SEBASTIAN BACH Says He 'Believed' In SKID ROW Song 'Youth Gone Wild' Before Anybody Else Did

April 7, 2014

Robert Cavuoto of Guitar International recently conducted an interview with former SKID ROW singer Sebastian Bach. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Guitar International: I really think that you took ["Give 'Em Hell"] a step above "Kicking & Screaming" with the writing. Was that a goal to go one better?

Sebastian Bach: That's impossible. I don't know why some people look at music like sports. What is better? [Laughs] When I made the first SKID ROW record, I remember walking around Six Flags Great Adventure with the guitar player saying, "Can you imagine if anybody liked it — if we got a gold record?" Here we are six million copies later. I don't know what is better to somebody or worse. I just know that I dig it; that's it. That's all I know. I dug "18 & Life", when I finished recording that in the studio, and I dig "Give 'Em Hell" and "Kicking & Screaming". Every album I've ever put out, I love, except for maybe THE LAST HARD MEN. Other than that, every record I've ever put out I love. That's all I can do. There's no formula or master plan or way to do things. It's like, "Here's a riff, here's a scream." [Laughs] It's not an exact science. It's not math; it's emotion. So what is good or better to you could be completely different to somebody else. Making music is so nebulous. You go into a room with nothing, and then you're expected to come out with something that you're so proud of. There's no real way to get to that point. I know when I'm done — when I love it with all my heart. Then I don't think it could be any better, and I think "Give 'Em Hell" is just top notch — from the sound, to the production, to the performances, to the tone.

Guitar International: Your voice is as strong as anything you've done with SKID ROW 25 plus years ago. What do you do to take care of it?

Sebastian Bach: I have a vocal scale called bel canto that is used by many, many, many singers from Tony Bennett to Lady Gaga to Bon Jovi, to Christina Aguilera — we all use this vocal style of scales called bel canto. It's a proven method of improving your voice and making it strong and that's what I do. The same way a guitar player will warm up his fingers, I warm up my voice. After doing that for 25 years, I think the voice becomes something even beyond what you could imagine if you do it for decades. You're hearing a guy — me — that has been doing this for over 25 years. So I've had a lot of practice now. [Laughs] I have to admit when I listened back, I can't believe it's me. [Laughs] I'm thinking about some of the screams in the middle of "All My Friends Are Dead" and going, "My God, I can't believe it. I just can't believe that's my new record." [Laughs]

Guitar International: Have you ever had any vocal problems in your career?

Sebastian Bach: I have a weird voice. If I have a cold, or if I overdo it on the road, sometimes Ill lose my mid-range, but I very rarely lose the high range. Strange. [Laughs] My problem as a vocalist mostly is if it's too loud on a small stage in a club, then my pitch will be fucked up. If I'm standing right next to the drum kit, I don't like to be in a position where I have to shout or yell to be heard. That's when you can see the diva side of me on YouTube, when I'm throwing shit at the monitor man.

Guitar International: Did you ever realize the anthemic impact of "Youth Gone Wild" back in the day?

Sebastian Bach: Yes, before anybody in the world did. When SKID ROW wanted me to join the band, they sent me a cassette with a bunch of songs on it and that song was probably my favorite. When I joined the band, I got the tattoo of "Youth Gone Wild" on my arm before we had a record deal, before we had a manager. I got "Youth Gone Wild" tattooed on my arm when we were a club band. So, I'm the one who fucking brought that shit to the planet. I'm not saying it was just me; I'm saying it was all of us as a band. But I believed in that song with all my heart before anybody else did that I know about. A lot of people think I got that tattoo after we had sold a million copies of the record. I got it when we were completely unknown, when nobody knew that song. That's when I got it.

Read the entire interview at Guitar International.

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