TWISTED SISTER Guitarist JAY JAY FRENCH On Songwriting - "I Don't Get The Itch To Create Anymore; I Still Love It, But You'd Have To Really Push Me To Do It"
April 23, 2023, a year ago
Twisted Sister guitarist Jay Jay French recently sat down with Andrew Daly for an Ultimate Guitar exclusive interview. During the chat, French discussed his current creative mindset and his use of Epiphone guitars, something that caught the attention of guitar-focused audiences in recent years. Following is an excerpt.
UG: Do you still play guitar, and do you ever get the itch to create new music?
French: "I don't get the itch to create anymore. I still love it, but you'd have to really push me to do it. And lately, people have been pushing me more. So, I've been performing for guest appearances with various people because they pushed me, saying, 'Come on, man, let's do it.' So, my wife says, 'Go do it. Have fun out there.' But I have a guitar in my office, and I try to pick it up and play for an hour each day just to keep my fingers nimble. In fact, for the Metal Hall of Fame thing, I practiced a lot because I hadn't played in quite a while. I had to work to build up my speed again, but it came back pretty quickly. I don't have arthritis in my fingers, which is good because that's no joke. People do get that. I don't have that. So I was able to adapt quickly. The guitar is still fun for me, but my writing is my focus these days. I write for various magazines and do my podcast and motivational speaking. That's where most of my energy goes now."
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On January 26th, Twisted Sister were inducted into the 2023 Metal Hall Of Fame at the 6th Annual Metal Hall Of Fame Charity Gala, at the Canyon Club in Agoura Hills, CA.
The surviving members of Twisted Sister - Dee Snider (vocals), Jay Jay French (guitar), Eddie Ojeda (guitar) and Mark Mendoza (bass) - performed together for the first time since 2016 at the event. The band performed "You Can't Stop Rock 'N' Roll", "Under The Blade" and "We're Not Gonna Take It". On drums was Mike Portnoy.
Video footage of Twisted Sister's performance (courtesy of Michael Brandvold, and YouTube channel Fortheloveofrock) can be viewed below:
Below are the acceptance speeches from Dee Snider, Mark “The Animal” Mendoza, Jay Jay French, and the daughters of AJ Pero and Eddie Ojeda.
Dee Snider
Mark “The Animal” Mendoza
Jay Jay French
Daughters of AJ Pero and Eddie Ojeda
