In honor of the 30th anniversary of the Star Wars saga, TWISTED SISTER guitarist Jay Jay French has been interviewed by the mysterious Maul Stanley (a parody hybrid of Star Wars character Darth Maul and KISS guitarist PAUL STANLEY). As part of this special week-long event, Maul Stanley has also interviewed members of POISON, CINDERELLA and QUIET RIOT regarding their own unique Star Wars experiences.

A few excerpts from the Jay Jay French interview follow:

Maul Stanley: Jay Jay French, are you a Star Wars fan?

Jay Jay French: "Yes, I am. I liked Star Wars way back when it was just a fun little movie, long before it became the huge, multi-billion dollar franchise it is today!"

Maul Stanley: What are your memories of the first time seeing a Star Wars movie?

Jay Jay French: "I saw the first Star Wars when it came out in 1977 and I saw The Empire Strikes Back in 1980. Then in 1983, I was in England with Twisted Sister when I happened to spot an advertisement in the London Times. It was for a special one-time showing of all three Star Wars movies, including the premiere of Return Of The Jedi. I don't think I told anybody else in the band about it but since I had nothing else on the schedule for that night, I just headed over to the theater.

Miraculously enough, I was able to buy a ticket and walk right in. Even more amazing, everybody in the audience was in costume! It was like I'd walked into a big masquerade party or something. So there I was, sitting in the theater surrounded by all these people dressed up as Star Wars characters, trying to figure out what was going on. Then some other people came out to address the audience, giving speeches and telling us that it was a very special occasion, that we were going to be the first to see the new Star Wars movie, that we were not going to believe our eyes and so on and so forth.

It was then revealed to us that the Star Wars actors were all in attendance that night! One by one they were introduced, including David Prowse dressed as Darth Vader! He then took off his helmet and said, "I am not James Earl Jones!" It was fantastic. Then to top everything off, George Lucas himself made an appearance! It was all just absolutely incredible. For something I'd heard about completely by accident, it turned out to be an experience I will never, ever forget. That night I got to be a part of something very special in Star Wars history."

Maul Stanley: Do you see any similarities between what you do with Twisted Sister and what George Lucas did with Star Wars?

Jay Jay French: "Well, Twisted Sister has certainly been around as long as Star Wars has... longer, even! Ultimately, rock & roll and moviemaking are two very different things and I'd be hard-pressed to make any real comparisons between them. The only similarity I can think of would be that we've both worked hard at building our respective legacies. What George Lucas did with Star Wars was so completely unique that it set a precedent that's been followed by every franchise since. Similarly, I think it's safe to say that Twisted Sister has set a few precedents of our own."

The entire interview is available here.