Sebastian Bach

Infobox musical artist
Name = Sebastian Bach


Img_capt = Sebastian Bach live at the Moondance Jam on July 11, 2008
Img_size = 250
Landscape = Yes
Background = solo_singer
Birth_name = Sebastian Philip Bierk
Alias =
Born = Birth date and age|1968|4|3
Freeport, Bahamas
Died =
Instrument = Vocals
Genre = Heavy metal, hard rock, glam metal, progressive metal
Occupation = Musician, songwriter, actor
Years_active = 1985–present
Label = Spitfire, Caroline, Get Off My Bach Productions
Associated_acts = Skid Row, Frameshift, Damnocracy, Guns N' Roses
URL = [http://www.sebastianbach.com/ www.sebastianbach.com]

Sebastian Bach (born Sebastian Philip Bierk, on April 3, 1968) is a Canadian heavy metal singer, best known as ex-frontman of Skid Row.

Born in Freeport, Bahamas, and raised in Peterborough, Ontario, he attended nearby Lakefield College School. He currently resides in Middletown, New Jersey.

He and his wife, Maria Bierk, have three children, 2 sons, and 1 daughter. Their names are: Paris, London, and Sebastiana. (Sebastiana was born in 2007). His son Paris is the drummer of New Jersey metal band Severed Hand, who have opened up for him on occasion and were also featured on the VH1 special "I Married Sebastian Bach." His parents divorced when he was 12 years old. Sebastian's father was the visual artist David Bierk. He is the brother of retired NHL goaltender Zac Bierk and actor Dylan Bierk.

kid Row

Bach was invited to join Skid Row in 1987 at the age of 18 when guitarist Dave Sabo heard him sing at famed rock photographer Mark Weiss' wedding. Sabo sent him a videotape of the band playing, and Bach subsequently joined the band. After enjoying commercial success as lead singer of Skid Row, Bach was eventually fired in 1996.

In 1989, Bach was heavily criticized for wearing a t-shirt on stage that a fan had thrown to him before he could read it, with the slogan "AIDS Kills Fags Dead" emblazoned on it, (a parody of the insecticide ad slogan, "Raid: Kills Bugs Dead"). Although he made light of the incident in his original apology, Bach has since repeatedly apologized for and disavowed the statement, "That was really stupid and wrong for me to wear that for one half-hour in my life. What nobody brings up is in 2000, when I was in "Jekyll and Hyde", and at an auction for Broadway Cares, I donated $12,000 of my own money to fight AIDS." [ [http://www.orlandoweekly.com/columns/story.asp?id=2935 Orlando Weekly - Columns Story - Rockin' out with Jesus ] ]

In 1990, Bach performed with Guns N' Roses and Metallica, on the same stage, at a party held by RIP Magazine, the improvised name for the band was: The Gak.

Post-Skid Row

In 1996, Bach formed a rock band called the Last Hard Men, with Frogs guitarist Jimmy Flemion, The Breeders lead guitarist Kelley Deal, and Smashing Pumpkins drummer Jimmy Chamberlin. The group recorded a full-length, self-titled album for Atlantic Records, who then opted not to release it. In 1998 it was released on Kelley Deal's label, Nice Records, with no fanfare and a very limited pressing of 1000 CDs. This run may have been sold via mail order only.

In 2000, Bach began performing in Broadway productions. His roles included the title role(s) in "Jekyll and Hyde" in 2000, as well as Riff Raff in "The Rocky Horror Show" in 2001. On November 28, 2001 Bach appeared at New York Steel, a benefit concert held in response to 9/11. He appeared early in the show, left to perform on Broadway, and returned at the end when all performers gathered for a final song.

In early 2002, he became the host of "VH1's Forever Wild". In October that same year, Sebastian was signed to perform in the national touring production of "Jesus Christ Superstar" and played the title role of Jesus until April 2003 alongside "Superstar" veteran Carl Anderson, when he was fired for alleged diva-like behavior. He has said if he ever did the show again, he would like to try the role of Judas Iscariot next time. A DVD video of live performances called Forever Wild was released in June 2004. That same year, he went on another tour of "Jekyll and Hyde", reprising the title role(s).

Sometime in 2003, Bach tried out for Velvet Revolver before the band found Scott Weiland, but was turned down because, according to Slash, "We sounded like Skid Roses!"

He had a role on the CW television show "Gilmore Girls" as "Gil", the lead guitarist in Lane Kim's band, "Hep Alien".

In 2005, Bach cooperated with Henning Pauly to be the singer on the Frameshift album called "An Absence of Empathy", which was released in April 2005.

He still performs with his band, Sebastian Bach (formerly noted as Bach Tight Five and Sebastian Bach and Friends). Members of Bach Tight Five lived with him and his family as recently documented on VH1's "I Married ...Sebastian Bach", one of the "I Married ..." series. Stars also included Dee Snider, of the rock band, Twisted Sister.

On May 12 and May 14, 2006 at the Guns N' Roses' warmup show at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City, Bach joined Axl on stage for the song "My Michelle". He joined Axl and gang for a third time the following night (May 15) to sing "My Michelle" once again. He also joined them for their Pre-Download Festival show in the Apollo Hammersmith, London, singing My Michelle. Rose introduced Bach by saying that the two had rekindled their friendship in the previous week after 13 years of not speaking. On June 4, 9 & 11 he again joined Rose on stage at the 2006 Gods of Metal Festival (Milan), Download Festival in RDS Dublin and in Donington, respectively. He also appeared on several other tour dates during GN'R's European tour. On September 23, 2006, he joined Axl on stage once again at KROQ's Inland Invasion festival in California for a rendition of "My Michelle". On July 30, 2006, Bach filled in for an ailing Axl Rose for “Nightrain” and the encore “Paradise City".

uperGroup And Relaunch Into The Rock Scene

Bach starred with Ted Nugent, Evan Seinfeld, Jason Bonham and Scott Ian on the VH1 show "SuperGroup" as of May 2006. The musicians formed a band called Damnocracy for the reality show, during which they lived in a mansion in Las Vegas for twelve days and created music. On the show Bach was very much the centerpiece of the conflict throughout, with publicists citing his closed mindedness and inability to compromise (he would often turn down press obligations to 'work out' or 'go running') as reasons for him being difficult to work with. His bandmates, particularly Evan Seinfeld, had major issues with his drinking problems which became more obvious as the show progressed. Seinfeld, a recovered alcoholic himself, was roughousing with Sebastian on a night when he was drunk when Bach slammed his head into the floor. Seinfeld proceeded to snap at him and nearly hit him. The next day Bach apologized to Seinfeld but disobeyed Seinfeld's orders to stop drinking. Eventually Seinfeld came to Ted Nugent to get Bach to stop drinking, and although it was difficult for him, Bach had gained sobriety by the end of the show.

The most well known moment from Supergroup was in the show's 4th episode, in which, after the rest of the band agrees on the name "Godwar", Sebastian suddenly conceives the name "Savage Animal", which he becomes obsessed with, and continues to insist to his band mates and other officials that "rolls off his tongue" and that "Rock N' Roll is a Savage Animal". It is not until the bands final meeting where Bach himself actually comes up with the name Damnocracy that "Savage Animal" is forgotten. Bach's one tracked, childish obsession with the name "Savage Animal" and his continued insistence on using the name despite his bandmates distaste for it led it to become the show's best known moment. It has been parodied on websites including YTMND and Blabbermouth and there are even T-Shirts for sale which parody the instance. Despite this leading to Bach's public portrayal as sort of a dopey musician, he took the fanfare following the name very lightly and even performed a concert with Scott Ian and other members of Anthrax, performing Damnocracy music, under the name "Savage Animal" and has since dubbed his own backing band "Savage Animal".

Bach had by far more turbulent relationships than anyone else on the show. He had a very mixed relationship with the bands publicists and manager Doc McGhee. He for the most part got along very well with Evan Seinfeld (who had been his friend previously) despite quite a few rocky turns involving Bach's alcohol problems. He appeared to be friendly with Scott Ian and Jason Bonham, although Bonham in particular expressed distaste with his sometimes erratic behavior. Despite this, Bach became very close to Ted Nugent, who he had listened to since childhood and looked up to as a father figure, going as far as to put Nugent in the role of his deceased father. However, at a November 5 2006 Guns N' Roses concert in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Bach referred to a SuperGroup episode where he promised Ted he would quit drinking, and claimed that he had lied. Bach had previously said that he had taken offense at disparaging comments Nugent had made about Dimebag Darrell. In 2008 Bach and Nugent reconciled their relationship, and Bach regained his sobriety. [Cite web|url=http://www.2musicgeeks.com/blog/?p=76|title=2 Music Geeks' Podcast 10: Metal--Featuring Sebastian Bach|date=2008-03-18|publisher=2musicgeeks.com]

On September 13 2006, during a show at Selinas in Sydney, Bach stormed off stage during the encore. After two earlier similar incidents, Bach had warned the crowd that the throwing of any more plastic bottles and/or cans onto the stage would lead to him walking off. As the encore began (Youth Gone Wild), Bach was hit by a plastic cup, threw down the mic and left the stage.

On September 28 2006, he appeared on Celebrity Duets singing with Hal Sparks. Bach later was on the road with Guns N' Roses, touring around the world until late 2006.

In 2007, on the seventh season episode of "Trailer Park Boys" titled "Friends of the Road", Bach played himself as a celebrity guest hosting a model train convention. He later meets Ricky and Julian in a parking lot to smoke marijuana. In a later episode in the same season, Bach returns as the accomplice on the American side of the border helping to facilitate a drug deal.

During beginning of June 2007 Bach headlined a tour of Japan, playing to Japanese fans in Nagoya, Osaka and 2 nights in Tokyo. His touring band consisted of "Metal" Mike Chlasciak on guitar, Johnny Chromatic on guitar, Rob De Luca on bass and Jason West on drums filling in for the injured Bobby Jarzombek. After the Japanese tour, his band supported the Australian & New Zealand Guns N' Roses 'Chinese Democracy' tour.

Bach recently announced a partnership record label with EMI. Jointly, they will be creating a label owned by Sebastian, including his new album "Angel Down", which was released on November 20 2007. Bach also recorded backing vocals for a track on Guns N' Roses' long-delayed album, "Chinese Democracy".

Bach has also recently joined a new television show featured on MTV, "Celebrity Rap Superstar". "Celebrity Rap Superstar" involves eight celebrities, one being Bach, hailing from the worlds of music, TV, film, sports and more to compete in a winner-takes-all rap contest. The show began on August 30, 2007 with Bach performing "Mama said Knock You Out" with coaching help from rapper Kurupt. Soon after this appearance, a remix was posted on YouTube that brought a possible rap career-move into question. During the third episode of the show, Bach worked an announcement of the upcoming "Angel Down" CD into his original composed rap, and also mentioned his team-up with Axl Rose. He managed to finish in third place losing to runner up Playboy Playmate and Girls Next Door star Kendra Wilkinson and to Shar Jackson, who was crowned the first Celebrity Rap Superstar on the MTV competition show.

Recent events

Sebastian Bach will spend the Summer of 2008 playing with Poison and Dokken. He will also be doing a solo Australian tour in May & has been working on new songs with Jamey Jasta from HATEBREED, for the follow up to his "Angel Down" CD.

Sebastian Bach was also the winner of the second season of the CMT reality show, "Gone Country"." [ [http://www.cmt.com/news/news-in-brief/1586944/cast-announced-for-season-two-of-gone-country.jhtml CMT : News : Cast Announced for Season Two of "Gone Country" ] ] See Link Below...

On May 6, 2008, Sebastian Bach was interviewed on "The Buckethead Show" on Tampa's 98 Rock radio station about the rumors concering him being considered for the position of lead singer in Velvet Revolver, after the split from Scott Weiland.
He said that he actually spoke to Slash recently, but also that joining Velvet Revolver will be very awkward for him and unlikely, stating he prefers his latest solo record "Angel Down" material to the songs on all of Velvet Revolver's records, and that since he is very good friends with Axl Rose, he said he would feel uncomfortable to sing Axl's songs (referring to Guns N' Roses covers that the band performs on live shows), although he finished off with saying"I love Guns N' Roses material, but I've got my own old songs — Skid Row — so for me, it would all depend on music. I wouldn't just join the band just to join the band. If we came up with some incredible new songs, then maybe I'd think about it." [ [http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/general_music_news/joining_velvet_revolver_would_be_awkward_for_bach.html Joining Velvet Revolver Would Be Awkward For Bach | News @ Ultimate-Guitar.Com ] ]

Bach confirmed in an interview with the band that he does not want the Velvet Revolver gig due to his close relationship with Axl Rose." [ [http://www.antimusic.com/news/08/may/24Bach_Doesnt_Want_Velvet_Revolver_Gig_.shtml Bach Doesn't Want Velvet Revolver Gig - A Top Story This Week - antiMUSIC News ] ]

In an interview published on July 23rd, when asked about the future, Bach said "I've got four songs that I'm working on with Jamey; who knows what will happen with that, but I make whatever music I want to make, and when you ask what's in the future, I don't look at other bands for inspiration or whatever. I don't follow trends, I'm not a trendy guy, but the biggest bands right now in 2008 have been doing it their whole lives, like the Rolling Stones, Judas Priest, Heaven and Hell, Ozzy, Van Halen is the biggest band in America now, the Police, Genesis, Aerosmith, Mötley Crüe for that matter. They've all been doing it way longer than me, and if all those bands I've just mentioned are still rockin', I'm just getting warmed up compared to them (laughs)." [ [http://www.komodorock.com/interviews/interviews/komodo-rock-talks-with-sebastian-bach-200807236377/ Komodo Rock Talks With Sebastian Bach] ]

Sebastian Bach has won GONE COUNTRY 2 on CMT. He has just released his first single to the airwaves of-"Battle With The Bottle"-which is now airing across America on CMT and Country Radios Stations Everywhere. The Video can also be viewed at www.cmt.com. blog.cmt.com/2008-09-29/gone-country-2-winner-sebastian-bach/ - 38k -

Bands

#Herrenvolk (note: There is at least one other band with this name.)
#Kid Wikkid (Note: There is also a band named "Kid Wicked".)
#Madam X
#VO5 (1 show Only)
#Skid Row
#The Last Hard Men
#Sebastian Bach & Friends
#Band of Doom (Supergroup)
#Frameshift
#Damnocracy (VH1's SuperGroup)

Discography

With Kid Wikkid

1985 Kid Wikkid / "Maple Metal" / LP & cassette / Attic Records / "Take A Look At Me"/ Canada

With Skid Row

*"Skid Row" (1989) (5x Platinum)
*"Slave to the Grind" (1991) (2x Platinum)
*"B-Side Ourselves" (1992)
*"Subhuman Race" (1995) (Gold)
*"Subhuman Beings on Tour" (1998)
*"" (1998)
*"Hi-Five" (2005)

With The Last Hard Men

*"Scream" – "School's Out" (1996)
*"The Last Hard Men" (1997)

olo

*"Bring 'Em Bach Alive!" (November 2, 1999)
*"" (2001)
*"Finding My Way" (April 1, 2007)
*"Angel Down" (November 20, 2007)

With Frameshift

*"An Absence of Empathy" (2005)

Guest appearances

*"" (2000)
*"Chinese Democracy" (Guns N' Roses) – Backing Vocals on "Sorry"
*"Trailer Park Boys" Season 7 (2007)

Videos

*"Oh Say Can You Scream" (1991)
*"No Frills Video" (1993)
*"Road Kill (1993)
*"Forever Wild" (2004)

Stage work

* "Jekyll & Hyde" – Dr. Henry Jekyll / Edward Hyde (2000)

* "The Rocky Horror Show" – Riff Raff (2001)

* "Jesus Christ Superstar" – Jesus of Nazareth (2002-2003)

* "Jekyll & Hyde" – Dr. Henry Jekyll / Edward Hyde (2004) Raleigh Memorial Auditorium in Raleigh, North Carolina

Filmography

*"KISS Loves You" (2004) (TV)

*"Point Doom" (1999)

*"Don't fear the reaper" (2001) VH1's STRANGE FREQUENCY

*"Gilmore Girls" (2003-2007) || Gil

References

External links

* [http://www.sebastianbach.com/ Official Site]
* [http://www.myspace.com/sebastianblog Official MySpace]
* [http://www.skidrowbr.com Skid Row BR (Fan website)]
*
*
*