Eddie "Fingers" Ojeda (born August 5, 1955 in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

) is an American musician best known as a guitarist of the heavy metal band

Twisted Sister Twisted Sister was an American heavy metal band originally from Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey, and later based on Long Island, New York. Their best-known songs include " We're Not Gonna Take It" and "I Wanna Rock", both of which were associated with m ...

. He was a member of the band's classic lineup.

Career

In the early 1970s he recorded a couple of singles with a band called SPX, with Alan Diaz, Charlie Mercado and Frank Lopez. He joined Twisted Sister in 1975, becoming one of the band's classic members along with

Dee Snider Daniel "Dee" Snider (born March 15, 1955)Tayler, LettaTwisted Sister's Dee Snider remembers his challenging Long Island upbringing "Newsday", March 15, 2016Archived here/ref> is an American singer, songwriter, radio personality, and actor. He w ...

Jay Jay French Jay Jay French (born John French Segall, July 20, 1952) is an American guitarist, manager, record producer and founding member of the heavy metal band Twisted Sister. He is a columnist, author and motivational speaker who oversees licensing and i ...

Mark Mendoza Mark "The Animal" Mendoza (born Mark Glickman, July 13, 1956) is an American rock bassist and a member of the heavy metal band Twisted Sister. He joined the band in 1978 after leaving the Dictators. He briefly played in Blackfoot in the earl ...

and

AJ Pero Anthony Jude Pero (October 14, 1959 – March 20, 2015) was an American drummer, in American heavy metal bands Twisted Sister and Adrenaline Mob. Biography Pero went to St. Peter's Boys High School in Staten Island but left because the faculty ...

. He played on each of the band's first five albums before their first breakup in 1988. In 1989 he started the band

Scarecrow A scarecrow is a decoy or mannequin, often in the shape of a human. Humanoid scarecrows are usually dressed in old clothes and placed in open fields to discourage birds from disturbing and feeding on recently cast seed and growing crops.Lesley B ...

. He also recorded a solo album named ''Axes To Axes'' in 2005 featuring

Ronnie James Dio Ronald James Padavona (July 10, 1942 – May 16, 2010), known professionally as Ronnie James Dio, was an American heavy metal singer. He fronted and founded numerous bands throughout his career, including Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Dio and H ...

and

Rudy Sarzo Rodolfo Maximiliano Sarzo Lavieille Grande Ruiz Payret y Chaumont (born November 18, 1950) is a Cuban American hard rock/ heavy metal bassist. He remains best known for his work with Quiet Riot, Ozzy Osbourne, and Whitesnake, and has also played ...

among others. In a 2006 interview with rock & roll comic

C.C. Banana Anthony John Confessore (1969–2012), better known as C.C. Banana, was a music personality, known for conducting interviews for Metal Sludge while wearing a large yellow banana costume. Banana was profiled by such publications as Classic Rock Magaz ...

, Eddie revealed if Twisted Sister ever retired that it would still be possible for the band to continue performing under their alternate name

Bent Brother Twisted Sister was an American heavy metal band originally from Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey, and later based on Long Island, New York. Their best-known songs include " We're Not Gonna Take It" and "I Wanna Rock", both of which were associated with ...

. Eddie, along with other popular rock guitarists in the mid-80's, performed in the

Hear 'n Aid Hear 'n Aid was a charity record recorded by a large ensemble of 40 heavy metal musicians and released in 1986. The project was organized by Ronnie James Dio, Jimmy Bain, and Vivian Campbell, all from the band Dio. Proceeds from the album were ...

project, launched by

, which had a similar goal as both Band Aid and

USA for Africa United Support of Artists for Africa (USA for Africa) was the name under which 47 predominantly U.S. artists, led by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie, recorded the hit single "We Are the World" in 1985. The song was a U.S. and UK number one for ...

. He rejoined Twisted Sister when the classic lineup reunited in 2003, playing on two more albums with the group, Still Hungry (2004) and

A Twisted Christmas ''A Twisted Christmas'' is the sixth and final studio album by American heavy metal group Twisted Sister, with the band releasing it on October 17, 2006. The album features classic Christmas songs performed in metal versions, often featuring ly ...

(2006). Eddie toured with Steve Steinman on the "

Vampires Rock ''Vampires Rock'' is a musical stage show which premiered in 2004. It is performed by the group headed by Steve Steinman, who had appeared on ''Stars in Their Eyes'' as Meat Loaf. The group has toured for several years with ''The Meat Loaf Stor ...

" tour in late 2007. Following Pero's death in 2015, Ojeda embarked on Twisted Sister's farewell tour which concluded in 2016.

Equipment

Eddie is best known for his custom black/red "bullseye" guitar. In an interview, he explained that the bullseye was part of the original design of the Twisted Sister logo. The first version of the guitar was manufactured by

Charvel Charvel is a brand of electric guitars founded in the 1970s by Wayne Charvel in Azusa, California and originally headquartered in Glendora, California. Since 2002, Charvel has been under the ownership of Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. H ...

in the 1980s. Eddie's current version is by

Wayne Guitars Wayne may refer to: People with the given name and surname * Wayne (given name) * Wayne (surname) Geographical Places with name ''Wayne'' may take their name from a person with that surname; the most famous such person was Gen. "Mad" Antho ...

, a company founded by Charvel's former owner,

Wayne Charvel Wayne may refer to: People with the given name and surname * Wayne (given name) * Wayne (surname) Geographical Places with name ''Wayne'' may take their name from a person with that surname; the most famous such person was Gen. "Mad" Antho ...

. He also uses a red/white bullseye Kramer USA 1984 Reissue. There has been much debate on whether or not

Zakk Wylde Zachary Phillip Wylde (born Jeffrey Phillip Wielandt; January 14, 1967) is an American musician. He is best known as the lead guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne and as the founder, lead guitarist, lead singer, songwriter and producer of the heavy meta ...

stole Eddie's bullseye design for his guitars. According to an interview, Eddie never talked to Zakk about it. Furthermore, Zakk claims that his bullseye graphic was actually a mistake by the paint shop; it was originally going to be a spiral reminiscent of

Alfred Hitchcock's Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...

film ''

Vertigo Vertigo is a condition where a person has the sensation of movement or of surrounding objects moving when they are not. Often it feels like a spinning or swaying movement. This may be associated with nausea, vomiting, sweating, or difficulties w ...

''.

Personal life

According to Dee Snider, Ojeda is Spanish/Puerto Rican. In the 1970s, Ojeda underwent throat surgery, which inspired the 1982 Twisted Sister hit "Under the Blade" and in 2019 he underwent surgery for a ruptured disk. In May 2019, in an interview with "22 Now", Ojeda said he would be relocating to Nashville.

Solo discography

Axes 2 Axes Eddie "Fingers" Ojeda (born August 5, 1955 in New York City, New York) is an American musician best known as a guitarist of the heavy metal band Twisted Sister. He was a member of the band's classic lineup. Career In the early 1970s he record ...

References

External links

*
Eddie Ojeda MySpace page
with