By Jeremy Vane-Tempest
We all know that one arsehole that drags every conversation, no matter how mundane, back to his ‘life-changing experience in the Andes’. You mention that you got seven nuggets in a sixpack at McDonalds, and he’s off about the transcendence he experienced in Peru, when in actuality he just had a bad comedown from some DMT he smoked in a Mayan ruin. His name is Chad. F*cking Chad. Unlike Chad, Sebastian Bach is a freaking awesome dude. He’s been places, man. He’s seen some shit, and he’s done even more. Most importantly, and most unlike Chad (f*cking Chad), he’s actually writing that book he’s always on about.
“It’s about me – my favourite subject”, Sebastian laughs. “Every rocker has a book and I’m kinda the last one that doesn’t, so I guess it’s my turn.” When I ask if it’s going to tread a similar path to Mötley Crüe’s legendary book, The Dirt, Sebastian admits. “I don’t know, man. I’m not even done writing it, so I need to sit back and figure out if it needs more or less of X or Y. I also have an eight-year-old daughter, a fifteen-year-old stepson and a two-year-old stepson, and I need to think about what would happen if they were to read it.”
Sebastian is an incredibly creative individual. Not content with writing his autobiography, fronting Skid Row, he conquered Broadway with his performance of the titular character in Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde and acted in several television shows. Despite all that performance pedigree, he’s still a bit of a music nerd at heart.
“I like the studio the most. I love recording,” he enthused. “That’s the most creative part of the music industry, making a new album, and I love that. A lot of attention to detail goes into it, you know? Every little detail has to be examined, because they’re all going to affect the rest of the whole one way or another. A book is an even bigger thing, because it’s a one-shot deal.” He pauses before laughing, “F*ck, man. I’ve got a lot of deadlines to meet.”
“My voice has a life of its own,” he continues. “I don’t even feel like it’s a part of me sometimes. It’s a weird thing to hear yourself on the radio and realising that it’s you singing. I’ve never gotten used to that, or getting noticed in the street. It happens every day. Someone will walk up to me and go “hey, I love you, man”. That’s f*cking heavy, man! Some stranger coming up to you and telling you they love you, you don’t get used to that. It’s crazy heavy that you can have that kind of impact on a person.”
Finally, I question Sebastian on the relevance of theatricality in live shows. The days of Alice Cooper or KISS where the show was more about the outfits, the make up, the props, than the music itself are largely gone. Even the biggest bands in the world, such as the Foo Fighters, are almost indistinguishable from their fans. The shows focus infinitely more on the performance of the music than pyrotechnics or glam make up with massive hair.
“The thing with the Foo Fighters,” begins Sebastian, “is that the media has said ‘you’re allowed to be the big rock band’, to the point that you can’t f*cking get away from them! Radio, TV, Internet, they’re everywhere! I’m sitting here going ‘all right, I get it, I get it, they’re awesome.’ I mean, they’re great and all, but there are other f*cking bands out there!”
“But yeah, theatricality definitely seems to be a dying art”, as he brings himself laboriously back to the actual question. “The original Alice was a full experience, with the guillotine and the big fucking spiders and the giant teeth with giant toothbrushes on stage, it was weird! I loved Black Veil Brides when they first came out. They were scruffy and fun. They seem to have cleaned up a little now, though. Now, when I think of theatricality, the artist that leaps to mind as carrying that torch is Rammstein. They just basically torch the whole venue. They’re huge! They’re f*ckin amazing, they sold out Madison Square Garden in, like, an hour. That’s not just a show. That’s a fucking inferno.”
Sebastian Bach is currently on tour in Australia.
Saturday, 19th September
Coolangatta Hotel, Coolangatta
Tickets: Metropolis Touring
Tuesday, 22nd September
Eatons Hill Hotel, Brisbane
Tickets: Metropolis Touring
Wednesday, 23rd September
Metro Theatre, Sydney
Tickets: Ticketek
Friday, 25th September
Forum Theatre, Melbourne
Tickets: Ticketmaster
Saturday, 26th September
The Gov, Adelaide
Tickets: Metropolis Touring
Sunday, 27th September
Astor Theatre, Perth
Tickets: Metropolis Touring
