An iconic rock band's founder is firing back at fans over a controversial singer change. Jay Jay French of Twisted Sister spoke out about replacing Dee Snider with Sebastian Bach.
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Snider resigned due to health challenges. However, fans have been reluctant to accept the change. Many see Snider as the face of the rock band.
In a new interview with Podcast Rock City Live, French said, "[Sebastian has] been the greatest... He's been the most fun guy. He is the most fun guy. 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 s--t 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.
He continued, "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."
Rock Band Founder Goes Off on Fans
The rock band founder has some strong words for fans who don't like the new singer.
"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 also added. "It's a f--king 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."
