SEBASTIAN BACH Says SKID ROW Is 'Wrecking The Name Worse Than Can Ever Be Wrecked'

Jason Price of Live-Metal.net recently conducted an interview with former SKID ROW vocalist Sebastian Bach. A few of excerpts from the chat follow:

Live-Metal.net: How long has ["Angel Down"] been in the works?

Bach: I spent seven years writing the record. The first song was written in the year 2000, right after I was done with "Jekyll & Hyde" on Broadway. I wrote "Falling Into You", which is the last song on the record, with Desmond Child. Then I went through many, many different band members over the course of the years. I had many different guitar players and musicians in my solo band, so each one of them had something to offer and it basically took me seven years to assemble 14 songs that I feel is an album. That is why it took that long.

Live-Metal.net: In your opinion, where does "Angel Down" stack up in comparison to your previous work?

Bach: Well, one thing that really surprises me about "Angel Down" is how young my voice sounds on certain songs. There is a song called "You Don't Understand" on which I really concentrated on singing really clean and pure. I have been beating the shit out of myself and my voice for 20 years, and there is no way that my voice should sound the way that it sounds on some of these songs, which is just surprising to me. I can only attribute it to theater and all the theater that I have done. That taught me a lot about singing. I can hear the theatrical influence in certain parts of the record.

Live-Metal.net: You used artwork from your father, David Bierk, as the cover for "Angel Down". The painting is titled "David Watching". How did you decide on this particular piece for the album cover?

Bach: Well, my dad was extremely prolific. There are thousands of images that he painted during his lifetime. So there is really a wealth of paintings that I could choose from. When I did "Jesus Christ Superstar" in 2002, that image really haunted me because it looked like it was him in heaven, made of rock, lifeless, looking down at Jesus in the painting, and I was playing the role of Jesus at the time. So to me it was like an image from beyond the grave. And then we have the song "Angel Down". I had already been thinking of using that as the title track because I always want the title track to be super fucking ballsy and heavy. And on that song, that is the heaviest riff I have heard in years. So when I thought of the title "Angel Down", with the painting, it was meant to be. It totally fit together. Then, a lot of the lyrics on the record have a lot to do with the war, and I am sure any parent or family member or friend that has lost a soldier in this war knows what an "Angel Down" means. It is like saying "man overboard." It has a very military feel to it, which again is what a lot of the lyrics have to do with.

Live-Metal.net: You had the painting tattooed on your arm by the legendary Kat Von D, what was that experience like for you?

Bach: That was great, man! Because a lot of my tattoos are really super old and Kat Von D has such a new style with the way she does tats. It is so fucking detailed and she has her own style that is very, very happening and cool. So that was really great to do that show. I loved how they played "Love is a Bitchslap" on "LA Ink". A lot of the fans were like, "Dude, your fucking song sounds KILLER on the show!" I loved hearing it on the show. It was the first time that I had heard one of my new songs on a TV show and I freaked out. I was like, "Oh my God, I really do have a new record!" [laughs]

Live-Metal.net: In many ways, especially in the "rock media," you have become a sort of "unofficial mouthpiece" for GUNS N' ROSES in the past few years.

Bach: Yeah.

Live-Metal.net: Does this ever put you in a bad spot or become a bit of a burden?

Bach: Uh, yeah, actually it does. Actually, just yesterday. I do talk about him a lot and I don't know what to do. What, am I not supposed to talk about the best singer in the world who just happens to be my buddy? [laughs] It is kinda hard NOT to talk about it! I did an interview with a magazine last week where I went into detail about our collaboration and they condensed it into about three sentences, which wasn't cool. So, he [Axl] was asking me about it and I said, "I never said this." So maybe sometimes I should talk a little less about him, but it is hard. Number one, I am a fan and mumber two, he is a friend, and number three, he is on my record. So I just have to trust the writers not to twist my words and I don't have a bad word to say about him. It is not in my being. So I do have to be careful.

Live-Metal.net: You have been in the public eye for a very long time and have a very well documented career. What do you think is the biggest misconception about Sebastian Bach?

Bach: There are a lot of misconceptions. You know, I don't like the word "80s" because it always makes me cringe. Or "hair band," I hate that word. I don't like being lumped in with a bunch of other bands that I have never even met, have never even played with and have nothing to do with, but somehow we are all in one big band together. That drives me nuts. The real fans know the difference between SKID ROW and a lot of the bands that SKID ROW gets billed with. The SKID ROW of 2007 doesn't help matters at all by what they are doing. They are wrecking the name worse than can ever be wrecked. So they make my job harder when I am trying to do something cool and new, and they are just touring the world two out of five original members, playing with all the bands that we would never have toured with me in the band. So they make it hard. So I have to fight "80s hair band" all the time and I guess I don't make it any easier on myself when I have long blonde hair down to my asshole, but that's just too bad! [laughs] TOO BAD!

Live-Metal.net: Will you be doing anything special to celebrate the release of "Angel Down" on November 20, when it is released?

Bach: I do plan on going to my area stores and just making sure that it is there! [laughs] Hopefully, I don't have to yell at anybody on the phone at the end of the day! Really, at this point, I have worked so hard on it and listened to it so many times and I have approved it. It's amazing. But I still haven't seen the finished product yet! Hopefully, they didn't spell something wrong or fucking leave a song off or something! As long as it is like we approved it, it is amazing and it is everything that I want it to be. So really, all I can do then is just hope for the best! It's like I put a stamp on an envelope and put it in the mail, it's gone! It's out of my control! Once I say it's done, it's yours as much as it is mine. So I hope you like it! The other thing I would like to say is, that if people really want to support rock n' roll, please go to the store and buy the CD. CD stores are going out of business to the point where it is getting really fucking scary to be a musician. You can download it, but you are gonna miss out on the full sound of the CD, which is way better than MP3 sound. You're gonna miss out on the artwork and the double-sided poster which is included in the packaging. And we all put a lot of work into making a package that you are not even going to know about if you just download an MP3. If anyone is thinking about the CD, please, go to the store and support rock n' roll, support record stores, support the CD industry, support my kids! [laughs] And BUY THE FUCKING CD! [laughs] We all have to do that. When I want a new CD, I go to the store and buy it. That is the only way rock n' roll is gonna survive and every rock n' roller better know that! People talk about global warming, let's talk about "rock n' roll colding!" [laughs] I don't like seeing Tower Records going out of business and Best Buy and Wal-Mart cut down their CD space. Every rocker, go out and buy the CD to show the world that we want to rock!

Read the entire interview at Live-Metal.net.