Dee Snider launching new album in Chicago, rooting for the Cubs

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Dee Snider performs at the “I Want My 80’s” Concert at The Theater at Madison Square Garden on November 6, 2015 in New York City. | Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images

“Chicago has been incredibly good to me,” says veteran metal rocker and Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider, whose history with the city over the years includes numerous tour stops with the aforementioned band, his original Christmas stage musical “Rock and Roll Christmas Tale,” a gig this past September at Riot Fest, and serving as Grand Marshal for Chicago’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in 2014.

Snider is back in Chicago this weekend to launch his latest project, a solo album titled “We Are the Ones” (Red River Records). The album was produced and co-written by Chicagoan Damon Ranger.

Album photo copyright Tyler Curtis

Album photo copyright Tyler Curtis

The launch includes a free show (four or five-set gig) at HVAC (3350 N. Clark; 21+over), starting at 9 p.m. Friday, though that start time may be postponed until after, ahem, the Cubs-Indians World Series game at nearby Wrigley Field.

“HVAC is freaking diagonal from Wrigley. The Cubs have been using ‘Rule the World’ [the first single from the new album] at their games. So this is perfect. I’m not a Cubs fan. I’m from New York,” Snider said with a chuckle. “But I’ve got my Cubs hat on and f— yeah! I’m rooting for them! The fans in Cleveland may not like that, but too bad.”

The singer is also slated to do a CD signing at 5 p.m. at Reckless Records (3126 N. Broadway).

With Twisted Sister winding up its official farewell tour, Snider said he’s totally focused on the future, which brought him to “We Are the Ones.” The album’s most talked-about track to date is an acoustic cover of Twisted Sister’s classic metal anthem “We’re Not Gonna Take It,” which launched as a music video last month featuring Snider on vocals and Las Vegas illusionist Criss Angel on piano. The video was recorded to help raise awareness for pediatric cancer (Angel’s 7-year-old son was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia last year).

Here’s what else Snider had to say about his new music project.

Q. How did this project come about (the album also features a cover of Nine Inch Nails’ “Head Like a Hole”)?

A. I was getting ready to do the farewell Twisted Sister tour, and that was the end of that aspect of my musical career. And I had other projects I was involved in.

So then I was like, well, it’s 2016, what is Dee Snider gonna sound like now? So this album is music deliberately written for this time in my life. People keep saying this is my third solo album. but it’s really not. The other two were outtakes of Twisted records and then my album of Broadway cover tunes. So Damon says to me, you’re iconic, you’re the voice of rebellion. With the right songs you can connect to an even bigger audience.

So it was a few months later that I tried my hand at writing something entirely new and played it for my wife and she looked at me as said, ‘It’s alright. It’s the same old thing.” And then she asked isn’t there someone who can help you do something else? And I mentioned Damon and she looked at me and said then f—— call him!” [Laughs]

Dee Snider of Twisted Sister performs the band’s song “We’re Not Gonna Take It” during Criss Angel’s HELP (Heal Every Life Possible) charity event at the Luxor Hotel and Casino benefiting pediatric cancer research and treatment on September 12, 2016 in La

Dee Snider of Twisted Sister performs the band’s song “We’re Not Gonna Take It” during Criss Angel’s HELP (Heal Every Life Possible) charity event at the Luxor Hotel and Casino benefiting pediatric cancer research and treatment on September 12, 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

Q. You strongly believe your music has the message we all need to hear right now.

A. Absolutely. I feel like with what’s going on in the world right now, very much so. I strongly believe in making your voice heard. Don’t sit there quietly. That’s what “We are the Ones” is all about. We’re the ones who work 9 to 5. We’re the ones who pay our taxes. We’re the ones who are fighting the wars. And as people we have to make our voices heard.

Q. Why did you decide to do the acoustic take on “We’re Not Gonna Take It”?

A. In the midst of all this I get this call from my nutritionist, of all people, who said he had this dream where I came out on stage at the end of a show with just a piano and did an acoustic version of “We’re Not Gonna Take It.” I didn’t think anything of it. But every time I’d see him or talk to him he kept annoying me about this dream.

So I mentioned it to Damon who said that’s not as crazy as it sounds. He says to me, “your voice is strong as every but it’s got miles on it, you can hear the experience in your voice; you can hear the miles on your voice. I want to do something with just a piano so people can hear that.” And he comes out with this piano track and totally slowed down the song. When I wrote the song originally it was this powerful, dangerous song of rebellion and fighting back. Now, over the years it’s become a folk song, a karaoke favorite, a rock anthem for jocks, a pre-menopausal medicine TV commercial song. And that’s great. It made me feel great to have this song with that kind of longevity. But the original message got lost. So now, with this acoustic version, the original themes are not hidden behind the music, not hidden behind a party; it’s just raw and in your face. We did it in one take. I finally expressed myself; I wanted people to hear me, to listen to the man who was screaming it all those years.

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