Heaven has gained of the greatest vocalists that Heaven will ever know . Carl Anderson passed away on Monday at the age of 57 after we did 6 months together on the road as Judas & Jesus Christ . Carl had leukemia, which is a fact made more poignant considering that I dedicated each & every performance to my father David Bierk, who died from leukemia at the age of 58 2 months before we all went on the road .
 I said this many , many , times as did everyone else on the tour, that I had never in my life met a man of Carl's age that possessed one tenth of Carl's energy . Each & every performance we would all marvel at the youthfulness & unfathomable amounts of energy that Carl Anderson led us all with . This man, almost twice my age, was all but impossible to keep up with , on-stage & off. Carl Anderson was giving %100 of himself 8 times a week , for more than 6 months, & giving us all an education in theater, singing, acting, performance, energy, stamina, & above all else, passion. The fact that he was giving us all this .... while battling leukemia......  never once showing any sign whatsoever of the condition that would in a matter of mere months take his life.....is a spiritual inspiration to us all.  Carl has gone to be with God & I am sure Heaven has never sounded so glorious! Carl sang for the Lord on this earth & now The Lord has a front row seat for "Heaven on Their Minds". I know it is rocking up there ! I also find it quite ironic that Carl went to be with The Lord on a Monday ...... the only day Broadway is dark . Monday was the only day he was free to go .............
Carl Anderson
1945-2004
to conquer death, you only have to die

note : you may have noticed that the above text has been revised . That is because I just learned that Carl did not know he had leukemia during the tour . One day on the way to a show in Indianapolis (a Sunday I think) Carl & I decided to follow each other from the hotel to the show, him in a car ahead of me , me in a van behind him . We got separated on the road to the show due to traffic when my cell phone rang & it was Carl . "Sebastian ! I have been in an accident ! " he exclaimed . It was about an hour before show time. He wanted me to know immediately that I would be performing that day with an understudy , & wanted me to know this in time for me to make any changes in my performance necessary to accommodate the understudy . The chemistry Carl & I had on-stage together was intense , & in retrospect I realize how considerate it was of him to think of the show , & my performance , as he was sitting on the side of the road with a busted up ride & an injured knee, not to mention having to deal with the financial loss incurred due to any performer missing a show . In fact I mentioned this to Carl on the phone when he called , to lighten the mood .
Sebastian : "Are you all right ???????"
Carl: "Yeah , Yeah , I'm fine don't worry about me . I just hurt my knee but it's not bad .  But I can't do the show , I have to fill out the reports with the police & the insurance guy "
He was not sad , or angry . His mood  was almost happy on the phone , I guess due to the fact no-one seemed to be injured in the accident .
Sebastian : (joking around , which is what Carl & I spent alot of our time doing together ) : "Dude that sucks ! You're out all that cake for the show you're gonna miss!"
Carl: (laughing ) "That's all right Sebastian . Just let the cast know I can't be there today & that I am ok & to have a great show !! Give Todd (Fournier, Carl's understudy) my best & I will see you tonight or tomorrow."

As I kept on driving , I passed Carl & the accident on the side of the road , dealing with the police.  I rolled down the window & stuck my head out " Hey dude everything ok ??"
Carl flashed his radiant smile & with his booming tenor came the reply : "Yeah Sebastian have a great show !"
    I can still see Carl standing there , with a huge smile on his face . He was holding court with all the police , the people in the other car involved in the accident , lookers on & passersby, & I swear it was not the accident itself, but Carl Anderson's presence & energy on the side of the road that was the cause of this particular rubberneck delay . You simply did not encounter a man of Carl's charisma every day & this was evident even on the side of a road next to a broken down rent a car on a sunny Sunday morning in Indianapolis USA.
It was not until Carl's treatment of his knee, due to this exact car accident ,that it was discovered that he did in fact have leukemia.
I feel unbelievably fortunate to have shared the stages, hotels, & airports of the USA with Carl Anderson .
His voice & spirit will live inside us all forever .
-Sebastian Bach
with thanks to Keith Challenger
Playbill.com
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