GALO: In 1985, Twisted Sister was in the midst of another industry shift: parental guidance labeling. “We’re Not Going to Take It” was put on PMRC’s Filthy Fifteen list to warn parents about violence in the content. Do you think this helped or hindered the band’s rise to fame?

JJF: There was a lot of backlash. I think it made us massively popular worldwide, and then it also alienated hundreds of millions of fans as well. And it hurt possibly more than it helped. There’s no way to know if it would be any different because it is what it is. We’ve lasted as long as we have because we’ve been smart, and we’re lucky, and Dee wrote a couple of great anthems that you cannot take away from this world. But our video of “Leader of the Pack” definitely hurt the band a great deal and probably led to our demise the first time around. So I don’t think the PMRC helped or hurt. I mean, we got some publicity from it, but I don’t think it made us “badder.”

What makes the whole thing so silly is that compared to videos after that, our videos are so innocuous. It’s almost like we could be on the Disney Channel at this point. Think about the content of hip-hop videos; our stuff is so mild.

GALO: In a couple of recent interviews, you mentioned that Twisted Sister is now more famous worldwide than in the US. Why do you think there has been a shift in popularity?

JFF: The band is great live. That’s really what we are: a great live act and being on stage is where we’re comfortable. So I think in Europe, when the band came back and people were able to see these massive festivals and see what we do live, it brought a different appreciation to how hard we work.

GALO: You mentioned that many of your shows today attract a younger crowd, despite the fact that you have been around for nearly 40 years. What is it about your music that keeps drawing young people to your shows?

JJF: That’s an interesting question. The only answer I can come up with is they don’t like new music. They like our music better; it resonates with them. It’s a very simple answer that makes us almost sound like our parents who said that our music sucks. But here’s the difference: as much as my parents loved that music — music of the ’30s and ’40s — they were not filling stadiums for the Glenn Miller Orchestra. Here we are, 40 years later, filling arenas around the world. So they must believe that we represent a period and a music that they absolutely love, and they like it better than what’s available to them by their peers; which is fascinating to me, because I don’t want to sound like my dad. I don’t want to say to you that Justin Bieber sucks. I don’t care how popular it is to say it.

I am astonished at the amount of people turning their backs on their peers to enjoy us. I think that’s an incredible statement on what we have created, and nobody could foresee in the ’80s that this music would have this kind of lasting impact.

GALO: In a few days, you’re going to be performing at the M3 Rock Festival alongside other big names like W.A.S.P. and Bret Michaels. What are these festivals like behind the scenes with so many rock stars together in one place?

JJF: We do these shows all the time, I never go into another dressing room. I’ve never seen anybody. Maybe the other guys do, but I have no interest in ever seeing anybody. I go into my dressing room and I put on my guitar. I go to my show. I go home. I do no socializing. We know some people, but we were a pretty antisocial band, so I don’t know any musicians. I know Blackie [Lawless from W.A.S.P.] because Blackie and I had a similar medical condition and we needed to talk about our doctors.

GALO: So being behind the scenes at a hard rock festival is not the raging party the rest of us imagine.

JJF: It was two guys discussing what suggestion their doctor had for their particular medical condition.

GALO: I suppose we always assume that famous people live in a different world.

JJF: I don’t drink and do drugs; I’ve never partied. I was invited to the Playboy Mansion, and I said no. What’s the point of going there? I thought it was just a whole bunch of narcissistic idiots getting together. I just don’t consider myself one of those. For the most part, I think Twisted Sister does its job. We show up for work and we take our job seriously. Nothing gets me more annoyed than bands who do not take their fans seriously. So, therefore, guys like Axl Rose, stuff like that; I have no respect for these people. They do not honor their relationship with their fans with respect. To me, you show your fans respect, and then I’ll respect you. If you don’t do that, you have no chance with me because I dedicate too much of my life to being as great as I can when the bell rings. When that intro starts, for the next two hours, I belong to those fans. And we all do. And if we can’t, then there is no point in doing what we do.

(The M3 Rock Festival is scheduled for May 4, 2013 at the Merriweather Post Pavilion, located at 10475 Little Patuxent Parkway, Columbia, MD, 21044. More information is available at M3RockFest.com and tickets are available at TicketFly.com.)

Cincopa WordPress plugin