18 and Life on Skid Row

Written by Sebastian Bach

Narrated by Sebastian Bach

18 And Life on Skid Row tells the story of a boy who spent his childhood moving from Freeport, Bahamas to California and finally to Canada and who at the age of eight discovered the gift that would change his life. Throughout his career, Sebastian Bach has sold over twenty million records both as the lead singer of Skid Row and as a solo artist. He is particularly known for the hit singles I Remember You, Youth Gone Wild, & 18 & Life, and the albums Skid Row and Slave To The Grind, which became the first ever hard rock album to debut at #1 on the Billboard Top 200 and landed him on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine. Bach then went on to become the first rock star to grace the Broadway stage, with starring roles in Jekyll & Hyde, Jesus Christ Superstar and The Rocky Horror Picture Show. He also appeared for seven seasons on the hit television show The Gilmore Girls.

In his memoir, Bach recounts lurid tales of excess and debauchery as he toured the world with Bon Jovi, Aerosmith, Motley Crue, Soundgarden, Pantera, Nine Inch Nails and Guns N’ Roses. Filled with backstage photos from his own personal collection, 18 And Life on Skid Row is the story of hitting it big at a young age, and of a band that broke up in its prime. It is the story of a man who achieved his wildest dreams, only to lose his family, and then his home. It is a story of perseverance, of wine, women and song and a man who has made his life on the road and always will. 18 And Life On Skid Row is not your ordinary rock memoir, because Sebastian Bach is not your ordinary rock star.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperAudio
• Release date: Dec 6, 2016
• ISBN: 9780062444585

Sebastian Bach

Sebastian Bach has sold in excess of twenty million records worldwide as lead singer of his former band, Skid Row, and as a solo artist. Far from just being a multi-platinum recording artist, he has expanded his career over the past decade to include a five-season recurring role on the hit series Gilmore Girls; voice-over work on SpongeBob Square Pants and Robot Chicken; starring roles on Broadway in Jekyll & Hyde, The Rocky Horror Show, and Jesus Christ Superstar; and appearances on ABC’s Sing Your Face Off, the comedy series Trailer Park Boys, MTV, and Vstrong.

Reviews for 18 and Life on Skid Row

[Mike Ely · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Awesome and entertaining book by one of the original rock stars! Great book Sebastian! You rock dude!

[Amber Mack · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Took me back in time and reminded me how much I LOVE Sebastian!!

[Jeannie Darnell · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I loved hearing Sebastian read it and tell his story. It was so entertaining and interesting. I highly recommend it! I was sad when it was over.

[Brian Walsh · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Loved the content but the way it was laid out was very frantic. It’s almost as if he needed a producer to say “Sebastian, please put the entire 1st verse together and finish the sentence before you put 2 bars of the bridge in the middle of the verse…” he kept jumping around in the timelines, going forward to the future, and then back to something that he had already talked about three chapters ago. I really enjoyed the content so I don’t want you to get me wrong. It just would’ve been a much more enjoyable, listen/read, if it was put together better, in a more cohesive way.

[robin · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Unmistakable voice of Baz and his laughter and bonus info made this an instant fav! So close in age and sharing the passion for music, could relate to the love of music heroes! So young as frontman for one of the biggest bands; it’s surreal. So glad to know he survived and thrived! Can see that a group of such young and often strung out guys would have issues but the grace in age is the value in what matters and the understanding of why things happened in a certain way. Hindsight… hope there could be a reunion while possible. Baz’s voice is unmistakably unique and how wonderful for a new generation to appreciate. The beauty in the rock of 80’s was the joy and freedom as well as visuals. We are missing that in our world. Crowding round the tv to see your favs on MTV was something, and no one can forget the first time we saw Baz! That voice, the hair and that face! So happy he found his family, contentment and continued success.

[Jennifer L Kennedy · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

What a phenomenal book! Thoroughly entertaining! I laughed, cried, was shocked, discovered new music, and was driven down memory lane. This book just wouldn't be the same if you just read it yourself. Hearing Sebastian read his own book just gives it a whole next level vibe. I've listened to several autobiographies from musicians of this time period and this is my absolute favorite so far!

[Kris Hunsicker · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Have to listen to Sebastian tell his stories. The written form would surely annoy, but his narration makes it all great.

So fun to hear all the tales from one of my all time favorite rock voices.

[Manny Gagaoudakis · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Entertaining and fun story. Bach is awesome as a narrator. Brings the book to life . Makes all the difference .

[Moreen Lynch · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

No idea why I chose to listen to this book. I mean I’m not a die hard fan. I had one SR album in my life (the first one) and I loved SB’s vocals. I never forgot that.
I’m glad I purchase it. Bach is a really entertaining writer and enthusiastic story teller. He’s funny and smart and honest. I learned a lot about him and truthfully, I learned some stuff about myself. He made me think. I liked it a lot. It was a pleasant surprise.

[Chelsea Sullivan · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book is fantastic and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Bas is a great narrator and I laughed out loud on several occasions. Five stars all the way!

[David Monterroza · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Felt like a rockstar. Loved the book. Love Sebastian. Everything about this book is amazing.

[Sherri Perry · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Absolutely brilliant. I Love that Sebastian is narrating. He made it fun to listen to and I loved his little chuckles of laughter. Fascinating story, I have listened to it 3 times already. What a dude. He is a total ROCKSTAR. Keep on rocking Sebastian

[Marius DW Iftimie · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I didn't even expect this book to be so colorful, spicy and exciting. Sebastian Bach's own reading was actually a great ideea. He did an amazing job both writing and reading his memoir. He's an innate entertainer but we kinda already knew that. Never a dull moment with him!

[bookmarque · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Sebastian Bach cracks me up. Sebastian Bach cracks himself up. That's one of the things I've always liked about him; his unabashed goofiness. While others only know him from TV (Gilmour Girls, really??!) or Broadway (again, who knew??!), I've known Baz from Skid Row, VH1 shows and many interviews with Eddie Trunk. He's always entertaining and when I saw he narrated his book himself I knew I had to listen. It is VERY worth it. He's hilarious and there are lots of BONUS! BONUS! BONUS! sections, with silly voice effects and lots of laughs...I mean he laughs the whole time he reads. I also think the injects a few asides that he didn't actually write down. He clearly had a lot of fun reading this.Oddly enough, though I'm a metalhead, I never got into Skid Row. Probably because both their biggest hits in the 80s were ballads. Bleah. Sorry, guys, but no. I can't remember if I've ever even heard him sing except by accident when I couldn't change the station.We were born the same year and so a lot of his references and the timeline punctuation rang very familiar to me. He was a crazy kid though and allowed to be because his parents were WAY more permissive than mine. Running off to Toronto as an underage teen to sing in a band? Why the hell not? At that point he started living like someone 10 years older and it's a wonder he didn't kill himself.He drinks and does a lot of drugs along the way and I half expected things to turn very bad followed by a stay in rehab, but there's none of that. Either he never really became an addict or drug use hasn't wrecked him or his life the way it has his friends'. I was kind of happy about that. Also happy that he found success after Skid Row. He doesn't go too deeply into the reason he was fired, although he does talk about it. I suspect that some of what he said was true (jealousy over the attention he got from the press, fans, etc.), there are two sides to every story and honestly he sounds like an exhausting person to be around.That said he also takes his work and his voice very seriously. Part of the deal his dad made him when he first joined a band was that he take real voice lessons and show up for every one of them. He did, but oddly sounded like he didn't learn much and blew his voice out screaming to warm up. Only later did he get real understanding of how to care for his instrument and he did. I'll have to hit up You Tube for a listen...no doubt memories of the songs will come back. Ah, youth...gone wild.

[jonez-6 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

3.5

This is a bit difficult to review, as many autobiographies of celebrities or rock stars can be. It is difficult because, although I am keen to dissect the work and rate it based on elements of grammar, writing style etc., I don't find that too fair in these instances. If penned by someone who is a writer or dictated to and then ghost-written by a writer (which many of these usually are), then maybe. But this is written in Sebastian's own voice. He isn't a writer. It isn't fair for me to go on about redundancies and tautologies or even his style of weaving in and out of trains of thought (though I have to wonder where the editor was on this). So what I did is I put down my signed copy (hell yes I was only going to buy this with his autograph inside) and decided to listen to the audiobook version in which he reads the story itself. That is when I heard the true voice of this book. I could hear the Sebastian Bach I have heard interviewed so many times over the past decades (Jesus I am old) read his story in his voice in a similar manner to how he actually converses, and let me tell you it made a world of difference.

I enjoyed his style of reading his story, and I enjoyed most of the material included. There were parts where I felt he barely dipped his toe into telling us a story before quickly pulling it back out again and never really delivering. That is my biggest criticism with the book. There were areas of his life he was a bit elusive about (for his own reasons I am sure) and a few inconsistencies here and there, but mostly this was just a damn good read. It was great because it made me feel nostalgic for a time in rock and roll that I grew up in. I loved his tour stories (OMG the Metallica section), his discussion of his friendships, the way he touched on relationships and family life, and just his insights.

Throughout the book, you will find he peppers it with little anecdotes about a dream he had or childhood experiences. I wasn't sure how I felt about those. I guess that is a personal preference thing. If you feel it breaks the book up a bit then you won't enjoy that. I didn't feel one way or the other, and I just enjoyed hearing his vulnerability. This, along with his passion for music (both creating it and listening to it) is what shines through the most is this book. Sebastian has a big personality. This book showcases it for better or for worse.

I especially enjoyed his recollections of working on broadway. The book definitely satisfied this ex metal head gal who once majored in theatre. LOL Overall I enjoyed this book and it stirred in me the need to pull out my old skid row albums and even check out his new stuff. In the end this was a fun read, but it fell shy of 4 star worthiness.

[norinrad10 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Now this is what a rock and roll biography should be like. Having just finished the Bruce Springsteen bio it's an opportunity for an interesting compare and contrast. Both are deeply influenced by residing in New Jersey and both have hands in the biggest albums of all time. The difference is Bach never stops being a fan. This book is more about the people that he worked with, met and was influenced by, then it is about his accomplishments. Bach's life stands as a reminder of why I became a fan boy and an ecouragement to never let that go. Springsteen makes great music, Bach's is a life well lived.