SEBASTIAN BACH - "I Consider Myself Lucky That People Want To Come Hear Me Sing, And I’ll Do The Songs They Want To Hear"
September 20, 2011, 13 years ago
Vocalist SEBASTIAN BACH is featured in a new interview with Short And Sweet NYC. An excerpt is available below:
Q: You’ve seen the industry change so much going from this analog stuff to the digital stuff and when you started out it was still real “sex, drugs and rock and roll,” you know, metal was huge and sort of dipped down a bit and changed and came back. When you look back at the changes, what stands out to you?
Bach: "The internet is the biggest change and when it first happened I thought it was going to be all bad for music, but it turns out at the end of the day, I don’t think it’s all bad because when we go on tour in South America or whatever, everybody knows the brand new songs just as good as the old ones and that’s gotta be because of the internet, you know. I don’t think the radio stations are playing Angel Down in Ecuador as much I remember, maybe they are, I don’t know, but I gotta see that it’s from being exposed to the music on the internet and so I think that it gets your music to the fans very quick and that’s really awesome so that’s the biggest difference to me. Also, touring is completely different now. Most of the promoters are just really into this reunion tour kind of thing and it’s very safe and about selling beer and I don’t know, it seems weird to me but that’s a big difference too, but those are to two big differences I’d say."
Q: Yeah, actually I read that your first single was free this week on Amazon.com, that kind of thing must be huge in terms of getting the music out there, right?
Bach: "Yeah, everybody can go get it for free, I don’t know if it still is but that’s an awesome thing. I don’t understand the internet that much, I kind of just let it go, I let other people tell me, I’m like 'Why the fuck’s my song free?' and they’re like it’s killer dude, it’s great, don’t worry about it and I’m like 'Okay, you guys know better than me.'"
Q: Does that stuff impact you at all financially? I’ve always heard that musicians don’t make that much off the albums compared to touring, does giving away a song like that impact you or not really?
Bach: "No, I think it’s a promotion kind of thing. You do get paid for your royalties on plays on the internet so it’s kind of like a big radio station. I didn’t know that but you get royalties when your songs are played on the internet which is kind of cool. I got a check for that and I thought it was a fake check, I was like 'What the fuck is this- internet plays?' and it was real and I was like 'That’s killer!' I didn’t know that, just like radio, you get paid for that, it’s amazing so the internet is not all bad."
Q: Another thing that I’ve heard from rock stars is that you have “the songs” that you have a relationship with and you have to play them night after night- you have '18 And Life' and 'I Remember You'. Do you get sick of those songs?
Bach: "Yeah, I do, I do because I’ve been playing them since I’m 18, 19 years old but I still love the songs. It’s just more exciting for me as an artist to do something new than something really old. I think that’s basic human nature but I still love the songs, I consider myself lucky that people want to come hear me sing a concert and I’ll do the songs they want to hear. I don’t want to go see a band and not hear the songs I want to hear so I understand, so it’s not a big deal. A song like 'Piece Of Me', I’ve done it so many times, I can’t tell you how many times, (sings) 'Sleazin’ in the city I’m looking for a fight', I’ve been doing that my whole fucking life dude, so when I do a new song like 'Kicking & Screaming' it’s more exciting. It’s like when you go to an amusement park and they got a new roller coaster, you’re obviously going to have more fun on the brand new one than the old crickety, crackety one in the back that you’ve been on a million times, you still have affection and memories for the old, wooden Coney Island coaster, you know- 'Oh, I remember this - fuckin’ hurts going around the corners, oh I love this spot' that’s kind of like what it is, but I’ll take the loop de loop Green Lantern 3D fucking ride any time."
Go to this location for the complete interview.
Bach will release Kicking & Screaming, on September 23rd in Europe and on September 27th in North America via Frontiers Records. The tracklist is as follows:
'Kicking & Screaming'
'My Own Worst Enemy'
'TunnelVision' (featuring John 5)
'Dance On Your Grave'
'Caught In A Dream'
'As Long As I Got The Music'
'I'm Alive'
'Dirty Power'
'Live The Life'
'Dream Forever'
'One Good Reason'
'Lost In The Light'
'Wishin''
Bonus tracks:
'Jumpin' Off The Wagon' (CD/DVD editions only)
'Ain't There Yet' (iTunes exclusive)
Audio samples from the entire record are available at Amazon.