Sebastian Bach has written the rock book that’s going to be hard to beat over the next year. 18 and Life on Skid Row is a hefty recap of the rocker’s colorful life to date, filled to the brim with sex, drugs and rock ’n’ roll war stories. We spoke with the former Skid Row frontman in advance of his return to Las Vegas. He’ll be at the Hard Rock Hotel on December 17 to sign books inside Goose Island Pub and spin some of his favorite tunes during a DJ appearance at the Center Bar afterward.

You’ve been teasing this book for a few years, and it does not disappoint. Nobody can look at your career and call it boring. (Laughs.) The times I’m writing about are mythological, like before the Internet, cell phones and everything, so it really took four years of concentrating and remembering those things from all of those years ago. It’s 450 pages that I drove everybody nuts around me trying to make it, but now when I hold it in my hands, I’m very proud of it. And the reaction has been amazing. People say that you don’t even have to be a fan of Skid Row to get off on this book, because it’s f*cking nuts! (Laughs.)

I heard that the initial draft came in at like 600 pages. What did you ultimately leave out? One of the interviewers said, “There’s not a lot of sex in the book.” And I said, “Well, there’s some, but there was a lot more.” When I was reading it back, it would be like, “And then she reached down and undid my fly.” I’m like, “What kind of book are you writing, dude?” (Laughs.) Is this about music? Is this Penthouse Forum? I didn’t feel comfortable having just gratuitous [things like that].

I feel like you’re going to hear from some people, based on what you put in the book. Nobody consults me when I’m in their book, [and] I’m in a lot of books! I don’t think I put anybody down in the book. I don’t think I just call anybody a dick or anything like that.

Some people said that there’s a lot of cocaine in this book. And I’m like, well, it’s written about a time period when we didn’t know it was that bad. We didn’t know that there was anything really wrong with that stuff back in 1987, ’88, ’89. If you don’t have cocaine in your book about those years, you probably weren’t really there! That’s just the way it was. But I cannot reiterate enough that I haven’t touched cocaine in 15 years or more. I want any kids that might read this to understand that cocaine is a horrible thing to do; there’s nothing good about it. If I write about something funny that happened while I was doing it, like, the next page I’m getting my face punched in. There’s always a consequence for something that we did, and I want people to know that.

Vegas has played a colorful part in your storyline over the years. Las Vegas is the first city that has made Sebastian Bach a DJ. I’ve done it at least five times at the Hard Rock, and I’m coming back. What that consists of is me plugging in my Pono, Neil Young’s high-res music player, jamming to some of my favorite tunes and also playing some songs that you might not have ever heard. The last time, I played Velvet Revolver with me on lead vocals, but without telling anybody! Everybody’s looking at me going, “What the f*ck is this? That’s you! That’s Slash! What is this?” I’m like, “I don’t know, dude!” That was fun.

I knew you were a Pono guy, but lately, it seems like you’ve swung back hard to the analog side and you’re adding to your stacks of vinyl. I guess there’s room for both. There is room for both, because let’s face it, vinyl is very heavy to carry around. I collect records on the road. On a day off I’ll go to a record store, and just transporting a stack of vinyl around in your luggage is no mean feat, so that’s where the Pono comes in. But man, there are few things in life as fun as finding some vintage records, putting them on your turntable and hearing what it sounded like in that year. That’s the reason I love vinyl. I want it just the way it sounded when it came out. That’s like opening a fine bottle of wine from a long, long time ago, putting on an old record. I think the whole world is digging that scene. I can feel it. People really love it.

What’s the white whale that you’re searching for vinyl-wise? I would say, the Japanese white-label promo of The Originals by Kiss with the OBI. The Japanese vinyl is typically thicker than the rest of the world’s and holds up better over time. I love the Japanese pressings. I got a Japanese pressing of Black and Blue by The Rolling Stones from when it first came out, and when you drop the needle on “Hot Stuff” I get chills on my arms. If you came to my living room, your jaw would hit the floor. The sound of the Stones coming out in ’76 with “Hey Negrita,” “Memory Motel” and “Fool to Cry.” That’s my favorite Stones album. That’s the Stones’ cocaine record. (Laughs.)

You’ve called this the first book on Skid Row. Have you sent copies to your former bandmates? I would need their address to do that, which I don’t have. (Laughs.) All I can say is that I’m not out to make anybody mad or piss anybody off. Maybe I will, maybe I won’t, but I would welcome the other guys in Skid Row to write their own book on their side. Because this is what I remember. But at the same time, when you read about all of the substances we were ingesting, I’m not saying that I’m even 100 percent right. You know, it’s like when Nikki Sixx writes The Heroin Diaries—was he really keeping a diary when he was shooting heroin? I don’t think so. How many heroin junkies are keeping a diary?

You lay out in the book what it would take to get Skid Row back together, from your perspective. will be interesting to see if the book lays any additional groundwork for a reunion. I hope it does. You know, someone said that five guys that haven’t been together in 25 or more years standing together, that is art. (Laughs.) In and of itself. It’s like when the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducts Chicago, and Peter Cetera doesn’t come. It’s such a drag! Or Journey without Steve Perry. The whole planet wants to see and hear Steve Perry again, so I totally get it. The fact that five guys are still alive—take advantage of that. A lot of bands can’t say that. We’re losing all of our favorite bands. I don’t need to go down the list, but Glenn Frey, Prince, Lemmy, David Bowie. It’s unreal.

Now that you’ve got the book out, do you have plans for your next record? I just hooked up with Taylor Hawkins, the drummer from the Foo Fighters. He’s got a metal band of his own called Chevy Metal, and he loves ’70s acid rock. I just did my first gig with him. He got me to be his singer for his metal band, and all he can talk about is making a sleazy, ’70s, analog, real rock ’n’ roll record. That’s where we’re at, and I’ve got Steve Stevens contributing riffs and some other guys, too. Me and Taylor are really going to tackle that in January. I’m very excited to bash some demos out with him and see where that goes.

Sebastian Bach December 17; book signing 9 p.m., free, Goose Island Pub; DJ set 11 p.m., free, Center bar. Hard Rock Hotel, 702-693-5000.