It’s fitting that Sebastian Bach landed the lead role in the Broadway play “Jekyll & Hyde” a decade ago. You never know what the former Skid Row frontman is going to do next, for better or worse.
Who could have predicted that the enigmatic bad boy rocker would not only score a plum part in a major production but also garner a plethora of good reviews?
“I know I surprised a lot of people,” Bach said, “but I’m all about surprises.”
Indeed. Just like Dr. Jekyll, it seems as if it’s only a matter of time before Hyde rears his maniacal head. Bach has been riding relatively high over recent years due to his successful run in two Broadway productions, the aforementioned “Jekyll” and “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” and as a frequent face on VH1.
“It’s been pretty cool,” Bach said. “From rock to Broadway to TV, it’s been cool.”
There are ups and downs for aging metalheads, but Bach, who has had some brushes with the law and been away from the spotlight at times, is making the most of it.
Bach, who will perform tonight at the Crocodile Rock, is a survivor. When he led Skid Row during the late 1980s, early ’90s, the band was Atlantic Records’ platinum-plus cash cow.
“Those were incredible times,” Bach said. “We ruled.”
The group wasn’t just a sales sensation. Even though it wasn’t often given the credit, Skid Row was a considerable cut above the many cheese-metal acts, such as Cinderella, Winger and Slaughter. Such anthemic, well-produced tracks as “18 and Life,” “Youth Gone Wild” and the perfect power ballad “I Remember You” still stand up today.
A huge ingredient in the band’s success was Bach’s massive and expressive set of pipes. Bach’s vocals are so identifiable you could never imagine someone else fronting Skid Row – but it happened.
After the group released its 1995 album, “Subhuman Race,” Skid Row went on a hiatus, but apparently no one told Bach.
“I kept calling (bassist) Rachel (Bolan) and saying, ‘Let’s practice. Let’s get together’ and I was getting nowhere. I was going insane. So nothing was going on and I was getting pretty pissed. The reason I moved here (Central New Jersey) was because of the band.”
According to Bach, the opportunity to open for Kiss on the band’s farewell tour came up and he contacted Bolan.
“But Rachel was more interested in doing a punk album with the Skid Row road crew,” Bach said. “So I called him and let him have it like only I can and he called me and said, ‘You’re done.'”
To make matters worse, Skid Row replaced Bach with vocalist Johnny Solinger and opened for Kiss in 2000.
“That was their way of making me feel bad and making me look worse in the press,” Bach said. “But I wasn’t done.”
In 2000, the producers of “Jekyll and Hyde” were looking for a versatile rock vocalist who could do six shows a week for five months. Atlantic Records put out the soundtrack so that’s where the search began and ended.
“There was only one guy in the Atlantic Rolodex who fit what they were looking for,” Bach said. “And of course that’s me.”
Bach still beams when he recounts his Jekyll and Hyde experience.
“It’s the highlight of my life, career-wise,” Bach said. “I got to use everything I have. My stamina was tested, but I came out great. It’s grueling. Not too many rock guys could do Broadway. The people who have done ‘Phantom of the Opera’ for the last 15 years, eight shows a day, are unreal. They should get medals. It’s that intense.”
But Bach is intense as well. There’s no one else like him.
“I think that’s pretty safe to say,” Bach said.
Sebastian Bach will appear tonight at the Crocodile Rock, 520 W. Hamilton St., Allentown. Tickets are $18. Show time is 6:30 p.m. 610-434-4600
