SEBASTIAN BACH: I Don't Want To 'Go Back' To Anything; I Want To Go Forward

Brendan Crabb of Australia's Loud magazine recently conducted an interview with former SKID ROW singer Sebastian Bach. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Loud: You've often claimed in the past to be the "metal fan" when you were a member of SKID ROW. What do you think when you hear their more recent material?

Bach: Well, I haven't listened to them too much because it doesn't sound like SKID ROW to me, it sounds like a punk band or a country band or something that doesn't sound "18 And Life" to me. I think that my (solo) records sound far more like "Slave To The Grind" and the first SKID ROW record than what they do without me. I've always done the same thing in the studio with whoever I'm playing with, so they can tell you that I'm hard to work with, but you know, I'm not hard to work with I just refuse to suck (laughs).

Loud: It's been 20 years since "Slave To The Grind" was released. What are your memories of that era and making that album?

Bach: That was a cool album. On the first SKID ROW record we had such big hits with "18 And Life" and "I Remember You" that we were determined to prove to everybody that we were real rockers. So we wanted to make a real rock album with "Slave To The Grind" and that's a very heavy album. I think it really stands up; when I hear the songs, especially "Monkey Business", on the radio or on TV, it's fucking badass. It's like, "Wow, cool song." (laughs) But yeah, that's what I'm trying to do with "Kicking & Screaming". If you like "Slave To The Grind", put this on your iPod and I think that it fits really good next to that record. I think it has the same kind of heavy feel, cool guitar riffs, kick-ass screams and that kind of vibe.

Loud: So is "Slave To The Grind" your main reference point, or your blueprint when you write a new album?

Bach: Well, also the first album too, both of them. They're different records, but you can't argue with "I Remember You" or "18 And Life", those are incredible songs. So my whole past always goes into what I'm doing in the future. I want, if you like "18 And Life", I want you to like "Kicking & Screaming", you know? I want you to put it in your iPod and to me it's like the next logical step of music that I would be doing. That's what it sounds like to my ear anyway.

Loud: Many SKID ROW fans have called for your return to the band for more than a decade. What it would take for you to consider returning to the fold?

Bach: A lot of people ask me that, would I go back to SKID ROW? Just the words "going back" annoy me. (laughs) I don't want to "go back" to anything. I want to go forward; I don't want to "go back." Any true artist doesn't "go back." I mean, for me to be interested in being in that band again would mean that we would make a new record. But that's not the way these nostalgia reunion tours work; it's all about just playing an hour's worth of old songs, taking the fans' money, and doing it all summer long. That just doesn't interest me; if we were to get together and maybe make some new music, make a new CD, and then go and tour in support of it, then that would interest me. But nobody's talking about that. I'm just more interested in leaving this world with a body of work that is as big and as high quality as I can and I think that "Kicking & Screaming" is a very valuable addition to my body of work. If those guys wanted to make some new music, then I'd be interested, but it's more about, in America anyway, these reunion tours are all about just playing the old songs over and over again, and that is just boring to me. I would like to make new music.

Read the entire interview from Loud magazine.

"Kicking & Screaming" EPK:

"Kicking & Screaming" video: