TWISTED SISTER Sues ROCK CARNIVAL Festival Promoter Over Unpaid Concert Fee

According to the Associated Press, TWISTED SISTER has sued the promoter of last year’s Rock Carnival festival, claiming the band has only been paid $50,000 of the $200,000 it was to receive for headlining one of the three nights at the Lakewood, New Jersey event.

In court papers, promoter John D’Esposito and his company Rock N Festivals said they “suffered catastrophic economic losses” due to three days of heavy rain that weekend.

“Thousands of people were prevented from attending because of torrential rains and excessive winds,” he said. “Refunds had to be issued.”

TWISTED SISTER says it was paid $50,000 in early December for its October 1 performance but it has not yet paid the remaining $150,000.

The case is pending in state Superior Court in Monmouth County.

TWISTED SISTER played what was billed as the band’s last-ever concert on November 12, 2016 at the Corona Northside Rock Park Meeting Fest at Fundidora Park in Monterrey, Mexico.

Most of TWISTED SISTER shows in 2016 featured the core lineup of Dee Snider (vocals), Jay Jay French (guitar), Mark Mendoza (bass) and Eddie Ojeda (guitar), along with drummer Mike Portnoy (THE WINERY DOGS, ex-DREAM THEATER).

In a 2016 interview with Goldmine magazine, Jay Jay French talked about TWISTED SISTER‘s decision to call it quits. He said: “Whether you like it or not, once you reach a status of ‘classic,’ you really start to understand people — if you really truly want to understand why people like you. You can make new product, it’s all well and good, but when someone spends 200-300 bucks for a ticket, they expect certain songs, they expect the songs played correctly, they expect you to be proficient, on time and professional — that’s what an entertainer is. And I will tell you that the club scene taught us an enormous amount of discipline.”

He continued: “You know, I can’t emphasize it enough. Dee became one of the greatest frontmen in the world because he learned how to do it on the club scene. We learned how to be great entertainers in the bars and we followed through. And I think the band just wants to say that we reached a point where we can’t do it anymore in the manner that we feel we need to do it and we should probably be respected for that. Because I don’t want to takes someone’s money that I don’t earn. And it’s hard for some people to understand that. They want to keep you hermetically sealed in a jar with their memories forever. Which I get. I do get it.”

TWISTED SISTER‘s movie, “We Are Twisted F***ing Sister!”, was released in February 2016 on DVD, Blu-ray, VOD, and digital formats, with an included two hours of bonus material and director commentary.