Joe Franco, a 1969 graduate of Brooklyn Technical High School,[2] was an original member of the band The Good Rats.[citation needed] He also played in the horror rock band Van Helsing's Curse,[citation needed] which also featured Twisted Sister lead vocalist Dee Snider, and on the Magellan album Hundred Year Flood.[citation needed] Franco replaced A. J. Pero in Twisted Sister in 1986,[citation needed] and stayed in the band for about a year until its break-up in 1987. He also played in Snider's group Widowmaker;[citation needed] and with guitarists Vinnie Moore[citation needed] and Blues Saraceno.[citation needed]
Franco is the author of the book Double Bass Drumming (1984; Alfred, 1993)[3] and is featured in the accompanying video (1988; Warner Bros., 2005).[4] He is also has lectured and written articles about drumming[5] and is a music producer involved in recording and post-production work as owner of Beatstreet Productions[6] in the Flatiron District of New York City, New York.[7]
