sebastian-bach
Sebastian Bach, the frontman for the classic late '80s hair band, has finally sold his longtime home in Lincroft that had been condemned after Hurricane Irene.
(Left, handout; top right, Getty Images; bottom right, Trulia)
Sebastian Bach, the Skid Row frontman who made New Jersey his home for 21 years, has finally sold the Lincroft home that was condemned after massive flooding from Hurricane Irene in 2011, and tells NJ Advance Media what New Jersey has meant to him -- and why he had to move on.
Jersey natives Rachel Bolan and Dave "The Snake" Sabo formed Skid Row in Toms River in 1986, and recruited Bach (real name: Sebastian Bierk), a Canadian, in 1987. The band found major success with its first two albums, "Skid Row" and "Slave to the Grind," and opened for Bon Jovi and Guns 'N Roses, but Bach was fired by the band in 1996 in a clash of personalities.
"To me, New Jersey is Skid Row," Bach, who now lives in Los Angeles, tells NJ Advance Media at the Television Critics Association press tour in Pasadena, where he was promoting his latest TV project, "Breaking Band," in which he and other musicians mentor younger bands. (The show premieres on AXS on Sunday at 9:30 p.m.)
"That's why I moved there. That's the reason I bought a house there. New Jersey means so much to me about rock and roll. The Stone Pony, you know, Asbury Park. The beach. The boardwalk. The Count Basie Theatre, downtown Red Bank. Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash. Vintage Vinyl. I lived in those places for 20 years. For me, walking around Jersey is, like, haunted.
"I played Giants Stadium when I was 20 years old for 75,000 people. New Jersey is Skid Row. We came from there. We are New Jersey. So without Skid Row, I can't be in New Jersey."
The contemporary house he bought in 1988, which was featured on "MTV Cribs" and filled with Skid Row and other rock memorabilia, is located on three acres of land adjacent to a large swath of undeveloped forestland. "I knew every rock. I knew every tree. I knew every pile of dirt. I knew every inch of those woods," Bach recalls. After long stints on the road, that's where, he says, "I became a human being again."
The house had never flooded until Hurricane Irene hit in 2011. According to Bach's Facebook post in the aftermath, the stormwaters "snapped the bridge in half next to my house and sent the bridge straight into my garage, knocking the house half off its foundation." Bach lost precious memorabilia, including Skid Row master tapes and KISS gargoyles from the 1979 tour, and the home was condemned.
Somewhere under this water is a KISS pinball machine & 2 gargoyles from the Dynasty tour. If you see them floating past your house, they're mine. Or at least they were :(
Posted by Sebastian Bach on Sunday, August 28, 2011
"How I wish there was a reason to do a box set or something before Hurricane Irene hit," he wrote. "Nobody cared. Now it's too late. Don't know what you got till it's gone, indeed."
He put the house on the market in 2012, and at once point was asking as much as $669,000 for it, but it sold for $272,500 -- about $85,000 less than what he paid nearly 20 years ago, according to Zillow.
Check out the "MTV Cribs" episode (warning, explicit language) that featured Bach's home:
Vicki Hyman may be reached at vhyman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @vickihy or like her on Facebook. Find NJ.com/Entertainment on Facebook, and check out TV Hangover, the podcast from Vicki Hyman and co-host Erin Medley on iTunes, Stitcher or listen here.