Rocker fired from musical

Sebastian Bach says his devotion to the devil’s music cost him his job playing Jesus, but the producer who fired him from the national tour of “Jesus Christ Superstar” says that Bach was canned because he went AWOL and missed five performances in Columbus, Ohio.

In a posting on his Web site, Bach, former singer of metal band Skid Row, said he needed cooling-off time after being told to tone down his act during curtain calls -- a move he felt would “erase any sense of rock ‘n’ roll” from his performance. As he left to “cool out” in his dressing room after the curtain-call discussion at a rehearsal, Bach said another cast member accosted him and began screaming at him.

Bach said he intended to take two days off, “hopefully come to some sort of compromise,” then resume the role. Executive producer Tom McCoy said Bach’s disappearance was “the last straw” after months of prima donna behavior that also had frustrated co-star Carl Anderson, who plays Judas.

McCoy said he had no problem with Bach going into rocker antics -- which included air-guitar playing, mock stage-diving and a shimmy shake, according to one reviewer’s account -- during curtain calls, but producers wanted him first to take a more formal, “respectful” bow with Anderson.