Jesse Blaze Snider Rocks Hard on Rock the Cradle

by Matthew M. DeSilva

An interesting new TV show has Dee Snider’s son, Jesse Blaze Snider, in the headlines. MTV recently kicked off Rock the Cradle, which pits the offspring of celebrities such as Bobby Brown, MC Hammer, and Olivia Newton-John against one another.

Similar in nature to American Idol, Rock the Cradle allows the contestants to perform, receive scores from a panel of judges, and then receive further judgment from the American public.

An appealing aspect to this particular show is how the contestants must perform live in front of their famous and critical parents, as well as for millions of American viewers. The parents watch from the side of the stage and then provide comments after each performance.

Of the nine performances on opening night, one can make the case that Jesse Blaze Snider, son of former Twisted Sister front man, Dee Snider, performed not only the most “rocking” show, but also created the most entertaining post-performance dialogue.

Jesse Blaze came out and performed with arguably the best stage presence of the evening. One of the surprising elements to Rock the Cradle is the definite lack of stage presence exhibited by the majority of contestants.

Many of the nine, including Jesse Money (daughter of Eddie Money) and Chloe Lattanzi (daughter of Olivia Newton-John), have a long way to go when it comes to entertaining an audience. While they can be forgiven for opening night jitters, this is their big chance at a recording contract and a possibly lucrative career as they try to match the success their parents enjoyed.

This is precisely why Jesse Blaze Snider stood out. He came out singing “Rock and Roll” by Led Zeppelin. From the opening notes, Jesse Blaze was confident and moving around the stage as if he’d already been seasoned through years of touring. He involved the crowd in his performance, used the entire stage, and created an exciting performance.

Most important, Jesse Blaze Snider sang his song well. Combining his singing with his visual performance, it’s quite clear he has the talent to build himself a successful singing career. He exhibits an understanding that a live audience expects much more than a perfect musical performance, something his competitors need to learn.

After his performance, one of the judges, Belinda Carlisle, gave Snider a low score and commented that he didn’t sound as good as Led Zeppelin singer, Robert Plant. Carlisle’s comment sounded silly and biased after the audience had just watched Jesse Blaze good-naturedly admit he wasn’t as good as Plant in a video interview prior to his performance.

The comment by Carlisle did create the entertaining comment by Jesse Blaze’s father, Dee Snider. Dee, lead singer for Twisted Sister during heavy metal’s heyday during the 1980’s stood up and said that not only did he receive special permission from Plant and Led Zeppelin for his son to perform “Rock and Roll”, but that he thought his son did an excellent job.

Dee Snider’s comments were an obvious slap at the comments made by Carlisle. The brief comments following Jesse Blaze’s performance were entertaining, to say the least.

No matter who ends up winning the Rock the Cradle competition, it seems clear that Jesse Blaze Snider has what it takes to put together a quality rock and roll singing c