SEBASTIAN BACH: 'Rock And Roll Makes Me Feel Like A Child'

In a new interview with Germany's EMP, former SKID ROW singer Sebastian Bach was asked about the title of his latest solo album, "Child Within The Man", which came out in May via Reigning Phoenix Music. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, rock and roll makes me feel like a child. [Laughs] Like if I listen to one of my favorite records, like SCORPIONS, nothing brings me back to my childhood more than rock and roll. Rock and roll makes me feel the same way I did when I was a kid."

Referencing his appearance at this year's Wacken Open Air festival in Wacken, Germany, Bach continued: "This was our 44th show this year. When I started out this year, I was doing all my headbanging, and I fucked my neck up, I paralyzed my back. And I thought I was gonna have to cancel some shows, but I don't cancel shows. But when I'm on stage and I look at the crowd, I feel like I'm 19 years old; I feel like a little kid. And then I get off stage and my body says, 'Fuck you. You're not a fucking little kid, man. What the fuck are you doing?' But it's okay. If Mick Jagger can be rocking and rolling at 82, you better get used to me, man, 'cause I'll be doing it for fucking 40 more fucking years. All right?"

Sebastian will embark on a North American tour this fall. The trek will kick off October 4 in Portland, with dates in the U.S., including two shows at the Whisky A Go Go in West Hollywood, plus 16 dates in Bach's native Canada.

Bach is continuing to tour in support of "Child Within The Man", which was recorded in Orlando, Florida; produced and mixed by Michael "Elvis" Baskette; engineered by Jef Moll, assistant engineered by Josh Saldate and mastered by Robert Ludwig of Gateway Mastering. Bach wrote or co-wrote all the album's 11 tracks and sang all lead and backing vocals.

"Child Within The Man" features guest appearances from John 5 (MÖTLEY CRÜE, ROB ZOMBIE, MARILYN MANSON),Steve Stevens (BILLY IDOL) and Orianthi (ALICE COOPER, MICHAEL JACKSON) — who all co-wrote their respective tracks with Bach — and two tracks co-written with ALTER BRIDGE's Myles Kennedy ("What Do I Got to Lose?" and "To Live Again"). Devin Bronson (guitars),Todd Kerns (bass) and Jeremy Colson (drums) round out the players on the album.

In an interview with "Whiplash", the KLOS radio show hosted by Full Metal Jackie, Sebastian talked about the "Child Within The Man" artwork, which holds special meaning since it was designed by Bach's father, noted visual artist David Bierk.

"I have a lot of my dad's artwork," Bach said. "He's no longer alive. And we all, all of his kids, we got a lot of his art when he passed away. And I unrolled a roll of paintings that I knew had the SKID ROW 'Subhuman Race' painting in it, and I wanna take care of it and make sure it's preserved. But in that roll was this painting that I remember my dad doing of me when I was 10 in a field next to this beat-up old Cadillac car in the field and then behind the car, it's Jesus ascending into heaven, and I'm running next to the car. It looks like an album cover. And then he also did a painting of me from Circus magazine, the first centerfold of me on stage at Giants Stadium. He did a gigantic painting of that, like 12 feet high. And so the cover is gonna be me running as a child into me on stage as a man, and it's child within the man. And it just reminds me of the '70s, like child in time, and it just reminds me of a good '70s album cover. And the fact that I can bring back a painting from the year 1978 and make it into artwork in 2023, 2024, that's really mind-blowing to me."

Bach's "What Do I Got To Lose?" spring 2024 U.S. tour got underway May 10 in Jefferson, Louisiana and wrapped on June 29 in San Diego, California.

Prior to "Child Within The Man"'s arrival, Bach hadn't released a full-length disc since "Give 'Em Hell", which came out in March 2014.