ION: Who writes your songs? From where do you draw your inspiration when
it comes to the song-writing process? Does the music comes rst or the
lyrics?
SEBASTIAN: I write all of the lyrics for the songs. Musically, each one is different.
There are two types of BASH songs. One is where I experience something that
inspires me to write a song, and I usually put most of it together vocally and on an
acoustic guitar. These I bring to the guys when we rehearse. I show them what I
have and they jump in without any hesitation. I don’t like telling them what I have in
mind for most songs…it makes the song much more creative that way. I like to see
what each of them brings naturally. Other songs start off as jams, or an idea that
sparked during rehearsal out of nowhere that we roll with and keep working on
musically. These songs I usually take home and write over them using an idea
emotionally that I either already had, or that the music just seems to t. Just by the
notes and mood of the music, I can tell what I want the song to be about. If you’re a
BASH fan, you may have noticed that the great majority of our music is on the
darker, angrier and more moody side of things. And it’s kind of funny, because we
ourselves are not dark, depressing guys. We’re actually pretty happy and outgoing.
Music is an outlet, and writing is therapy for me. I know that I cannot get over
something until I write about it. Whether it’s a girl, a break up, a family issue, a social
issue--anything that I experience that affects me on an emotional level will be
translated to song. Every single track I can sit down and tell a story about, I
remember exactly what happened that inspired me to write it. I remember exactly
who I wrote each song about. It’s all very authentic. And that’s another thing that I
am very proud of. I love to combine the ability to make a catchy melody, guitar riff,
track, and song that people will want to sing-along to without losing the soul of what
I’m trying to say. I still get emotional singing songs that I wrote when I was 14.