When it comes to rock ‘n’ roll frontmen, few can match the towering voice and presence of Sebastian Bach. This November, the former Skid Row powerhouse is bringing his high-voltage energy Down Under for a very special run, performing the band’s iconic self-titled debut album in its entirety.
True to form, Sebastian didn’t hold back in our chat, delivering his trademark unfiltered takes on everything from his latest solo record Child Within The Man, to a wild in-store appearance in Sydney back in the ’90s, and the monumental legacy of Ozzy Osbourne.
But the highlight? A laugh-out-loud, razor-sharp rant aimed at YouTubers who dub themselves “vocal experts” or “vocal instructors” and think they can nail his notes live. Buckle up, this one is pure Sebastian Bach, no filter, all fire!
SR. Before chatting about the Oz tour, I need to congratulate you on your latest album “Child Within The Man” – It’s truly a killer release. Just wondering what does that phrase mean to you, and how does it reflect where you are right now in life and music?
SB. Thank you I like it too! Basically that refers to the fact that, rock n roll just makes me feel like a child. In good ways and bad ways. I just get a certain feeling when I listen to rock music that, I don’t know how to explain it, but, you know, it’s a cliche.
Rock n’ roll keeps you young and I think there is definitely something to that. I just think there’s something to that. I mean, look at Angus Young and AC/DC. You know, it’s crazy how those guys are, you know, so old and still rocking and they will continue rocking.
SR. What would you say are the tracks from Child Within The Man that would be perfect to introduce first-time listeners to the album?
SB. What do I got to lose?, because it’s like the closest thing that I’ve had to a hit song since the late 80’s. Honestly, it’s a big, big song on radio in America. I don’t know about Australia, but that song for sure grabs everybody when they hear it.
I would say the song (Hold On) To The Dream is one of my best songs that I’ve ever recorded. When I listen to it, I can’t believe how heavy and cool it is and also melodic it is. (Hold On) To The Dream is really another level for me.
I also love the song Future of Youth, which I was personal favorite as I did it with Orianthi from Australia. That is my first Australian collaboration on one of my records, so thank you Orianthi! – The song came out great, the video came out great. It’s very melodic. That chorus is just crazy to me how good it sounds…And, yeah, I’m very happy with the whole record.
I’m actually, starting to get the, itch to do more new music because it’s been a while now, so I’m starting to get that feeling of wanting to make some more new music, and, that might be happening sooner rather than later.
SR. You’ve always been about big vocals and bigger energy. How did you keep that raw Sebastian spirit alive while recording this album and on stage?
SB. I really enjoy recording. To me, recording a record, is it completely different exercise than playing live. To me, going on tour and playing concerts every night is more like being an athlete, with no sleep and traveling and getting on the stage and pushing your body and your mind to the maximum.
It’s really, unless people have done it before, you don’t realize how physically demanding going on tour is. But making a record I stand still in an air conditioned room (laughs), and I sing it as many times as I want until I get exactly what I want. There’s nothing wrong with that. There’s nothing wrong. Like when people, say, oh, “this live album isn’t live…they, fixed up some notes” – You’re allowed to do that!
That’s why the technology was invented. It’s like Les Paul, the guitar player, invented multi-track recording. People are like, “oh, he he doubled that. He put up an echo” – You’re allowed to do that! You’re allowed to fix up a note on a live record. It doesn’t make it a worse record. That makes it a better record.
Playing live is one shot. You get one shot, right? you walk on the stage and you’re up there for an hour and a half. But making a record, you can, spend 20 years on a record if you want.
I find playing a lot. I find making a record to be more of a creative exercise. And I find going on tour, playing concerts, more of a physical, exercise. That’s, that’s the difference.
SR. You’re performing the Skid Row self-titled debut to Australia in full in a few weeks. What’s it like revisiting those songs night after night, and do they feel different to perform now than they did in 1989?
SB. Well, it doesn’t feel like yesterday because it was 36 years ago (Laughs). I’m happy that I still get a chance to do this. I’m happy that I still perform the songs in the original key with no backing vocal tracks at all, it’s all real rock and roll.
You know, that’s the only way I know how to do it. I don’t know how to get up there with a click track, and I don’t, I’m not like that. I’m more of a wild animal up on the stage. You know, people come see me and when I see live footage of me, I’m very tall, and I come out there with a lot of energy, and it’s almost like it’s going to the zoo and seeing an animal like a gorilla or something like that (Laughs).
So, yeah, when I get on the stage, it’s like, whoa, here it comes, man…and I’m swinging my mike and I’m just a very tall guy, so when I come on the stage, I can see the crowd looking at me like saying “Okay, look at this. Look at this dude. Like, look at” – It’s fucking wild, you know?
I think that’s just because of, how big I am and and how much energy I come out there with. And people aren’t used to a guy my age still doing the songs in the original key and all that. You know, some people do that, but most people, lower the keys on the guitar and have all the background vocals on a track, and we’re not that smart (Laughs).
SR. I don’t know if you remember this, but in one of your previous shows here at The Metro in Sydney you did two things that brought the house down. First you hosted a marriage proposal on stage and then you said a phrase that unleash the mosh-pit: “You might kick-out the singer from the band, but you will never be able to kick-out the band from the singer” just before playing “Youth Gone Wild”.
SB. Did I say that (Laughs)…I think I remember a bit of that!
SR. That’s the Sebastian Bach effect in Australia! That’s why everyone always welcome you here with open arms and sold-out shows. Just wondering what are your most fond memories from previous Australian tours?
SB. I mean, the first tour we did was crazy, but we, played in 1990 headlining, and, we did an in-store in Sydney. That was ledge and area, like, like completely crazy and, like, so many people came to this record store that we had to go in the basement of the record store because the fans were like coming in the front door and the back door, and the police were trying to hold them back, and it was on the night news. it was a very crazy thing. You can see clips of that in the skid row. Okay. Can you screen it on home video, which you need a VHS player to see that because we never put it out on DVD – “Good idea” (Laughs).
Then, of course, I have to mention playing, Calder Park and Eastern Creek with Guns n’ Roses and Rose tattoo. Those were, legendary concerts in Australia. That’s was what everybody I talked to remembers. It goes. Man, like “I was there”. That was like Woodstock or something. That was a big deal and I remember how hot it was on the stage. Jesus Christ, it’s a lot more cool iIn the recording studio compared to Eastern Creek in the middle of the summer!
SR. That show became the footprint for many tours here in Oz.
SB. I gotta bring something else up…YouTube is so hilarious! I see videos of of guys, that call themselves “vocal experts” or “vocal instructors” or whatever, and these idiots watch a video of me on stage, like at Wembley Stadium, running around with no shirt on in 100 degree weather and I’ll do a note like in my concert footage and they’ll sit in their chair and like, go, like sitting in their chair watching it on YouTube, singing “ahhhhhhh” as if that’s the same fucking thing as me running around on stage in the summertime!
I don’t get to sit down and like, watch and go see, I can do that.
You can’t do shit. And another thing is you don’t just do one note of the song. The challenge is to sing the whole song! I Remember You, and then at the end, there’s a scream, and you better be ready for that!
So spare me sitting there like this. “God. Oh, shit. I can beat that”. Like. No!, you have no clue what the hell it is that I do sing the whole fucking song. Then hit the scream at the end in 100 degree weather. No sleep, Jet-lagged. You know, it just makes me laugh. Like, it’s just so funny that people think that they know how to get on a stage and rock for an hour and a half or two hours.
It’s a dying art, and you can’t sit in your living room and your air conditioning watching it on YouTube, thinking… you have no fucking clue about what it is to get up on that stage and do it every single night. It’s not physically or mentally easy to do. And and there’s so many of these so-called “vocal experts” that I could kick them right in the balls!
Because don’t tell don’t even think you know what it is that a guy like me does. I’m not saying this to you. I’m saying this to all the “experts” in their basement and their air conditioning…It’s really hilarious.
SR. It’s hilarious, I mean seriously they do all this for “likes”. Just look at Ozzy’s last show…They would never be able to do something like that.
SB. Like that at his age! Like two weeks before he dies. He throws his best ever concert ever. Like I was crying watching Black Sabbath, I was, but then he dies like I was crying just because of the show, the concert…because it was so emotional to see the original Black Sabbath play those songs, you know. And then I can’t even believe that he left us like a, a week and a half after that. It doesn’t even seem like reality. So I don’t, I don’t know
SR. He left like the true legend he was, that’s for sure.
SB. I read this, statement of when he died and they said that he died surrounded by his family and his friends. And so he won because, like, nobody was crazier or wilder than Ozzy Osborne. And still his family and his wife, they understood that about him and they stuck by him, and that’s rare.
You know, people seem to think that I’m this wild, crazy dude, and maybe I am, but I never bit the head off a bat. Like what? I mean, to me, Ozzy is crazier than me. I don’t like the taste of bats. Yeah, they’re too salty (Laughs).
SR. Sadly, we are running out of time, just to finish, would you like to send a message to all your Australian fans ahead of the tour?
SB. My message would be, thank you very much for 36 years of rock and roll. We were going to do this tour, in 2020. But then 2020 happened. So, the only place we’re doing this in the world is Australia, because we promised we would do it in 2020, but then we couldn’t do it, and basically the promoters say, “please, please, please, let’s, let’s do the first record”. Alright, Okay, fine! But this is only for Australia. So come on out and let’s have a good time!
This Tour is Exclusive to Australia – Don’t Miss It
This November, Sebastian Bach is bringing his energy to Australia once again for a run of shows you won’t see anywhere else – a true celebration of raw talent, iconic songs, and rock in its purest form. Here’s when and where you can catch him live:
Friday November 21st – FREMANTLE, Freo.Social
Tuesday November 25th – ADELAIDE, The Gov
Thursday November 27th – MELBOURNE, The Forum
Friday November 28th – SYDNEY, Enmore Theatre
Saturday November 29th – BRISBANE, Eatons Hill Hotel