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SEBASTIAN BACH
BACH IN THE SADDLE AGAIN
by Lisa Sharer
Photos by Sylvia Hagar and courtesy of Sebastian Bach
From the December 2007 issue of PRICK Magazine.
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Today, '80s hair metal has come around full circle. Whether you found yourself strumming your air guitar fifteen years ago, or now...almost everyone can accredit some cosmetology efforts to the stylings of icons like Sebastian Bach. Ex-frontman of Skid Row, accomplished TV personality, and star of Broadway; Bach has become a household name. His lyrics made you pump your fists as a teenager, and now he's back at it with more gripping ballads and hair twirling breakdowns. This holiday season can be filled with an Angel Down and a mistletoe tradition that is pretty hard, or not so hard, to believe.
Bach is not your average rocker covered in tattoos from head to toe, but the ones he does have are worth a thousand words. He admittedly doesn't love all his tattoos, but most represent Bach for who he is today. A simple flower on his shoulder, a few art pieces and lyrics on his forearms, and a roadrunner on his hip, says rock star all the way; or it just says that this guy has a great sense of humor.
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 Sebastian |
 Sebastian's tattoo by Kat Von D |
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The flower on his shoulder was an adventure in itself. On a trip to Japan in 1989, Bach decided that only a tattoo could commemorate the amazing travel experience. "You're not really allowed to get tattoos in Japan, but we knew some dudes. I had to explain why I wanted a tattoo. It's all like this heavy respect thing there. They won't give you one because you want one, there has to be a reason." In an attempt to explain himself, Bach came down from the pedestal some might place him on and joined the ranks of the humble. He told them, "well I never thought in a million years that I would ever come to Japan, let alone play music that ya'll know and...you dig it. And it's just mind-blowing to me that [it's possible to] come to this country that's so foreign to a guy like me."
In their best judgment, this group of guys decided to honor Bach with their tradition of a bamboo tattoo. "So it was a really covert operation. They put me in a car, and then we literally changed cars, you know half way there. I'm not making it up; we got in another car where these dudes are like shuffling me around. I'm not going to say who I was really with because I can't, but they’re some scary dudes. So, I end up in this back alley kind of road that's not really a road, knocking on this door, going up these stairs. It was crazy." Upon entering a room of drapes, Bach found flash adorning the walls. He tells us how he walked around deciding on a tattoo when he was told, "no, no, no we pick your tattoo."
"They're all sitting there like [statues] and they all have suits and ties, and then they take off their [clothes] they were full body sleeves, every inch of their bodies. The guy that's doing my tattoo is grinding up the ink in a wood bowl with like a spoon or something. It was very archaic, "old school" to say the least. And I notice he didn't have half his finger. And I was lying down with these dudes around me. And the guy that's giving me the tattoo is looking at me. Half of me starts freaking out that they were going to chop off my fucking finger. I'm not even joking you. They let me have my finger, and I got a cool tat with a cool story."
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 Sebastian and Axl Rose in the studio |
 Sebastian caught holding his PRICKs |
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His most recent tattoo, is a bit more recognizable. He was recently a guest on LA Ink, where Kat Von D tattooed Bach's new cover art on his forearm. This striking piece of art was actually a piece done by Bach's late father, David Bierk. "Just because he's dead doesn't mean that his art has to die. So, I figure what better way than to get his art tattooed on my arm," says Bach.
"One of the songs on my new record is called 'By Your Side.' After I got this (cover art tattoo) done, I was running. I was listening to my new album on my iPod, while I was running. And I didn't even think about this, but the song by your side is about [my dad]. Bach described the feeling of running while listening to the lyrics repeating "I'll be right there by your side, by your side." His arms pumping by his side, the tattoo popped into his peripheral vision over and over again. "To me [the tattoo is] him, he's in heaven. And he's here by my side, and I just started crying. This is the first tattoo that's made me cry. Because it just hit me and it was so weird, and I was listening to the song and looking at the tattoo. I got this tattoo man, and he's always going to be by my side."
As you can see, his passion goes far beyond the music, in fact another tattoo on his arm is in dedication to his son, Paris. The road runner tattoo on his hip is the same exact tattoo that his father had, in the same exact place. Bach talks very fondly of his family, and is looking forward to a rest at home for the holidays. "I'm going to put mistletoe on my belt buckle! Time for a kiss, Merry Christmas!" All smiles, Bach is looking forward to the response of his new album, and maybe some new tattoos.
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