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00:00I'm probably a bigger fan of Twisted Sister than anybody watching this.
00:05There's an earlier period of that band where they were one of the most ferocious rock bands.
00:12That's the kind of energy that I'm going to bring.
00:14I'm the lead singer of Twisted Sister.
00:17How much fun is that to say?
00:19Rock, metal, frog, and everything in between.
00:23Welcome to this episode of Talkin' Rock with Meltdown.
00:26Don't forget to follow the audio-only Talkin' Rock podcast on all podcast platforms.
00:31And now, it's time for today's conversation.
00:34Here's Meltdown.
00:36Hey, it's Meltdown here in Detroit, man.
00:37How are you?
00:38All right.
00:39How's it going?
00:40Good, man.
00:40Sunday, right here in Detroit Rock City.
00:43Got the big tour.
00:45The Party Never Ends tour.
00:46How's things going out there for you on the road?
00:48Great.
00:49So you're saying to me that Wyandotte is Wyandotte?
00:55That's Detroit?
00:56Yes, sir.
00:57It's south of Detroit.
00:58Remember last year?
00:59Last year when you were here.
01:00Yeah.
01:00Why doesn't anybody tell me that?
01:03Like, I thought I was playing Wyandotte.
01:07I didn't know I was playing Detroit.
01:09So right on.
01:10I wish somebody would say, hey, dude, you're playing Detroit.
01:14But I thought I was playing Wyandotte.
01:19What the fuck?
01:20I don't understand.
01:22Well, thank you for telling me.
01:24I'm happy to come back to Detroit, a place that I've actually heard of.
01:28Yeah, right.
01:29Exactly.
01:29Well, last year when you were here, remember, you got the June bug stuck in your hair.
01:34That's about 20 minutes away from where the, remember we were talking, and I asked you for something to talk
01:39about on the radio, and you got that June bug stuck in your hair.
01:42And then you said, yeah, let's talk about that.
01:44But anyways, it's about 20 minutes from there.
01:45So you're going to be close to Detroit.
01:47Okay, cool.
01:48So you're telling me that I played Wyandotte before?
01:52No, I'm telling you, you were close to Wyandotte.
01:54And this time.
01:55Wyandotte.
01:56Yeah, Wyandotte.
01:58The capital of rock and roll, Wyandotte.
02:01That's right.
02:01Hey, you know, for those that don't know, you actually spent time here in Detroit, but apparently not downriver in
02:05Wyandotte.
02:06Yes, I was in a band in the year 1986 that I lived in Troy, Michigan, and I lived in
02:16Utica.
02:18Yeah.
02:19And my mom was born in Windsor, so I grew up constantly hearing about Babelow Island.
02:28That's right.
02:30That was like a magical Disney World place between Detroit and Windsor that I always heard about.
02:39So I've always loved, you know, Detroit and Wyandotte and surrounding areas.
02:48So listen, when I first came to Detroit in 1995, I thought that's where they built the cars.
02:53But then when I, you know, when I've been here for 30 years now, it's like that's where the rock
02:56and roll comes from.
02:57And obviously, you know, Kiss isn't from, Kiss isn't from Detroit, but, you know, I mean, Detroit Rock City, that
03:02had to have an impact on your music when you were growing up.
03:05I mean, obviously, you're a huge Kiss fan.
03:07I am absolutely a huge Kiss fan.
03:10I also love Journey, and I think it's fascinating when it says, and don't stop believing, born and raised in
03:19South Detroit.
03:20And is that why, is Wyandotte South Detroit?
03:24Actually, Windsor is South Detroit.
03:26Windsor is South Detroit, right?
03:29Because there is no South Detroit, right?
03:31No, there's not.
03:32That's right.
03:32Only in the Journey song.
03:34Only in the Journey song.
03:35But yeah, but Kiss is legendary.
03:38You guys started, you know, in Cobo Hall with Kiss Alive.
03:44And then, you know, up in Cadillac, Michigan, it was Kiss Day.
03:47And that's totally legendary.
03:52And yeah, Detroit has always been an incredible rock town.
03:56I mean, I've always loved playing there, so I can't wait.
04:00And we've got a great band.
04:02I've got Bruiser Brody on guitar and Fede on bass.
04:05And we have Stitched Up Heart, which is opening, and also a band called Blaze Francisco, which sounds like a
04:1270s porno name.
04:17But we just did three cities in three nights.
04:23We've been on these hellacious drives.
04:26And it's like, we drove from Victoria, British Columbia to Boise, Idaho, which is like driving from the Arctic to
04:37Mexico.
04:40And then we drove from Boise to Grand Falls, Montana.
04:51Montana, and on stage, I kept calling it Grand Falls, Manitoba.
04:57And people were like, this guy is just.
05:01So it's not Manitoba, it's Montana.
05:06Close enough.
05:07Close enough.
05:07Get it right.
05:09Yeah.
05:09I still, yeah.
05:11No, but I was going to say, speaking of touring, you toured with my friends in Kaleido, and I was
05:16just with them a few weeks ago.
05:17Oh, yeah.
05:17Yeah, and they told me the funniest story about you getting in there in Christina Chris's Geo tracks outside the
05:23rainbow, and your head was touching the ceiling.
05:28Well, I got to say, I really like the band Kaleido, and Christina Chris, I appreciate that she sings live.
05:35I really do appreciate that.
05:38And she really does get up there with no, you know, background tapes or anything.
05:44So I will always appreciate a singer that is brave enough to suck on YouTube.
05:51Yeah.
05:52I just joke.
05:55That is the thing, because back in the day, I was just watching some video of you actually here from
06:001997 in Troy.
06:01And back in the day, you know, you screw up on stage, and it kind of goes off into the
06:05ether, although a lot of that stuff's returned now.
06:07But you're right about that.
06:08It's like, if you screw up now, I remember watching my friend do the national anthem for a NASCAR race.
06:13He said, this is going to live forever on YouTube, and it does.
06:16And that's the same thing with the position you're in and what you're talking about.
06:19I never thought about that before.
06:20Well, you know, when we were in Skid Row, obviously there was no internet or anything.
06:30Before a show, we would get in like a five guys, you know, together, put our fists together.
06:38Doc McGee would put his hand in there, and we would look at each other, and we would go, let's
06:45go crazy up there.
06:48We didn't even think about anything.
06:51We just, like Van Halen, you used to go, like, these guys are not, like, trying to be perfect.
06:57They're flying through the air, jumping off the drum riser.
07:02And now when I go on stage, I say to myself in my brain, Sebastian, don't move around too much.
07:09Don't jump around too much.
07:11Everybody's feeling like, it's like, I go up there like, you just better sing perfect.
07:16Like, okay, I'll try my best.
07:19But, you know, there's something to be said for looking at your guitar player and say, let's go insane up
07:26there.
07:27Like, that was more fun.
07:29I still have fun.
07:31But I try to walk up there and stand, like, I try to not be out of breath and not
07:39run around too much.
07:40And it is a lost art, you know, going up there for an hour and a half and trying to
07:47be as exciting as you can be, but at the same time being as calm as you can be.
07:53Like, what is, you know what I'm saying?
07:58When I look at a singer like Jeff Keith from Tesla, my good buddy, or Robin Zander from Cheap Trick,
08:07they're not going up there to go insane.
08:11They're going up there to sing as good as they can.
08:14And I'm friends with both of those guys, and I can sing pretty darn good if I, you know, don't
08:21go too crazy.
08:23But going crazy is half the fun of this.
08:27So it's a fine line between crazy and perfection.
08:32Well, I'll tell you what, dude.
08:34I mean, you're awesome on stage, obviously.
08:36You know, I've never seen you perform, by the way, with a cordless microphone because then you wouldn't be able
08:40to swing your microphone around.
08:41Well, you're very astute.
08:43You're very, you're paying attention to the details there.
08:47But there's also another reason.
08:49The sound of a hardwired mic is better than the wireless.
08:57The wireless, to me, sounds thinner.
09:00And when I got my mic on a cord, it's like when I hook up my stereo Bluetooth, like I
09:10can tell.
09:11The difference.
09:13So I'm, I'm actually, I do love twirling that mother trucker around, but I also like the sound of the
09:22hardwire.
09:23I do.
09:23I got you.
09:24Well, like I said, you're playing District 142, the Party Never Ends Tour.
09:28That's coming up Sunday.
09:29I was talking to my friend Craig Gass.
09:32Maybe I shouldn't bring.
09:33Tell me something about Craig Gass that I should know about.
09:36Well, Craig Gass is the star of my video, What Do I Got to Lose?
09:42And he is absolutely hilarious.
09:44He does an unbelievable Sebastian Bach impression in the video.
09:51And that video is over 2 million views.
09:55So I don't care what you say.
09:59That's double platinum in my book.
10:02So, so everybody's loving that song and that video.
10:06And Craig is really one of the funniest guys I ever met.
10:10But the way, the way I met him was I was living in New Jersey and I checked my answering
10:17machine and I got a message.
10:19And the message was.
10:22Sebastian.
10:23This is Gene Simmons of Kiss.
10:27And I'm calling you because we have a business opportunity for you, Sebastian.
10:33We want you to be a business partner with us on Kiss Chili.
10:41And I went, holy jeez, Gene Simmons wants me to be a partner.
10:47I thought it was totally real.
10:49I was like, Kiss Chili?
10:52Okay, okay, let's do it.
10:54Let's do it.
10:55And I kept listening to it.
10:58And I didn't know who Craig Gass was.
11:00And he totally had me reaching for my wallet to invest in a mixture of garbanzambo beans and tomato sauce
11:13and onions.
11:15It's Kiss Chili.
11:17Yeah, that's so funny.
11:19It's like when I talk to Zach Wild and he goes into Ozzy impersonation mode when he talks about Ozzy.
11:23That's what Craig was doing the other day.
11:25He goes, yeah, I just talked to Sebastian.
11:26And he's sad.
11:27And then he goes into your voice, you know, and the whole thing.
11:29But anyways, hey, listen, time is running short here.
11:32And they told me I can only ask you one thing about Twisted Sister.
11:35So I'm just going to throw it out there for you.
11:38What does it mean for you to play and like help out a childhood hero band of yours coming up
11:44here?
11:44I mean, you've been a fan of there since you were a kid.
11:46I am a fan of Twisted Sister.
11:49And I will tell you right now, I'm probably a bigger fan of Twisted Sister than anybody watching this.
11:57I love that band.
11:59I used to go see them whenever I could.
12:02And I really love the album.
12:04You can't stop rock and roll with songs like Kids Are Back, Ride to Live, Live to Ride.
12:10I love Under the Blade album.
12:13I love Shoot Em Down, Destroyer, Tear It Loose.
12:20I mean, I love I Want to Rock.
12:22I love We're Not Going to Take It.
12:23But there's an earlier period of that band where they were one of the most ferocious rock bands that you
12:32will ever see.
12:34And if you saw them back then, you know what I'm talking about.
12:38I saw that documentary, Twisted Sister documentary.
12:41That's awesome.
12:42Yeah.
12:43Well, did you ever see Twisted Sister in the early 80s live?
12:47I saw them in maybe the mid-80s.
12:49Then I saw Dee with Widowmaker.
12:50So that's about as early as I go with them.
12:52Well, when they were like a club band, they would come out there like a punk rock band or a
13:05total thrash metal band.
13:08I mean, like if you listen to their version of It's Only Rock and Roll, But I Like It by
13:13the Rolling Stones, it's like a speed metal tempo.
13:18It's like, I know.
13:19It's only rock and roll, but I like it.
13:22I know.
13:23Shit.
13:24Blow it up the fuck.
13:26Sorry.
13:26Okay.
13:28Well, that's the kind of energy that I'm going to bring.
13:31I mean, I'm not no spring chicken, but I still have a lot of energy when I get on the
13:38stage.
13:38And I'm going to give you guys fun and energy in the Twisted Sister.
13:45I'm the lead singer of Twisted Sister.
13:48How much fun is that to say?
13:49I love saying that.
13:51So I'm really looking forward to it.
13:53I will also say that I'll never stop singing the songs 18 in Life, I Remember You, You've Gone Wild,
14:03Monkey Business, Slay to the Grind.
14:04I will never stop doing that.
14:06So I'm not stopping my solo band.
14:10I am continuing my solo band, but I'm doing shows with Twisted Sister that are bigger than my solo band.
14:20So it's a step up for me.
14:25I'll have like a nicer dressing room and stuff.
14:30But, you know, I do a lot of different things.
14:33I did the Masked Singer TV show.
14:34I did the Worst Cooks in America.
14:37I did, you know, lots.
14:39I do lots of shows with Billy Morrison and his band.
14:43I got a new song with DMC called She Gets Me High with Duff McKagan on the bass, Mick Mars
14:50on guitar, Travis Barker on drums.
14:53That's a great, great song.
14:55So I'm always doing different things and I'm looking forward to rocking out with Twisted Sister because I love the
15:04music.
15:05And you cannot even challenge me on do I love them.
15:11I really do love the music.
15:14So you can't fake love.
15:17And I love Twisted Sister.
15:19And you can get together with him before the show and say, let's go crazy with JJ and Eddie and
15:23all that.
15:23No, everybody's filming everything.
15:25So I would be like this.
15:26We're not going to take it.
15:30I'm just joking.
15:31Right on.
15:32I'm really looking forward to it.
15:34I'll tell you what, Sebastian, always good to talk to you.
15:36We'll see you here in Wyandotte in South Detroit, kind of, sort of.
15:40On Sunday, The Party Never Ends Tour.
15:42I might try to show up with, oh, I can't mention that.
15:45Never mind.
15:45But anyways, I'll see you there and, you know, we'll see how it goes.
15:49Yeah, I want you to intro the band.
15:51Intro the band.
15:52Okay, I'll be there.
15:54Intro the band.
15:55It's a deal.
15:57Okay.
15:58Do I get to swing the microphone?
15:59I love the riff.
16:01Can I swing the mic?
16:02Not if it's wireless.
16:04Not if it's wireless, you know.
16:07All right.
16:08All right, Sebastian.
16:09Thanks, brother.
16:10We'll talk to you soon.
16:11Thank you, brother.
16:12See you Sunday.
16:13All right.
16:13Check out Talking Rock with Meltdown on all podcast platforms and WRIF.com.
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