If one were to look up the dictionary definition of Metal Music in the encyclopedia, there is little doubt the accompanying photo would be TWISTED SISTER. For many growing up in the 80’s and even onwards, the epic anthems of ‘I Wanna Rock’ and ‘We’re Not Gonna Take It’ from their Stay Hungry LP (1984) are the basic building blocks of the machine that makes metal music what it is. In the roaring 80’s we likely would have recalled them in their makeup, costumes and over the top attire (which they retired in 2009) as well as their in your face antics on MTV.
With a successful 40 year career any musician would wear proudly on their chest like a row of medals, they have released 7 studio albums, 6 live albums, 6 compilations, and numerous DVD’s from their epic world tours. But their greatest legacy is that they were instrumental in breaking down the barriers of music censorship and because of these efforts, we all benefit from a world of music uncensored and unregulated by some faceless, nameless government organization.
TWISTED SISTER however was dealt a major blow this year with the sudden death of their dear friend and longtime drummer AJ Pero who died unexpectedly of a heart attack while on tour with ADRENALINE MOB on March 20, 2015.
TWISTED SISTER lead guitarist Eddie Ojeda has been on the heavy metal scene since the late 1970’s when TWISTED SISTER horded fans to their concerts in the New York area. Eddie joined TWISTED SISTER in 1975, and this year marks 40 years of playing with the band.
Eddie Ojeda took some time to talk to Rock Revolt about AJ, the upcoming tribute shows and tour, the possible ‘final’ tour and some other side projects, including his passion for creating hot sauce.
Hi Eddie! Thanks so much for talking to us about the upcoming tribute shows, AJ’s death and your tour coming up for this spring and summer 2015. This is TWISTED SISTER’S final tour, correct?
No, there is a lot of confusion about that. Next year 2016 is going to be the final tour. People are saying, “They’re breaking up” and I say, “Oh, boy!” We have a tour coming up, and then we announced that will be the final tour.
Will that be the Forty and Fuck It Tour?
Yes, but I don’t know! Bands say that all the time then something happens. Who knows? I’m cool with it either way.
What are you calling the 9 dates you’re doing this year?
I’m not sure we have a name for it yet. One show we are doing as a tribute to AJ, and every night we are going to say something about AJ. Mike Portnoy has agreed to do the tour with us out of respect for AJ and the relationship they had. The connection between them and ADRENALINE MOB is very visceral because AJ replaced Mike in ADRENALINE MOB. Mike himself said that AJ is probably the only guy that could replace him in that band. They had a real respect for each other, and Mike is doing a really good job of being respectful of how AJ played. He is playing his stuff exactly but then again he’s the kind of guy that could adapt to any situation effortlessly. He can play very technically like in Dream Theater, but he can also be in a Beatle tribute band and play like Ringo. It is important to respect whatever position you’re in and who you are working with, and in his case with AJ it’s really important. It gives AJ the respect he deserves. I think AJ would be blown away by all the love and attention the press gave him when he passed. I think we were all surprised. We all knew it would be mentioned but the level it went to was quite humbling for all of us.
I wish there were different circumstances. I wish Mike was just filling in, and AJ was in recovery but unfortunately that is not the case. We will do the best we can to respect his memory.
Was AJ planning on doing these 9 dates with TWISTED SISTER this summer?
Yes. His shoulder had been hurting him. Drummers are very physical and they are used to being in pain. It is part of what they do, and AJ was that tough sort of guy. He was into karate. He was a physical person who can take a lot of pain. His girlfriend mentioned that his shoulder was really hurting him for a month before he passed. He said that he was going to take care of it, but he was out touring with ADRENALINE MOB and a couple of different bands because TWISTED SISTER doesn’t do many shows: we only tour in the spring and summer and we only do the big festivals. The rest of the time we all have different projects we work on.
He was going to do two more shows and then go into therapy the following Monday. He passed away on Friday. He was supposed to do the local Friday and Saturday shows: one in Poughkeepsie and one in Sayreville, New Jersey at the Starland Ballroom with ADRENALINE MOB. There was another drummer who was replacing him so it was all planned. He just went out with them for about a month. He had just spoken to Jay Jay the day before he died and said, “Listen, you’re gonna hear that I’m leaving ADRENALINE MOB but I’m not really leaving them. I’m just going in for therapy to get my shoulder taken care of.” Then the next morning he had a massive heart attack. They said his arteries were clogged. So apparently he was getting signs but he didn’t realize that he was having mild heart attacks. I heard that shoulder pain was a sign of heart problems. He played the night before and played fine!
When was the last time you played with AJ?
The last show with AJ was in September 2014. We did a benefit. That night ADRENALINE MOB opened for TWISTED SISTER. So he did the show with ADRENALINE MOB and then he did the show with TWISTED SISTER back to back. I was a little concerned because that is a lot of intense drumming. ADRENALINE MOB is a very progressive band, and the stuff he does with TWISTED SISTER is some pretty progressive drumming, even though our stuff is pretty straight forward. It was a tough night for him, and he got through it.
So his death was a big surprise. Sometimes people get signs and they don’t realize it. Sometimes it’s just nothing and sometimes it can be something. It’s one of those things, you never know. Had he gone in the beginning when his arm started hurting him, he probably would have been able to do something. Waiting as long as he had, it probably would have made it difficult to do anything. It gets to a point with your arteries that they can’t even do anything. So who knows? I have seen people who are healthy, who go running every day, exercise and eat right, and they die at their desk of a heart attack. You never know. That’s why it’s good to enjoy life everyday as much as you can.
Is TWISTED SISTER going to be donating the money AJ would have made on this tour to AJ’s family?
Yes we are acting as if he were still alive including any future royalties. That’s the agreement we have. In this business you earn residual income. You never know if it’s going to be substantial or small amounts. It comes in from time to time from records and DVDs. Whatever his share is, we are giving to his kids.
Your next TWISTED SISTER release will be a CD and DVD from the show in Las Vegas. Is that a tribute show?
Since it’s more of a mini-festival the promoters want to keep it like a regular show and there is going to be a nice introduction and of course we are going to dedicate the night to AJ.
As far as the DVD goes, however we split it, AJ’s family will get a share. The tribute show at the Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, New Jersey, is all for this family. Whatever we raise will be for his family.
That’s really amazing and generous of you.
Well, it’s the right thing to do. I would expect that for myself or for anybody in the band.
You guys seem to have excellent comraderie in TWISTED SISTER.
With any business especially the music business there is going to be some emotional involvement. Sometimes we can’t let emotions make us choose bad decisions. With any band or relationship, things can get emotional. Sometimes emotions get the best of people. That’s one thing that I have learned. I try to take emotion out of any decision I make. For the fans to do the right thing, you have to think that way. I think that’s why we have longevity with the band. We are all smart enough to know that.
Let’s talk about you and your guitar and rig. What is your rig like for this upcoming tour?
Right now I’m going to be using a Kemper: it’s like a profiling amplifier that I started using. I really like it. I’m also using a stereo pair of Quilter Tone Block 200 amps. It’s pretty awesome because it goes really well with the Kemper and to power my cabs and then my usual pink and black Wyane Bullseye guitar. I also use mainly a Floyd Upgrades Black on Black Bullseye guitar. I usually bring 2 guitars with me. It’s a pretty simple rig. As a controller I’m using the Soft Step 2. It’s a product made by Keith McMillan and it’s a cool, small, lightweight controller. With all the travelling, we fly everywhere, weight is important. It’s going to be really cool using the Quilter Tone Block this year because I’ll have the same heads every night instead of using the backline stuff with my pedals. It’s pretty straight ahead. My guitars have DiMarzio pick-ups in the bridge and Sustainiac pick-ups in the neck. Floyd Rose upgrade bridges with real all titanium parts on it. And that’s about it! All of my effects are in the Kemper. Everything is built in. It’s like a profiling amp, but it also has everything built in: process, effects and everything is controlled through the Soft Step. So I don’t have to bring all these extra pedals, and I can just program it to different patches to get the effects I need for different songs. It’s very compact. To me from what I have seen out there, it’s pretty simple.
What are some of your side projects?
I’m still working on some solo stuff but I’ve been putting that on the back burner because I’m trying to help my daughter as well. She’s a singer out in Los Angeles, California. I’m trying to help her get some kind of production deal. She does straight up pop-rock.
I also have my own brand of hot sauce. I’ve been making it for 1 ½ years and it’s done really well. So I’ve partnered up with another company and we are doing two more flavors. They are going to launch in the next month or so.
What is the name of your hot sauce?
Eddie Ojeda’s TWISTED Hot Sauce. Right now I have out Ojeda’s Twisted Cherry Habanero Hot Sauce, which is medium heat. I also have a peach and an apple coming out. Peach is going to be hotter and the apple is going to be milder.
Do you make your own recipes?
Yes. Chef John Rizzotti and I created all three of the hot sauces together. It was something I wanted to do. I have a passion for cooking and hot sauce. I won first place award 2014 in the Sweet Heat category Scovie award, which is an Oscar in the hot sauce business. I won first place category which is awesome! I’m sure a lot of people were a little jealous of it because it was the first year of it, like your first movie. But, hey, it’s a good sauce! What can I say? And it’s different: it’s the only cherry hot sauce out there. That’s another thing that worked for me. Sometimes out of necessity comes invention.
It’s a good business and I’m meeting a lot of chefs. I was on a cooking show on the Food Network. Who knows? Maybe I’ll be a judge on Top Chef? It’s a nice break from the music scene.
Thank you, Eddie for your time to talk to Rock Revolt! Looking forward to see TWISTED SISTER on the upcoming tour!
The first two TWISTED SISTER shows are the only shows in USA. The remaining 7 dates are all in Europe. The first US show is in Las Vegas, Nevada, on May 30th at The Joint Hard Rock Hotel with SKID ROW and STRYPER. This mini-festival will also be filmed for broadcast, as well as for a CD and a DVD. The second concert of the tour is the “Twisted Sister – A Concert to Honor AJ Pero” held in Sayreville, NJ, at the Starland Ballroom on June 13th. Get your tickets here! All proceeds from the Sayreville show will go to AJ Pero’s family as well as a portion of all the other shows on the tour.
TWISTED SISTER 2015 tour dates:
May 30, Metal Meltdown at the Joint, Hard Rock Hotel, Las Vegas, NV
June 13, A Concert to Honor AJ Pero, Starland Ballroom, NJ
June 19, Tons of Rock Festival, Halden, Norway
June 20, State Prison Motorcycle Festival, Horsens, Denmark
June 27, Topfest, Piestany, Slovakia
June 28, Kavarna Rock, Bulgaria Soccer Stadium
July 2, Toreboda Festival, Toreboda, Sweden
July 24, Rockfest, Barcelona, Spain
September 12, Grand Rocktember III Musicfest, Grand Casino, Hinckley, MN
Connect With TWISTED SISTER on the INTERWEBZ!
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Interview on April 27, 2015, by Jen Rubino, RockRevolt journalist
