Spend some time with rock’n’roller Dee Snider in “Shut Up and Give Me the Mic.”

Lead singer and songwriter Dee Snider of the band Twisted Sister talks about the bands’s rise to “fame” and the ups and downs along the way in his new memoir.

A trained choir singer, Snider created bands with his friends for his high school/college years and then got an invitation to join the area band, Twisted Sister.

Soon playing area clubs, Snider and the group starting making a name for themselves with their metal sound, wild costumes and makeup.

Snider attracted the attention of many, but the one person he wanted attention from was his one-day wife, Suzette, then a 15-year-old who had snuck her way into the club. Though their 6-year age difference proved to be a bit problematic, the non-partying singer kept an eye out on the young girl and eventually won her heart.

Though the band had a great reputation and sold out many concerts, they still could not catch the attention of record executives. Many times calling record executives to come to the shows, having fans in the industry talk to music executives and the like, still could not bring them the elusive record deal. The band eventually made a name for themselves in Europe, and that eventually lead to their record.

But once the group found themselves on MTV and finally receiving rotation nation-wide, making recognized music videos, and even Dee hosting a show, they found that keeping themselves in the music industry was just as hard as breaking in. Work on their second album proved to be problematic, and the Parents Music Resource Center targeting certain artists for their lyrics and even leading to hearings before Congress didn’t exactly help. Eventually the band fractured due to stress, but even that couldn’t keep Snider down.

Eventually appearing in movies, hosting a radio show and appearing on Broadway, Snider has continued to make a name for himself and keep rockin’.

The story of a hard-scrabble band with a frontman who didn’t do the usual partying/womanizing, this story of a group of rockers who fought to keep their music playing will make you take another look at Twisted Sister. Snider’s brutally honesty about himself and the band is poignant and eye-opening and makes their story that much more intriguing.

So tease up your hair and headbang along as you read!