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Sebastian Bach is on his way to 'TRL,' he proudly points during this phone call. Now 39, Bach, who first came to prominence two decades ago as the frontman of Skid Row during the height of late-'80s metal, is happily embracing his latest dance with mainstream stardom. As both a performer on MTV's 'Celebrity Rap Superstar' and the conduit for Axl Rose's first new recorded tracks in years (Rose, a close friend, appears on three songs on Bach's new 'Angel Down' release), Bach is once again in demand. And he certainly has a lot to say when given the opportunity. We spoke with Bach about Rose, his longstanding fandom of 2Pac and why he hates MP3s. You've gone through many ups and downs in terms of mainstream media. Do you feel that, being older, you have a different appreciation for everything that's happening now?
Yeah -- all I can really compare it to is albums I've had in the past, and the last big-time record I put out, really, was 'Subhuman Race,' by Skid Row. I did a solo album in '99, but it was released on an independent. But this album is so much more fun to do press for [laughs]. That one was released in such a rough time for rock 'n' roll. But people love rock 'n' roll right now; it's the vibe I'm getting from the world. I mean Kid Rock [debuted at] No. 1, all the video games, Guitar Hero, Rock Band. Rock 'n' roll itself is exploding, and that's good for me [laughs].
The audience for rock has always been there, but now it's back in the mainstream. When did you first notice that shift?
I would say I noticed when two things happened around the same time: One was when Ozzy got 'The Osbournes' TV show in the late '90s, which he was one of the first, if not the first, heavy-metal stars that became a mainstream celebrity. Now, then, I was up there after him, and Gene Simmons after him, and Tommy Lee, and there are a bunch of dudes, we were all in the pop culture in the celebrity-obsessed culture, and somehow I became one of those guys. I can remember being blown away that somebody would give Ozzy Osbourne his own TV show. I was like, "What?" Also the other thing that happened was when Kiss reunited in makeup. That was shocking to the music industry how big that was. And both of those things, I think, happened around the same time. Or they seemed to. And I can remember going, "Wow, if Ozzy Osbourne is singing to the queen of England and going to have dinner with George Bush, that's crazy." You could never have told me that in the late '70s when I was a little kid scared to death of Black Sabbath [laughs]. So Ozzy singing to the queen is one of the first times I noticed metal becoming mainstream.
Do you find because you've been on TV people feel they know you and you're much more approachable?
Yeah, well, the 'Celebrity Rap Superstar' show totally exposed me 100 percent to a brand new demographic and crowd and fan base. I walk around the airport now and I get noticed for that as much as for 'Gilmore Girls' or Skid Row -- 'SuperGroup' is another thing that people remember. One of the funniest things is somebody told me that on the MTV message board for 'Celebrity Rap Superstar' somebody posted, "I don't know who this long-haired blond guy is, but he shouldn't be on this show because he already knows how to do this." I was like, "You just hit that right on the head." If there's one thing I know how to do it's step on a stage and kick ass. I definitely know how to do that.
Having now done the show, who are some of your favorite rappers?
I always did like Tupac Shakur, because there were parts of his story that are so representative of the music business, and I've been through it longer than him. So I could watch his story and relate to aspects of his life, luckily, not all of them [laughs] but some of them. I always loved [his duet with Snoop Dogg] '2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted' -- and I like Snoop Dogg, because I don't have any rules about music. I just don't. Rules for fools, they're meant to be broken. I don't just like rock. I like all kinds of good music.
Any plans for some collaborations with rappers?
I just recorded DMC's new single, which is 'Black Betty,' by Ram Jam, from the '70s [starts singing]. He's got Mick Mars, from Motley Crue, on guitar, and Joey Kramer, from Aerosmith, on drums. And it's a rap-rock song. And he said Nikki Sixx is going to be in the video for it, too. So I did the collaboration and it was really cool. I also talked very, very seriously about collaborating with Warren G., he's my friend. Also, Too $hort, we talked about it. And Redman -- I talked to all those guys about working together.
How cool is it for you as an artist getting to work with all these different people like DMC?
I'm honored to follow in the footsteps of 'Walk This Way,' which is one of the greatest videos and the first rap-rock song ever. One of my favorite bands of all time that my dad and mom played incessantly when I was a little boy was Sly and the Family Stone, and with the iPod I listen to it all the time still to this day. So I can remember vividly in the early '70s it was my dad's Sly and the Family Stone's 'Greatest Hits' album cover, and there's, like, a black dude, a white dude, a black chick, a white chick, an old dude, a young dude. It was the only band I saw as a little boy that had all different kinds of people in it. So I can remember saying at an early age, "That's cool there's a band like that." So when I'm working with Kurupt, I feel like I'm in Sly and the Family Stone [laughs].
Did you know it would be this big a deal when you got Axl Rose on your record?
Yes [laughs]. I'm a fan, too. I know that I'm friends with [maybe] the greatest rock singer ever. You can honestly maybe say that along with Robert Plant, Rob Halford. But Guns N' Roses is way bigger than Judas Priest will ever be. It's just bigger than that. Axl is bigger than metal, bigger than rock. So of course I knew that and of course I know that everybody, me included, has been waiting over 15 years for the return of him. He's just a different realm of success. So it's mind-blowing that he is on my record, so I understand what you're saying, and yes, I am aware of people's anticipation. People just want to put his voice into their iPod and I'm happy to bring that to you [laughs]. You're welcome is all I can think of saying. You're welcome.
Did you think you'd be able to get him to do this when this first came up?
No. I texted him from LAX [airport] at baggage claim. We text each other all the time -- silly crap, just stupid stuff. He'll be watching TV or talk about a movie or a song or just whatever. And I sang on 'Chinese Democracy,' and so I was just killing time at the baggage claim, goofing off, and I texted him, "When are you going to sing on my record?" And he just texted me back one word: "When?" That was it. I was literally joking around. Because you can be a friend, but to stand up business-wise and create such a stir in the music industry, that's a whole other story. He's done that for me time and time again. We had to play music that we recorded together for Jimmy Iovine, who is the head of Interscope, who has Axl signed, and he loved it when he could've said, "No." So Jimmy knew how important it was to Axl and said yes.
It took seven years for you to get 'Angel Down' out, but here it is. Any chance that might give Axl a push with 'Chinese Democracy'?
That's what the reviews are saying, and I can only hope that is the case. But he's got his own schedule, dude. He's got four albums' worth of material already done. I've heard it, a lot of people have heard it, it's really amazing. I cannot speak for him as to when it's going to come out, and I know he wants it out as bad as everybody else. I've talked to him about it at length and he just wants it to be presented in the proper way to the public.
You've had a chance to join him onstage many times. Will he be returning the favor?
I have no idea. All I know is when he goes back out there there's a good chance we'll be opening for him again. We spent the better part of the last year on he road opening for Guns N' Roses all over the world; America, Europe, just got back from Australia, New Zealand, and I did a bunch of headline dates, too. But we have a good relationship on the road, and I know that when he goes back out we'll probably be doing some more dates together. I'd also like to do some dates with Sixx: A.M., Nikki Sixx's band, because I just read Nikki's book and he talks really nice about me, which he doesn't talk very nice about many people [laughs].
What do you want people to know about 'Angel Down'?
One thing I want to say is that MP3s, as convenient as they are, every person should know they do not sound as good as CDs and I don't want anybody to download my new record. I want people to get off their asses, get in the car, go to the store and buy a CD because I'm sick and tired of seeing Tower Records close down and every CD store close down and reading articles about how Wal-Mart and Best Buy are shrinking the size of the store that sells CDs and nobody's buying CDs and everyone loves MP3s. F--- MP3s! I want to say everybody should stand for good sound and you should hear the full spectrum of the sound that I recorded. I didn't record the CD for seven years to have you first hear it as a compressed little file. I want you to hear the big sound of the drums, screams, guitars -- and you can't get that from an MP3. Go to the store, support rock 'n' roll, and buy my CD so I can do another one. Thank you very much. And another thing I want to say is, "Do not make new playlists of my record. The sequence is the playlist -- OK, everybody?" I make records for a living, and the reason the songs are in the order they're in is because that's what the artist designed the record to sound like. So don't bother rearranging the songs or putting them with your other favorite bands in some playlist. The first time you hear it, listen to it from cut number 1 to cut number 14. That's the playlist!