After a brief stint in glam metal also-rans Madam X, Sebastian Bach shot to fame fronting Skid Row in the late 80s. Their first two albums were huge hits, but 1995’s Subhuman Race was a relative flop and Sebastian was booted out of the band.
While Skid Row have continued with a string of different singers, Sebastian has flitted around the scene, with an on-off solo career running alongside numerous TV appearances and theatrical stints in Broadway and beyond. Now he’s back with a slamming new solo album called Child Within The Man and is ready to answer your questions – including the inevitable ones about a possible Skid Row reunion and his several celebrity feuds…
What are your memories of working on Subhuman Race?
Stephen Swender, Facebook
“We were very excited to work with Bob Rock because we loved all of his records, and especially Dr. Feelgood by Mötley Crüe. But this was 1994 and all Bob could talk about was Veruca Salt [Rock produced that band’s second album in 1997]. We didn’t give a fuck about Veruca Salt! He was trying to make one kind of record and we were trying to make a different one.
I saw this article saying Metallica’s [Bob Rock-produced] St. Anger had the worst fucking drum sound in the history of drums. They traced back the snare sound of St. Anger to the snare sound of Subhuman Race. And it’s true.”
You’re putting together a touring band and can pick anyone from any era, alive or dead. Who do you pick?
Guitar Garage, X/Twitter
“On drums I would have Neil Peart from Rush for sure. On bass, Michael Anthony, ’cos I love the spirit of Van Halen and I also love his backing vocals – it’s out of this world how high he can sing. The first guy that comes to mind on guitar is Randy Rhoads, because he did not get to make enough music. He only made a couple records and that’s a very sad situation.”
Have you seen Bubbles, Ricky and Julian recently? [Helpful Ed’s note: Sebastian appeared in the Canadian sitcom Trailer Park Boys, featuring these characters.]
Ross Harris, Facebook
“Ha ha ha! That show is so huge in Canada that I can’t walk down the street without people freaking out about the Trailer Park Boys. I will add that those guys are so talented, and if you think that their TV show is incredible, you should go see them live. They’re natural born showmen and they’re funny as hell. I love them.”
What inspired your new album?
Bachfan20, X/Twitter
“My vinyl collection. I tried as hard as I could to make an album in 2024 that feels like an album from the 70s. I enlisted Elvis Baskette, who’s produced Wolfgang Van Halen, Slash and Alter Bridge, and I got Robert Ludwig, who unbelievably mastered Led Zeppelin II, Kiss Alive! and so many more. He’s since retired, so my album was one of the last ones he ever did. My father painted the cover – the painting had been rolled up in a tube since 1978!”
Would you ever consider re-recording the early Skid Row demos like Edge Of The Night or Walk With A Stranger?
Aaron Dean, Facebook
“No. They weren’t put on records for a reason. That said, one of our biggest songs early on in Skid Row, which we used to open up our show in the clubs, was called Forever. It was one of my favourites, but I got outvoted about putting it out on the first album.”
Will you ever do a sing-off with Chris Jericho?
Callum Jones, email
“The better question would be, will he do a wrestle-off with Sebastian Bach? Because I’m as much of a wrestler as he is a singer.”
Would you ever make peace with Ronnie Radke?
Rachel Appleby, Facebook
“I don’t know who that is. The only way I know that name is from the internet, so they might as well be a Republican politician or a reality TV show star or YouTuber. Whatever opinion someone has on the internet, for me to give a shit, I would have to respect their music first. And I have never heard one note of that band [Falling In Reverse]. The only reason I know them is because they seem to love their computers more than real rock’n’roll.”
If you could go back to the mid-90s, what would you change?
Justlookin68, X/Twitter
“I would change the outfit that I wore at Donington in 1995. Those grey shorts with the orange Converse running shoes that came up halfway up my ankle. I was trying to be like a skateboarder, which I’m not.”
If you and Jon Bon Jovi would fight now, who would win? [According to Sebastian’s autobiography, they had an altercation on tour in the 80s.]
Liro Pirinen, Facebook
“Well, we’re not fighters, we’re musicians, so that doesn’t make sense. What I will say is, can you imagine a tour with Bon Jovi reuniting with Richie Sambora and the reunited Skid Row as an opener? We could take that around the world as many times as Guns N’ Roses did. I mean, maybe not quite that many times, but it would be a big draw.”
Hammer: Have you run into each other since your infamous beef?
“When I opened up for Guns N’ Roses at Wembley [in 2006], me and Axl Rose were staying at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in London. We were having dinner and the waitress said, ‘Hey, there’s somebody in the corner who wants to say hi.’ It was Jon Bon Jovi and I had a couple of glasses of wine in me so I just stood up and walked over.
Jon looked at me with a look like, ‘Are you going to be a fucking dick? Are you going to be cool?’ and I just said, ‘Hey, dude, how’s it going?’ We had a long ride together with a lot of success and there’s a lot of great memories, despite what the internet will tell you. So I invited him over to our table and me, Jon and Axl had a great night, inhaling red wine and reminiscing.”
How did you practise the higher pitched notes?
Jarod Valverde, Facebook
“I have to give credit where credit is due because Jon Bon Jovi, back when I first joined Skid Row, put me put me in touch with his personal vocal coach. Because as he will tell you, especially now, there’s a big difference between singing at the weekend and playing every single night and not losing your voice.
I practise using an Italian vocal scale called bel canto. It’s very tedious, but it changes your vocal cords. You can hear the screams on my new record and I’m an old man now, so there must be something to be said for it!”
You’ve shared a stage with just about everybody, but who remains on your bucket list?
Maxybyrne, X/Twitter
“I am such a fan of rock music, just like anybody that reads Metal Hammer, and I get a very hard psychological tic in my brain when I’m hanging out with somebody like Geezer Butler or Geddy Lee or Gene Simmons - anybody whose fan club that I joined when I was 12. There’s a voice in my brain saying, ‘This cannot be real!’
I don’t know if other musicians sell a million records and then they feel like they belong at a dinner table with AC/DC. But when you say to me, who would you like to play with – it’s still those goofballs known as Skid Row, because I think the fans deserve that.”
Do you have unfinished business with Skid Row?
Kbone W Rokker, Facebook
“When we started that band and we sold millions of albums and toured the world, I, in my naive brain, never thought we’d break up and throw it all away. For me, doing three albums with Skid Row, I was just getting started. I didn’t think it would be over and done with so quick. So I just do the same thing that I do with my solo career that I did in 1988. I have a different band, but that doesn’t change what I do at all. I’m the same Sebastian, I’m just 100 years old now!”
Hammer: Can you see that reunion ever actually happening?
“I can definitely see that happening considering they play the same songs I play. So for a fan, they’re probably wondering, ‘What’s wrong with these guys, that they can’t put their egos aside and do something for the fans?’ When I get a substantial royalty check for an album I did with musicians that I haven’t been in the same room with since 1996, I feel like a piece of shit. Because we should be giving something back to the fans that have made this great life possible.”
Child Within The Man is out now via Reigning Phoenix
