SEBASTIAN BACH: 'AXL ROSE Has Lived A Life None Of Us Could Ever Imagine'

Former SKID ROW frontman Sebastian Bach was recently interviewed by Matt Chord of Philadelphia's 93.3 WMMR. An excerpt from the chat follows:

Q: You have a new record coming out, "Angel Down", November 20. We've been waiting for songs from Axl Rose for about 15 years, and all of a sudden, you get him to sing on your record. How did that work, did you text him, did you call him?

Sebastian: "We've done about 80 shows with GUNS N' ROSES all over the world. At Christmas we did three nights at Universal Ampitheater in Hollywood... Axl had a Christmas party, we were playing pool. He played 'Chinese Democracy', a song called 'Sorry' came on and I started singing a harmony over top of the chorus. Axl loved that and booked studio time at Electric Lady in New York the next week, and I sang on 'Chinese Democracy'. So then, I was being silly and texted Axl, 'When are you going to sing on my record?' and he texted back, just one word, 'When' ... He sang three songs on my record."

Q: What do you think is the biggest misconception people have about Axl Rose?

Sebastian: "They think that 'Chinese Democracy' is never coming out... that is #1 misconception, 'cause I've heard it... like, it exists. To me I think it has a lot more to do with the business side of it. I've heard four albums' worth of material that's incredible. So when people go 'Is it ever coming out?', I go 'Yeah! And you're gonna feel stupid when it does.'"

Q: He's a very down-to-earth kinda person.

Sebastian: "I wouldn't call him down to earth. He's lived a life none of us could ever imagine, because of the level of success he has achieved. GUNS N' ROSES is bigger than rock. They're not a metal or rock band, they're like the STONES, or LED ZEPPELIN, or THE BEATLES, to a lot of people. He can't go out on the street and walk around. Like, when I was in London, England, I went to Hyde Park, played frisbee with the road crew — he can't do stuff like that. And that must really suck... Paparazzi's always there. It's just a different life... and I've watched millions of people that were in a room with the man, and they don't say what they think — they try to figure out what he wants them to say to make him like them and then they'll say that. I've seen people get so flipped out, but when he's in the room with them, he can't get a straight answer out of them. He's not like a human, he's like a demigod walking around."

Q: He does have a bad reputation in town — December 8th 2002, it was a no-show.

Sebastian: "Go do an interview with him there. I wasn't on that tour... I don't know what to say. I read all the time about Paul Stanley cancelling shows — nobody goes 'Paul Stanley, man, what's up?!'… I just did a whole GN'R tour, 80 shows... they cancelled one show, out of 80 shows. That's not unheard of..."

Q: I always stick up for the lineup when people go "It's not the true GN'R..."

Sebastian: "It's not... but then what's better... Slash and Duff doing STONE TEMPLE PILOTS songs? I'd rather hear Axl sing 'Welcome To The Jungle' with Tommy Stinson on bass... I love Duff McKagan, but he's busy." (Laughs)

Q: You had a great line about Brain at the Hammerstein... "Where was this guy when you hired Matt Sorum??"

Sebastian: "To me, Brain is one of the best drummers I've ever seen in my life. I love drummers that kinda play behind beat, with that cool, sleazy groove like John Bonham, Joey Kramer, or Steven Adler on 'Appetite', and to me, Brain plays with that swagger and cool factor. And I watched this guy with GUNS, and I couldn't believe how incredible he was. Then I bought the new TOM WAITS record, and I look at the credits... Drums: Brain. I go... this guy! TOM WAITS, PRIMUS, GN'R — he's amazing."

Listen to the entire interview at this location.

(Thanks: NewGNR.com)