Bach Plants Feet Firmly On "Angel Down"

By: Brett Hickman

Sunday February 10, 2008

Sebastian Bach has been up and down over the years. He sailed great heights with the hard rock band Skid Row in the late 80s/early 90s before being jettisoned from the group. Hanging tough, Bach made several solo albums and had a couple of brief flings in such forgotten "super groups" as The Last Hard Men (with ex-Breeder Kelley Deal and Smashing Pumpkins drummer Jimmy Chamberlin) and Damnocracy (of the VH1 TV show "Super Group" featuring Ted Nugent, Jason Bonham and Anthrax's Scott Ian).

Moving forward, Bach finished his newest solo album Angel Down back in 2006 and was, at the time of my interview with him, still shopping the project to labels (it was released in November of last year through Bach's own label via Caroline Records).

Angel Down features Bach ripping through 14 numbers with a ferocity fans have come to expect, and which is still evident in his solo shows. The biggest feather in Bach's cap is getting Guns N Roses' Axl Rose to sing back-up on three songs here, including a cover of Aerosmith's "Back In The Saddle Again". As GnR's Chinese Democracy has still yet to be released, this is the closest anyone has gotten to purchasing new tunes featuring the mercurial singer.

Below is an edited transcript of my conversation with Bach back in November of 2006 as he opened up for Guns N Roses at Rosemont, IL's Allstate Arena. (Bach, like many of the locals over 30 years old here, refuses to call the arena by its new name, instead referring to it by its old moniker, "Rosemont Horizon").

Static Multimedia: How'd you reconnect with Axl?

Sebastian Bach: Basically, they had the four shows at Hammerstein in New York, and I got a text saying 'Hey Baz, it's Axl, you still around New York City? You wanna hang out?' And I was like, 'Who's this fuckin' schmo fuckin' sayin' (in moronic voice) 'hey, it's Axl?' (sarcastically) Yeah, it's Axl. So I press call sender, it's in the 301 area code, I go 'fuck, that's weird. And then he's like (in deep voice) 'Hello?' I go 'Hello? It's you, dude!' He goes, 'Ahhh haaa haaa!' and like, laughing, 'cause he KNEW that my jaw was hitting the floor on the other end of the phone. It was like, Howard Hughes calling me up. I've been with them since the very first night, Hammerstein Ballroom in New York. At first I was just doing the duet with them - "My Michelle" - but then I said, 'Dude, that's fuckin' killer, I love doing that, but if you really wanna help me out, dude, let my solo band open for Guns and Roses. Please, would you? Please.' (laughs) And the phone was silent for a second, then he goes, 'You know what? I'm gonna fuckin' see if we can work that out, dude.' And next thing I knew, my band flew over to Prague, Czechoslovakia. I'm just really happy to be able to tour the U.S. arenas as a solo artist. That's very important to me. 'Cause, you know, I didn't have any contact with him for so long, I didn't know if I'd ever see him again. I swear to God. I used to say to myself, 'I wonder if I'll ever see Axl Rose again,' cause I hadn't seen him in so long. Just like the rest of the world.

How do you think with the new lineup is working out for GnR?

SB: I think it's working out great. I think that the music industry's in a weird state where most people get their new music from, like, YouTube, MySpace. I got a new song called "By Your Side," it's got over 75,000 plays from just a fuckin' handheld camera from some kid on his cell phone in the crowd. But 75 thousand plays! That's a lot of people listening to it! So here's the deal: people keep sayin', 'When are we gonna hear Chinese Democracy? When are we gonna hear Chinese Democracy?' He's playing it right fuckin' now. Skid Row opened up the whole Use Your Illusion tour and our album, Slave to the Grind, was out, but Guns and Roses' Use Your Illusions hadn't come out and they did the whole tour. So that's what he's doing now. He's doing a tour, playing the new material, people can come hear it, and then he'll put the record out.

So do you have any contact with anybody from Skid Row at all anymore?

SB: (sucks air in through teeth)

That went pretty badly, I take it.

SB: (lets out breath heavily, pauses) It's just, like, do you have contact with the same four guys you hung out with in '91?

Yeah, no...

SB: Why? Like, how come?

You drift apart.

SB: Well, when are you guys getting back together?

(laughs)

SB: Like, seriously, why? I don't understand. Like, how come? You hear the word 'branding' a lot and they're wrecking the brand. Okay? So, that's all I want to say about that, really. There's no way I could go back to them now, after the show I did tonight. Why the fuck would I do that? I won tonight. You're only as good as your last show - I'm fuckin' awesome, dude. (laughs) I RULE! (More laughing) That's a fact!

(someone in background) Lead singer's disease.

SB: Yeah. Terminal case. Incurable case. But, you know, I think Eddie Van Halen has lead guitarist disease, you know? (laughs) Well, no, actually - I thought he had a cure? Or something. For cancer.

(someone in background) Remember after he got his hip replaced, and then the cancer fuckin' hit him. He's fucked up.

SB: Really? That's wild.

Well, and he's got his son, a 15 year old, to play in the band. I've got a 15 year old, I don't think I could put him up under that kinda scrutiny.

SB: Ooooh. Yeah. Or, let alone, putting him on the road. The road's not fucking easy!

(someone in background) Out there with Van Halen…

SB: No, don't have him on the road doin' 6 cities in 6 nights!

And that's VAN HALEN. That's a whole other level. That seems like emotional trauma, to put on a child.

SB: Well - I don't know, man. I don't know what to say about that.

But, um…well, tonight, I saw the show and was just amazed at how I strong your voice is.

SB: That's very nice to say.

I think you've always been one of those singers that had one of those amazing gifts of a voice.

SB: I appreciate that immensely.

How do you keep your instrument going after all these years?

SB: There's one word, dude: warmup. Is that two words? Warm-up? Or is that warmup? You just asked me how do you sing everything, and it's fuckin' the warm-up, dude. I do an Italian opera warmup vocal scales. That if I didn't have that warm-up, I would not be able to do what I do. I couldn't do it. I couldn't scream at the top of my lungs every fuckin' night. A guy named Don Lawrence, I gotta give credit to who taught me this. He, his family, the Lawrences, have taught theater, Broadway singers, since the '20's. They taught...what was his name - John Barrymore, from the '20's, like, the Broadway theater actor. His grandpa - it's just a family of vocal coaches. And Jon Bon Jovi, in 1987 when I got in Skid Row, sent me to this guy. And he worked with Jon, and he worked with Tony Arnell from TNT, and he worked with Freddie Mercury from Queen, and this guy taught me this warm-up that does work. And I gave a copy to Axl, he does it, y'know, he's got some other warm-ups too - everybody's voice is different. But you have to find out how to get your voice to do what you want it to do. I was a lead singer in my church choir when I was a little kid. I was like 8 years old. So that was what started my love of singing, was church. Which is crazy, you know. (laughs) But that is where I fell in love with singing.

So did you feel like you have a talent or a gift early on? Did you recognize it as such?

SB: Well, I didn't know I did, but the choir master of my church, All Saints Anglican Church in Peterborough, Ontario, had me do "Once in Royal David's City," a Christmas song all by myself, in front of the whole congregation. Which was like, fuckin' 800 people! I was like, EIGHT. Or nine, or something like that. The older guys in the choir were like putting their hand on my shoulder, sayin' 'Dude, you can...', well, they didn't say dude back then - it was like 1978 - but they were like, 'You can do it, man.' The one specific thing that I loved singing more than anything was "Gloria in Excelsis Deo," the Christmas thing that has this ripping high soprano - I'm not gonna do it right now, 'cause I gotta go up with Axl in about 10 minutes, but - (sings it anyway) something like that. (laughs) But that's the ripping fuckin' harmony. And I used to fucking SOAR on that motherfucker when I was a little kid. I can remember, just the elation of hitting that part of the song, and just wailing. You know?

What kind of feelings did it bring out of you as a kid?

SB: It just felt incredible. It felt exhilarating. That's the word. Just (sharp intake of breath) oh my God. The music gets into ya. You know what I mean? And then I discovered rock. My parents always listened to rock and roll, like Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin. My dad listened to Led Zeppelin II all the time, and I still have the original album, with, like, PAPER, cardboard jacket. Not glossy - the old fuckin' HEAVY albums. But then when I was eleven, I went to see KISS, and it was all downhill from there. You know that shirt, "Kids Destroyed?" It has the cover of Destroyer, and it says KIDS. Like with the KISS logo? And instead of Destroyer it says "Destroyed." It's got all these drunken fuckin' kids - that was me, dude! (Laughs and claps) Kids destroyed!

Are you still a fan of KISS? Have you seen any of their recent tours or anything like that? Or have you ever gotten to meet the guys or anything?

SB: I've met 'em all a million times. I gotta say, Ace is my favorite. I think when you get to the point of puttin' the roadies in Ace's makeup, it's gettin' a little crazy. I mean, that's gettin' a little nuts. I can't just discount the Ace. He's the fucking Ace Man! His leads are like...I'm gonna answer the question by being positive - Ace Frehley's leads are some are some of my favorite guitar leads in rock. The way he fucking plays…it's…it's incredible. To me. So. I think I answered your question. (Laughs)

So now, in between your years with Skid Row and now, how has touring changed, and how has performing live changed in your opinion? For you? Not so much as a general rule, but specifically to you?

SB: (long pause while Bach breathes heavily) (sighs) The biggest change, I would say, between touring in '91 and 2006? In '91, they held up lighters. In 2006 they hold up cell phones. (Laughs) THAT'S a big difference.

Yeah, I turned to my wife and I said, "remember when everybody used to put up lighters?"

SB: Yeah, they all have cell phones! It's pretty crazy. That looks killer, though, right? I'll say that. It looks amazing. Gotta get a shot of that. Yeah, I was like, film it. But you know what, music is still visceral. Music is the most powerful art form. When you hear a song that you used to crank with your friends, when you were a little kid, rockin' out in your bedroom, with tennis rackets, jumpin' off the fuckin' bunkbeds, fuckin' rockin' out, fuckin'- when you hear those songs, they always do that to you. You know what I mean? Like, you can listen to music for different reasons. I listen to heavy metal if I'm working out, goin' on a run. Or getting ready for the show. I'll put in Hatebreed or Pantera. Some shit that gets me fuckin' fired up. But then, after the show, on a bus ride to the next town…unless I'm really drunk - if I get really fuckin' hammered, then I'll play a lot of metal. But if I'm just chillin' I like to listen to Steely Dan or the Allman Brothers, or shit that just…soothes me. When you watch a movie, it wears off the more you watch it. Playing music, if anything, it gets MORE powerful.

Mmm hmm. The stuff that means the most to you certainly does.

[Editor's Note: Now at the time of the interview I had gotten access to Bach in the hopes that the audio of my interview would be played on either the Sirius satellite radio's Bubba the Love Sponge Show or The Howard Stern Show (Bach has been a guest on both hosts' shows in the past), but that ultimately didn't pan out. This just helps to explain just what in the hell prompted the following exchage]

So I was talking to Brent Hatley, producer of Bubba the Love Sponge's show he said that they had you on the show before. In Tampa, Florida, remember? Well, they're interested in booking you again. So I'm going to pass on your information to them and to Gary Dell'Abate for Howard Stern as well.

SB: Very cool. That's a Howard station! That's killer. Yeah, tell Gary...er...Howard, thanks for calling me a dick on Supergroup. Why? 'Cause I wanna go for a fuckin' run? Gee, what an asshole! Gee, yeah, what an asshole I am 'cause I wanna go running. God damnit! If somebody in my fuckin' band said they wanna go running, I'd say, 'Thank the fuckin' lord, ya fuckin' slob! Go out and go for a fuckin' run, for fuck's sake!' Oooh, yeah, I'm an asshole. 'Scuse me. Let's see everyone else get up there and scream their fuckin' ass off two hours a night, fuckin' May to December, fuckin' January, forty fuckin' shows…maybe I HAVE to go running. I'm not a diva because I'm goin' for a run! I'd be a diva if I was sittin' on my fuckin' ass, watchin' TV and shit. Eatin' chips. (laughs)

SB: Let's go through the examples that I'm a so-called dick about. Okay, one: that I wanted to do the photo session at 12:15 in the morning instead of 11:45. (Gasps) That's shocking! Whoa, geez. Wow. Oh my god, that's so wild. Or I'm wild because I drink red wine with my fuckin' meal? My 93 year old fuckin' aunt fuckin'drinks fuckin' red wine every fuckin' day, she's fuckin' ninety fuckin' three! Like, gimme a fuckin' break! I'm just…it's funny, though. I still can't NOT watch it. I can't tear myself away. No matter how mad I get? I'm just, like, FUCK. It's exhilarating. I got disappointed when Ted would rip on me behind my back. And then I'd come in the room, he's like, 'hey, man.' 'Cause I don't do that. If I don't like you, I fuckin' tell you I don't fuckin' like you. I don't give a fuck. I just say what I fuckin' mean, I don't change my opinion when somebody walks in the fuckin' room. (laughs) That's what makes me fuckin' a little bit mad, you know.