DEE SNIDER

FEATURE

DEE SNIDER: More Twisted Than!

by Tom Lounges

The hulking 6-foot-plus figure of Dee Snider is one of the more intimidating in modern rock ‘n’ roll –– whether he is wearing his garish Twisted Sister make-up, done up as his “Strangeland” film alter-ego Captain Howdy, or as the ominous cloaked narrator of his latest multi-media project, Van Helsing’s Curse.

It is the latter which has brought Dee to the pages of Midwest BEAT for this Halloween edition, for Van Helsing’s Curse is a special Halloween project that has been nearly three years in the making and one which will hit a Chicagoland stage sometime prior to All Hallows Eve.

“We are still working out the venue and night in Chicago,” said Snider, while taking time out from taping his nationally syndicated radio show, “Dee Snider’s House Of Hair,” which is currently carried on a 175 radio stations.  “I am unable to tell you exactly when we will be there to scare the hell out of you. But we WILL be there...so get ready!”

Van Helsing’s Curse is an adventurous conceptual musical piece that was written by Snider, who is the project’s narrator and the point man for an 18-piece ensemble that includes a brood of haunting string players and an eerie choir of hooded Druids.

As Snider speaks, it is hard to not think of him as the guy whose voice has been hawking “Kit-Kat” candy bars for the last year on commercials. 

“Yeah, that’s me.  I do an awful lot of voice over work,” laughed Snider on being busted for pitching the sweet chocolate treat.  “I live in the studio anymore.  The radio studio is my life!”

Though Van Helsing’s Curse has  recorded and released a spooky CD –– Oculus Infernum –– via Koch International Records, Snider said his days as a musical recording artist are mostly behind him.

“Twisted [Sister] just got together and did a new recording of the ‘Stay Hungry’ album that is right now being mastered and readied for release,” he said.  “We were never happy with the original version of that album from the way it was produced to the album cover graphics.  So we all [original members] got together and remade those songs the way we wanted them to be done, using today’s new technology.”  

Snider noted that there are several bonus strong tracks being included on that CD as well, all are songs written during that same period.

Snider is not sure if the Twisted Sister line up will tour behind the newly issued classic album or not, but he makes it clear that his Twisted Sister days are certainly marked. 

“We had a blast and the whole Twisted thing was a lot of fun, but I have no desire to go back and do that whole thing again,” he said.  “I always like moving ahead and doing new things.”

Van Helsing’s Curse may be something new to the public, but is actually a three-year-old project for Snider and his gaggle of ghoulish band mates.

Snider confessed that he first got the notion for creating this sort of conceptual Halloween recording after experiencing the much respected Trans-Siberian Orchestra and their impressive classical music/rock hybrid albums and tours.

“Van Helsing’s Curse is truly a different kind of animal than everything else out there,” said Snider.  “I liken it as much to the Blue Man Group and I do to Trans-Siberian Orchestra.  It’s a show and it’s a musical entity as well.  It is designed specifically for Halloween and the live show will only be performed at Halloween time.”

Oculus Infernum was originally released in late-September 2003, but Snider learned too late that he has missed the Halloween marketing blitz coming out so late in the year.   So the project was put on the shelf in regards to the general public’s exposure to it

“The Halloween industry is huge and I learned last year after we came along with our Halloween album, that we had completely missed the boat.  I found out that Halloween orders are done in November of the previous year for new Halloween product,” he explained.

       “This product is not design to be just a one time thing. It’s designed to be a perennial Halloween item,” said Snider, “so we are doing a lot of press on it and we are getting it not just into the traditional record stores, but into all those Halloween shops and the costume shops that pop up all over the place every fall.  It’s also going to be played and sold at a lot of haunted houses all over the place.”  

Snider’s treatment of Mike Oldfield’s “Exorcist” theme song is called “Tubular Hell” and it’s the single hitting radio station’s from this intricately woven 10-track CD collection. 

What is  unique about Oculus Infernum is that even the first time it is heard, it is familiar to the ear. 

Not only does Snider’s group give their own take on “Tubular Bells”, but also heard during the running of Oculus Infernum are several famous classical pieces, including: Carl Orff’s haunting “O Fortuna” (from “Carmina Burana”), Mussorgsky’s “Night On Bald Mountain”, Chopin’s “Funeral March” and Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata.”  There is a spine-chilling cover of Black Sabbath’s masterful namesake song, “Black Sabbath.”

The 18-piece touring ensemble Snider has assembled will perform only six live shows in six major market cities this season.  Chicago is one of them, though the date/venue is still unannounced.

Snider’s dream is to make his Halloween production akin to the Blue Man Group, where there are several touring companies running around the country performing the music and ornate stage show during the month of October each year.  

“I obviously can not be in every city in every performance as the narrator in such a scenario,” he said.  “So I was thinking of having celebrities with a strong Halloween connection be ‘guest narrators’ with the various touring companies.  Like say... Alice Cooper, Elvira (Cassandra Peterson), Henry Rollins or Rob Zombie... I think that would be the way to go.”

Of course, the first thing Snider needs to do to move ahead with his grand vision, is to make sure this debut year for Van Helsing’s Curse is successful. 

This year finds him pouring the foundation upon which he can then build what he hopes will be a project that endures the ages.

Once this project gets rolling as planned, Snider fans can count on the long awaited sequel to his cult horror classic, “Strangeland,” to get under way at last.  Seems that “Strangeland II”, long rumored to be in the works had been tied up in legal  red tape and litigation these past four years.  

“I just got the word this month that everything is finally resolved,” he sighed.  Snider said he hopes to start pre-production on the continuing adventures of his scary Captain Howdy character sometime in early 2005.  We can only hope it gets to the silver screen in time for Halloween 2005!   

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