SEBASTIAN BACH: AXL Is Most Controversial Lightning Rod Of A Human Being I've Ever Encountered

Michael Alan Goldberg of the Broward-Palm Beach New Times recently conducted an interview with Sebastian Bach. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow.

On his new solo album, "Angel Down":

"It is intimidating to put out something new, but I think that's because I'm in the heavy metal genre. Like, I'm a big fan of Neil Young, and a guy like him will put out a CD every eight months. Every eight months, I'm goin' down to the store to get his new release; a lot of people are. And I wish heavy metal fans could accept new music more readily like that, because, I mean, I know they love 'Youth Gone Wild', I know it, and I love playing those songs, but it's like, some fans believe I'm only a thing from the past."

On becoming a de facto mouthpiece for GUNS N' ROSES frontman Axl Rose:

"It's become sort of a joke — Rolling Stone says, like, 'Sebastian Bach is GUNS N' ROSES' publicist' and stuff like that. I don't know why he is so nice to me or why he lets me into his world or why he sings three songs on my record, for fuck's sake!

"Axl is the most controversial lightning rod of a human being I've ever encountered in my life. He's so big that it's hard to fathom. I've walked down the street with him, and he literally stops traffic. No humans can speak the way that they normally speak, to Axl Rose. I watch people — smart, successful people — stand in front of him and try to figure out what he wants them to say so he'll like them. People think they know who he is, but they really don't. He's a very sensitive guy, and a lot of times, I wish people would just shut the fuck up about him."

On appearing on so-called "reality" shows:

"There's definitely misconceptions out there — people know me as much as the guy who edits those shows wants them to know me. 'SuperGroup' was a fuckin' train wreck. I got a real super big problem with 'SuperGroup'. The whole premise of the show was that I'm an alcoholic — they used the word — just because I like to drink red wine with my fuckin' meal at the end of the day after rehearsing for six hours. I don't think that makes me an alcoholic. To me, having red wine with your meal... old ladies fuckin' do that!"

On his plans to continue touring:

"They did a thing in Billboard of the median age of all frontmen of the biggest-selling tours last year, and the average age was like 50-something. The biggest bands touring last year were, like, VAN HALEN, GENESIS, THE POLICE, AEROSMITH, THE ROLLING STONES, JUDAS PRIEST, KISS... all these really old dudes! By those standards, I'm like a little baby! So there's lots more tours to do and lots more albums to make, that's for sure."

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