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 SEBASTIAN BACH was once dubbed by Rolling Stone Magazine as ‘The leader of the heavy metal nation’ (not to be confused with the leader of the classical nation). The rock star, who should be endorsed by Pantene for his luscious locks, is bringing his Angel Down album, down under. BROOKE MCMASTER speaks to the original youth gone wild.
To put it quite simply, this was one of the most interesting interviews I have ever done where the conversation was fuelled by the subject and less from my questions. However I was pre-warned about his personality and was told by a friend of Bach’s, ‘The man is always turned up to 11’. I brushed it off thinking his on-stage persona could nowhere near match his private guise. I was wrong. But when you are speaking with Sebastian Bach, you can’t help but ‘let it ride’.
After selling 22 million albums with Skid Row, the Canadian rocker has managed to distance himself from his past and be established as a polished and astounding solo act. He finally hits our shores this week with his first album in five years, Angel Down. Bach explains his intentions for making the album.
“The album is the next logical chapter in my musical career. All I wanted to do was make a record that when you put it in your iPod you can play it after Slave to the Grind, and to me it seems like the next logical musical piece. I just want to improve and expand on my body of work. I simply love it.”
The burning question was coming up - I could feel it. Would he kick me to the curb like so many other journalists before me? I throw caution to the wind, bite my lip and go for it. I ask Bach about the break up with Skid Row.
“I think if you listen to my album Angel Down and then if you want to torture yourself and listen to their album...that will answer your question,” he laughs.
“We’re different musically now. We used to think the same and be like one dude out of five and now its like we’re too different and what they think is cool I probably don’t and visa versa. It’s very much a case of artistic differences, even though it sounds like such a cliché’.”
One thing that may surprise admirers of Bach is his involvement in musical theatre, having developed a successful Broadway career, with productions such as Jeckyl & Hyde and The Rocky Horror Picture show. Bach lets me in on how a tattoo clad rock star managed to land leading roles.
“The guy who signed me with Skid Row back in 1987 at Atlantic Records put out Frank Wildhorn's CDs also, [he] is the composer of Jeckyl and Hyde. Frank came to the company and said ‘I want a ‘rock star’ to be Jeckyl & Hyde and they thought of me.
“I just love singing. I was a lead soprano in my choir when I was a little boy and that got me into singing rock & roll and then that got me singing in theatres. What I love about theatre is that I can bring what I learn on the theatre stage back to rock & roll.”
And like every rock star with big ambitions, he still has big dreams. He lets me in on future Broadway career aspirations.
“They are doing the stage version of Spiderman and Bono and The Edge are writing it. Of course you know they write amazing music, so I would love to play the Green Goblin.
“I would fucking love to kick Spiderman’s ass all across that Broadway stage eight times a week!”
SEBASTIAN BACH plays Seagulls Friday & The Arena Saturday. Angel Down is available now through Capitol/EMI.
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