In a recent interview with The Hook Rocks podcast, SKID ROW guitarist Dave “Snake” Sabo was asked whether he and his bandmates have considered any new singers following the departure of their latest frontman, Erik Grönwall, who left the band to focus on his health.
“We haven’t targeted anybody,” Dave responded (as transcribed by Blabbermouth). “If we wanna continue as SKID ROW, we’re gonna have to get another singer. But we haven’t targeted anybody. There’s a lot of great singers out there. But Lzzy [Hale of HALESTORM who recently played two shows with SKID ROW as a stand-in singer] just raised the bar, man.
“And Erik is a great singer. He raised the bar as well. And then Lzzy just came in here and just really raised the bar and showed us another side of what this band could be. So, it doesn’t necessarily have to be a male singer in SKID ROW. The options are wide open. And like I said, there’s so much talent out there, but we just wanna make sure that we make the right choice and that we can bring the band to another level. That’s the hope.”
When asked if his perspective on a potential reunion with SKID ROW classic-era singer, Sebastian Bach, had changed, Snake responded: “Well, the answer has been the same for — I don’t know — 20,000 years now. It’s not gonna happen. And I say the same thing every time. I’m thankful that people have such an interest in wanting to see that happen, but I also have to reiterate that this is about being happy in the situation that you’re in. So I’ll speak for myself personally.
“First of all, I do need to say something too, is that the reason that this isn’t happening is because there’s three of us — myself, Scotti [Hill, SKID ROW guitarist] and Rachel [Bolan, SKID ROW bassist] — who’ve had conversations about this, and we’ve all been on the same page that we don’t wanna go down that road again. We just — we don’t.
“Rachel has taken a beating over this through the years. He’s the one who’s been blamed for this. ‘Oh, it’s Rachel‘s ego.’ ‘It’s this and that.’ No, that’s a load of bulls**t. That is not true. And I feel bad because he’s really, really had to shoulder that blame and has never said anything derogatory or anything like that. But you know what? The truth of the matter is that Rachel, Scotti and myself have continually felt the same way, that we enjoy being happy in this band and we’re really happy.
“It’s been such a great experience for the last however, 35 years, everything, all the ups, all the downs, everything, but we just don’t wanna revisit that particular aspect of our history,” he continued. “I love the songs, [I] love a lot of the memories, [I am] not fond of some of the memories, but just as individuals and as a collective, that’s just how we feel. So this is not on Rachel. And this has nothing to do with anyone’s ego or anything like that. So that’s just gotta be clear. Again, for anyone to sit there and make assumptions that this is Rachel Bolan saying ‘nope,’ it’s not. It’s the three of us, and we’ve all collectively sat there and just said that we don’t wanna do it. We just don’t wanna do it. And we wish everybody all the best.”
“We’ve been just ripped apart by ex-members of the band and stuff — ripped apart,” Sabo aded. “Some really s**tty stuff [has been] said about all of us. And we just choose not to [respond]. It’s not who I am. It’s not who we are. We won’t go down that road. We just wanna play music and be happy. This has really never been about a monetary aspect of things because it’s known that we’ve been offered a good amount of money to do shows together and to reunite [with Sebastian] and whatever, but it’s just never been about the money, man.
“I choose my happiness, my willingness to continue to be a really good friend to my best friends and a really good husband and a really good dad and bandmate and person. And I don’t wanna endanger that in any way. So the people that we choose to play with, those choices are made in order to keep those particular things in line for all of us.”
This past March, singer Erik Grönwall announced his decision to leave SKID ROW explaining that he wanted to “prioritize [his] health and full recovery.”
HALESTORM‘s Lzzy Hale was announced to step in to handle vocal duties for the four concerts on their upcoming schedule.
On the May 10 episode of SiriusXM‘s “Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk,” Sebastian Bach was asked about any communication he’s had with his ex-bandmates from SKID ROW regarding the potential for a reunion, given their current search for a vocalist.
“I found out something at the very last KISS show that I did not know before the very last KISS show. And it’s a major piece of miscommunication,” he responded. “And I need to communicate with those guys because there’s been something that happened that is not accurate. I can’t tell you what it is, but the whole narrative of they don’t like me and I’m too crazy is complete bulls**t. It’s not true. There’s been attempts to get us going again.
“I’m so focused on [my new] album [Child Within The Man] and this tour that I haven’t had time to think about that,” Bach continued. “I can just tell the world that there’s a good chance that’ll happen ’cause there’s no f**king reason not to, ’cause right now why it hasn’t happened is a miscommunication. That’s all I can say. There’s a miscommunication. That’s all I can tell you.”
When asked about his efforts to resolve any misunderstandings and his willingness to collaborate with SKID ROW once more, Bach replied: “I play with everybody in the world. I’m in KINGS OF CHAOS. I’m in ROYAL MACHINES. I got 25 guys in my band. There’s no reason why I can’t play with them. But here’s the thing: I only have so much energy. At the age of 56…. Right now, I’m trying to talk as softly as I can because I have three [shows] in a row. I don’t have the f**king energy. I’m trying, I’m giving as much as I can.
“I need to write a thoughtful e-mail clearing up a miscommunication, but I have to make sure it’s the perfect f**king e-mail and I don’t say anything wrong or make any jokes. I just don’t have the energy to do that right now, but I know I need to do that. I’ve just got a lot on my plate right now.”
Expanding on his wish to reunite with SKID ROW, Sebastian expressed: “I would love to do it. I have dreams about doing it. I have a recurring f**king nightmare where SKID ROW reunites, and I go to the gig, and I forget my in-ears. I’m backstage, and the whole arena’s packed, and Rachel [Bolan, SKID ROW bassist] and Snake [SKID ROW guitarist Dave Sabo], I go, ‘F**k, you guys. F**k, I’ve gotta go back to the hotel. I forgot my f**king in-ears.’ [Laughs] And I’m in the Uber, and I’m f**king racing, and the whole reunion’s happening. I’ve gotta get my f**king in-ears, and I can’t get the hotel key.
“So let’s analyze that, let’s analyze that s**t right there that goes on in my head. And then I have these other dreams where we do a reunion show, and nothing happens. We just play, and then we walk off and we’re, like, ‘Right on.’ And there’s no fighting, there’s no drama, we just do a show. And there’s no, like, fighting or drama. And I told this to Rob [Affuso, former SKID ROW drummer]. He’s laughing. He’s, like, ‘Imagine that. F**king imagine that. Just do a f**king show.’ It’s funny, these dreams I have. But the in-ear one is real.”
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