Not sure when this is from, but here’s Twisted Sister singing the praises of Too Much Joy’s “Donna Everywhere” video, presumably on MTV.
The guy on the right, Jay Jay French, actually approached the band about managing them at one point. Tim and Jay had an introductory meeting with him at his Manhattan apartment, which was decorated with all kinds of Twisted Sister memorabilia. He struck us as very smart and generous, but unfortunately he tried to bond with us by showing off his gear, and Too Much Joy know little and care less about guitars and amplifiers (one night I had to use Jay’s spare SG when my red Telecaster wasn’t working, and I was amazed by how much easier it was to play. When I shared my amazement with Jay after the show he just said, “I know! Why the hell do you think I use an SG?” Jay’s response pretty much sums up Too Much Joy’s approach to equipment selection).
Anyway, Jay Jay had some rare old guitar he was very proud of, and we were doing our best to act impressed. I think it was a Les Paul, but it was made of some unique kind of wood they only used once and was one of like three in the world or something. And to prove how special it was, he held it under Jay’s nose and told him to sniff it, because you could smell the special wood finish.
There were a lot of challenging moments in Too Much Joy’s career, but keeping a straight face while the dude from Twisted Sister made Jay smell his guitar was one of the hardest.
