But I mean this in a good way.
It's a good way, you know?
Oh, and it looks good on you.
Yeah.
Uh, you know, matter of fact, my wife's father threatened to kill me the first
date.
Ooh.
Well, she was 15, I was 21, so it had multiple reasons.
Now, how do you get along with your in-laws?
Well, is that all cool now?
Money changes everything, somebody said.
You know, they love me now.
Uh, now tell me about, uh, uh, maybe you don't even talk about this.
So, uh, in Texas, you were, uh, playing a date and there was an arrest?
Is that true?
Well, it's out in the open now, Dave.
I was...
Try to keep it hush-hush on NBC, millions of people watching.
Oh, my.
And it's out in the open.
Yeah, Amarillo, Texas.
Hi, Amarillo.
And what was the...
George was profanity, abusive language, whatever that is.
What is that?
Was somebody who's actually physically injured from the words you say?
I'm not sure.
I'm not sure.
You said, oh!
So, and, uh, disorderly conduct.
Very general thing.
And this was during the performance?
Well, anyway, it's like out of stage.
They didn't want to write.
No, no, no.
I mean, you were arrested for what you were doing on stage?
Yes, on stage.
Yeah.
I, I, I curse a bit on stage.
I'm known to use...
Now, see, I didn't, I didn't realize that they could, they could go in and
arrest you just
because you were saying bad things on stage.
Well, in Amarillo, Texas, I guess they can.
But somebody, it wasn't the police.
They didn't want to do it because they knew it was just going to be an MTV
special.
Well, who was it?
Like, some teachers came in?
Somebody, somebody's, uh, mother was there.
This is the problem with success.
There's a lot of little kids out there who must think I'm like a Muppet or
something
because they start coming out of the show, their mothers and fathers, little
jokes.
Muppet, okay, they're supposed to laugh at them.
And they bring down their parents, and their parents, the first thing we open
up the show,
we go, hi, you know, we're a twisted, blanking sister.
That's the opening, you know, effing.
I said, that's not a curse.
E-ing, G-ing, E-ing.
No, no, we, we got the picture.
Yes, okay.
And, uh, and, uh, I, but the woman hung out for an hour and a half and listened
to
every abusive word I said.
And then, pressed charges and had me arrested.
I think she was getting on.
So, so, so, so now what, oh, oh, did you hear what I said?
Oh, my God.
So, now, now, what happened, but where does this stand now?
Do you have to, do you have to go back there for trial where the charges
dropped?
As I know, it's what they call, it's the, pending, you know, the whole thing is
pending.
It's, it's a word for not guilty, but not, not guilty, not on trial, but not
off trial.
It's like, it's sort of, what do they call it when it's not heaven or hell?
The Catholics have a place you go.
It's kind of like that.
What was it?
Any Catholics?
Purgatory.
Purgatory.
It's kind of like purgatory for courts, you know?
No, but do you get the sense that the charges will be dropped?
Uh, I get the sense that they don't want to have their addresses published on
national television
or anything like that, you know, which I'll be sure to do if I'm guilty.
And the officer lives that, and, you know, and the woman who pressed charges
her address is...
Now, you had trouble in any other concert?
Well, you know, you get a little, and people are a little, get a little excited
that we use
profanity on stage.
It's not really a big thing.
We just really speak the way people speak to each other.
But hearing it on stage over, like, a 70,000-watt PA system kind of shakes
people up a little bit.
Your mother is a...
You know, one of those things.
Yeah.
Uh, now, we're out of time, but now, do you do any of this stuff on the show?
Eating bones.
Now, that was just imagery.
Come on, let me have your art class and all that.
See, I mean, I was supposed to be stay hungry.
I'm like a trapped animal in a room, and it's a human leg bone.
Okay.
Listen, thank you very much for being here.
And I'm glad you're doing so well.
I'm so excited.
I love this show.
Good luck in Amarillo.
Nice to see you, Dean.
We've got to go here for safe identification.
We'll be right back.

Dee Snider On How Twisted Sister Got Its Name | Letterman

Tonight on this program, we have psychic body scanner Janet Brennan.
We have comedian Jeff Altman and my first guest tonight.
He is the lead singer with what he calls a dirtbag rock and roll band known as
Twisted Sister.
All right, I have a copy here of their current million-selling album called
Stay Hungry.
Please welcome Dee Snider.
Hi, Dee, how are you?
Good to see you.
All right, I'm bummed out already.
What's the matter?
I thought they were going to play We're Not Going to Take It when I came out or
something like that.
They forgot?
They didn't play anything.
My real dream, though, is to have, we talk about in the band all the time, to
have at halftime one of the marching bands play We're Not Going to Take It.
You know, like, you know you've made it when a marching band plays it.
I don't know, they could have done it yesterday.
I think Miami could have used a little of that tune.
Did you see the halftime show yesterday?
Was that one real?
It was bizarre, wasn't it?
I could not believe it.
Yeah.
My favorite part was the guy flying around the stadium.
That's what's old, though.
That's old.
Remember the Man from GLAAD commercials?
Long time ago.
I know I'm dating myself, but remember Man from GLAAD used to fly around in
that white thing?
I don't know.
I've been dreaming about getting one of those things.
Now, they ought to make those things, they ought to make them available to
civilians like you and me.
I know, every day.
Just think of a traffic situation.
If it just straightened out overnight, it would be great.
What, uh, uh, you just got back from Japan, is that right, recently?
Well, I recently went there on a promotional tour.
You know, we're going back there next month.
Are you hugely popular in Japan?
Yeah, we're pretty popular.
I don't know, you know, they don't have too many people that look like me over
there.
So, you know.
I was really shocked because I was, you know, I was walking on the street and I
stood out, you know.
I didn't blend in.
I was, there's nobody that looked like me over there.
Now, how do the people react to you when they see you on the street?
Do they approach you or are they...
It's just Godzilla!
No, I don't know.
They're that kind of, you know, they're that kind of...
No, they, uh, they're very, actually, they're very, very polite in Japan.
You know, they, uh, they say, ah, Mr. Snyder, may I have your autograph and
that kind of thing?
Yeah.
And they, most of them speak English.
But the thing I'm really excited about is going there and bringing back real
Japanese, what do you call, um, paraphernalia.
Things, things that are definitely from that country.
You know what I mean?
Everybody comes back with kimonas.
What's going on over there?
Everybody comes back with kimonas.
You can get a kimona in China.
Japanese paraphernalia.
You know, things that are just from Japan to prove you're in Japan.
What can you get to prove that I was in Japan?
I got it.
You ready?
Yeah.
From Japan, ladies and gentlemen.
Godzilla merchandise.
Oh, that's...
Come on.
Let's hold it up to the camera.
Get in close there.
Now, keep that camera on.
Not only, this is from my office, this is a wall plaque.
I mean, you can't get this anywhere.
National hero.
Is this happening?
Let's hear it for Godzilla.
Come on.
You see...
You don't see craftsmanship like this in the States, D.
You just don't.
And I got a Godzilla lighter, and I got a Godzilla 1985 poster.
It tells you nationality, Japanese, and it has old pictures of destroying
cities,
and I brought you something.
There's a new Godzilla movie.
They don't release them here anymore, though.
That's the problem, you know?
More through all those good things.
I brought you a Godzilla badge, because I knew that you would probably be a big
fan
of Japanese horror movies.
There it is.
Look at that.
Impress your friends with real Japanese paraphernalia.
Now, what...
Are these huge concerts?
How many folks show up when you play a concert in Japan?
Seven, eight...
No, we've never played there before.
You've never played there before.
No, we're going there in March.
It was a promotional visit, and we went there, and it looked like things were
going really good.
Are you selling a lot of albums in Japan?
Yeah, we're selling a lot.
It looks like we'll probably go gold in Japan.
Yeah.
What is gold in Japan?
What is gold in Japan?
I don't know.
There's a lot of people in Japan.
Tokyo is the closest thing I've ever seen in New York City.
Anyplace I've been.
It's very much...
Similar, big city, expensive.
...shorter and dark-haired, you know?
Now, tell me about the name of the group, Twisted Sister.
What does it mean?
What is the origin?
Where do you come from?
Ah, well, Twisted Sister...
I know you have cable, so I know you see it on TV.
Not for long.
I'm fed up with cable.
You're fed up with cable?
Wait a minute, wait a minute.
I've been hearing about your cable for so long, and now you're fed up.
What's the problem?
I'm fed up.
Well, I won't go into it now, but...
Let's switch seats here for a minute.
Let's talk about your cable.
It's the same nonsense over and over and over and over again.
I know.
I know.
That's the problem.
That's the problem.
Well, cable is dead.
This 85, it's over.
What do you think?
Satellites now?
Are you going for the dish?
I think, no, just back to commercial television the way the good Lord intended
it to be.
Like this.
All right, now, Twisted Sister.
Twisted Sister.
Twisted Sister.
The name Twisted Sister came from the way we looked, okay?
We had the way we looked at the makeup and the costumes first, then we tried to
find names.
Yeah.
And it's like...
Now, you must have been in other bands or other versions of the band you're in
now.
What was the first name that you had for the group that's now Twisted Sister?
No, we never had a name.
Brand new band.
It was a brand new band.
We tried to think of names.
You know, when you're trying to...
A lot of people have been in bands.
Everybody sits around and you, like, throw anything.
A microphone, huh?
It stinks.
You know, leprosy.
Yeah.
They grow on you.
They grow on you.
What about leprosy?
They rot, you know?
I mean, I was in a band that had a secret name.
It was this.
They wouldn't tell me for a month until I got in the band, named the band,
because it was
so cool.
I said, what's the name of the band?
I said, this.
I felt like who was on first, you know?
This?
Yeah, this.
This?
Yeah, this is great.
This is happening.
This is wild.
What about this sucks?
All right.
We have to do a commercial.
We'll be right back with Dee Snider.
All right.
Now, so, from this to, how did you get Twisted Sister?
Twisted Sister?
Well, Twisted Sister was a name given to us by an alcoholic.
Oh.
And he called up, his name is Michael.
I don't want to give him his last name, because I think he's in a coma.
And I'm serious.
And he's got problems.
Anyway, and he called up JJ at 4 o'clock in the morning with his helpful name,
you know?
Yeah.
Well, that's our guitar player, JJ.
Woke him up and said, JJ, I got the perfect name for the band.
Michael, what are we talking?
Twisted Sister.
Yeah.
You know, it's a real drunk's name.
You know, all the S's and things like that, you know?
So, and Twisted Sister was born.
It's a great name.
Did you pay this guy for the name?
Hell no.
I thought maybe it'd help him out of his condition there.
You'd give him a couple of bucks.
Well, if he comes out of the coma, maybe we'll throw him a couple of bucks.
He went in before he went platinum, so what are you going to do?
Hey, hey, it's a mercenary world, folks.
Now, is this the band, Twisted Sister, that originally wore lingerie on stage,
or is that
another version?
Well, actually, it says you used to dress funny on stage.
That's what it says there.
Yeah, I used to dress funny on stage.
Yeah, ha-ha funny?
Yeah.
Well, yeah, we wore some pretty weird stuff.
See, I mean, now we have a costume maker.
We've had her for a few years, and I married her, so I probably sat down.
I met them.
That's Suzanne.
You met her before?
Yeah, I met her.
Very lovely woman.
She didn't get the Jack Clark joke at all.
No, neither did the rest of America, but...
Well, there was nothing to it, folks.
No, it was just something silly.
Yeah, it was something silly.
But anyways, but before that, you know, we had wanted to get a reaction out of
people.
The cheapest way to go, go to the big and fat women's shop, and, you know...
Do they have big and fat women's shop?
Well, it's not big and fat.
You could go to a mall...
Barry White's sister's women's shop kind of thing.
That's it.
Come on, it's how I live did it.
Barry White, you know, big and...
Yeah, no, big women's shop, and you go in there, and you find something really
disgusting
off the rack, you know, lingerie or something floral and, you know, blousy, and
you wear
it on stage.
If everybody went, uh, it was a success, you know?
That's how you do it.
You try to get a reaction.
That was the whole thing.
Now, what was your family's reaction when you...
Uh...
Did you have...
No, no, my family, they really were sort of, you know, sort of, anti-rock and
roll for
many years.
As a matter of fact, that, you know, the whole we're not gonna take it thing
was based, like,
on my father and myself, you know?
That was a typical confrontation with the rock and roll ruining my life.
But, and when I got into Twisted Sister, they finally gave in to the fact that
this
is what their son was gonna be.
And then when they found out their son was gonna wear makeup and weird clothes
as well,
they sort of gave me the old, you know, it's okay, we're behind you all the way.
On my 21st birthday, they bought me a Samsonite makeup case.
The first year of the band, it was the top of the line, you know, they went all
the way,
they took the train, really nice little name, a D on the side, and, uh, and
this was their
way of saying, we're behind you, you may be, you know, weird, but we love you
anyway,
and go out there and kill them, so nine years later...
Well, that's very nice, so they're supportive in a certain way.
But recently, the more famous they get, the more supportive they are.
Now you, uh...
It's a convenient world, folks.
But, uh, wouldn't you agree that in a certain respect, you are every American
parent's worst
dream come true?
It's only me or Paul Schoenberg?
No, no, no, no.
But, you know, you know what I'm saying?
They have a little baby girl, they raise her, she gets to the point where she's
dating,
all of a sudden she comes home with you, you know?
All right, all right, we're talking about...
But I mean this in a good way.
It's a good way, you know?
Oh, and it looks good on you.
Yeah.
Uh, you know, matter of fact, my wife's father threatened to kill me the first
date.
Ooh.
Well, she was 15, I was 21, so it had multiple reasons.
Now, how do you get along with your in-laws?
Well, is that all cool now?
Money changes everything, somebody said.
You know, they love me now.
Uh, now tell me about, uh, uh, maybe you don't even talk about this.
So, uh, in Texas, you were, uh, playing a date and there was an arrest?
Is that true?
Well, it's out in the open now, Dave.
I was...
Try to keep it hush-hush on NBC, millions of people watching.
Oh, my.
And it's out in the open.
Yeah, Amarillo, Texas.
Hi, Amarillo.
And what was the...
George was profanity, abusive language, whatever that is.
What is that?
Was somebody who's actually physically injured from the words you say?
I'm not sure.
I'm not sure.
You said, oh!
So, and, uh, disorderly conduct.
Very general thing.
And this was during the performance?
Well, anyway, it's like out of stage.
They didn't want to write.
No, no, no.
I mean, you were arrested for what you were doing on stage?
Yes, on stage.
Yeah.
I, I, I curse a bit on stage.
I'm known to use...
Now, see, I didn't, I didn't realize that they could, they could go in and
arrest you just
because you were saying bad things on stage.
Well, in Amarillo, Texas, I guess they can.
But somebody, it wasn't the police.
They di