Sebastian Bach

[Chris]

Sebastian Bach – Friday, July 11 at 7pm

Sebastian Bach - Lead Vocals
Rob DeLuca - Bass
Metal Mike Chlasciak - Guitar
Johnny Lenaerts - Guitar
Bobby Jarzombek - Drums

Sebastian Bach got his major musical start in 1987 at just the age of 18 when he was asked to join Skid Row after the band parted ways with their original singer Matt Fallon. Skid Row had been formed by Dave “The Snake” Sabo and Rachel Bolan in New Jersey in 1986. Sabo’s connections to his friend Jon Bovi helped the band secure a record deal with Atlantic Records and the band hit the studio in 1988. The album Skid Row was released in 1989 and was a huge hit, selling over 5 million copies, and spawning two top 10 hits, “I Remember You” and “18 & Life” as well as the anthem “Youth Gone Wild.” The album is considered one of the finest from the hair metal genre and is also heavier than most albums from that period. The band also was able to open for Bon Jovi on their New Jersey tour. Bach found himself in the news a couple times during the tour, once throwing a bottle that hit an unsuspecting fan after a bottle had been thrown onstage and another time for wearing an obscene t-shirt thrown onstage by a fan. The band returned to the studio and released Slave to the Grind in 1991. The album would become the first heavy metal album to reach #1 and would also be first to have songs written by Bach. Bach’s contributions could also be the reason for the album having a heavier feel than Skid Row. While it would not have any major hits, the album still sold well and helped the band nail down the opening slot on Guns n Roses’ 1991 tour. The rising success also allowed the band to tour until 1993, when the band took a break. The band returned in 1995 and with famed producer Bob Rock released the album Subhuman Race. Because the music scene had changed dramatically with the advent of grunge, the album sold poorly and generated no major hits. The album would be the last with Bach as he was fired in 1996. He would form the band The Last Hard Men and covered Alice Cooper’s “School’s Out” for the Scream soundtrack and then recorded an album. The album would not be released on a major label at the time though. He would eventually release a live album titled Bring ‘Em Bach Alive! In 1999 and a cover album titled Bach 2: Basics in 2001. Neither would sell well but Bach began finding work in other ways. He began performing on Broadway, even landing the lead role in Jekyll and Hyde and eventually played Jesus in a nationally touring production of Jesus Christ Superstar. He briefly hosted VH1’s Forever Wild and became a regular on the tv show Gilmore Girls. He also was in VH1’s reality show Supergroup along with Ted Nugent among others. With his band he joined Axl Rose and Guns n Roses as their opening band in 2006 and began working on new album. Bach even talked Rose into joining him on the record. In November 2007, Bach released Angel Down and Rose sings on three songs, the first songs released with Rose singing in years. Angel Down has gotten fairly good reviews for its heavy sound that is similar to Slave to the Grind and reached #1 on Billboard’s Heatseekers and Hard Rock charts. Bach will be touring with Poison all summer long, opening the majority of the shows along with Dokken.

Did You Know?
The cover art for Angel Down was done by Bach’s father, the late visual artist David Bierk.
His father also did the cover for Skid Row’s Slave to the Grind.
Sebastian Bach’s real name is Sebastian Bierk.
Bach was raised in Peterborough, Ontario.
His brother Zac was an NHL goalie and his sister Dylan is an actress.
Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora originally owned royalty rights to Skid Row’s songs.
The pair had helped the band get signed and in return got rights to their songs.
Eventually Sambora relinquished his rights to the songs, returning his portion to the band.
The band played the Castle Donington Festival in 1992.
Bach formed The Last Hard Men with The Breeders’ Kelley Deal, Smashing Pumpkins’ Jimmy Chamberlin and The Frogs’ Jimmy Flemion.
Bach’s son Paris is a drummer in the New Jersey metal band Severed Hand.
Bach provides backing vocals on the song “Sorry” from Guns n Roses’ long awaited album Chinese Democracy.
He joined Axl and Guns n Roses onstage several times to help sing “My Michelle” on tour in 2006.
Bach played the role of lead guitarist Gil in a band on Gilmore Girls.
Bach headlined a tour of Japan in early 2007.

Setlist
June 15, 2007 – Melbourne
1. Slave to the Grind
2. Big Guns
3. Here I Am
4. Stuck Inside
5. Piece of Me
6. 18 and Life
7. American Metalhead
8. Love is a B&*#slap
9. By Your Side (on list – not played)
10. Monkey Business
11. You Don't Understand
12. Beggars Day
13. I Remember You
14. Youth Gone Wild

Billboard Top 100 Hits
1989 18 and Life #4
1989 I Remember You #6
1989 Youth Gone Wild #99
1991 Wasted Time #88

Mainstream Rock Hits
1989 18 and Life #11
1989 I Remember You #23
1989 Youth Gone Wild #27
1991 Monkey Business #13
1991 Wasted Time #30
1995 Into Another #28

My Take
Sebastian Bach’s show has the potential to be one everyone will remember from Moondance Jam 2008. He has a great stable of songs from both his Skid Row days and his new solo album and will play one of the heaviest sets ever at Moondance Jam. For most of the summer, he will be playing a short set while opening for Poison on their summer tour. Given the extra time he will have onstage at Moondance I assume he will play plenty Skid Row songs we all know as well as a big chunk of his new album.

I was lucky enough to see Skid Row open for Bon Jovi in 1989 in Wichita, Kansas. Believe it or not, Skid Row absolutely blew Bon Jovi off the stage that night. It wasn’t even close. You could tell Skid Row was a hungry young band out to prove themselves and their show that night was one of the best I have ever seen. I also had tickets to see them open for Guns n Roses in 1991 in Kansas City. However, the tour was cancelled after Axl Rose incited a riot in St. Louis a few nights before they made it to Kansas City. I have seen Skid Row once without Bach and it just wasn’t the same. I have also seen Bach solo once, in a bar in Kansas City, and he still put on a great show. Bach is a dynamic front man who commands the stage and always entertains the audience. His talent is evident by the various jobs he has had the last few years in the entertainment industry. He has been an actor, a reality star, a tv host, and Broadway performer.

His new album sounds a lot like the album Slave to the Grind, which is my favorite Skid Row release. The fact he got Axl Rose to sing on three songs is nothing short of amazing (just when is Chinese Democracy going to be released anyway?). The album is very heavy and I’m a little nervous how that will play at Moondance. However, I’m sure he’ll play plenty of the hits that made Skid Row the first heavy metal band with a #1 album so my guess is that his show will be one no one forgets.

[Lisa!]

Serrebaby & I saw Skid Row with Bon Jovi 3 times in (was it 94? Even met some of them later, BAS even burped on Serre!), so I think Sebastian's gonna be a great show, esp seeing he sings a lot of what we want to hear!! I just wonder... am I gonna be able to shake him as Gil from the Gilmore Girls?!! One can only hope!