SEBASTIAN BACH On His Continued Estrangement From SKID ROW: 'It Hurts That We're Not Together'

In conjunction with a recent Metal Hammer retrospective on SKID ROW's 1989 self-titled debut, former vocalist Sebastian Bach spoke at length about the album with writer Clay Marshall. Select "outtakes" from the interview appear below (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On Rhino's recent 30th anniversary "deluxe" digital reissue of "Skid Row":

Sebastian: "At one time, the first SKID ROW record was the number six top-selling record in Atlantic Records history. I saw a chart years ago. Maybe it's not number six now, but nobody since I saw that chart has sold millions of records, because the Internet happened, so I doubt that it changed that much. In no way is a deluxe version of a record a file. That's backwards. What I really don't get is the same company who [in 2017] put out a vinyl copy of [SKID ROW's 1992 covers EP] 'B-Side Ourselves' elected to not do a vinyl copy of the first SKID ROW record, which makes me mentally cuckoo. I don't get it; I don't understand it. I don't know who makes these decisions, but I would say to the fans, 'Fingers crossed for 35,' because the fans deserve a real deluxe version. The funniest thing was when I clicked on [the link], it says, 'Note: Liner notes not included,' in big capital letters. I'm like, 'Whoa — why would I expect something so extravagant as liner notes in a fucking deluxe version? Give me a fucking break!' If all you fans want something as crazy as liner notes, you'll have to find the un-deluxe version, so you can see who produced it, where it was recorded. All that extravagant detail, you'll have to go find the fucking cassette that we put out in '89. Unbelievable... You know how you see the band do an unboxing of their album? I was going to do the unboxing of the iTunes MP3, which would be very fucking exciting for everyone to watch. [Laughs] 'Here we go! Okay, everybody. I'm going to put my credit card info into my computer now. Click. Enter. Oh, here comes the download! Here it is! I've got it!'"

On whether he had any involvement in the reissue:

Sebastian: "This is all a record company thing. This is not from the band. I don't want the fans thinking is what we would give them. I have a whole house full of SKID ROW memorabilia. I have a whole case full of DATs. We would record every show from the soundboard on a DAT tape, and I was the only one that wanted these tapes after the show. I collected them. I've got a whole box of them. I've got video — everything you would ever want to put out. I have reel-to-reel studio tapes of songs that we never put out from Electric Lady [Studios] that are in my closet collecting dust. I've got all the video masters from [VHS releases] 'Roadkill' and 'Oh Say Can You Scream'. If someone wants to really do a deluxe version some day, I would really be interested in that, with some real stuff that's never been heard."

On his continued estrangement from his former bandmates:

Sebastian: "The most ironic thing in the world is when Rachel [Bolan, bass] says, 'I'll never get the band together as long as there's bread on my table,' but the bread on his table came from us five being together... It hurts that we're not together. It hurts that I can't be involved in an anniversary celebration. It hurts that we have not been in a room together since 1996. It's kind of a tragedy for me, but music has a life of its own, and this album isn't my album — it's the whole world's album. 'I Remember You' was the No. 1 prom song in the United States in 1990 [according to] USA Today. That's a lot of slow-dancing, and a lot of memories, and a lot of whispered romance in people's ears to that song. It's not mine anymore... Carrie Underwood, a huge country star, she does 'I Remember You'. She does an incredible version. Zoe Kravitz, Lenny Kravitz's daughter... Adam Levine, who goes on the Internet saying, 'Rock is dead,' explain to me why on the last season of 'The Voice', the very last challenge you gave your team was 'I Remember You', for fuck's sake. [Laughs] This music has transcended heavy metal/hard rock. It's way bigger than that. Norah Jones was asked in Rolling Stone, 'What are your favorite songs of all time? 'I Remember You' was in there, and she goes into detail saying that whenever she hears that, she gets hit with this wave of nostalgia for her youth and her childhood. This isn't the dude in W.A.S.P.; this is Norah Jones. This music has transcended what we ever could have envisioned for it, and we're just so excited for you all to download this file and celebrate with us. [Laughs]"

Several weeks after the Metal Hammer interview was conducted, Bach announced plans to commemorate the 30th anniversary of "Skid Row" by performing the album in its entirety during a tour that kicks off August 29 in Nashville, Tennessee. Last month, he issued an "open invitation" to his former SKID ROW bandmates to "get onstage and jam" during the tour, but so far, only original drummer Rob Affuso has accepted.

Bach parted ways with SKID ROW in 1996. Three years later, the group resurfaced with vocalist Johnny Solinger, who fronted the band until 2015. After an eight-month stint with former TNT vocalist Tony Harnell — who Bolan said last year was a "really bad match" that "just didn't fit" — SKID ROW recruited former DRAGONFORCE vocalist ZP Theart, who has toured with the group for the past three and a half years.