Unlike most rock autobiography “authors”, Dee Snider wrote every word of his new book Shut Up And Give Me The Mic, and in record time—five months.  In his book, Snider is unapologetic about his single mission to become a rock star, and though many thought Twisted Sister was an overnight sensation, the band had worked tirelessly for eight years before finding superstar status.  Snider has a strong voice as a writer, so the book reads like you’re sitting with him as he’s telling his story.  The tales are humorous (a memorable in-store appearance where one fan showed up), cautionary (filing for bankruptcy twice), and inspiring (reinventing himself outside of rock music to great success).  The book also includes many memorable characters, including his wife’s uncle who also happened to be a mob enforcer.

In this interview with Rock Book Show, Snider talks about his early life, how he feels about music censorship, the importance of family, his stint on Celebrity Apprentice, and he reveals who he considers Twisted Sister’s guardian angel.

Check out Dee’s brand new website.  Follow Dee on Twitter. Learn more about The March of Dimes (Dee is a National Spokesperson). Buy Shut Up and Give Me the Mic.

Yesterday, Dee Snider unleashed his hilarious self-penned memoir Shut Up and Give Me The Mic on the masses. Dee had some doubt along the way about his writing skills and reached out to Mick Foley for some advice, but he never needed to question himself.  This is one awesome read.

And, as luck would have it, Dee has also just released his album Dee Does Broadway.  Dee starred in Rock of Ages in 2010 (and should have been cast in the upcoming movie, just sayin’) and now he puts his spin on some classics.  He’s joined on some songs by Broadway vets Patti LuPone, Bebe Neuwirth, and Celebrity Apprentice cohort Clay Aiken.

Tonight, you can catch Dee signing his book at Mendham Books at 7pm.  With Eddie Trunk and Teresa Guidice living just down the road, it could be a star filled evening.

Here’s Dee’s video for “Mack The Knife” directed by his son Cody.

Next week, we’ll finally see the release of  Zakk Wylde‘s book Bringing Metal To The Children: The Berzerkers Guide To Complete World Tour Domination. The book is getting great early buzz and Zakk will be a guest on our show in the near future. Pre-order Bringing Metal to the Children: The Complete Berzerker’s Guide to World Tour Domination

Fleetwood Mac fans will want to grab Ken Caillat’s new book, Making Rumors: The Inside Story of the Classic Fleetwood Mac Album. All the fascinating, behind-the-scenes scoop is here as well as some surprises. Buy Making Rumours: The Inside Story of the Classic Fleetwood Mac Album

Two of our former guests, Kristin Hersh and Buzzy Martin are getting the movie treatment for their books.  Kristin’s Rat Girl is in the development stage and Buzzy’s book Don’t Shoot! I’m The Guitar Man is in production now with a release date scheduled for next year.  Check out more on Buzzy’s movie here and check out  Don’t Shoot! I’m the Guitar Man and Rat Girl: A Memoir in print before they hit the big screen.

Finally, we recently received a copy of Sound: A Novel by T.M. Wolf (out May 1st) and we are so glad this one found us. Sound is most likely the first novel to be written on a composer’s notebook of blank staff paper, a very cool concept that works. Order Sound: A Novel

Last year, Ticket Masters: The Rise of the Concert Industry and How the Public Got Scalped exposed the behind-the-scenes shenanigans of ticket pricing. Just out in paperback today and with a brand new chapter, the book is a must read for anyone who missed it last fall.

Co-author Josh Baron stops by to talk about the surprising beginnings of the ticketing process, explains how prices are set, the players in the game and what the future holds for this billion dollar industry.

Buy Ticket Masters: The Rise of the Concert Industry and How the Public Got Scalped

Twelve years ago, Mac Randall released his book “Exit Music: The Story of Radiohead.”  Now, what has become known as one of the definitive bios of the band has been updated and rereleased, bringing new insight into one of music’s most compelling and mysterious groups.

Randall, the current editor-in-chief of Music Alive! shares in this interview his journey of writing the story of a notoriously private band, his most defining moments of their career, and thoughts on how Radiohead continues to walk the fine line between hipsterdom and commercial success.

Buy Exit Music: The Radiohead Story – Updated Edition

Yesterday, we interviewed Mac Randall, who has updated his classic book “Exit Music: The Radiohead Story”.  Look for that interview next week.

Coming out April 24th is the paperback release of the phenomenal “Ticket Masters: The Rise of the Concert Industry and How the Public Got Scalped”.  Josh Baron, one of the co- authors, will be a guest on our show in the next few weeks.

Did you love Paul Shaffers’ impersonation of Don Kirshner back in the day on SNL? For a certain generation, Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert was “must-see tv” (although those in the “Midnight Special” camp may disagree).  ”Don Kirshner – The Man with the Golden Ear: How He Changed the Face of Rock and Roll“ by Rich Podolsky looks beyond the groundbreaking show and how Kirshner influenced the music scene for years.

Cyndi Lauper announced this week the release of her memoir, “Cyndi Lauper: A Memoir”. Lauper says about the book, “Sometimes I come off good, sometimes not so good. But I never wanted this book to be anything but my truth. It’s not about what people think of me, but what I learned along the way. And if telling the story of what I went through can help someone else, then it’s worth it.”  Look for the book this fall.

Duran Duran’s John Taylor signed a book deal last year and now,  ”In The Pleasure Groove —Love, Death and Duran Duran” has got a pub date of September 25th.

We are really looking forward to seeing The Faces reunite for The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame inductions.  And that reminded us that Rod Stewart has a big tell-all coming out this fall.  The book is still untitled, but set for release on October 2nd.

We are so excited that the one and only Dee Snider is going to be a guest on the show next month. Dee’s book “Shut Up and Give Me The Mic” is out on May 8th (but available for autographed pre-order  here). You can catch Dee signing his book at Mendham Books, Wednesday May 9th at 7pm.

Backbeat Books has a great series of books for music, movie and television fans called “If You Like” and acclaimed music writer Bruce Pollock has brought his knowledge to the series with the book, “If You Like The Beatles“. As the cover suggests, inside you’ll find “over 200 bands, films, records and other oddities that you will love”.

It’s a fun read where as Pollock himself says, “it’s a look at musical history through the prism of the Beatles.

In our interview, we talk about the connection between Dylan and the Beatles, how current bands like Vampire Weekend and MGMT display nods to the Beatles and what movie soundtrack and band Pollock thought were the defining influences of the last twenty years.

Buy If You Like the Beatles… Here Are Over 200 Bands, Films, Records, and Other Oddities That You Will Love

You Know What You Did Last Summer… and now it might be time to pick out baby names. Rock and Roll Baby Names: Over 2,000 Music-Inspired Names, from Alison to Ziggy is a new book from Margaret Eby. There’s also a related contest to win a bunch of cool swag from Penguin, including Marc Spitz’s “Jagger: Rebel, Rock Star, Rambler, Rogue”.  Enter here.

Released last week, photographer Bill Hale has put out Megadeth: Another Time, A Different Place. Fans will love this and the forward was written by Dave Mustaine, natch.

Eric Erlandson and Melissa Auf der Maur are doing a Q&A and signing on April 5th at Barnes and Noble in Union Square, NYC to celebrate the release of Eric’s new book, “Letters to Kurt“. Details are here.  Read a great interview Eric did with LA Weekly here.

Commando: The Autobiography of Johnny Ramone officially releases on Tuesday April 2nd, but you can get it online now.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Duff McKagan’s awesome memoir is now out in paperback. Check out our interview with Duff and buy It’s So Easy: and other lies.

We know it’s a stretch, but this is the first song we thought of when we thought of babies.  Feel free to name your kid Eddie, but please don’t name them Money.