Dee Snider has shared an unusual story about nearly being removed from Twisted Sister over his coffee consumption, in comments posted via Instagram.
The Twisted Sister frontman explained that the band once confronted him about how much coffee he was drinking and threatened to kick him out if he did not cut back.
Snider told the story in detail. “I was almost kicked out of Twisted Sister for drinking too much coffee. Let me explain. True story. I never did drugs. I never drank. I never got high. I never partied. But I drank a lot of coffee, fueled by caffeine, baby. It’s legal,” he said.
He went on to describe the moment the band sat him down. “I drank so much coffee, in fact, that the band once sat me down and told me I needed to cut back or they were kicking me out of the group. Now I looked across these four guys. It’s 11 o’clock in the morning. One of them has cocaine under his nose. The other’s holding a hard liquor drink in his hand,” Snider continued.
“Another one is going to an AA meeting, and as soon as they’re done talking to me about my coffee consumption, and I looked at them and I said, ‘So you’re telling me that my caffeine consumption is getting in the way of your drug and alcohol use?’ To which they replied, ‘Dude, you’re driving us insane. You gotta cut back,'” he added.
Snider concluded by noting that he did reduce his intake, though not by much. “And I did. Not that much. Anyway, and that’s how I almost got kicked out of the band for drinking too much coffee. More pots!” he said.
The story offers insight into Snider’s lifestyle choices during his time with the band.
Snider maintained a straight-edge lifestyle throughout his career with Twisted Sister, avoiding alcohol and drugs entirely. After getting drunk at age 14 and becoming ill, he decided never to drink again. He explained that his personality made him value control, so drugs and being drunk did not appeal to him.
Coffee became his only indulgence. Snider drank approximately 25 cups of coffee a day during his time with Twisted Sister, consuming 15 cups plus three large ones from Dunkin Donuts daily. This heavy consumption was so significant that it weakened his bones because caffeine depletes calcium.
While Twisted Sister performed as hell-raising, hard-living rock and rollers on stage, the band actually functioned with high discipline, playing over 250 shows a year with multiple sets each night. In the early days, Snider used to tell people he was high because audiences thought his performance style was strange when he was sober. If he was drunk or stoned, they found it acceptable, but being sober seemed wrong to people.
Snider joined Twisted Sister as lead vocalist and principal songwriter in early 1976. The group took a heavier musical direction influenced by Motörhead, Black Sabbath, and Alice Cooper while keeping its glam image. The band achieved mainstream success with their third album, Stay Hungry (1984), and its single “We’re Not Gonna Take It”, which was their only Top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100. In November 2021, Snider announced his own coffee brand called “Dee Snider For The Love Of Coffee.”
