Snider - Shut up and give me the mic: a twisted memoir

Im the guy that gave it all to beat the odds, left everything he had on the stage each night, didnt screw around on his woman, took care of his kids, and was sober enough to remember it all and write about it... myself.

The one thing that has surprised and confused me, though, is my unlikely transformation into a beloved public figure. How did the unpopular kid, who grew up to be the angry young man, who became the 80s poster boy for the evils of rock n roll, arrested for profanity and assault, and boycotted by parents and religious groups, become the likeable mensch he is today?

As lead singer and songwriter of Twisted Sister, Dee Snider became the poster boy for heavy metal, hair bands, and the wild side of rock. Now, in his twisted new memoir, he reveals the real stories behind the crazy makeup, the big hair, and badass hits like Were Not Gonna Take It and I Wanna Rock.

A classically trained countertenor who sang with his high school choir, Dee remembers the day he decided he was not gonna take it and stopped caring what people thought about him. Following in the footsteps of his idols Alice Cooper and Black Sabbath, Dee jumped from band to band before meeting Jay Jay French and Twisted Sister. But it wasnt until he met his costume-designing soul-mate Suzette that they developed his unique style. Dees hard work finally paid off with an impressive resume that includes: a monster hit record; smash MTV videos; a long-running radio show, The House of Hair; appearances in film ( Pee Wees Big Adventure, Howard Sterns Private Parts, StrangeLand ) and television ( Growing Up Twisted, Celebrity Apprentice ); and a starring role in Broadways Rock of Ages . He even authored a teenage survival guide that was required reading in Russia!

In his journey from every parents worst teenage nightmare to Renaissance man, Dee avoided the usual pitfalls associated with rock stars. But that didnt stop Tipper Gore and the Parents Music Resource Center from targeting hima fight that led him to testify before Congress with Frank Zappa. He may have been slapped with a Parental Advisory warning label, but, through it all, Dee stayed positive and focused on being the best he could be.

Filled with entertaining anecdotes and candid confessions, Shut Up and Give Me the Mic takes you through the good times and bad with a heavy metal star who worked as hard as he played, and who did it all for his wife, four kids, and millions of SMF (Sick Mother F******) fans.

DEE SNIDER is the lead singer and songwriter for the multiple-platinum-selling heavy metal band Twisted Sister. He is also a noted reality show star, radio personality, and voice-over talent, as well as a screenwriter and author of the book Dee Sniders Teenage Survival Guide . He has been married to his wife, Suzette, since 1981. Visit www.deesnider.com.

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Gallery Books
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Copyright 2012 by Daniel Dee Snider

Note to Readers: This work is a memoir. It reflects the authors present recollections of his experiences over a period of years. Some dialogue and events have been re-created from memory and, in some cases, have been compressed to convey the substance of what was said and what occurred.

Burn in Hell: Words and Music by Daniel Dee Snider. Copyright 1984 by Snidest Music. All Rights in the United States Administered by Universal MusicZ Melodies. International Copyright Secured. All Rights Reserved. Reprinted by Permission of Hal Leonard Corporation.

Were Not Gonna Take It: Words and Music by Daniel Dee Snider. Copyright 1984 by Universal MusicZ Melodies and Snidest Music. All Rights in the United States Administered by Universal MusicZ Melodies. International Copyright Secured. All Rights Reserved. Reprinted by Permission of Hal Leonard Corporation.

Lyrics for Tasty by Peppi Marchello. Copyright 1974. Publisher: Uncle Rat Music.

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information, address Gallery Books Subsidiary Rights Department, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.

First Gallery Books hardcover edition May 2012

GALLERY BOOKS and colophon are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

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Designed by Jaime Putorti

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Snider, Dee
Shut up and give me the mic : a twisted memoir / Dee Snider.1st hardcover ed.
p. cm.
1. Snider, Dee. 2. Rock musiciansUnited StatesBiography. I. Title.
ML420.S6728A3 2012
782.42166092dc23
[B]

2012000597

ISBN 978-1-4516-3739-7
ISBN 978-1-4516-3741-0 (ebook)

For Suzette

Your undying and selfless love, support, and devotion helped all my dreams come true. I could never have done it without you... and I wouldnt have wanted to.

I love you, forever....

Forewarned

S ex, drugs, and rock n roll.

People never seem to get tired of hearing about it. I guess thats the great promise (or failure) of rock n roll. Not for me, but for most people. If thats the only thing youre interested in, this aint the book for you. Anger, violence, love, and rock n roll is more like it.

If the only things that float your boat are journals from drug-addled, ex-junkie, sex-addicted rockers, forget it. Those books are bullshit anyway. Have you ever known a junkie? They cant remember what they did thirty minutes ago, let alone thirty years ago. They kept a journal? And you believe them? Real heroin addicts cant hold their own dicks; forget about a pen or pencil. And who isnt addicted to sex? What a scam.