Back when Velvet Revolver first formed, they were looking for a lead singer. Sebastian Bach tried out, but he didn't make the cut for one reason or another. This lead to Scott Weiland joining the band.

Five years later, Weiland leaves Velvet Revolver and they are once again looking for a new lead singer. Meanwhile, Bach hooked up with Metal Mike and Johnny Chromatic and created a kick ass album Angel Down. This too faded as Metal Mike left Bach's band and he is now looking for a lead singer.

This caused a loyal reader to posit, could Sebastian Bach work in Velvet Revolver now. I think the answer is still no and here are my reasons.

Velvet Revolver needs a singer who has a bluesy tone to their voice. This is why Scott Weiland worked so well. He has a low bluesy baritone. That is not Bach's way of singing. Bach is a screecher. Take a quick listen to (Love is) A Bitchslap off Angel Down. The guitar is crunchier and harder than what Slash and Dave Kuschner provide this is because of Bach's vocals require a guitar like that.

Performance wise, Bach's show is a bit more high strung and high wired while Velvet Revolver's is more laid back. Part of this has to do with the personalities, Slash is more of a "here it is, I am playing and this is really easy. Watch me sling these blues riffs around and you take them." Bach is more "Run to the right, run to the left, point at tattoo Youth Gone Wild, kick in the air, rinse and repeat"

Now, don't get me wrong, Velvet Revolver certainly doesn't just sit on stools and play music. They do move around and interact with the crowd, but they do it more slowly and occasionally. Bach is like a wired canary flying around on stage. He is everywhere. The stage show would look a mess should Bach join VR.

Also, Slash recently gave an interview with Classic Rock magazine where he said this:

“Now at this point I can talk about it,” says Slash. “I always support whatever group I’m playing with – I’ll never say anything bad about them while I’m in it. But fuckin Velvet Revolver – that was the toughest five years, dealing with that band, just because of the obvious [Weiland] and really, really bad management. Joke management for the entire time.

“For some reason in that entire five years I could never be happy. I could never get comfortable and happy with it because it was such a fucking mess. That last tour in the UK was the first time I ever had any fun in that band – because I knew that Scott was leaving and it was a huge relief.

While the Weiland issue has been remedied and maybe the management too, I don't think Bach would want to join the group. Bach is a talented musician and front man, but he is sometimes hard to work with because he is so hands on. Take a look at Metal Mike's answer from our interview with him:

No, but that doesn't necessarily mean I don't like doing it. But it's not an easy process. The way I am coming at it, as a guitar player, I am used to writing a song, or at least a big chunk of it, then presenting it to a singer saying "Here's your song. Don't mess with it. Don't even sing over it." It has worked with me with Rob [Halford] and other people I have wrote with. Sebastian is an extremely hands on, in every aspect of every note and every riff. He thinks of a million things at the same time, so it is difficult to get from Point A to Point B when you are in the moment. But when you look back, a little bit later, you say "well I guess he was right." With Sebastian it is more writing on the spot. I wouldn't write a whole song from Point A to Point B and say "here is your song, sing on it." But that's cool too because I can also see the good in that to work outside of the box I am used to. But I don't want my answer to be a negative thing because it is absolutely not. It is just a different way of working for me, which I found different than what I am used to. So it is a little challenging, but I think it's good. It works out like that.

I just don't see that formula working with Slash and Duff. I think Sebastian is also enjoying being the center of attention. He is the main man in the Sebastian Bach group. If he joined Velvet Revolver, he'd be just another rock personality in a band full of rock personalities.

While it is fun to think of potential front men for Velvet Revolver, I really think the band is done. Their first album was great, their second album not so much. Their live performance was great, but that was more due to the band members than the song choice. It was also fun to hear STP songs with a rhythm guitar and Guns N' Roses songs in a live setting played by 3/5 of the original line up. But rock n' roll has a funny way of punching me in the testicles with my predictions. I never would have thought Pink Floyd or Led Zeppelin would reunite for one gig or that Michael Jackson was black. So expect the unexpected.