SEBASTIAN BACH: 'I Don't Want To Be A Nostalgia Act'

Ruben Mosqueda of Sleaze Roxx recently conducted an interview with former SKID ROW frontman Sebastian Bach. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Sleaze Roxx: One of the things that stands out about the new album, "Kicking & Screaming", is that you still have your powerful vocals. I know you don't like talking about SKID ROW, but your vocal performance on the new album is comparable to "Slave To The Grind".

Sebastian Bach: Hey, thanks. That is a very cool thing of you to say. My favorite bands are groups like RUSH, AC/DC, NEIL YOUNG... bands that keep putting out albums regardless of what the trends are. I'm a music collector and I'm always looking for cool CDs, but the truth is that there are very few good ones being released these days. I consider myself very lucky to be able to release a new album in 2011. I'm not out to reinvent the wheel, I just want to put out an album that is along the lines of "Slave To The Grind" and "Angel Down". I'm here kicking ass and screaming rock 'n' roll.

Sleaze Roxx: What was the inspiration behind this album, and would you agree there is a "Slave To The Grind" sound to it?

Sebastian Bach: That was a long time ago... 1991 that was twenty years ago. I've followed a band like RUSH who keep putting out albums, but all their work sits together as one body of work or one big album. They are different but alike, or similar, in some ways. I know what I like and I like great riffs, high energy songs and killer vocals that's what I like. That's what I'll continue to do until the day that I die. This album turned out amazing. I have a new guitarist by the name of Nick Sterling, who just turned 21. The guy has added a whole new sound to my band, for sure. Nick has this youthful energy that you can't replace; when you get older you lose that. Luckily, I'm extremely immature and haven't progressed past 14. (laughs) Nick and I fit together very well we kind of look the same, too. When we go out together, people come up and ask if Nick is my son or brother.

Sleaze Roxx: Regardless of what I think or don't think about SKID ROW these days, your input is sorely lacking in that band.

Sebastian Bach: Well, thank you. I was really the metalhead in that band. I was the guy in the studio with [SKID ROW's] producer Michael Wagener working on guitar tones and screams. I was into metal while some of those others guys were into Bruce Springsteen or the SEX PISTOLS. I was into JUDAS PRIEST, IRON MAIDEN and DIO that's where I came from. I look at it this way: other forms of music come and go, but metal never goes away. That's the kind of music that once it gets in your blood you need it to survive. Heavy cool riffs is what I enjoy.

Sleaze Roxx: What would it take to get you and SKID ROW back together?

Sebastian Bach: For me what it would take is some new music; that's what I'd be interested in. We could get back together and do a tour, but when the tour ends, there's nothing to show for it. Going on tour and playing only 20-year-old songs doesn't interest me I don't want to be a nostalgia act. Something like that doesn't interest me at all. I want to put out new music, and there is no reason why we couldn't do that. I got into this because of the music. When we are dead and gone, the music will be left behind and it will live on. To me, that's a form of immortality and it's more appealing and interesting to me at this point.

Read the entire interview at Sleaze Roxx.

Photo credit: Clay Patrick McBride