ATLANTIC CITY, N.J, (AP) — Dee Snider is taking a novel approach to life after rock stardom. The former singer for the ’80s glam rock band Twisted Sister just released his first novel, “Frats,” about the madness, cruelty and alcohol and testosterone-fueled bravado of the 1970s high school fraternity scene on Long Island, New York, where he grew up. His debut as a novelist follows his previous stints as a radio disc jockey, TV voiceover artist, Broadway actor, horror film writer and of course the drag-wearing (more about that later) face of the band best known for the hits “We’re Not Gonna Take It” and “I Wanna Rock.” “Always something new and interesting; that’s key to me,” Snider said. “I want to feel challenged.” He got the writing bug coming up with the script for the band’s breakthrough 1984 video for “We’re Not Gonna Take It” in which a stern father berates his teenage son, who then morphs into Snider and engages in cartoonish takedowns of dear old dad. “I started to teach myself how to write,” he said. “In 1984, everybody was out partying; I was in the dressing room or in the hotel working on writing. I’m not a singer who decided to write a book — or had someone write one for him. I’ve been laboring away, honing the craft. “I’m not Vince Neil,” Snider said in a swipe at the Motley Crüe singer. “I’m the guy you saw in Washington (where he testified before the U.S. Senate defending heavy metal against allegations it was violent and dangerous for kids), a guy who can put together a sentence, and express himself.” In his autobiography “Shut Up and Give Me The Mic,” Snider learned about the bane of many writers: editors. His editor wanted 315 pages; Snider had 700 written and wasn’t finished. “They chopped it in half,” he said. “I call it ‘killing babies.’ You have a great section for a book, but you have to remove something.” “Frats,” which Snider says he wrote without assistance, follows the lives of high school friends who had to […]
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