2016’s Rock Carnival was held in Lakewood New Jersey, consisting of three days of non-stop tunes plus great food and amusing attractions. It was also marked as Twisted Sister’s final tri-state appearance. Other acts included Alice Cooper, Sebastian Bach, Overkill, Ace Frehley, Zakk Sabbath and more. The event was hit with a rainstorm, resulting in a wet weekend, but it didn’t stop fans from having a good time. According to the Associated Press, Twisted Sister are suing the promoters of the event for stiffing them approximately $150,000.
The band’s guitarist Jay Jay French, who runs Jema Productions, is now suing promoter John D’Esposito and his company Rock N Festivals, claiming they were only paid $50,000 of the $200,000 they were supposed to get. According to court documents, the band received the $50,000 payment on December 7th and haven’t seen a penny since.
French told the Associated Press the following:
“After a stellar 14-year reunion in which we played in 32 countries all around the world, to have this happen at the final show in the New York area is very disheartening to the band.”
An attorney who represents Rock N Festivals wrote to French’s company informing that there was no money to cover the initial check, urging them not to cash it. Later, through court papers, D’Esposito said the following:
“Suffered catastrophic economic losses. Thousands of people were prevented from attending because of torrential rains and excessive winds. Refunds had to be issued.”
However, the event was promoted as a “rain or shine event,” resulting in no refunds. There have been additional back and forth incidents including the promoter stating the band cost them thousands of dollars in damage due to Dee Snider being driven in a limousine to get to the stage to avoid the rain. Snider, of course, denied the accusation. The case remains open and with the obvious “he said/she said” antics, it doesn’t look like it will settle anytime soon.
