In a recent interview with VRP Rocks, Jay Jay French shared the financial struggles he went through after Twisted Sister’s breakup in 1988. French spoke about the series of events that unfolded in his life, including his return to the music industry.
Explaining whether those years were the hardest period of his life as a musician, the guitarist said:
“It wasn’t. It wasn’t. I’d already got through – the hardest time in my life was when the band broke up. My mom died; my girlfriend left me. That was the absolute lowest point in my life.”
Still, recalling having to fill for bankruptcy only two years after the release of ‘Love Is For Suckers,’ he went on:
“The irony of it is I filed for bankruptcy, walked out of bankruptcy court in 1989, just like, almost laughing at the absurdity of where this wound up. We went through this struggle, and then incredible, and then here I am, three years later, in bankruptcy court. I lost everything.”
What Happened After Twisted Sister?
French mentioned taking different jobs outside the music industry after the band’s end:
“And the next thing you know, I’m working overnight to the pool hall that my friend owned because I needed to make money. Then, I worked selling stereos for four years, remarried, had a kid. [I] pretty much thought, ‘Well, maybe, that’s just it. Maybe I had my shot. It was great, and I’ll just wind up being a stereo salesman for the rest of my life.'”
The guitarist eventually returned to the rock scene as a producer, though. His work with Sevendust marked the ’90s, as he revealed:
“Then, all of a sudden, the band Sevendust came my way because I had worked with them for years as other names of other bands. And I produced a demo, and then Mark Mendoza and I produced their album, and that became a hit. I pulled myself out and managed them and, made a lot of money and bought a house. And everything went back up again. Everything kind of went from here to here and then back up again.”
He Fell And Rose Again
Things went well for French during those years until his second wife left him, and he started having health issues. The guitarist underwent heart surgery due to atrial fibrillation at some point:
“Everything came crashing down again, and then all of a sudden, offers started coming in for Twisted because we had played a benefit in 2001 for 9/11. All of a sudden, all these festivals said, ‘You know what? If Twisted can come back, we want them as headliners.'”
Years later, the ex-Twisted Sister member talked about this period of his life in a business book called ‘Twisted Business: Lessons From My Life In Rock N’ Roll.’ He also started writing a business column for Inc.com and became a motivational speaker at conferences.
