SEBASTIAN BACH Comments On New Guitarist, Announces Canadian Appearances

Former SKID ROW frontman Sebastian Bach has confirmed the addition of ex-ICED EARTH guitarist Ralph Santolla to his solo group. "I am truly excited to welcome guitarist Ralph Santolla to the band!" Sebastian writes in a statement. "I look forward to taking the music, both classics from the past and new material we are working on right now, to a new and heavier level than ever before. I saw Ralph this past weekend in Balingen, Germany at the Bang Your Head Festival, when we had the great fortune to open for TESTAMENT and ICED EARTH, Ralph's previous band, who were absolutely stunning on stage. We met after the show and have since discussed our schedules and it has worked out that we are able to bring you the new band LIVE starting this month!!!! We will be touring this summer and early fall and then we are scheduled to record my second solo CD, with Ralph Santolla on guitar, in October. The producer Zeuss, who produced HATEBREED's 'Rise of Brutality', is set to produce the CD."

With regards to his appearance at the Bang Your Head festival in Germany, Sebastian wrote: "I am stoked to report that the show last weekend in Balingen, Germany was the most incredible show I have ever been involved with in my career in Germany. The first time I ever played in Germany was in 1989 when my old band opened for MÖTLEY CRÜE on the 'Dr. Feelgood' tour. Then we headlined ourselves, opened for GUNS N' ROSES and had NINE INCH NAILS open for us on the 'Use Your Illusion' world tour. Then we headlined Germany again on the 'Subhuman Race' tour. But I have never experienced the full-on energy of a German metal audience like I did last weekend. There were 25,000 people jammed in front of the stage on a beautiful, hot summer day as one kick-ass band after another rocked the crowd. The incredible band UFO opened for our band, which was mind-blowing in and of itself, and we knew we had a job to do as we walked to the stage for the first big show in Europe for me in 10 years. We kicked it hard on stage and the crowd response was one of the greatest I have ever experienced in my 20-year touring career. The crowd was a blur of vintage SKID ROW t-shirts from tours past, and it seemed like every fan I ever had in Germany showed up last weekend to sing, raise their fist in the air, and BANG THEIR HEADS right along with us!!! After the show, I got to hang out with incredibly cool people such as Chuck Billy from TESTAMENT, DEATH ANGEL, Paul Bostaph, and ICED EARTH. One of the highlights for me was to watch ICED EARTH's set. Tim 'Ripper' Owens has one of the most unbelievable voices I have ever heard, and is truly a master of his instrument. Jon Schaffer, the guitar player from ICED EARTH, was one of the heaviest guitar players I have ever seen, and the songs and the sound and stage presentation were some of the best I have seen in years. Hanging out with Ripper and Jon Shaffer after the show was a blast. I look forward to doing more European heavy metal festivals in the future!!! I would like to thank Danny Stanton and Horst for having us at the Bang Your Head Festival, Dave Tobias & crew, and most of all my band, Bam Bam, Randall X, Cheeze, and Paul Crook for sharing the stage with me you guys are the best! Best of luck to Paul on Broadway in Vegas! But above all else, I would like to thank the EUROPEAN HEAVY METAL FANS at BANG YOUR HEAD FESTIVAL 2004 for one of the greatest days of my entire life! See you again in concert soon!!"

Upcoming SEBASTIAN BACH appearances:

Jul. 08 - Toronto, ONT @ Skydome (Sebastian Bach will sing the Canadian national anthem at The Toronto Blue Jays vs. The Seattle Mariners baseball game at 6:00 p.m.)
Jul. 09 - St. Catherines, Ontario @ HTZ-FM Live Radio Interview at 3 p.m., Sunrise Records Live in-store appearance, location TBA at 6:00 p.m to autograph copies of the "Forever Wild" DVD, Milton, Ontario: Spin metal songs at Hard Ball @ 9:30 p.m.
Jul. 10 - Oshawa, ONT @ The Rock Oshawa Live Radio Interview at 11 a.m., Peterborough, Ontario: Moondance live in-store appearance at 2 p.m. to autograph copies of the "Forever Wild" DVD at 425 George St.

Jul. 22: Allentown, PA @ Crocodile Rock
Jul. 23: Hartford, CT @ Webster Theatre
Jul. 24: Baltimore, MD @ Recher Theatre
Jul. 30: Clifton Park, NY @ Northern Lights
Jul. 31: Wantagh, NY @ Mulcahy's
Aug. 07: Sayreville, NJ @ Starland Ballroom
Aug. 13: Poughkeepsie, NY @ Mid- Hudson Civic Center (w/ TWISTED SISTER)
Sep. 09: Monterey, MEX @ TBA
Sep. 10: Monterey, MEX @ TBA